Daredevil First Appearance: Daredevil #1 (1964) Value

Daredevil first appeared in Daredevil #1 (cover date 1964), published by Marvel, by Stan Lee, Bill Everett. The source puts it this way: "Published by Marvel Comics in 1964, this comic features the first appearance of Daredevil by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.".

PriceCharting values for Daredevil #1 (1964) by CGC grade, based on recorded sales and updated September 25, 2026:

• CGC 2.0: $1,807
• CGC 3.0: $1,957
• CGC 4.0: $2,659
• CGC 5.0: $3,761
• CGC 6.0: $4,690
• CGC 7.0: $6,692
• CGC 8.0: $9,970
• CGC 9.0: $17,500
• CGC 9.2: $21,390
• CGC 9.4: $34,160

The spread from CGC 2.0 ($1,807) to CGC 9.4 ($34,160) shows how much condition matters on a key issue. Restored, trimmed or incomplete copies sell far below these figures, and reprints and facsimiles (see below) are worth a small fraction. Grade and restoration are confirmed by a grading service such as CGC or CBCS; prices move with the market and the character's popularity.

• Origin/powers story detail: Daredevil, also known as Matt Murdock, is introduced as a blind lawyer with heightened senses who uses his extraordinary abilities to fight crime in New York City's Hell's Kitchen.
• Full creator credits, including Kirby's input: Daredevil was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with input from Jack Kirby.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the issue number, date and publisher; reprints usually say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode format that did not exist in the year printed means a later edition.
• Paper and staples: decades-old newsprint is tan at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and married covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat, straight on, in even light, then the indicia page and the back cover. Include the top edge and staples in one frame. The app reads the title, issue number and cover and matches it against the checks above; the indicia photo settles most reprint questions.

Daredevil #1 is cover-dated April 1964, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Bill Everett, with some input from Jack Kirby (Wikipedia). In this issue he wears the original yellow, black and red costume made from his father's boxing robes. The all-red costume most people know arrived in Daredevil #7, drawn by Wally Wood. Frank Miller's run, another set of keys, started with #158 (May 1979), and Elektra first appeared in #168 (January 1981) (Wikipedia).

Marvel has reprinted Daredevil #1 as a facsimile edition that copies the April 1964 cover. On eBay's product page for Daredevil #1 in September 2026, the featured listing was a facsimile at $4.99, while original 1964 copies on the same page ran from about $171 to over $32,000. A search result or listing photo alone does not tell them apart. Check for a modern price, a barcode and current indicia, which only the facsimile has.

The name came from the publisher. Marvel's Martin Goodman, impressed by Spider-Man's sales, asked Stan Lee for a similar character based on the original Daredevil, a 1940s superhero (Wikipedia). That earlier Daredevil, by Jack Binder, first appeared in Silver Streak #6 (September 1940) for Lev Gleason Publications; he is now in the public domain, and recent versions are renamed to avoid confusion with Marvel's (Wikipedia). Do not mistake a Silver Streak or Lev Gleason Daredevil comic for Matt Murdock's first appearance.