Marvel Offers Free ‘Daredevil’ #1 Audiobook Featuring Mark Waid

As we discussed in a recent piece on Barbara Gordon, the mobility-impaired hero known as Oracle, the representation of disabled persons is an often overlooked component of fiction not just because it's important for readers in wheelchairs or in any number of situations see themselves depicted respectfully in the media, but also because it's important for people who don't live under such conditions to be mindful of the diversity of our society. Along those lines, the Marvel Comics superhero Daredevil serves an important function beyond merely entertaining us with decades of classic superhero adventure and gritty noir action: the masked crime fighter also known as Matt Murdock is one of the few mainstream comic book characters who lives with a disability - in Daredevil's case, blindness.

Because comic books are an explicitly visual medium of storytelling, it might surprise you to learn that Daredevil enjoys a dedicated audience of visually-impaired fans. To that end, the editorial staffers of Marvel Comics collaborated on an audiobook version of the just released Daredevil #1, which includes panel descriptions narrated by writer Mark Waid.In the introduction to the recording, Daredevil editor Stephen Wacker explained that Marvel fans who are blind have written the company letters explaining that they keep up with the adventures of their favorite heroes by having friends read the comics aloud to them every single week. In honor of those fans, Wacker assembled a team of Marvel editors and staff to create the audiobook version of Daredevil #1. Besides offering a person who can't see a new way to enjoy the book -- which has been praised as one of the best releases of the year -- the Daredevil #1 audio version gives readers a new dimension of the work, as it includes the typically unpublished panel descriptions from Mark Waid's script, read aloud by the writer himself.

You can download the Daredevil #1 audiobook for free from Marvel.com right now.

Mark Waid - Panel descriptions

Associate Editor Tom Brennan - Daredevil/Matt Murdock

Assistant Editor Ellie Pyle - Kirsten McDuffie

Assistant Editor Jordan White - Foggy Nelson/others

Editor Stephen Wacker - background voices

Marvel.com Associate Editor Ben Morse - Mark Waid

The recording was directed by Ben Morse, engineered by Marvel.com Video Editor Todd Wahnish, and edited by Jordan White.

Daredevil #1 is on sale now in comics shops everywhere and can also be purchased online from Things From Another World.