Daredevil #14 Review

It's difficult for comic book creators these days to create new characters since there are so many character who already have elaborate back-stories and fascinating mythologies. However, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee have not been afraid to go that route during their time on Daredevil. They've already create a nice foil for Matt Murdock in Kirsten McDuffie. Daredevil #14 give readers the introduction (in story chronology) of Jubula Pride, the daughter of criminal and Daredevil foe The Owl.  

  Dedicated readers of Daredevil have already gotten a glimpse of Jubula Pride during the Daredevil #1.5 issue from April of 2014, but that was during a story told from the future. So by that point Daredevil and Jubula have a lot of history. That makes the introduction of her in Daredevil #14 her first appearance in story chronology, so this makes it the first meeting for Matt Murdock and Jubula. She is already a capable figher, but she strikes a tentative alliance with Daredevil to search for The Owl. They find him, but it's hard for them to make out exactly what is happening with him.   The introduction of Jubula is nicely handled, and her look is pretty interesting. The closest costume comparison is Darkhawk (who isn't seen all that much in Marvel). Her motivations are unspoken, so there isn't all that much yet to her character. However, her actions are bold and the look at her future with Matt Murdock in Daredevil #1.5 gives a sense that she will become an important character.     The other major development in Daredevil #14 is that Matt Murdock decides to sever the duality between Matt Murdock and Daredevil in multiple ways. Since he has been publically revealed as Daredevil for quite some time, Kirsten's father (who is publishing Matt's autobiography) asks him why he still wears a mask. It's a good question, which goes all that way back to Fantastic Four #1, and Matt admits that there is not good reason to do it any longer. So he decides to not only lose the mask but alters his costume altogether in a red three-piece suit. It's... not exactly a good look, but I think that's intentional from Samnee.   So there is a lot happening in one issue, and some of it has been brewing for a while, but this is still a decent jumping on point for those preparing for the Daredevil Netflix show. The Matt Murdock we will sees there will probably be quite different from the one in this comic. That Daredevil will be closer to classic origin DD. However, of note is that there is an actor playing Leland Owsley in the series, which means that he may (probably will) become The Owl at some point, if not in the first season, then perhaps in a second, assuming there is one. Even The Owl in the current Daredevil is quite different. He's no longer just a crook, he now has some sort of electronic interface power (more useful that it sounds). In Daredevil #14, there are only a handful of panels of The Owl, but they are still pretty impactful.     Samnee gets to do some fun things in Daredevil #14 -- he shows us the original Jubula Pride and he reveals the new Daredevil duds (I mean that somewhat literally). Samnee doesn't go conservative in either case. I doubt that Matt will be without his trademark costume for too long, but the red threepiece is a daring ensemble. Colorist Matthew Wilson continues to do outstanding work on this series, too. The darks, of which there are many in this issue, are textured and deep, rather than just dark blotches.   Daredevil #14 is yet another fun, intelligent and fast-paced issue of the series. With Waid being announced as the writer of the post-Secret Wars Avengers series, I hope that he gets to keep writing Daredevil as well, as he has been very good on it, along with his cohort, Samnee. With the sort of introduction of Jubula Pride, things are not slowing down, either.