Kuljit Mithra: Thank you for doing this interview. Before we talk about your work on the DAREDEVIL: BLACK ARMOR series, I wanted to find out more about your background. You've worked on quite a few titles for a lot of different comics companies like IDW, DC, Dark Horse and more. Can you briefly describe your comics journey, your interest in comics, some of your first work, and what it's like to work in the comics industry from Brazil?

Netho Diaz: Yes, my interest in comics started as kid when I saw X-Men books by Joe Mad[ureira], Jim Lee, and Roger Cruz. Then I started collecting Spider-Man for quite a while. I've worked in comics since 2012 (19 year old) when I started with indie comics. Then in 2013 I worked for DC Comics but after a few books, no one wanted to hire me because my work wasn’t ready back then. So I had to step back and study more to improve my skills. After a few minor gigs, I got work at IDW Games that led me to the Dungeons & Dragons series at IDW Publishing. Then GI Joe which I worked for about 3 years. GI Joe helped me a lot! But then they decided to change the artist for the following arc to put the book back on track, so I got something else. I used my pages as samples to get work at Marvel in 2021 but only got their attention in 2022. They gave me Thunderbolts written by Jim Zub, which is fun because Jim tried to work with me at Marvel for a while because we worked together on D&D. So far i’m very thankful to have the chance to work with legendary writers such as DG Chichester, Larry Hama, Ron Marz, Andy Lanning, Greg Pak, Jim Zub, Ed Brisson to quote a few. Hopefully many to come!

Mithra: When the idea of coming onboard this series was presented to you by Marvel, why did they believe you were a good fit for this type of retro story, and what excited you most about it?

Diaz: The editor mentioned my previous work with JP Mayer that had this 90’s feeling and energy. So even though I was doing a more realistic drawing on Predator, I could change my style to be closer of what they had in mind. Which is great because I'm much more comfortable to do that. I was excited to draw Daredevil because he is one of my fave Marvel characters! I love street level stories. I got to finally draw Daredevil, Spider-man, Von Strucker, Sabretooth, Hobgoblin, Mole Man and so many others. DG wrote many fun scenes and his way to tell the story and feel it is very similar to my own, so it was very organic.

Mithra: I interviewed Dan Chichester a few months back and he was very complimentary of your art. He revealed that he wrote the mini "old school", mainly with plotting, you drew it, then he scripted it. Do you prefer this type of method? How detailed were his plots?

Diaz: I worked on GI Joe for years with the "Marvel Way" style of plot done by Larry. I can do both ways. But I believe that way is much more interesting as I have more freedom. He gave me the chance to add or remove panels whenever I want, which helps a lot to achieve the best storytelling possible. We were always discussing the best way to deliver the story.

Mithra: Were there any pages where you drew something in a way he was not expecting (in a positive way) that he reworked his story to accommodate your ideas?

Diaz: Oh yes, I think it may have happened a couple times. For instance, on issue #2, the last panel wasn't supposed to be a splash page. He described 3 pages and let me find a way to break it through 3 pages. So I decided to make the last page a splash page to have a bigger punch to wrap the chapter. Sometimes he writes 8 or 9 panels and I decided to go 12 panels or less just to give a better pacing for what I had in mind. I think it all worked out very well. :)

Mithra: How much research did you do for some of the past stories that happened around this timeframe? Seems like you've had to figure out the main characters, but also all these guest villains as well who had different costumes back then.

Diaz: I went through the FALL OF GRACE story to know a little more about this arc because I was too young when it came out. So even though I knew the armor and some details, I had to go further to be able to catch the essence of it and some characters too.

Mithra: In my opinion, the armored costume has been hit or miss when artists have tried to draw it. I feel like you've been able to show the armor in a powerful way without making the armor seem out of place. What were some of your concerns when trying to draw this costume for the first time?

Diaz: I was too afraid! But the trick is to do it with confidence and try to make it look as cool as possible using shadows and character gestures. I think I wasn’t very comfortable at beginning but as the story moves forward things were easier for me. It’s definitely fun to draw him in action with all those classic villains in their classic costumes. I had some trouble figuring out the shoulders until the last panel. Damn! Those were hard.

Mithra: How would you describe the style you used for this mini? I think I described it as a combination of modern and 90s vibe.

Diaz: Thats a good question. I think I mixed different storytelling techniques with some old school 90’s explosive energy action and full of cross hatching.

Mithra: I also noticed there are many clothing styles, hair styles, etc. that seem to show this is the past, but it's a combination of many time periods. Is that fair to say?

Diaz: I wanted to respect the Romita Jr legacy here. The hair is drawn based on Matt from Romita’s approach. The clothes were just a resource to make the character recognizable. So for Randi, I tried some skirt and bracelets as opposed to pants. For Matt, always a jacket that reminds everyone 90’s comics. Everyone else, as simple as possible.

Mithra: I saw that you did traditional pencil art on boards, which were inked by JP Mayer. Have you done any digital artwork for comics? What do you prefer?

Diaz: Always traditional. Maybe some tweaks here and there but mostly original art on paper! It allows me to make extra money with the original art market.

Mithra: Issue #4 is out this week, so I'm sure you've moved on to your next project(s) already. Anything you can reveal? Return for a Black Armor sequel? Thank you again for your time, I really appreciate it.

Diaz: I believe the Black Armor is out of game for now. Before I wrapped the last issue, Marvel invited me to a full arc of something they have been building up! Gonna have some spotlight but I can’t reveal yet. It might come out in July or something. They work very ahead of time to avoid schedule problems. But I can say that they seem to be happy with our work on DD, because they wanted to keep me and JP together. But, I’d definitely love to be back for another run with DG on DD. One of the best moments of my career so far. Great partnership. Great characters. Great action. Great story. I hope you all enjoy the last chapter! We did put all our heart and energy to make this a great story for Daredevil fans and comic fans in general. Thank you all for the support! Its been a wild ride.