Marvel Reveals First Look at New Daredevil Series (Exclusive)

A new era of Daredevil is on the way, and ComicBook.com’s exclusive first look suggests it will be different than any other time in Matt Murdock’s life. Hot on the heels of the finale to Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s critically acclaimed Daredevil run, which revealed a surprising new status quo for Matt Murdock, Eisner Award-winning writer Saladin Ahmed (Black Bolt, Miles Morales: Spider-Man) and Aaron Kuder (Ghost Rider, Infinity Countdown) team up to tell the next chapter in Daredevil’s life. That chapter includes a significant career change for Daredevil’s civilian persona as Matt Murdock, previously a practicing lawyer, takes the cloth and becomes a Catholic priest.

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ComicBook.com had the opportunity to ask Ahmed some questions via email about the upcoming Daredevil series. He remained guarded about the plot of the book but did touch on his approach, the themes he’s working with, and his collaboration with Kuder. His answers follow, along with the solicitation information for Daredevil #1, shipping in September, and the lettered preview pages from Marvel.

Jamie Lovett, ComicBook.com: When Marvel announced you were going to be taking over Daredevil, you said you only wanted the job if you thought you could bring something really original and different to Daredevil and Hell’s Kitchen. What can you tell us about the concept behind your take on Daredevil, and what you’re bringing that’s different from what fans have seen before?

Saladin Ahmed: I’m staying pretty mum until the book drops, because we really are trying to keep our cards close to the chest here, waging a sort of uphill battle to actually surprise readers each month when issues hit stands.

I will say that the central conceit I’ve had in my back pocket for a while for a Daredevil run happened to coincide BEAUTIFULLY with where Chip & Marco were headed ending their run.

Your last couple of superhero projects for Marvel were both teen hero books, The Magnificent Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Given that Matt’s an adult, and that Daredevil stories are known for having a darker edge, how drastically different from those recent runs should we expect your Daredevil series to be? Or has your time writing younger heroes influenced your approach to Daredevil in some surprising, unexpected ways?

Yeah, there’s definitely a big tonal shift from writing say, Kamala Khan, to writing Matt. This is a gritty, grown-up book about grown-up problems, more akin to my work on Black Bolt.

That said, I’ve always found grittiness without heart to be cheap and boring. So I’m absolutely aiming to show some light and decency amid all the grisly darkness readers come to Daredevil for.

As mentioned, we know you’re trying to bring something fresh to Daredevil, but there are certain themes that fans have really come to associate with the character: faith, resiliency, and a nearly all-encompassing sense of existential dread, for example. What tried and true Daredevil narrative pillars are you trying to work with, subvert, or circumvent altogether? Which most interests or appeals to you as a writer?

With Matt, there are two seemingly opposite-in-scale poles that I’m particularly interested in.

The first is the social realism that’s part and parcel of the best Daredevil stories. Matt, even more than Peter Parker, is Marvel’s most thoroughly ‘street-level’ character, and telling working-class stories of the streets has always been important to me as a writer.

Then there’s the metaphysical/spiritual, which — though he’s Catholic and I’m Muslim — has long attracted me to Matt as a character. Put simply, I’ve spent a lot of time worrying I’ve disappointed God — and it’s a thrill to get in the head and the soul of one of the few superheroes who’s done the same.

Ultimately, though, I hope this run will show that these different sides to Daredevil’s world aren’t opposite at all, but intertwined.

Aaron Kuder is an interesting choice for Daredevil. He’s a wonderful artist, but he’s not the first to come to mind when you talk about the kind of grounded, shadowy, street-level atmosphere that usually gets associated with Daredevil (aside from when the creators are going deliberately against those expectations, like with Chris Samnee). What should fans expect from the visual atmosphere that you and he are trying to create and how that reflects the overall different take you’re trying to present?

Aaron’s killing it, and while his previous work on Avengers has been excellent, he’s absolutely stretching new muscles here that will surprise people. His Hell’s Kitchen is grounded and human and real without being a cheap caricature of ‘DA STREETS.’ His action scenes have both bone-crunching weight and the sense of acrobatics that’s so crucial to Daredevil. But more than all of that, he brings the sort of narrative chops and world-building skill that help level up the story. Can’t wait for folks to see his pages!

Daredevil #1
JUN231141
(W) Saladin Ahmed (A) Aaron Kuder (CA) John Romita Jr.BORN AGAIN!
The new era of Daredevil starts here! Industry stars SALADIN AHMED and AARON KUDER have laced up and entered the ring, ready to take Matt Murdock on a knockout of an adventure! Where does Elektra fit into all of this? What is the future of Hell’s Kitchen? Romance! Intrigue! And, of course, ACTION! All delivered in the Mighty Marvel Manner!
Rating T+
In Shops: Sep 13, 2023
SRP: $6.99