TITLE: Daredevil: The Man Without Fear vol. 1, issue #19
YEAR: August 1966
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
Written by Stan Lee
ART: Johnny Romita
INKS: Frank Giacoia
LETTERING: Sam Rosen
With issue 18 being the first appearance of The Gladiator (and thus why I don’t own the issue as the first appearance is quite expensive), the storyline continues as the Gladiator who is jailed by the police is rescued by the Masked Marauder and his thugs (who pretended to be members of the media).
And both want their revenge against Daredevil.
To make things worse, Froggy Nelson who is trying to win Karen Page’s heart, lies about being Daredevil and now the news has been featured on the front page of the Daily Bugle.
And now Masked Marauder has Froggy on his target list.
But it won’t be easy for Masked Marauder as the person he busted out of prison, the Gladiator, takes no orders from anyone.
I found the 19th issue to be a lot of fun, but also just fascinating because Froggy is often portrayed as the dweeby lawyer friend of Matt Murdoch and now he really got himself in a bunch of trouble and for what? A woman (and to make things worst, Matt likes Karen too).
If anything, definitely a lighthearted “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear” issue. Considering how dark the stories have become decades later, issue #19 definitely showcases the the fun lighthearted nature of the series (courtesy of Stan Lee) and Matt worrying about his law buddy to the very end.
I definitely love the work of Stan Lee and Johnny Romita from yesteryear!