Over the course of his career, Daredevil has squared off with some of the Marvel Universe's most brutal, capable and powerful fighters. So, the blind vigilante-lawyer knows how to take a beating, but he always finds a way to get back on his feet. What happens, though, when he suffers an injury that shatters both his body and his will? How does he pull himself back together? And can he still be the same Man Without Fear he used to be?

These are some of the driving questions behind writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Marco Checchetto's brand new volume of Daredevil, which begins in February. Their opening arc tackles the fallout of the recent “Death of Daredevil” arc, which concluded the series' previous volume, where Matt Murdock suffered a near-death experience that made him reexamine his motivations for being Daredevil.

Zdarsky and Checchetto spoke exclusively with CBR about their plans for Daredevil, how Matt Murdock's archenemy, Wilson Fisk, figures into those plans and their love for street-level Marvel heroes.

CBR: Chip, you're moving from Spider-Man to Daredevil, and one of my favorite recent works by you was a Star-Lord series that brought Peter Quill down to the street level. That suggests to me you have an affinity for Marvel's Manhattan-based urban vigilantes. What is it about these characters that make them so appealing to write?

Chip Zdarsky: It’s the humanity of them. Daredevil especially feels like a character you can explore more through a lens of reality than, say, the Fantastic Four, or even Spider-Man. He’s the most human and complex of the Marvel characters, I find.

Marco, I discovered you and became and became a fan via the work you did with the Punisher and Daredevil years ago. In recent years you've done sci-fi tales with your Star Wars work,and post apocalyptic/dystopian ones with Old Man Hawkeye. So, what's it like to return to a street-level comic like Daredevil?

Marco Checchetto: Thanks a lot. I’m very happy. The street-level characters like Spider-Man, Daredevil and Punisher are my favorites to draw. Drawing these characters makes me forget that it’s a job, even if my approach is still professional. I know them very well, I have my favorite runs and I have a very clear idea of how I would like to draw these heroes.

Your run begins with Daredevil getting back up from a brutal near-death experience and dealing with some realizations about the cyclical nature of what he does. What did that mean for your approach to the character? What kind of storytelling opportunities did your predecessor, Charles Soule, give you by ending his run with "The Death of Daredevil?"

Zdarsky: Charles left him pretty broken physically, and while [writer] Jed [MacKay] got him back up and running in [the currently unfolding] Man Without Fear [miniseries], there are repercussions to what he just went through.

I had lunch with Charles early on in the planning, and I made a joke about how the previous Daredevil writers always try to fuck over the incoming writers with cliffhangers. That’s when he told me he was “killing” Daredevil, and I immediately regretted making my joke.

Daredevil can be grim, moody and brooding, but he also has a swashbuckling side where he clearly loves what he's doing. Will we see that side of him in your run? What's your sense of the character when you pick up with him?

Zdarsky: It’s like he’s been in a cage for weeks, but is he ready to be let out?

We’re going all in on what violence does to a person, to a world, and how Matt reconciles that with his beliefs. He’s incredibly complicated and I’m doing my best to do a deep dive into his psyche.

NEXT PAGE: Wilson Fisk Will Still be a Major Part of Daredevil's Life

Checchetto: I’m a guy who smiles and laughs a lot, but I love drawing sad people. Matt is one of the most complicated and multifaceted Marvel characters. Luckily, Chip's script gives me the opportunity to explore Matt's romantic, angry, sad side.

For Daredevil, I'm playing a lot with shadows and silhouettes to accentuate his darkness. For Matt, I was inspired by the young Robert Redford of The Three Days of the Condor. I opted for his old black glasses and I changed his way of dressing. So, he's less like a lawyer at any moment of his life. [Laughs] I made some variations to the costume of Daredevil to make it visually a bit more realistic, but without distorting it, and I'm trying to curate every little detail.

Matt's archenemy, Wilson Fisk, has been an integral part of Daredevil for decades, but he's an even larger presence now that he's the Mayor of New York City. What can you tell us about your plans for the former Kingpin of Crime?

Zdarsky: Fisk as mayor is too great a piece to not play with, but I have him on his own journey right now. He’s asking himself what he wants, what his future is going to be. And that has less and less to do with Daredevil, but it has everything to do with the Daredevil book.

Checchetto: As soon as I read the first scene of Mayor Fisk, I immediately asked myself: “How do I approach him graphically?” I immediately answered with a "let's take a step back!" In recent years he has always been portrayed in a realistic way, sometimes even too much like Vincent D'Onofrio (whom I loved on the TV series), but for me the real Kingpin is a huge beast with a small head, like the one drawn by John Romita Jr. John is definitely my favorite artist, ever. As a kid, I loved his Spider-Man and his Daredevil work. Each of his books was a joy to me. Hey, John, if you are reading… I love you! [Laughs]

Marco, what else can you tell us about your artistic approach to this book?

Checchetto: I'm really working on this series with my heart, thanks to Chip’s story and the help of my editors, Devin and Lauren. I'm referring to the atmospheres of the Miller/Mazzucchelli/Nocenti/Romita/Quesada years.

Zdarsky: Marco has just leveled up on this book. His pages are just gorgeous, and he clearly has a passion for the characters. And for the coloring, we wanted to make sure we had someone who brought a palette that could marry the muted street level with the vibrancy of Daredevil, and Sunny Gho was the perfect fit. My jaw drops when final pages come in.

Finally, Daredevil is a character known for some impressive and lengthy creative team runs. So how extensive are your plans for Matt Murdock? What does the new year hold for Daredevil?

Zdarsky: There will be a question with a shifting answer through the first year: Who is the bad guy?

If I can manage it, I’ll stay on this book forever.

And I want each issue to be a surprise. I want people to experience this like each issue is a chapter in a novel. You just have to go in blind, so to speak. This is the only online interview I’m doing for the first arc, as I want the book to speak for itself.