NETFLIX DAREDEVIL: THE COSTUME

For at the least the start of Marvel's upcoming Daredevil Netflix series, Daredevil will be wearing an all-black costume, a choice made early in the show's development.

"We had to come up with a logic for it," said Joe Quesada, Marvel's chief creative officer and a former Daredevil artist. "It was a delicate balance, because the stories we're telling are so real-world. Matt starts out in a homemade outfit that develops slowly. As he starts getting the crap kicked out of him on the streets, he adds padding little by little."

"We couldn't just come out of the box with a guy running around in a red devil costume," said Jeph Loeb, executive producer and Marvel's television head. "We needed to be able to make sure that it looked not like a costume, but a uniform."

Stephanie Maslansky is the show's costume designer.

"There was definitely a history and mythology that needed to be adhered to, but it also had to seem authentic," Maslansky said. "It needed to be made of things that anyone could buy on the street, on the Internet or in an army-navy store. We wanted something that looked militaristic and functional, but also dramatic and sexy. It was really tricky to make it both be practical and look, as Joe Quesada likes to say, 'really bad-ass.'"

Executive producer and showrunner Steven S. DeKnight said that fans will recognize the influence of Frank Miller's Man Without Fear, an early incarnation of Daredevil, in the spare black suit at which they arrived.

"He always wore a black mask that was tied in the back," DeKnight said. "We went through a lot of different versions and did a lot of R&D before settling on something. If you watch very closely, you'll see the outfit evolve subtly into what we call the black ninja suit. The mask changes. He starts wearing protective pads. Eventually it morphs into the classic suit, because he wouldn't be Daredevil without it. Getting there is part of the fun.

"The idea was to back the story up to the point before Matt is Daredevil. Then we could take him to a place where some version of the red suit works in a grounded world. The solution is very exciting and makes complete sense."

Daredevil will be available on Netflix on April 10.

DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and four- to six-page previews of DC Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, March 18, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Batgirl: Endgame #1, Batwoman #40, Green Lantern: New Guardians #40 and Red Hood and the Outlaws #40.

BRIEFLY

ULTRON POSTER: Marvel has released another character poster from Avengers: Age of Ultron. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

S.H.I.E.L.D. CLIP: For a clip from the "One of Us" episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiering Tuesday, March 17 on ABC, CLICK HERE.

DEAD CLIP: For a clip from the "Try" episode of The Walking Dead premiering Sunday, March 22 on AMC, CLICK HERE.

VERY BRIEFLY: Oni Press has promoted Charlie Chu to senior editor, Robin Herrera to editor and Ari Yarwood to associate editor. ... Valiant Entertainment has announced a third printing for Divinity #1, to be in stores on April 22.

MAY 2015 SOLICITATIONS

Below are solicitations posted so far for May. Click on the publisher's name for the full listings.

* Action Lab Entertainment.

* Archie Comics.

* Aspen Comics.

* Bongo Comics.

* BOOM! Studios.

* Dark Horse Comics.

* DC Comics.

* IDW Publishing.

* Image Comics.

* Marvel Comics.

* Oni Press.

* Valiant Entertainment.

* Zenescope Entertainment.

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