We Three Comic Books
Bringing you good tidings of great joy
There’s always three of something popping up this time of year, right? Three wise men, three French hens, three spirits in the night to traumatize stingy old British fuckers.
Well this year for Christmas you get three shiny new comic books written by me!
That’s right, KING CONAN #1, AVENGERS FOREVER #1 and AVENGERS #51 are all in stores this week. Like some kinda full-fledged Christmas miracle!
Or, you know, a fluke of scheduling brought on by worldwide paper shortages and staffing issues at various printers. Only baby Jesus knows for sure!
Wait, so I’ve got three comics being released on the same day? Is this what it’s like to be Chip Zdarsky? I can… feel it. My God, the power. The… the… the stickiness!
Here’s a quick breakdown of these three holiday bundles of joy:
AVENGERS #51. Javier Garrón cover! Juan Frigeri interiors, making his AVENGERS debut in kick-ass style, with David Curiel colors! The Death Hunt begins! Run, Deathlok, run! A Dark Phoenix rises over Asgard! The Multiversal Masters of Evil are here!
AVENGERS FOREVER #1. Aaron damn Kuder drawing like a madman! Jason Keith on colors! The debut of Tony Stark, Ant-Man, world’s most wanted archaeologist! Ghost Rider gets unleashed upon the wasteland, beginning a dark new direction for Robbie Reyes! Meet other weird new Avengers! And witness the return of some dear old friends!
KING CONAN #1. Mahmud Asrar and Matt Wilson!!! Those guys who drew the hell out of CONAN THE BARBARIAN are back to do it again! See Conan wake up and do what is best in life! Repeat!
Go forth and follow the Christmas star, which shall lead ye to your local comic book manger, and there you shall find all three of these newborn comics, swaddled in mylar, lying on the new release rack, for you to adore and bring gold to and such.
Or you can buy signed copies in my online store. And every order comes with a free signed copy of CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1! Merry fucking Crom-mas!
Notes and Links and Things and Stuff
—Much of the world is still up in arms about this week’s PUNISHER announcement. Nothing new from me to add in regards to that just yet, though there’ll certainly be much more to come. I’ll just say it all feels a bit to me like 2014 all over again, when we first announced that a woman would be wielding the hammer of Thor and people lost their fucking minds over a story not a single one of them had read. I didn’t really worry about any of the noise back then, because I felt so excited about the story I was getting to tell, so confident that we were building something solid. I feel exactly the same way about this one. Believe me, you have no fucking clue what’s coming or just how hard it will punch you in any and all of your skulls.
—On a not totally unrelated note, I’ve decided to add EYES WIDE SHUT to my Christmas movie rotation, a movie I’ve always adored. I remember seeing it opening weekend in a packed theater in Birmingham, Alabama, and the hatred for the film was so palpable it was unbelievable. Later that year I walked out of MAGNOLIA, in the same theater, another packed house, another movie I loved, and the guy next to me grumbled, "That's two stinkers in a row for Tom Cruise." There was something I found rather invigorating about connecting with a movie so deeply while surrounded by a sea of people practically vibrating with disgust and animosity. Love the things you love.
—No spoilers, but if you’re a fan of my DR. STRANGE run with Chris Bachalo, there’s a little moment in SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME that ought to make you smile. It sure did me. Also the movie overall is an utterly madcap, emotional thrill ride. Two thumbs up from the kid and me.
—The second and final trade paperback collection of SEA OF STARS, by me, Dennis Hallum, Stephen Green and Rico Renzi, is now available, including in my online store. I talked about this whacked-out sci-fi series a couple newsletters ago, which you can revisit right here.
—Thought this was an interesting list, featuring a couple of new characters I was involved with bringing to life:
New interview where I talk AVENGERS:
Hey, remember that time I wrote CONAN THE BARBARIAN:
Remember that time I wrote a PUNISHER MAX XMAS SPECIAL:
I lied, here’s one more thing I’ve said this week about the upcoming PUNISHER series. God, I am absolutely devouring those extra pages. And they taste so fucking good.
This has been Beard Missives, direct from the holly-goddamn-jolly fucking face of Jason Aaron.
This week’s newsletter has been brought to you by DIE HARD, EYES WIDE SHUT, THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS (criminally underrated!) ROCKY IV, everything with Santa from Rankin Bass and at least one something by Shane Black.
Here’s wishing you the merriest of weekends. I’ll see you on the other side of the New Year.
Jason Aaron
KC, December 23, 2021
Let's make a deal.
Okay.
I'll tell you everything, and you tell me everything, and maybe we can get through all the piss
and shit and lies that kill other people.
Wow. Huh. "Piss and shit."
What?
You really use strong language.
—Paul Thomas Anderson, Magnolia
Things To Come
AVENGERS Vol. 9: WORLD WAR SHE-HULK Trade Paperback - Jan. 4, 2022
KING CONAN #2 - Jan. 12, 2022
AVENGERS #52 - Jan. 19, 2022
AVENGERS FOREVER #2 - Jan. 26, 2022
WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN Omnibus (New Printing) - Feb. 2, 2022
AVENGERS #53 - Feb. 9, 2022
AVENGERS BY JASON AARON Hardcover Vol. 2 - Feb. 9, 2022
KING CONAN #3 - Feb. 16, 2022
AVENGERS FOREVER #3 - Feb. 23, 2022
THOR BY JASON AARON Hardcover Vol. 5 - Feb. 23, 2022
DOCTOR STRANGE BY AARON & BACHALO Omnibus - March 8, 2022
THOR BY JASON AARON Omnibus Vol. 1 - March 29, 2022
Look at you! Making fans angry, just like good old times. Looking forward to seeing what you do with those extra Punisher pages! Grabbed the two Avengers titles this week- I got that stunning Dauterman Scarlet Witch variant but now I need to track down that Betsy Cola cover with Jane too. Can't wait to dive in over the holidays- cheers, and Happy New Year!