Marvel Announces Daredevil 60th Anniversary Issue

Matt Murdock has had a devil of a run. Co-created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, the blind attorney-at-law and horn-headed hero of Hell’s Kitchen has served as one of Marvel Comics’ most faithful defenders of justice since debuting in the pages of Daredevil #1 in April 1964. Six decades and multiple comic book volumes later, Marvel Comics will commemorate 60 years of the Man Without Fear this April with Daredevil #8, a special super-sized anniversary issue of writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Aaron Kuder’s current comic run.

The issue — which hits stands April 17 — will feature a main story continuing Ahmed and Kuder’s ongoing saga that has pit the born-again Father Matthew Murdock, now a Catholic priest, against the demonic Seven Deadly Sins. The over-sized issue also features new stories by writer Ann Nocenti, who penned now-classic issues during a run on Daredevil in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Eric Schultz (Daredevil: Gang War), Elsa Sjunneson (Women of Marvel), and prolific Daredevil writer D.G. Chichester, who returns to the main title to pen a ’90s-set showdown with Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher. Artists on the issue include Stefano Raffaele (Hawkeye), Jan Bazaldua (Captain Marvel),  Tommaso Bianchi (Alien: Black, White & Blood), Ken Lashley (Venom), and covers by Daredevil legends John Romita Jr. and Frank Miller.

Marvel describes Daredevil #8: “DAREDEVIL finds Matt balancing his new duties as a Catholic Priestwith an ongoing war against mysterious demonic entities targeting thoseclose to him. After discovering that the demons are the livingembodiment of his own seven deadly sins, Matt and Elektra are ready to go on the offensive. In Daredevil #8, the duo finally confront the unsettling truth of themysterious new gang terrorizing Hell’s Kitchen. In the midst of thatchaos, an old foe with the blood of Matt’s closest allies on his handsreturns and ushers in the next phase of what’s shaping up to be one ofthe most thought-provoking and pulse-pounding Daredevil eras ever!”

That sounds like the return of Bullseye, the assassin and expert marksman who targeted Murdock’s personal life when he killed Elektra in Miller’s classic Daredevil #181 and then Karen Page in Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada’s Daredevil (Vol. 2) #5.

• Ahmed teams up with rising star Tommaso Bianchi (ALIEN: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD) showcase why Elektra is truly a woman without fear as she single-handedly goes up against a whole army of the Heat on a daring rescue mission!
• Return to the 80s with visionary DAREDEVIL scribe Ann Nocenti and acclaimed Marvel artist Stefano Raffaele as they present a vintage flashback adventure of Daredevil taking down Turk and his fellow mobsters within the confines of a steamy bath house.
• DAREDEVIL: GANG WAR writer Erica Schultz and Marvel’s Stormbreaker artist Jan Bazaldua spotlight Elektra’s current role as mentor to Alice, her young ward from Chip Zdarsky’s Eisner-nominated run!
• WOMEN OF MARVEL writer Elsa Sjunneson and artist Erica Koda show how Matt Murdock inspires generations-both in and out of costume!
• DAREDEVIL: BLACK ARMOR writer D.G. Chichester and superstar artist Ken Lashley bring you a never-before-told showdown between Daredevil and the Punisher set during Chichester’s landmark ’90s run.
• And Ty Templeton delivers more of his iconic Daily Bugle funnies!

Marvel’s Daredevil 60th anniversary issue is on stands April 17.