My First Superman

Notes from NYCC, including an ACTION COMICS announcement

My first New York Comic Con since 2019 was a batshit busy fandango of signings, meetings, parties and panels where all of the greatest talents in comics came together from around the world to hug each other for the first time in years, celebrate the artform we all love so dearly and of course give each other Covid.

My big announcement coming out of the weekend was that I’m writing Superman for the very first time! Starting in January, I’ll be the writer on ACTION COMICS for a three-issue stint of oversized issues, with art by stellar Supes family vet John Timms.

Cover by John Timms for ACTION COMICS #1061

I’m the first writer up as part of a new promotion DC is calling “Superman Superstars,” which is not a bad blurb to add to the resume. Basically it means that Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been so incredibly kickass writing ACTION COMICS that with him stepping away it takes a platoon of other writers to fill his shoes. Seriously, if you haven’t read his ACTION run, go do that right now. I’ll wait.

I’ve been writing comics professionally for awhile now and in that time I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the biggest, most impactful characters in modern fiction. But getting the chance to write Superman still took my breath away. I found myself feeling intimidated in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. Seriously, I felt so nervous that I did what any new Superman writer would do in that situation: I called Mark Waid for advice. Here’s my quote from the official announcement:

I’ve been writing comics for almost 20 years, and I've certainly enjoyed my share of special moments and exciting projects along the way, but getting to write Superman for the very first time, in the pages of ACTION COMICS no less, the Mother Book, the one that started it all, goes down as one of the absolute most significant honors of my career.

So the amazing John Timms and I are doing our very best to give you a Superman tale full of action and surprises, the most Bizarro of all Bizarro stories, what we hope will be the Worst Bizarro Story Ever Told.

This’ll be a bit darker take on Bizarro, as Superman’s warped doppelganger discovers a power he never knew he had, one he uses to strike at Superman in a whole new way, transforming Metropolis into the City of Bizarro. And while Superman fights to save a city that suddenly despises him, he’s also struggling to hold off the strongest Bizarro of them all, the one raging inside his own mind.

So yeah, come January 2024, I’ll have both Batman and Superman books on the shelves at the same time. Not a bad start to the new year. A year that promises to feature a whole bunch more surprising new projects. Look for more big announcements coming soon.

Here are the January solicits for ACTION COMICS and BATMAN OFF-WORLD:

ACTION COMICS #1061

Written by JASON AARON

Art and cover by JOHN TIMMS

Variant covers by CHRIS BACHALO, KAARE ANDREWS, JORGE JIMENEZ, and JOËLLE JONES

1:25 variant cover by NATHAN SZERDY

1:50 variant cover by PAOLO RIVERA

1:100 variant cover by TOM REILLY

$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 1/9/24

Jason Aaron writes Superman for the very first time, teaming up with all-star artist John Timms to present a startling new vision of the Man of Steel’s strangest foe. When Superman’s doppelgänger discovers a dark secret about himself, it unleashes the most dangerous version of Bizarro the world has ever seen.

BATMAN: OFF-WORLD #3

Written by JASON AARON

Art and cover by DOUG MAHNKE

Variant cover by CHRISTIAN WARD

1:25 variant cover by ALAN QUAH

1:50 variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE

$3.99 US | 32 pages | 3 of 6 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 1/16/24

Batman and his new deep-space allies take the fight directly to the War Storm, a spaceship the size of a city filled with highly trained alien killing machines. Can the young Batman complete his brutal, interstellar quest? Or do other cosmic threats lie in wait? Superstars Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke continue to bring you a Batman tale unlike any other.

Notes & Links & Things & Stuff

—And hey, looks like I’m not the only one making their DC debut. As announced earlier this week, the legend Skottie Young has just drawn his first ever cover for DC Comics, and I’m super happy to see such a monumental, must-own piece of art coming to life as part of BATMAN OFF-WORLD. What a time to be alive! All the details can be found at Skottie’s newsletter, including info on how to order your copies, which are available exclusively from SkottieYoung.com.

—In addition to writing great comics with killer dialogue, like WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE and his current run on WILDCATS, Matthew Rosenberg also writes one of my favorite Substack newsletters. And I recently joined him for an episode of his IDEAS DON’T BLEED podcast full of love and insults, as you would expect whenever a New Yorker and an Alabamian get together.

IDEAS DON'T BLEED episode fifty-seven | Jason Aaron, part one

—Here’s your first look inside the second volume of the THOR omnibus collecting my run, courtesy of Near Mint Condition. In stores next week!

—Here’s a pic from the Superman panel at NYCC. My first ever appearance on a DC panel. Nailed it.

This has been Beard Missives, direct from the gotta-go-its-own-way face of Jason Aaron.

This week’s newsletter has been brought to you by lots and lots of Covid tests.

Be well. Rest up, comics. Love you all.

Jason Aaron

KC, October 20, 2023

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Things To Come

THOR BY JASON AARON Omnibus Vol. 2 — October 24, 2023

ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE END OF THE WORLD #10 — October 25, 2023

BATMAN: OFF-WORLD #1 – November 21, 2023

BATMAN: OFF-WORLD #2 — December 19, 2023

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER – BLACK, WHITE & RED TREASURY EDITION – January 2, 2024

ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE END OF THE WORLD Vol. 2 Trade Paperback – January 3, 2024

ACTION COMICS #1061 — January 9, 2024

BATMAN: OFF-WORLD #3 — January 16, 2024

GHOST RIDER BY JASON AARON Omnibus (New Printing) – April 2, 2024

Where I’ll Be

Thought Bubble Comic Convention, Harrogate Convention Centre, England —November 11-12, 2023

L.A. Comic Con — December 1-3, 2023

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