New Stuff to Talk About in New York
Notes on a madcap summer & a fall full of shiny new things
Hi. Been a while. Since we last talked, I went to four conventions, two store signings, and a Disney cruise, and in the midst of all that, I decided it’d be a great time to up and move. I didn’t move far, from one corner of the wilds of Kansas to another. But it turns out, after decades spent being a nerd who holds onto most everything…I have a lot of stuff. And longboxes are rather heavy. So I’m still recovering and sorting books in my new basement office. But next week I will climb out from under these piles of boxes and head to New York Comic Con to talk TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES and preview ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN and announce a Great Big Brand New Shiny Fun Thing. So let’s cut right to my NYCC schedule:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16:
As part of the con’s new “Retailer Day,” I’ll be announcing a brand new series at a Lunar event that’s for retailers only. Look for the announcement to go wide soon after. I’ll be making this announcement alongside my amazing collaborator from CONAN THE BARBARIAN and KING CONAN, the incredible Mahmud Asrar.
The rest of the week, be sure to come and find me and Mahmud on the show floor, as we’ll both have copies of a limited-edition, full-color ashcan previewing the first issue of our new series. This ashcan features a huge chunk of the debut issue, along with Mahmud’s eye-popping character designs, and a special prose story I wrote, the first prose I’ve written in decades. And that prose story is something that’ll be exclusive to this ashcan and not reprinted in the debut issue or the trade.
I’ll be posting a lot more about this new series as soon as I can next week. It’s something Mahmud and I have been working on for a long time, and it’s an idea that’s been percolating in my head since I was a kid, running around the woods of Alabama.
THURSDAY, OCTBER 17:
11:30am-2:00pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
4:00-6:00pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18:
12:30-2:00pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
2:15-3:15pm — IDW Publishing: The Next 25 Years panel, Room 1C03
From groundbreaking horror to epic fantasy, the award-winning publisher is celebrating 25 years of innovative storytelling… but what comes next? Fans at NYCC will be the first to discover IDW Publishing’s unprecedented plans for 2025 and beyond. Once these secret comics emerge from the shadows, shivers will be sent down spines, and the entire comic book industry will be talking about IDW’s upcoming releases.
4:00-5:15pm — DC’s Absolute/All In Universes panel, Room 406.2
Join Al Ewing (Absolute Green Lantern), Clayton Henry (Action Comics), Dan Mora (Superman, Justice League Unlimited), Daniel Sampere (Wonder Woman), Hayden Sherman (Absolute Wonder Woman), Jason Aaron (Absolute Superman), Jeff Lemire (JSA, Absolute Flash), Jeremy Adams (Green Lantern), Joshua Williamson (Superman), Nick Dragotta (Absolute Batman), Nick Robles (Absolute Flash), Ram V. (The New Gods), Scott Snyder (Absolute Batman), Tom King (Wonder Woman), and more, in an oversized can’t-miss NYCC panel that dives deep into DC Comics’ new 2024 “All In” comics initiative and looks toward what’s coming up in 2025!
5:30-7:00pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19:
12:30-3:00pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
3:15-4:15pm — The George Lucas Talk Show, Room 406.2
A show for Star Wars fans and non-fans alike comes to NYCC! Comedian Connor Ratliff ("Dead Eyes", "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel") appears as George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, and interviews guests.
Guests: Patrick Cotnoir, Connor Ratliff, Griffin Newman, Jeffrey Brown, Zach Cherry, Jason Aaron
4:30-7:00pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20:
11:00am-12:00pm — Image Comics Presents: Breaking Ground panel, Room 406.2
Join Jason Aaron (The Goddamned, new announcement), Mahmud Asrar (new announcement), Charles Soule (Eight Billion Genies, new announcement), Ryan Browne (Eight Billion Genies, new announcement), Pornsak Pichetshote (The Horizon Experiment), and Paul Azaceta (Outcast With Robert Kirkman & Paul Azaceta, new announcement) for some special announcements of upcoming projects, and a conversation about genre, storytelling, industry secrets, and tricks-of-the-trade. Moderator: Jim Viscardi, VP of Business Development at Image Comics
12:30-3:30pm — Signing at Comic Sketch Art, Booth H-42
There we go. If you’re there, please come say hi. And procure your copy of the ashcan of the Big Crazy New Thing. DC will also have copies of an Absolute ashcan on hand, previewing both ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 and ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1, so I’m sure those will be a hot commodity.
And speaking of my new SUPERMAN series…
Final Orders are Due Monday for ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1
Monday’s your last chance to make sure you pre-order your copy of ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1 with your local comic shop. Last week’s ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 instantly sold out of both its first printing and yet-to-be-released second printing and is already headed to a third, and ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 is looking red hot as well a couple weeks before it hits stores, so don’t get left in the dust on this wild new version of Superman, featuring gorgeous art by Rafa Sandoval.
As a kid who was first drawn into comics in large part because of Superman and grew into a comic writer who has lived in Kansas for almost twenty years, this series means a lot to me. I’m pouring as much action and heart and heart-breaking surprises into it as I can, issue after issue.
My goal is basically to make this series mean for my time at DC what THOR meant for my time at Marvel.
In other words, I’m in for the long haul and aiming to build something that’s as grand and epic as possible, while also digging deep into the grit and the marrow of this character and seeing how he responds to being punched in the gut as never before by an array of frightening forces, some you might expect, some you won’t.
If you’re looking for more of my thoughts on the series, and a few tidbits I tease here and there, I’ve been making the rounds on interviews lately:
Jason Aaron Teases ‘Absolute Superman’: “The Core Of Superman Is Always The Heart” — Comic Book Club
Jason Aaron Talks Absolute Superman, Building A New Version of A Beloved DC Comics Hero — Comic Frontier
Absolute Superman’s Jason Aaron Clears up All In Confusion, Teases Big Changes For the Iconic Character — ComicBook
And here’s a great piece from David Harper at SKTCHD about Rafa Sandoval’s design process for this new Superman’s look, including the story of the contributions of Rafael Albuquerque:
The Design of Absolute DC: Rafa Sandoval on Coming to the Rescue on Absolute Superman — SKTCHD
Notes & Links & Things & Stuff
—Just a reminder that TMNT #3 is coming your way October 23, featuring utterly stunning art and colors by the great Cliff Chiang. Leonardo goes on a spiritual quest, along the banks of the Ganges River. It all goes splendidly, as you can guess.
Then TMNT #4 is coming November 27th featuring the gorgeously gritty artwork of Chris Burnham, picking up Donnie’s story from where we last saw him in the TMNT ALPHA issue. There’s a black and white preview over at ComicBook.com.
—Thanks so much for the great response to my dark new exploration of Marvel’s undersea world in NAMOR, with the incredible art team of Paul Davidson and Alex Lins. Issue #4 hits shelves October 30, and here’s the cover for issue #5 by Alexander Lozano that sees World War Sea kick into high gear, as seven would-be kings do battle to rule Atlantis. The only thing all seven can agree on is that none of them want to see Namor ever sit the throne again. Namor himself wouldn’t argue that either.
—In 2025, I’ll be returning to the world of STAR WARS for a special one-shot celebrating the tenth anniversary of Marvel’s landmark, million-selling STAR WARS #1 and the incredible legacy of Star Wars comics and new characters that followed. My story focuses on Scar Squadron, the cadre of badass Stormtroopers I created with Jorge Molina. It’s great to also see Sana Starros involved, as she’s probably my favorite of the original characters I got to add to the Star Wars galaxy. Sana was co-created with the legendary artist, John Cassaday, who unfortunately passed away just recently. John brought so much passion and so many iconic images to that first arc of STAR WARS. Working with him on that series will forever be one of the proudest moment of my career. R.I.P Cass.
—This pretty new baby showed up at the house just recently. It features loads of never-before-seen back matter, and I’m super happy with how it turned out. If you wanna read SCALPED, this is the way you oughtta read it. It’ll be coming to stores November 12. Poker chip not included. That’s a little something I stole from the set of the SCALPED pilot years ago.
This has been Beard Missives, direct from the recently relocated face of Jason Aaron.
This week’s newsletter has been brought to you by Ibuprofen.
Cheers. Be loved.
Jason Aaron
KC, October 13, 2024
Books Mentioned in This Post That You Can Buy Right Now
STAR WARS Vol. 1: SKYWALKER STRIKES
“The perfect Star Wars comic.” — ComicBook.com
STAR WARS and others collections and comics are available right now from my online store.
Things to Come
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #3 — October 23, 2024
NAMOR #4 — October 30, 2024
SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #5 — October 30, 2024
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1 — November 6, 2024
PUNISHER MAX BY AARON AND DILLON OMNIBUS (New Printing) — November 6, 2024
SCALPED Omnibus Vol. 1 — November 12, 2024
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #4 — November 27, 2024
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #2 — December 4, 2024
EC COMICS SHIVER SUSPENSE STORIES — December 11, 2024
SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #6 — December 11, 2024
NAMOR #5 — December 18, 2024
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #5 — December 18, 2024
BRZRKR BLOODLINES Vol. 2 Trade Paperback — December 18, 2024
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER BLACK WHITE & RED Trade Paperback — December 25, 2024
NAMOR #6 — January 8, 2025
AVENGERS FOREVER BY JASON AARON OMNIBUS — March 5, 2025
UNCLE SCROOGE & THE INFINITY DIME GALLERY EDITION — March 19, 2025
WOLVERINE BY JASON AARON OMNIBUS Vol. 1 — April 16, 2025
Where I’ll Be
New York Comic Con — October 17-20, 2024
Ashcan me, baby
Oh man, as a George Lucas Talk Show fan, I wish I was gonna be there to see you!