Superhero of the Month: Josh Montreuil's Daredevil

Congratulations to Josh Montreuil, winner of August's Daredevil competition! Josh edged out the competition and will have a spot in our Superhero of the Year showdown this December!

Judging this competition was Alex from the Superhero of the Month staff, and special guest judge Shelby Peterson, editor and designer for (the fantastic!) website Retcon Punch! Below are our thoughts on the Top Six. Enjoy!

Josh Montreuil - 17/20

Alex (7): I actually really enjoy Daredevil designs that utilize the yellow he originally wore, so this racked up quite a few points for the nice blend of yellow, red and black. Unfortunately for me, I feel like this is more of a strict Year One-style design, and not something that would carry over years later. But if someone pitched me this as an origin concept, I'd be sold.

Shelby (10): This was definitely my favorite submission. It's functional and believable (assuming Daredevil is a real person), and it calls back to his roots with the boxing gear in a way I really like. Plus, it just looks good!

Check out the full article for the rest of the Top Six!

Yifan Jiang - 16/20

Shelby (7): I was on the fence about this one. As far as functionality for a superhero costume goes, this one is one of the best. It's clean and straightforward, but I don't find it super interesting to look at.

Alex (9): This is more of what I'd imagine as an ongoing redesign. The only thing that cost a point here was that stark red chest. I really enjoy the bright red here, but the black is so nicely broken up elsewhere that there in the middle is just stands out so much, drawing the eye away from the other, more intricate details. A little separation, and this is a solid 10.

David Karrow - 16/20

Alex (9): Here, the solid red chest doesn't bother me since the hue is so much darker. It doesn't distract in the same way. However, the colors are so dark that I don't think I could really tell there was both red and black used when I first looked at the image. It was only when I switched screens later that I noticed that deep red/black separation. I think a light brightening of that red would make this a 10. I have to say, though, we picked up a lot of "eyeless" Daredevils, and I think this was the one that executed it best.

Shelby (7): I love the covered eyes on this one. What's more intimidating than someone who can kick your butt and totally out-acrobat you with a blind-fold on?

Craig Payne - 16/20

Shelby (7): I like the simplistic approach to this one, but I'm not crazy about the all yellow sleeves and boots. I think using yellow as an accent would have been a stronger choice.

Alex (8): The yellow actually really works for me. They look armored, so I can buy the glove length. I also think they'd work in the same way as Batman's oval chest symbol; they're so bright in comparison to the rest of the suit, that they'd draw your attention to them rather than the super dark bodysuit in an ill-lit fight.

Dimitrios Kasdaglis - 15/20

Alex (9): I'm not wild about the helmet, but I like the use of the dark and lighter reds. It's sort of a perfect amalgamation that rectifies earlier concerns with the reds being too light or too dark. The helmet, in silhouette, would look too much like Batman with the horns pointing backwards, like ears, I think .

Shelby (6): I really don't like the helmet on this one; it looks too much like virtual reality headgear from a 90s movie about the future.

Thomas Branch - 15/20

Shelby (8): I know the sash isn't really very functional, but I love the idea of Daredevil as warrior monk. This is intimidating without being overly aggressive, which is how I prefer to envision the character.

Alex (7): The sash kind of kills it for me. It just seems non-functional unlike, say, Batman's cape. Also, with the placement of that logo, it falls right over the lower half. I do really like the bandaged arms, though, I think that's a very cool look for the character.

There we have it! Thanks to everyone who participated in this month's contest! As you can see, we had six contestants separated by only a maximum of a couple of points, so this was another really close contest.

Stay tuned for our Savage Dragon contest. Check out the Calendar for details on our upcoming contests, including Raven in October, and our first-ever Superhero Redux in November!