DAREDEVIL #16

Cover shows sharp corners and clean, unworn edges with strong ink and paint colors from the David Mack painted cover; no visible creases, tears, or spine stress in this photo. Slight glare from the protective sleeve limits full assessment of surface sheen, and the back cover/interior were not examined. Based solely on the visible front, this appears to be a high-grade copy consistent with NM/NM+ but is capped conservatively due to single-photo limitations.

Daredevil #16 (Volume 2, June 2001) opens the four-part "Wake Up" storyline, marking the first issue of Daredevil written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by David Mack, who also supplies the painted cover. The arc follows a young boy traumatized after witnessing his father, the villain Leap-Frog, in costume, and folds in a guest appearance by Spider-Man as the narrative device for revisiting Daredevil's history. It arrived after Kevin Smith's and Mack's earlier contributions to the relaunched series and predates Bendis's celebrated ongoing collaboration with Alex Maleev that would begin a few issues later, making this issue the true entry point of Bendis's influential Daredevil tenure.

Market data reflects a low-value modern direct-market book with a large surviving population: census figures show only a modest number of submissions relative to print run, and sales at the top of the grade scale are infrequent. The 9.8 tier trades in the $50-$100 range with some volatility between recent sales and the trailing one-year average, while the 9.6 tier sits close behind it, indicating a relatively flat grade-to-value curve typical of a book valued for its narrative importance rather than scarcity. Demand is driven almost entirely by Bendis and Maleev-era Daredevil collectors and by readers assembling complete Volume 2 runs rather than by broad crossover interest.

This issue collects primarily as a stepping-stone key for Bendis-focused and modern Daredevil collections rather than as a high-dollar investment vehicle. Raw copies in low and mid grades move for nominal sums, often near or slightly above original cover price, since ample high-grade material remains available from the modern print run. Graded 9.8 copies carry a modest premium reflecting long-term interest in the Bendis bibliography, but the overall ceiling remains low compared to true first-appearance keys, and the book is best suited to complete-run collectors and Bendis completists rather than speculative buyers.