The World's Last Great Love Story Comes to an End
Notes on a big ending & a whole bunch of new beginnings.
Hi. Things have been rather busy here at the home office in the wind-swept wilds of Kansas. It’s shaping up to be an especially busy year of travel and big launches.
But let’s start by talking about an important finale.
ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE END OF THE WORLD #15 is in stores today, presenting the searing conclusion to Maceo and Mezzy’s epic story of love in a time of ruin, a story unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of before.
I can say without a doubt that this final issue is one of the most profoundly gorgeous and emotionally resonate comic books I’ve ever had the privilege of putting my name on.
Everyone involved really stuck the fucking landing, and that includes all three of our amazing art teams: Alexandre Tefenkgi and Lee Loughridge on the flashbacks to a couple of cute, lost kids who fell in love in the wasteland, Leila del Duca and Tamra Bonvillain on the story of two deeply-loving adults fighting to stay together in a world become a horror show, and Nick Dragotta and Rico Renzi on the last stand of a couple of bitter and broken, old souls desperate to save what’s left of their world from oblivion.
The final sequence of this one is quite simply…stunning.
Thank you once again to everyone who’s ridden shotgun with us on this wild ride through the end times. Thank you to the incredible crew of artists who brought it all to such beautiful and horrifying life. And thank you to everyone at BOOM! Studios for making it all possible, in particular editors Sierra Hahn and Dafna Pleban for so patiently and heartfully helping me navigate the most treacherous and challenging waters of my career. I am super proud of the results.
Here are a few of my favorite moments from the journey so far:
If you haven’t yet checked out ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE END OF THE WORLD, I encourage you to grab copies of the trades at my online store, copies that come with a signed book plate. Brace yourself for a wild and emotional ride.
And if you missed it before, here’s a reminder that there’s a great video of the whole END OF THE WORLD creative team sitting down for a chat on the process of bringing this ambitious project to life.
Notes & Links & Things & Stuff
Shit, there’s a lotta stuff to catch up on since the last time we talked. For starters, I had a whole new book announced:
—I’m writing an eight-issue NAMOR series for Marvel that starts in July. Think of it as a combination of my work on THOR and PUNISHER: KING OF KILLERS. It’s got the same structure as PUNISHER, with 30 page issues that feature two artists, one handling flashbacks, the other the present day. In this case, it’s Alex Lins doing stories from throughout Namor’s long, bloody journey to first becoming king, and Paul Davidson handling the eruption of the War of Seven Kings, as various factions battle for the throne of the undersea world of today, the fight to be the “Last King of Atlantis.” One of my main goals for this series is to fully explore Namor’s particular corner of the Marvel Universe. The world beneath the waves has been the setting for countless different Marvel stories over the years, but we don’t always get a clear, consistent picture of what’s where and who’s who. So I’m doing a deep dive (sorry) into the various cultures of the watery realm as we go about setting them all on fire with a big bloody war. I’ve been wanting to do this story for a long, long time, and I’ve been having a blast putting it all together and re-reading the different eras of SUB-MARINER comics, going back to the Golden Age. I’m trying to channel a lot of the grandeur and dialogue of Namor’s Silver and Bronze Age days, in the same way I used Kirby’s THOR as the main inspiration for my first GOD OF THUNDER arc. That was Kirby put through a darker lens. This is me doing the same with Bill Everett, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Marie Severin. And because I’m big on the power of nostalgia, especially in a very tactile sense, I even dug out my old Thor notebook to use for Namor notes, to try and capture the same sort of other-worldly grit.
More info on NAMOR here, at Marvel.com, including a peak at some interior pages by Paul and Alex.
—Speaking of grit. The Hollywood Reporter recently gave you your first look at Joëlle Jones’ interior art from July’s hotly-anticipated TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1, featuring Raphael as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Inmate.
—The build for this new TMNT series just keeps growing. Lots of cool things are being put together by IDW and your local comic retailers. And the first issue will be hitting stands the same week as San Diego Comic Con. So expect it to be the Summer of the Turtle. Check out this sweet Lee Bermejo cover for issue #1 that was just revealed this week.
—I’ve been doing a whole metric fuck ton of new interviews lately, mostly talking Turtles, but other stuff as well. I’ve been popping up on some really great podcasts, many of which I’ve never visited before, like the Oblivion Bar and Comic Book Couples Counseling and the Short Box. You can always find the full rundown of my jabbering over on Spotify:
—The line-up of variant cover artists for June’s UNCLE SCROOGE AND THE INFINITY DIME continues to get more legendary. I’ve been genuinely blown away by the response to this book so far, and I think it’s numbers will surprise folks. Gonna be a fun summer full of turtles and ducks.
—I was thrilled to learn that the immensely talented Jorge Fornés will be the artist on my story for the upcoming EC Comics revival from Oni Press. Look for our twisted tale in the pages of EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2 this August. Here’s my quote from the announcement:
“What an honor to get to craft a new story in the gloriously twisted tradition of EC Comics. My frightful little ditty is very much a tale of modern horror, starring one of today's most potent tools of misery and human suffering. But told in the same gleefully wicked style as the EC classics of yesteryear. Brace yourselves, all you freaks and fiends. EC is back.”
—In addition to all those books for Marvel, IDW, BOOM and Oni, this year I’ve also been working for the main superhero universe of DC Comics for the first time. My three issue run on ACTION COMICS wrapped earlier this year, and BATMAN OFF-WORLD is chugging toward its conclusion, featuring Batman’s very first space adventure, alongside the real star of the show, Punch Bot. If you missed any issues of those series, you can now grab signed copies from my online store, of the main covers and all the variants, while supplies last.
—Speaking of Superman, here’s a fun thing that recently happened:
Maybe someday we can talk more about it. Until then…
This has been BEARD MISSIVES, direct from the super secretive face of Jason Aaron.
This week’s newsletter has been brought to you by Cremo Palo Santo beard oil, EveryPlate Kung Pao Beef Bowls, and Goetze's Original Caramel Creams, the two pound bag.
Cheers. Stay worthy. Stay loved. Until the end of the world. And way fucking beyond.
Jason Aaron
May 29, 2024
Things to Come
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ALPHA — June 5, 2024
UNCLE SCROOGE AND THE INFINITY DIME #1 — June 19, 2024
NAMOR #1 – July 17, 2024
BRZRKR: A FACEFUL OF BULLETS #1 — July 24, 2024
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1 – July 24, 2024
BATMAN OFF-WORLD #5 — July 30, 2024
STAR WARS MODERN ERA EPIC COLLECTION (SKYWALKER STRIKES) Trade Paperback — July 30, 2024
EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2 — August 21, 2024
NAMOR #2 — August 21, 2024
AVENGERS BY JASON AARON Vol. 5 Hardcover — August 21, 2024
ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE END OF THE WORLD Vol. 3 Trade Paperback — August 14, 2024
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #2 — September 11, 2024
PUNISHER MAX BY AARON AND DILLON OMNIBUS (New Printing) — November 5, 2024
SCALPED Omnibus Vol. 1 — November 12, 2024
Where I’ll Be
FAN EXPO Dallas — June 7-9, 2024
Nickel City Comic Con — June 28-30, 2024
FAN EXPO Denver — July 4-7, 2024
Collector’s Paradise, NOHO — July 31, 2024
Terrificon — August 16-18, 2024
Dragon Con — August 29-September 2, 2024
So many great things coming!
I apologize if it’s been mentioned in a different newsletter, but is there any update or loose estimate on “The Goddamned Vol. 3?” My guess was 2025 lol
I can't wait to devour the ending of Once Upon a Time! What a lineup this summer... it was nice knowing ya. Crush!