Silver Streak Comics (Daredevil)

Silver Streak Comics, published by Lev Gleason beginning in 1940, is historically important for introducing the original Daredevil—a hero who must not be confused with Marvel's later blind lawyer of the same name, who debuted more than two decades afterward. This first Daredevil was a costumed acrobat and adventurer in a striking blue-and-red (later red) outfit, armed with a boomerang, and he quickly became the title's breakout star.

Developed in this period by the influential creator Charles Biro, the character grew popular enough to graduate into his own long-running series. The Silver Streak title itself was a grab-bag of Golden Age features, including the eponymous speedster hero, typical of the anthology approach of the day.

The existence of two entirely separate, unrelated 'Daredevils' is a favorite illustration of how the Golden Age's crowded, fast-moving marketplace produced overlapping names and ideas. Because Lev Gleason's comics are now public domain, this original Daredevil and his adventures can be preserved and read freely today—a chance to meet the forgotten predecessor whose name a far more famous hero would one day share.