By: Jim Johnson

Jim Johnson — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 18:48:42 +0000

I imagine if guys like Wood, Colan, and Mazzucchelli had been on the book longer, it wouldn’t have declined so badly, both in terms of stories and sales. Daredevil has been fortunate to survive because It was the absence of these legends, and the other creators mentioned, over long periods of time that brought this title down.

By: Mike P

Mike P — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 16:42:54 +0000

Interesting stuff! But it should be noted that despite the “ugly” costume, the great Bill Everett co-created the character, so without him, there’d be no DD to begin with. And if you like the red outfit, you need to thank the equally legendary Wally Wood for his design of that costume!

And hey, let’s be fair! DD did enjoy some impressive success back in the day: During the Marvel boom years of 1967 thru 1969, DD sold better than AVENGERS, X-MEN, GREEN LANTERN, and THE FLASH, among others, including the mighty Disney titles. In ’67, DD bested TALES OF SUSPENSE (with Cap and Iron Man) and TALES TO ASTONISH (with Hulk and Subby), and then in ’68 and ’69, he beat CAPTAIN AMERICA in his own mag! (That was the only data available on comichron.com. No sales reported for DD in ’66, or Iron Man’s solo mag in ’69.)

That was arguably due largely to the amazing storytelling and artwork of the great (also-legendary) Gene Colan, who drew DD like no other has, before or since. No one’s been able to duplicate his blend of action and realism, and if it weren’t for him, DD would have been cancelled long before nihilists like Miller got a hold of the character.

And of course, David Mazzucchelli had a very fondly-remembered, award-winning run on the title in the 80s (recently collected in a giant IDW Artist’s Edition).

Comments on: Happy 50th Anniversary, Daredevil! Glad You Made It! – Part 2 of 2

By: Jim Johnson

By: Mike P