FOLSOM, Calif. — One Northern California mayor will be tuned in to “Echo,” a Disney+ original series now streaming, as he anticipates the return of his fan-favorite Marvel character.
Daredevil is expected to appear in at least one of five episodes of “Echo,” which follows the morally gray Maya Lopez being pursued by a criminal kingpin. In a Marvel Studios first, the show will release the entire season in a single drop.
Folsom Mayor Mike Kozlowski said he owns all but 24 issues of over 800 Daredevil comic books.
Kozlowski, 55, is an avid comic book collector. He owns roughly 4,000 comic books, including almost every issue of popular Marvel characters Daredevil, Hawkeye and Black Widow.
Kozlowski said Daredevil, also known as Matt Murdock, is his favorite superhero. Murdock’s abilities include heightened sight, smell, taste and touch, which he acquired after being blinded by a radioactive liquid as a child. The mayor likes the darker tone of the character's storylines.
“He’s the Batman of the Marvel universe,” Kozlowski said.
Daredevil often crosses paths with Echo in the comics. Echo, who is deaf, Native and Latin American, first appeared in the greater Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) in the second episode of 2021’s “Hawkeye,” also on Disney+.
As a fan of both Hawkeye and Daredevil comics, Kozlowski said he has a grievance with how Echo was introduced to the MCU.
“I'm a little annoyed that she was introduced in the Hawkeye show,” Kozlowski said. “Echo is a character that was introduced in Daredevil originally.”
Kozlowski owns the Daredevil issue where Echo first appeared: Daredevil Vol. 2 #9, released in May 1999.
“She can see him, he can hear her. They initially fight and end up teaming to do things,” he said.
Kozlowski and Daredevil: To be continued…
Kozlowski said roughly three-fourths of his comic collection is Marvel. He began intentionally collecting comics roughly 15 years ago, but the collection started when he was around 12 years old.
“I did not have a goal to read them all then, only after being an adult and having a disposable income did I go back and get them,” he said.
In addition to serving as Folsom’s mayor, Kozlowski is an architect and was drawn to the profession because he gets to be creative. He said the graphics included in Daredevil comics and others are a really creative, fascinating way to tell a story.
The other quarter of his 4,000-comic collection is made up of other companies’ products.
“The rest is a mixed bag of DC, Image and others,” Kozlowski said. “Randomly, I have almost every issue of DC comics (with) a character called the ‘Human Target.’”
Kozlowski doesn’t own Daredevil #1, released in 1964.
“If money were no object, I’d buy #1,” he said.
In average condition, the issue ranges from $4,000 to $12,000.
He owns a copy of Daredevil #3 and everything after Daredevil #171, released in 1981. Any of the 24 issues he’s missing came out between 1964 and 1981.
He also owns the iconic issue featuring the death of Elektra, a cold-blooded assassin, which came out in April 1982. He said the storyline is his favorite.
The death of Elektra is a plot revisited in 2003’s “Daredevil” movie starring Ben Affleck as Daredevil and Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios. Garner’s Elektra is expected to return in some capacity in “Deadpool 3" releasing July 26, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kozlowski is a fan of 2003’s “Daredevil,” but he has some criticisms. Namely, he said Daredevil’s plot lines are dark, but the character himself is rather charming.
“I liked it. I didn’t think Ben Affleck was a great choice for Matt Murdock,” he said. “Matt is more charming (of a) character than Ben played him.”
But he thinks Charlie Cox, who played Daredevil in three seasons of “Daredevil” on Netflix and appears in a variety of Marvel Studios properties, is great.
“The Netflix show is really, really good,” Kozlowski said. “The couple cameos in She-Hulk are terrific.”
Cox’s Daredevil is the version expected to appear in “Echo” Tuesday.
Kozlowski said he’s excited for Daredevil to be revisited in “Daredevil: Born Again,” an upcoming Disney+ exclusive.
The mayor shops locally
New Daredevil comics come out Wednesdays. Kozlowski visits A-1 Comics on East Bidwell Street in Folsom weekly to pick them up.
A-1 Comics in Folsom said when the mayor arrives, he greets everyone, peruses the comic wall and picks out a Daredevil.
Sometimes, he will sift through the “back issues,” or older comic releases no longer published as new issues, and purchase key specials, the store said.
“He has artists he likes and doesn’t like,” A-1 Comics told ABC10. “He knows his stuff. We have a good rapport talking about comics.”
One staff member said they didn’t even know “Mike” was the mayor until they saw him on campaign signs around town during election season.
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