Cover: Frank Miller & Klaus Janson

Daredevil #169

Mar 1981 · Marvel · 0.50 USD

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“Devils”

★ 1st appearance — Nick Manolis

About this Issue

Daredevil #169 is the second chapter of Frank Miller's run as sole writer-artist on the series, and it delivers the key piece of architecture underlying the entire Bullseye–Daredevil rivalry of the early 1980s: the revelation that Bullseye suffers from a brain tumor that causes violent hallucinations, making him perceive every person around him as Daredevil. That psychological grotesquery — a killer who cannot distinguish his obsession from reality — deepened Bullseye from a gimmick villain into a genuinely menacing figure, a transformation that made his eventual murder of Elektra in issue #181 land with devastating weight. The issue also marks Elektra's second appearance, the second step in Miller's calculated plan to introduce her to readers as a sympathetic character and then progressively strip that sympathy away. Together with #168, it forms the foundation of what became one of the most consequential creative runs in Bronze Age Marvel, a run that competition with only Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men in sales and whose noir sensibility reshaped how superhero comics were written for a generation.

In "Devils," Frank Miller delivers a chilling exploration of perception and obsession as Bullseye, haunted by a brain tumor that distorts his vision, begins to see everyone around him as Daredevil—and acts on that delusion with deadly precision. With stark, dynamic artwork by Miller and Janson, and a hauntingly precise script, this issue plunges into the mind of a killer whose reality is unraveling, one mistaken identity at a time. The cover by Miller and Janson captures the tension with a striking, shadowed portrait of Bullseye’s fractured focus.

writer, artist Frank Miller · inker Klaus Janson · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer Joe Rosen · cover Frank Miller, Klaus Janson

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $11

CGC 9.8 · 65 in census $577

CGC 9.6 · 177 in census $136

CGC 9.4 · 112 in census $60

CGC 9.2 · 81 in census $60

CGC 9.0 · 71 in census $57

CGC 8.5 · 61 in census $57

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CGC 8.0 · 54 in census $57

CGC 7.5 · 45 in census $33

CGC 7.0 · 23 in census $33

CGC 6.5 · 17 in census $32

CGC 6.0 · 11 in census $26

CGC 5.5 · 5 in census $24*

CGC 5.0 · 4 in census $24

CGC 4.5 · 3 in census $21*

CGC 4.0 · 2 in census $21

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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GD · Newsstand $17 VG · Newsstand $21 VF · Newsstand $23 FINE · Newsstand $24.99 Newsstand $25 VG+ · Newsstand $27 VERY FINE $27.99 VG · Newsstand $28

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History

Frank Miller had been penciling Daredevil since issue #158 under writer Roger McKenzie, but sales remained flat and Miller was dissatisfied with McKenzie's scripts. When Denny O'Neil arrived as editor, he recognized Miller's potential after reading a backup story Miller had written on his own, and moved McKenzie off the title so Miller could take over full writer-artist duties — a transition that began with issue #168. Issue #169 was therefore only Miller's second outing as complete solo storyteller, produced with inker Klaus Janson, who had been Miller's artistic partner since the early run. Colorist Glynis Wein (credited as Glynis Oliver) and letterer Joe Rosen rounded out the production team, with Denny O'Neil and Mark Gruenwald sharing editorial duties. Page 1 of the issue references a Daredevil/Punisher story that had been completed but pushed back to a later date due to Comics Code Authority problems, which is why the issue's story pivots on Bullseye rather than continuing that thread.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published March 1981 (cover date) by Marvel Comics; written and penciled by Frank Miller, inked by Klaus Janson, colored by Glynis Wein (credited as Glynis Oliver), lettered by Joe Rosen; edited by Denny O'Neil and Mark Gruenwald.
Second appearance of Elektra (Elektra Natchios), who had debuted only one issue earlier in Daredevil #168 (January 1981).
Introduces Bullseye's brain tumor as a plot device: a cancerous growth causes him to hallucinate every person he encounters as Daredevil, triggering a murderous rampage through Times Square — the storyline that seeds his eventual descent into the events of issue #181.
First appearance of Tom Snyde, a thinly veiled parody of real-life late-night television personality Tom Snyder; Snyde opens the issue hosting Matt Murdock as a guest on a broadcast talk show.
Only the second issue to carry Frank Miller's solo writing credit; Miller had taken over full writer-artist duties with #168 after previously drawing scripts by Roger McKenzie (#158–167).
The story is titled 'Devils' and features cameos referencing The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor depicted on a movie screen), grounding the issue in the film-noir atmosphere Miller was cultivating across the run.
Reprinted in multiple collected editions, including Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol. 2 (2001), Daredevil vs. Bullseye (2004), the Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Omnibus (2007), and Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 15 (2021).
A continuity note in the issue mistakenly renders Lt. Nick Manolis's name as 'Manous,' a production error documented in the Marvel wiki.