Happy New Year, everyone!Taking eighth place on my list of "Top 10 Spider-Man comics by Stan and Steve" is "Duel With Daredevil!"
Here's an issue that is just a pure joy to read. The setup is simple enough: the Circus of Crime is planning a major heist in New York, so to draw a crowd they advertise that Spider-Man will appear, not caring if he actually shows up or not.
Of course, being something of a ham, Spidey does show up, and is promptly hypnotized (along with the crowd) by the Ringmaster. Luckily, Matt (Daredevil) Murdock is in the audience, and since he's blind, he doesn't fall under the Ringmaster's spell.
But when he tries to intervene, the Ringmaster sets Spider-Man against him, and we get one of the earliest examples of the classic Marvel formula where two heroes fight because of some kind of misunderstanding.
Not only is their battle a hoot, but the subsequent fight between Spidey and the Circus of Crime is an amazing show of skill by Ditko, filling half the issue with a fun, high-flying battle with all kinds of colorful characters.
Lee's script is brimming with humor, clear storytelling, twists and turns - it's just another masterpiece for one of the industry's all-time best writers.
This was a great way to promote Daredevil's new comic. Obviously this is early in DD's career, since he's wearing the yellow tights that (thankfully) didn't last long. It was a great marketing took that Stan would turn to many more times in the future, and it was a clever way to build up the brand.
You can tell I enjoyed this comic just by looking at the cover - I almost read this one to pieces!
Grade: A
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