DaredevilGerry Conway/Gene Colan
25 stories in
DAREDEVIL 72-96 (
1971-
1972).
Writers:
Gerry Conway (24), Gary Friedrich.
Pencillers:
Gene Colan (24), Alan Weiss, Barry Windsor-Smith.
Inkers:
Syd Shores (
6),
Tom Palmer (
15), Jack Able (2), Bill Everett, Ernie Chan.
Editors: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas.
- Lo! The Lord of the Leopards! - GC/GC - 6/10
- Behold… The Brotherhood! - GC/GC - 5/10
- In the Country of the Blind! - GC/GC - 8/10
- Now Rides the Ghost of El Condor! - GC/GC - 6/10
- The Deathmarch of El Condor! - GC/GC - 6/10
- And So Enters the Amazing Spider-Man - GC/GC - 6/10
- The Horn of the Bull - GC/GC - 6/10
- ‘Murder!’ Cries The Man-Bull! - GF/GC - 6/10
- In the Eyes… of the Owl! - GC/GF/GC - 7/10
- And Death is a Woman Called Widow! - GC/GC - 9/10
- Now Send… The Scorpion! - GC/GC - 9/10
- The Widow Accused! - GC/AW/BWS - 3/10
- Night of the Assassin! - GC/GC - 9/10
- Night Flight! - GC/GC - 10/10
- Once Upon a Time – The Ox! - GC/GC - 10/10
- From Stage Left, Enter: Electro! - GC/GC - 7/10
- Call Him Killgrave! - GC/GC - 7/10
- Crisis! - GC/GC - 7/10
- The Sinister Secret of Project Four! - GC/GC - 6/10
- Fear is the Key! - GC/GC - 5/10
- On the Eve of the Talon! - GC/GC - 5/10
- A Power Corrupt! - GC/GC - 6/10
- He Can Crush the World! - GC/GC - 6/10
- Bullfight on the Bay! - GC/GC - 6/10
- The Widow Will Make You Pay! - GC/GC - 7/10
Average: 6.7/10 Lo! The Lord of the Leopards!It starts off as a standard crime caper, but soon reveals itself to be about a dimension-traveling thief.
The end is a tad rushed, and Gerry Conway (in his first Daredevil issue) lays the message on a bit thick, but it’s an enjoyable read overall.
From here Conway goes to work on 27 scripts, with Gene Colan as penciller.
6/10
Behold… the Brotherhood!An odd continuation of the story from Iron Man #’s 33-35.
Taking the espionage tale to another dimension? Jarring.
Here, Daredevil, Iron Man, Nick Fury and Madame Masque are forced to work as a team and fight some bad guys (in something that reads like a mini-Secret Wars) but it slows down the progress of the real story.
5/10
In the Country of the Blind!Takes a nifty idea (everyone goes blind!) and runs with it, for a most satisfactory read.
And plenty of action, too.
The message is laid on a bit thick, and the dreaded “Coincidence Factor” rears it’s head, but - honestly - this is a nifty story.
8/10
Now Rides the Ghost of El Condor!An enjoyable change-of-location story.
Heavy on lead character angst, but also heavy on action/violence.
The Gene Colan/Syd Shores art is another reason to enjoy the issue.
6/10
The Deathmarch of El Condor!Still finds Daredevil caught up in a revolution south of the border.
It’s a change-of-location that is partly successful.
Sometimes it feels fresh and exciting to see DD in such a setting, sometimes it feels jarring.
And the angst! Oh my god, the angst! Daredevil spends an entire fight sequence thinking non-stop about Karen Page! And a lot of the rest of the issue thinking similar deep thoughts. It’s a tiny bit OTT
6/10
And So Enters the Amazing Spider-ManOne long slug-fest between DD, Spider-Man and Namor.
Kinda cool to see Namor completely outclass them.
Before the fight, Gerry Conway does a terrific job showing us ironic parallels between Daredevil and Spider-Man. Irony and angst aplenty! But, very nicely done and the best thing about the issue.
6/10
The Horn of the BullA down-to-earth crime story, with a very welcome focus on the two victims.
All this and Matt’s non-stop Karen angst!
The opening is particularly strong. As you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen to the happy couple. Really paints a picture of this as a dangerous city.
6/10
‘Murder!’ Cries the Man-Bull!A mostly-enjoyable slug-fest issue.
DD is completely outclassed, which is part of what keeps things interesting.
There’s also a guest appearance from Stan Lee, with Daredevil acknowledging him as such in an odd moment, that doesn’t quite work in the midst of a life-or-death chase.
6/10
In the Eyes… of the Owl!Better-than-average for this run.
Art by Gene Colan.
The final pages, where Karen Page watches DD fight on the television news are genuinely sad.
It’s an action-packed issue.
In the background, there are scenes devoted to the ongoing story arc, but mostly this is about Matt and Karen.
7/10
And Death is a Woman Called Widow!Opens with DD lying near death, thinking only of Karen Page the girl he lost. Unbearably sad.
Fresh from her run in AMAZING ADVENTURES, this is where Gerry Conway adds Black Widow to the cast of DAREDEVIL. She begins by saving our hero’s life. Not bad. Art by Gene Colan.
Meanwhile, Karen Page (while still thinking of Matt) falls into the arms of another man. Unbearably sad.
9/10
Now Send… the Scorpion!Once again, great balance between action, soap opera and ongoing story arc with Black Widow fitting in nicely.
The quick scenes with Foggy Nelson and Karen Page are just as interesting as the a-plot, and Black Widow’s paranoia/guilt about the deaths she’s caused seems like it is about to get an airing in upcoming Daredevil issues…
9/10
The Widow Accused!Trial of the Black Widow.
Fairly weak.
The case against her and the issues raised seem forced/false.
Hard to care.
The battle with Mr. Hyde - towards the end of the story - is fine, but - at this stage - it seems like the great scheme, behind the scenes, is a mess of contradictions.
3/10
Night of the Assassin!Has a great balance between Matt’s love life concerns (a new lady: the Black Widow) and the end of the ongoing story arc.
We see Daredevil stopping a jewelry store robbery in New York, before heading to Switzerland to meet the Black Widow and fight with someone who is being controlled from far in the future!
Later, the fight is joined by those from even further in the future!!
Gerry Conway brings all of this together flawlessly.
9/10
Night Flight!Plane hijacking.
There’s loads of relationship stuff and secret identity stuff and a great ending. Wow.
It’s clever the way Matt plots to get Ivan on his side.
And having the annoying passenger be the one that can defuse the bomb is likewise bloody clever (cos Gerry Conway told us upfront the guy was an engineer and - hey - I’m willing to take the leap of faith).
Also: having Karen show up at the airport shocked me.
It shouldn’t. Conway told us where she was going.
Great issue.
10/10
Once Upon a Time – The Ox!Between all the broken hearts in the soap opera of Matt’s life, and the pain & confusion of the bad guy, this story is a very sad.
The stuff between Matt and Karen Page is particularly well-written, I feel. It feels quite honest and real.
As for the Ox/Stragg… his tale/death is also one guaranteed to touch the reader.
All told, this is great work from Gerry Conway and Gene Colan.
10/10
From Stage Left, Enter: Electro!Moves our hero (and the Black Widow) to a new city.
And delivers a competent action-driven story to settle them in. Good.
Gene Colan’s art is typically great and Electro makes an interesting bad guy.
No complaints from me.
7/10
Call Him Killgrave!Combines the backstory of Black Widow with a Daredevil crime tale (with a twist).
Good cliffhanger, can’t wait to read on.
Ivan bugs me. Having read the Black Widow stories in AMAZING ADVENTURES where he took the lead ofttimes, I started to dislike him. Now, he seems like an annoying third wheel in the San Francisco Daredevil stories. Particularly here: where he rescues Daredevil. What is Gerry Conway trying to accomplish with the character?
7/10
Crisis!Successfully balances the action (from two foes) with all the mystery generated by Black Widow’s history as a spy.
Killgrave, the Purple Man, is - I think - a fascinating foe.
Electro, formidable in a previous story, is a real lightweight here.
7/10
The Sinister Secret of Project Four!Nice balance between flashback (Black Widow’s origin continued) and genuine mystery in the present day.
This Gerry Conway/Gene Colan run on Daredevil is very, very enjoyable.
6/10
Fear is the Key!The story has one good twist that’s very cool.
Sadly, the ‘fight’ between DD and Black Widow at the start is awful. BW saves Daredevil’s life and then goes all psycho on him because she’s “a person - someone apart from [him]”. Or something. After that the story picks up steam, and quality.
Love the twist with regard to the identity of the bad guy.
5/10
On the Eve of the Talon!There’s a GREAT twist at the end but the story contains a couple of annoying Huh?!-moments.
As well as Danny hitting Natasha, it requires a leap of faith to understand that (a) only one baddie showed up at Matt’s place after the news report, (b) Matt had his fake-Daredevil ready and waiting and knew that it would draw a crowd and clear his name.
The resolution is clever, yes, but it does make me go: Huh?!
5/10
A Power Corrupt!Still more of the Danny French/Black Widow/Project Four tale!
Average fare. Enjoyable.
Highlight: Gene Colan’s art.
I’ve enjoyed this particular tale, but - to be honest - the final panel made me feel weary at the thought of still more…
6/10
He Can Crush the World!Ends the Black Widow/Danny French storyline (finally!) with a complete change-of-pace tale (as the city faces destruction).
The foe seems unbeatable.
And the ending, when it comes, is predictable. But it works.
6/10
Bullfight on the Bay!A baddie returns, seeking revenge (of course!).
There are some battles and a cliffhanger where all appears lost…
As usual, Ivan seems more clued-in than the Black Widow. However, he gets injured for his trouble.
Love the Gene Colan art, but that goes without saying…
6/10
The Widow Will Make You Pay!Mostly a solo Black Widow chapter.
The villain’s tendency to betray his cohorts makes this enjoyable. He’s interesting.
The two new characters, added to the cast after the move to San Francisco, aren’t doing much for me, tbh.
7/10
More info on the this specific run can be found if you log into comicbookdb.com and then click this link.
Black Widow -
Friedrich/
Thomas/
Colan/
Heck (70-1)
4.3/10Captain Marvel -
Thomas/
Colan (67-8)
5.5/10 -
Drake/
Heck (68)
4.8/10 -
Daredevil -
Conway/
Colan (71-2)
6.7/10 -
Deathlok -
Moench/
Mantlo/
Buckler (74-6)
8.8/10Ghost Rider -
Friedrich (72-3)
2.6/10 -
Isabella (74-6)
5.4/10 -
Shooter/
Heck (77)
6.7/10 -
McKenzie/
Perlin (78)
8.9/10 -
Living Mummy -
Isabella/Mayerik (73-5)
7.6/10Luke Cage -
Goodwin/Englehart/Tuska/Graham (72-3)
7.1/10 -
Tales of the Zombie -
Gerber/
Marcos (73-4)
6.5/10
