How happy was Stan Lee to have Wally Wood drawing Daredevil? Happy enough to pen a full-page ad singing his praises.
By 1964, Marvel Comics was feeling the pinch of growing pains. Daredevil was a great superhero concept hampered by spotty execution, and Wood’s work helped correct that deficiency.
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four had the advantage of a single, consistent visual style, but Daredevil didn’t. Golden Age great Bill Everett left after the first issue, and Joe Orlando filled in for three issues. But beginning with the fifth issue, Wood was able to lend his appealing sense of austere power to the feature.
“Wallace Wood’s full-fledged debut as superhero artist came in 1964, with a well-ballyhooed arrival as an artist on Daredevil, and he also found additional jobs inking The Avengers, Tales of Suspense and spot work on Fantastic Four,” noted Jon B. Cooke in TwoMorrows’ THUNDER Agents Companion.
“But in short order, after only seven issues as artist of the Man Without Fear, Woody would depart the Marvel Comics Group in ’65. Perhaps it was because the often-obstinate artist butted heads with demanding editor/ art director/ writer Stan Lee, or maybe it was an irresistible offer made by Tower Publishing’s Harry Shorten and Samm Schwartz (eager to jump into the superhero game), enabling him to scratch an itch to form his own comic book line-up.”
Daredevil, a latecomer to the Marvel playground, even had to make do with leftovers in the super-villain department. He ran into Spider-Man’s enemy Electro in his second issue, and here in the sixth issue he found himself tackling a “Fellowship of Fear” that included Spidey’s foe the Ox and the Human Torch’s enemy the Eel.
In the next issue, Wood would redesign the Man Without Fear’s costume from an acrobatic yellow to a devilish red, and craft one of the best superhero stories of the 1960s — Daredevil’s clash with the Sub-Mariner, a foe he couldn’t possibly beat (and didn’t).
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteThat battle with Subby is a pure classic!
Jim Busenbark wrote:
ReplyDeleteWally Wood was one of the best silver age artists.
Ray Reilly wrote:
ReplyDeleteHis last appearance in black & yellow.
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteHad no idea who Wally Wood was back then! Not sure that most of Marvel's readers had any sense who he was either. I just knew that I was very impressed by his art and he quickly became one of my favorites at the time and I followed him to Tower!
I also liked Johnny Romita's issues on Daredevil and thus was not unhappy to see him make Spider-Man look more polished. Now, I prefer the Ditko issues, though.
I think Daredevil only hit its stride when Gene Colan became the artist and gave the character a unique swashbuckling look. From a writing standpoint, though, the book only came together for me when Roy Thomas became the writer.
Randall Hugh Crawford wrote:
ReplyDeleteWoods all to brief run on Daredevil was a major high spot for '60s Marvel. At least until Steranko came along. Sure, Kirby, but he was everywhere on everything, so Kirby-style was the norm that Ditko and Wood were exceptions to.
Some books have a "definitive" artist. Daredevil had several. Wood's brief stay, Gene Colan's tenure, Frank Miller's groundbreaking work. Mazzuchelli and Romita Jr. did some good work too, but I'm not sure I'd rank them as "definitive."
Joseph Lenius wrote:
ReplyDeleteAs Paul notes, I don't think most readers were aware of who Wood was. Maybe older ones and adults, those familiar with his art in Mad and also the earlier ECs. When I was first reading comics (age 8 in early 1963), I wasn't even noticing art styles, let alone "judging" them. That happened gradually, and my only reference to the artists and writers were the credits given (obviously more by Marvel than DC). By the time Wood was with Tower, I could appreciate, identify, and criticize art. And I knew who Wood was from his previous Marvel credits, and I went back and looked at his Daredevil and his inking in a whole new light. I could identify artists by around the time Romita took over Daredevil -- certainly by DD #'s 15-18.
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteSometime before I turned 12 I became interested in the opposite sex and thereafter judged my comic book artists by how cute and/or sexy they could draw women. Hence, DD hit a trifecta with Wood, Romita and then Colan. Others at the top of my list included Swan, Murphy Anderson and Gil Kane. Note that Kirby and Ditko were low-down on my list accordingly.
Few artists could draw women like Wood did and even his prim and proper women, such as Karen Page and Alice in THUNDER, could raise my temperature!
Phil Latter wrote:
ReplyDeleteDaredevil has always been my # 1 favourite Marvel hero, which is why I bought every single issue and back issue. I own them all, from # 1, 1961 all the way to the current issue, including annuals, specials, mini series, etc,etc,etc!
Paul Zuckerman wrote:
ReplyDeleteDD was one of the titles that I went back and bought the back issues when I returned to comic purchasing in 1971 after a three-year hiatus and my earlier collection was thereafter stolen; so I quickly filled in the gaps. I stuck with the book for the longest time, but toward the end of its original run, I lost interest in it. I then missed the next run by Bendis, I think it was--but then resumed about 10 years ago or so. Now, I am looking for the few remaining back issues of the first run to read and then decide if I want to get the Bendis run, considering that I am generally not a fan of his writing.
Only thing is---when I went back and got those old issues? I figured that I did not need to get issue one since I had the reprint.
Oy!! Having the reprint didn't stop me from getting JLA 1 or Flash 105 or whatever, but DD 1 I passed by!