Featuring: Daredevil
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Lettering: Sam Rosen
.. and introducing: the matchless artistic wizardry of Marvel’s newest, and most eagerly-awaited, illustrator… the inimitable John Romita!
20 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #26 | Reading order | Daredevil #13 |
| Daredevil #11 | Daredevil | Daredevil #13 |
Ka-Zar have you, Zabu… Need no other! You are wisest… bravest… swiftest of all!
John Romita’s arrival is greeted enthusiastically by Stan. Kirby does layouts, as is common when welcoming new artists, as Stan doesn’t yet trust their storytelling chops (or his own).
Daredevil has a lack stability with revolving doors of legendary superstar artists. Bill Everett only made it one issue because he struggled with deadlines. Joe Orlando left after 3 issues because he got angry with Stan. Wally Wood left after 5 issues because he got angry with Stan. Good luck, John.
We’ve seen John Romita before in our “Prelude” posts. He was a regular artist on Captain America’s short-lived 1950s revival. His art has improved a lot in the intervening 10 years. He found his niche with the romance genre, and then left comics for a successful career in advertising. He draws good-looking people, in a way that artists like Kirby and Ditko don’t. Stan talked him into coming back to comics.
We talked about Romita’s career when we read Captain America #78. This is his new regular gig as a main artist at Marvel, but we’d seen him before providing finishes for Don Heck in Avengers #23, released 3 months earlier.
The story picks up where last issue left off, with Matt leaving Nelson & Murdock. The characters have lots of thoughts. Matt is leaving to let Foggy and Karen be together. Karen is sad because she loves Matt. Foggy thinks Matt is his best friend, but is happy that Karen can now be his. Matt doesn’t recognize that Karen loves him; he thinks her affection is just pity for a blind man. Matt books an ocean cruise to the other side of the world.
There’s a bit of dialogue where Daredevil mentions he sent his bags ahead. This strikes me as an example of Stan catching a hole in the story as told by the art, that Matt made his way to the Cruise as Daredevil, not carrying any suitcases.
The Plunderer is a modern pirate who keeps to some traditional pirate stylings. I appreciate that his men just seem annoyed by such hijinks.
We recall we met Ka-Zar in X-Men #10, a Tarzan-like figure who ruled the Savage Land, a hidden jungle in Antarctica where dinosaurs roam. There was an original Marvel character called Ka-Zar introduced in Marvel Comics #1, based on the Martin Goodman pulp hero.
We didn’t get a name for this hidden world last time, and we don’t explicitly now either. But the issue’s title will stick: the Savage Land. For convenience, we’ll just start calling it that.
Ka-Zar and Zabu hunt the “big-tail”, a tyrannosaurus rex. Not to kill, but to tame. He is not successful.
Ka-Zar is pretty eloquent, spouting some complex prose but has some off speech tics. He incorrectly uses verb tense, leaves out the verb “to be”, leaves out articles, and refers to himself in the third person: “Ka-Zar is man”; “Ka-Zar have you”; “Ever since costumed ones depart…”.
The Plunderer is Lord Parnival Plunder; he’s wealthy and a genius. He doesn’t attack ships for money, but for adventure. Finding Daredevil was exciting for him. He seeks to make Daredevil work for him, as he goes to the Savage Land through a hidden tunnel he discovered. He seeks to capture Skull Island from the Swamp Men. Not realizing Ka-Zar had already driven them away.
The Plunderer and Daredevil find themselves in conflict with Ka-Zar.
Ka-Zar still has the same catch phrase from last time: “Stronger than mastodon! Stronger than giant boar! Mighty is Ka-Zar! Lord of Jungle!”
A blow from Ka-Zar disables Daredevil’s radar sense. DD says he was a fool to reason with the lunatic Ka-Zar, but it seems to me Ka-Zar is entirely in the right here.
Ultimately, Daredevil reminds Ka-Zar of the X-Men, and Ka-Zar admires his courage, so decides to save him. Ka-Zar knows the ju ju plant can help, but it’s surrounded by Plants of Death. Also Maa-Gor of the Ape Men, who we recall from X-Men #10, is approaching.
We end with Ka-Zar in a plant’s jaws of death with Zabu trying to save him, and with Maa-Gor approaching the unconscious Daredevil.
To be continued.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 58/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
I read this story in Daredevil Epic Collection vol. 1: The Man Without Fear.
Characters:
- Matt Murdock/Daredevil
- Karen Page
- Foggy Nelson
- Plunderer/Lord Parnival Plunder/Captain Plunder
- Ka-Zar
- Zabu
- Maa-Gor
Story notes:
- Matt reflects on old foes: Electro, Mr. Fear, Namor, Ape Man, Frog Man, Bird Man, Cat Man, Organizer, Stilt-Man, Matador, Owl… as well as Foggy and Karen.
- Billboard for Star Rent-A-Car.
- Passenger concerned about ship running afoul of the Plunderer.
- Plunderer targets the Odyssey, the largest luxury liner around.
- Ship’s radio dead.
- Plunderer’s ship a schooner but it moves like a destroyer.
- On Plunderer: “Dozens of men, advanced weapons, and the leadership of a bold, brilliant strategist”
- Editor’s note reminds us of X-Men #10.
- Swamp Men sail down river toward Skull Island, in defiance of Ka-Zar’s law.
- Swamp Men seek to kill Ka-Zar and seize his rule.
- Swamp Men dialogue loosely translated from original guttural swamp dialect.
- Daredevil refers to Plunderer as Plunder.
- Daredevil uses a gun.
- Plunderer already has more money than he needs. His great find was an adventurer such as Daredevil. He stole nothing else from the ship.
- Plunderer’s ship controlled by advanced computer; the apparent schooner really a submarine.
- Plunderer an engineering genius.
- Plunderer loves the sea and is after pride and revenge against those who didn’t appreciate his genius.
- Plunderer had found undersea channel to Skull Island while searching for Atlantis.
- Plunderer considers Skull Island his, and seeks to overthrow Swamp Men, but Ka-Zar had already driven them away.
- Ka-Zar saves Daredevil because of his courage and resemblance to the X-Men.
- Ka-Zar and Zabu take injured Daredevil to Hidden Cave.
- Only jungle herb can save Daredevil; juice of ju-ju plant.
- Daredevil is one of the few non-cowards Ka-Zar has met.
- Plants of death surround ju-ju plants.
| Previous | #458 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #26 | Reading order | Daredevil #13 |
| Daredevil #11 | Daredevil | Daredevil #13 |
