Rating: 
Summary: Not called essential for nothing.
Review: I actually owned several of these early issues at one time and it has been great reading through them again. I am a long time DD fan and love this collection. The black and white format did not in any way detract from my enjoyment. I was relieved to find the paper and ink quality has greatly improved with this collection. Some of the other essential collections for other charaters has been awful. I personally feel the stories Stan Lee wrote for these early issues were some of his best. And the art is the best of its time period. In this collection we get to see pages penciled by the great Jack Kirby, Wally Wood (who designed DD's traditional red costume), John Romita Sr., and Gene Colon. These stories are just plain fun and adventure before DD became the intense, brooding and, often times, tragic character he is today. Take my word for it: if you love DD as much as I do pick up this first volume of twenty-five issues, it will not disappoint.
Rating: 
Summary: See Daredevi's Action-Packed Beginnings
Review: I am a huge fan of the "Essential" line of tpbs that Marvel is publishing. You get 25 continuous issues collected together for a cover price of $14.95 (usually less at amazon.com). Although the pictures are in black and white, it does not detract from the beauty of comic book art in the 1960s. Daredevil has always been one of my favorite Marvel characters, but has only recently started to become a mainstream hero and be recognized in the same breath as Spider-Man. Another wonderul character from the great mind of Mr. Stan Lee. This book shows the origin of Daredevil, and takes you on many adventures and changes in the life of Matt Murdock's alter ego. Pick this one up ASAP!
Rating:
Summary: See Daredevi's Action-Packed Beginnings
Review: I am a huge fan of the "Essential" line of tpbs that Marvel is publishing. You get 25 continuous issues collected together for a cover price of $14.95 (usually less at amazon.com). Although the pictures are in black and white, it does not detract from the beauty of comic book art in the 1960s. Daredevil has always been one of my favorite Marvel characters, but has only recently started to become a mainstream hero and be recognized in the same breath as Spider-Man. Another wonderul character from the great mind of Mr. Stan Lee. This book shows the origin of Daredevil, and takes you on many adventures and changes in the life of Matt Murdock's alter ego. Pick this one up ASAP!
Rating:
Summary: See Daredevi's Action-Packed Beginnings
Review: I am a huge fan of the "Essential" line of tpbs that Marvel is publishing. You get 25 continuous issues collected together for a cover price of $14.95 (usually less at amazon.com). Although the pictures are in black and white, it does not detract from the beauty of comic book art in the 1960s. Daredevil has always been one of my favorite Marvel characters, but has only recently started to become a mainstream hero and be recognized in the same breath as Spider-Man. Another wonderul character from the great mind of Mr. Stan Lee. This book shows the origin of Daredevil, and takes you on many adventures and changes in the life of Matt Murdock's alter ego. Pick this one up ASAP!
Rating:
Summary: You could take a crayon to it...
Review: I have long had problems with the Essential's program Marvel Comics has been running. The problems are centered in the amateurish designs of the cover, opening pages and the obvious Black & White reproductions of their classic material. Of course the Essential's series does extremely well for Marvel from a monetary standpoint. Look, let's face it, this is a great bargain for anyone who hasn't experienced the original issues of Marvel's most creative period. In the case of Daredevil moments like the landmark 7th issue are robbed of its impact by not having the color plate to support the costume change. Having said that the artist in me recognizes the brilliance of seeing Wally Wood's black & white art for the 7th issue's splash page! Owning the first 25 issues of this title (in any form) are certainly essential reading! Hopefully Marvel will realize the true potential of this series of reproductions and not only issue them on a more frequent basis but create a layout that truly reflects the greatness of the work.
Rating:
Summary: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR!
Review: I love this initial volume of the Essential Daredevil as it collects the first 25 issues of early DD. It allows me to remember the times as a child when I still owned all of the Daredevil comics from #6 (the last appearance of his black and yellow costume) on. Even in b&w, these stories are a must for anyone who grew up on DD (and the rest of the Marvel Universe). All I need now is to know when Volume 2 is coming out.
Rating:
Summary: A good way to get into Daredevil
Review: i'm about halfway through this collection, and it's not so bad. it does have that kinda corny 60s dialogue, but that's the way comics were back then. i am twenty years old, and i just started reading comics. when i was younger, i watched all the cartoons and collected the cards, but i never actually read the comics. now that i have started, i've realized how worth reading all of these comics are! anyway, if you want to start getting into Daredevil, this would be a good collection to read. once you get past it, i would read some of the issues that Frank Miller wrote. those are supposed to be some of the best. as a new comic-reader, i am open to reccomendations of good comics that i should read. if anyone has anything they think i should read, please let me know.this has been Apollyon
Rating: 
Summary: Originality that was not quite tapped into:
Review: It is quite obvious, that with all the material that Stan Lee had to write each month, that obvious structural patterns in each book would develop, simply because of Lee's workload. If you haven't noticed, most of Lee's hero's have a girlfriend they want, but can never have, are noble, enjoy being a hero and forgo workload and social life to continue that interest. Such is the case with Daredevil, which is a truly original idea in using a blind person as a Superhero. However, Daredevil, after the first brilliant issue, is left with the cliche' love interest that of course he can never have, a workload that he forgoes due to his superhero activities, and the usual noble character trait that drives him to being a hero. Therefore Matt Murdock comes across as somewhat one dimensional. Too bad. On top of that artwork was a bit uneven. We see good, but ineffective efforts, by many fine artists including John Romita, but it is Gene Colan that finally breaks Daredevil open and defines the character for the rest of the decade. That art, really stands out from the rest of the book! Many complain about the black and white in these Essential issues, but this reveals the true work of the artist and you never get that when it is masked by color. Here we see, for the first time, how good Colan's work is and how well he brought Daredevil to light. Since this is the first issue we don't see the great Kingpin saga's yet to come, but we do meet Spiderman and it is great to see Daredevil know when he is outmatched by someone else instead of getting the usual "I can defeat him" lines. Overall, this books is great to have, just realize that Daredevil is having some growing pains and it will be many more, unreleased issues to come, before Daredevil finds his niche.
Rating:
Summary: Originality that was not quite tapped into:
Review: It is quite obvious, that with all the material that Stan Lee had to write each month, that obvious structural patterns in each book would develop, simply because of Lee's workload. If you haven't noticed, most of Lee's hero's have a girlfriend they want, but can never have, are noble, enjoy being a hero and forgo workload and social life to continue that interest. Such is the case with Daredevil, which is a truly original idea in using a blind person as a Superhero. However, Daredevil, after the first brilliant issue, is left with the cliche' love interest that of course he can never have, a workload that he forgoes due to his superhero activities, and the usual noble character trait that drives him to being a hero. Therefore Matt Murdock comes across as somewhat one dimensional. Too bad. On top of that artwork was a bit uneven. We see good, but ineffective efforts, by many fine artists including John Romita, but it is Gene Colan that finally breaks Daredevil open and defines the character for the rest of the decade. That art, really stands out from the rest of the book! Many complain about the black and white in these Essential issues, but this reveals the true work of the artist and you never get that when it is masked by color. Here we see, for the first time, how good Colan's work is and how well he brought Daredevil to light. Since this is the first issue we don't see the great Kingpin saga's yet to come, but we do meet Spiderman and it is great to see Daredevil know when he is outmatched by someone else instead of getting the usual "I can defeat him" lines. Overall, this books is great to have, just realize that Daredevil is having some growing pains and it will be many more, unreleased issues to come, before Daredevil finds his niche.
Rating:
Summary: Wally Wood, John Romita, Gene Colan
Review: It is so fascinating to compare the art styles of the three giants of comic art represented in this collection. After a so-so start with Bill Everett and Joe Orlando (inked by Vince Colletta), Wally Wood takes over with his eccentric, disciplined, almost scientific approach to illustrating castles, weird inventions and other gee-whiz stuff. Then John Romita brings his muscular, vibrant, dynamic and organic compositions to the title, and it really comes alive (his work looks exactly like the bright, catchy, somewhat "cartoony" classics Romita did for Spiderman as that character's best artist). Next comes Gene Colan, who's facile virtuosity, flowing figures, and unique camera angles became the definitive Daredevil "look" that originally caught my young eyes back in the '60s. Stan Lee's trademaked psuedo-hip wisecracking and underlying decency bring nostalgic warmth and amusement to my heart. Though the art has never been equaled and looks strong in black and white, this series of reprints should be in color! And not the phony computor color they're using nowadays with the little airbrushed-looking highlights, but just plain old ordinary flat comic book color like they had in the ones my mother threw out.
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