Hey Jekyll, below is a list of major Daredevil appearances that I put together some time ago for Matt_Murdock. The list only focuses on Matt's appearances during Daredevil #1-380 (Vol. 1, 1964). I also detailed where they should be read between the Daredevil comics. Please note that some appear in the various Daredevil Epic Collections and Daredevil Marvel Masterworks.
Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #39-40 (Jun-Jul 1965) – DD and FF team up against Doctor Doom. Why this is not included in any Daredevil Collected Edition such as the DD Epic Collection Vol. 1 or DD Omnibus Vol. 1 beats me. DD and FF both play more or less equal roles in these 2 issues. I have these issues in both Best of Fantastic Four Vol. 1 OHC and the Fantastic Four Vol. 1 Omnibus.
Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #73
Iron Man #35-36 (Mar-Apr 1971) [DD #73 before IM #36]
Avengers #110-111 (Apr-May 1973) [DD #99 before A #111]
Marvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974) [after DD #109]
Defenders #24-25 (Jun-Jul 1975). Daredevil and the Defenders fight the Sons of the Serpent. This is further referenced in Waid’s Daredevil run - Javier Rodriguez in one panel draws a tribute to the cover of issue #24. [probably before DD #124]
Ghost Rider #20 (Oct 1976) [after DD #138]
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man (PPSSM) #26-28 (Jan-Mar 1979). Not a spectacular story, but interesting from the perspective of issue #27 being Frank Miller’s first work on Daredevil. [probably after DD #157]
Mavel Team-Up Annual #4 (1981) – Mega team-up of Spider-Man, Daredevil, Power Man, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing and Moon Knight. The villains: Kingpin and Purple Man. Perfect for the Netflix series. Script and cover by Frank Miller. I purchased the floppy as I couldn’t find it in any DD collected edition. [probably before DD #168 or 183?]
Power Man & Iron Fist #77 (Jan 1982) – [after DD #178]
Marvel Team-Up #140-141 (Apr-May 1984). Issue #140 is titled Spider-Man and Black Widow but Matt also appears and we all know how relevant Black Widow is to DD’s history. Issue #141 has the rare occurrence of DD “beating” Spider-Man. I managed to purchase the 2 floppies before #141 shot up in price due to the first appearance of Spidey’s black costume. [probably after DD#205]
The Sin-Eater/Death of Jean DeWolff storyline in
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #107-110 (Oct 1985-Jan 1986). Daredevil plays a crucial role teaming up with and “fighting” Spidey but more importantly trying to calm Spidey down from going too far in taking revenge. I initially picked up #110 but ended up acquiring The Death of Jean DeWolff PHC for the complete story. [after DD #226]
Marvel Fanfare #27 (Jul 1986) [after DD #203]
Amazing Spider-Man #284-286 Gang War [after DD #241]
In between Volume 1 (1964) and Volume 2 (1998), I also read the
Nighthawk 3-issue mini-series which has Daredevil in a major co-starring role. Written by Jim Krueger and art by Richard Case & Bob Wiacek. This was in continuity and although it was mainly focused on Nighthawk, it picked up on a theme dropped by Ann Nocenti during Daredevil’s stint in hell and his confrontation with Mephisto. A pretty good story and well worth reading, in particular for Daredevil fans.
The following are of lesser importance:
Incredible Hulk #151-152 (Jun-Jul 1972). Matt defends the Hulk in court.
Marvel Team-Up #25 (Sep 1974) [after DD#112],
#56 (Apr 1977) [after #144],
#73 (Sep 1978)[after DD #154] and
#123 (Nov 1982 [before DD #183]). I have all these issues but they are nothing to write home about. Average stories with DD/Spidey villains such as The Unholy Trio, Electro and The Owl.
Defenders: Giant Size #3 (Jan 1975)[before DD #119],
#89-91 (Nov 1980–Jan 1981),
#104-107 (Feb-Jun 1982). Daredevil teams up with the Defenders. I would say worthwhile if you’re a big DD fan but not imperative to the regular Daredevil ongoing as far as I remember.
Marvel Two-in-One #37-39 (Apr-May 1978) [before #152].
Captain America #234-236 (Jun-Aug 1979)[after DD #157],
#374-376 (Aug-Sep 1990). Daredevil teams up with Cap. In the latter issues (Streets of Poison) there are appearances by DD costars Kingpin, Black Widow, Bullseye and Typhoid Mary.
Avengers #190-191 (Dec 1979-Jan 1980). DD teams up with the Avengers against the Grey Gargole. [after DD #167]
Moon Knight #13 (Nov 1981)[before DD #183]