NYCC | Jason Aaron + Mahmud Asrar reunite for ‘Bug Wars’ at Image Comics

The epic adventure begins in a backyard in Alabama.

Writer Jason Aaron is re-teaming with Mahmud Asrar, who he worked with on Conan the Barbarian, for a new creator-owned six-issue series called Bug Wars. And yes, their new Image Comics series is literally about a kid fighting bugs in his backyard — bugs that cast spells, swings swords and generally have it out for the kid’s family.

“When I was a kid, our backyard was a wondrous place, where I spent hours imagining epic adventures, action figures scattered all through the grass. In a lot of ways, I still feel like that kid, running around the yard, making up stories. Only the stories have gotten a bit darker over the years,” said Aaron. “For Slade Slaymaker, the backyard of his home in Alabama turns out to be a place of terror and brutality, where sects of tiny sword-wielding Mytes and their armies of flesh-eating beetles and acid-spraying ants have declared war on his family. Think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets Game of Thrones.”

Rejoining the two of them is colorist Matthew Wilson, who also worked on Conan. Letterer Becca Carey and editor Heather Antos round out the team.

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Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen + more help celebrate 10 years of Star Wars comics at Marvel with ‘A New Legacy’

The one-shot will put a spotlight on the Star Wars characters who debuted in comic books.

Next year will mark 10 years since Marvel reclaimed the license to create Star Wars comics (and more than 12 years since Disney bought Lucasfilm, in case you were wondering) and to celebrate Marvel will release a one-shot that will spotlight many of the creators and characters who have been part of this new era.

January’s Star Wars: A New Legacy will include stories by Kieron Gillen, Jason Aaron and Charles Soule, three writers who have contributed to the line since its relaunch, along with recent Star Wars artists Ramon Rosanas, Leonard Kirk and Salva Espin. Their stories will feature characters who made their debut in the comics, including Doctor Aphra, Sana Starros, Scar Squadron, Krrsantan the Wookiee bounty hunter and more.

“This is the monumental moment we’ve been waiting for: celebrating a decade of the re-union of Marvel Comics and Star Wars!” editor Mark Paniccia said. “We’ve got a great package here with some of the most influential Star Wars comic writers in recent history along with amazing art. It is so cool to spotlight as many of the Marvel-created characters as we could. Longtime and new fans alike will get a kick in the thrusters with this!”

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DC reveals more details on their ‘All In’ line-ups

The publisher has shared creative teams and cover art for three Absolute Universe titles, along with plans for several DCU series in the post-‘Absolute Power’ era.

If you missed the YouTube video yesterday, DC has revealed their next publishing initiative, All In, which will see several creative team changes and the birth of a whole new universe. Headed up by Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson, the Absolute Universe will come into being thanks to Darkseid in October’s All In one-shot.

And today DC revealed some of the creative teams you can expect to see on some of the Absolute titles and the regular DC titles.

Starting first with the DC Absolute Universe — which is what they’re calling it in the press release, so we can assume that’s the official name — the line will launch with Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, as revealed yesterday. The first issue will come out Oct. 9. It’ll be followed by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s reinvention of Wonder Woman “from the ground up” in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, due out Oct. 23. Then you have Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval launching Absolute Superman #1 on Nov. 6.

“The creation of the AbsoluteUniverse is how I always imagined coming back to DC, and DC All In will be a great jumping-on point for new readers as well as lapsed fans to discover new stories to love and the chance to explore the new directions in store for DC’s core series lineup,” Snyder said in the press release.

Here’s more details and cover art for those titles, along with several DCU titles (which they refer to as the “Core Line” in the press release):

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Jason Aaron, Paul Davidson + Alex Lins explore Marvel’s undersea world in ‘Namor’

The eight-issue miniseries kicks off in July.

If you thought Jason Aaron’s time at Marvel was over when his exclusivity ended, think again. The writer of Thor, Avengers and Punisher will work with Paul Davidson and Alex Lins on an eight-issue miniseries starring one of Marvel’s first characters, Namor the Sub-Mariner.

“The Last King of Atlantis” will start with the antihero in prison, never intending to return to the sea. Meanwhile, seven would-be kings vie for the throne of Atlantis.

“He’s always been a guy who has wavered back and forth between outright hero and outright villain, while spending a lot of time floating around somewhere in the middle,” Aaron told Marvel.com about Namor. “And all of that has left him in a very dark place, locked in a surface world prison, praying he never has to set foot in the seas again. That’s where our story begins.”

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Aaron + Manna fire off ‘BRZRKR: A Faceful of Bullets’

The one-shot starring Keanu Reeves’ creation will arrive in stores this summer.

Jason Aaron has been busy since his exclusive contract with Marvel expired, writing pop culture icons like Superman, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Uncle Scrooge. He’ll add another icon to that list, Keanu Reeves, with BRZRKR: A Faceful of Bullets.

BOOM! Studios announced the one-shot at the ComicsPRO meeting last week. Aaron will work with Reeves and artist Francesco Manna on the project, which will take the immortal title character to  the 1800s American West. It also serves as the first of several BRZRKR: Bloodlines specials BOOM! will release.

“Having new writers and artists explore B.’s history in these Bloodlines Specials is something that is so exciting to me,” said Reeves, the creator of BRZRKR. “Jason and Francesco teaming up for a brutal, tragic Western was a perfect match for BRZRKR and the types of stories we want to tell in this universe.”

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Uncle Scrooge returns to comics in a new Marvel one-shot

Jason Aaron will unleash Scrooge into the multiverse in a new story coming this summer.

Uncle Scrooge and his countless multiverse counterparts are coming to Marvel in June, courtesy of Jason Aaron and several comic artists, including Paolo Mottura, Francesco D’ippolito, Vitale Mangiatordi and more.

Uncle $crooge and the Infinity Dime #1 brings Uncle Scrooge back to comics — while it’s certainly not his first foray on the printed page, it is the first time he’s appeared in his own Marvel title. And in the mighty Marvel manner, it’ll introduce several other variants of the duck, including a twisted alternate Scrooge who steals his money bin.

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s no disputing the fact that Uncle Scrooge is one of the absolute greatest characters in the history of comics. And I don’t just mean comics that feature talking animals. I mean all comics ever, bar none,” Aaron said. “Uncle Scrooge’s rich, action-packed history includes some of the most exciting adventure comics ever created, by legendary creators like Carl Barks and Don Rosa. It’s one of the most mind-staggering thrills of my career to get to craft this epic cosmic adventure for the World’s Richest Duck, one that looks to honor the character’s legendary history while taking him to some wild, new, unexplored places in the way that only Marvel can deliver.”

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Jones, Albuquerque, Chiang + Burnham will draw the first four issues of Aaron’s ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ run

IDW has revealed the artists working with Jason Aaron for his first arc of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.’

Following word that Jason Aaron would take over writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after the current series ends, IDW Publishing has now revealed the artists Aaron will work with on his first arc.

Each of the first four issues will focus on a different member of the team and will be drawn by a different artist, with the roster including Joëlle Jones, Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang and Chris Burnham.

“I almost couldn’t believe it when these folks started saying yes. It’s such a dream team of modern artists, folks responsible for some of my favorite comics of this century,” said IDW Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Rich. “All four of them were so enthusiastic to draw characters they love for the first time. It was cool to hear why they loved each of the individual Turtles. Like Chris talked about the Donnie issue with the Jack Kirby homage, and Joëlle mentioned how she has always liked hotheads and fighters. It’s comic book kismet!”

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TMNT: Sophie Campbell’s epic run ends with #150 as Jason Aaron preps a relaunch

IDW and Paramount prepare to celebrate 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

IDW has revealed several details about their plans for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2024, which will “shell-ebrate” their 40th anniversary this year.

First, Sophia Campell’s four-year run crafting stories featuring the turtles will come to an end with issue #150.

“I still can’t quite believe I’ve gotten to work on this much TMNT. I thought for sure I’d get the boot in the first year, but nope – here I am, four years later, still here against all odds,” Campbell said. “It’s really been amazing, truly a dream job. I wonder what my 10-year-old self would think if she knew what she’d go on to eventually do. The fact that this chapter is ending and I’m leaving the series is bittersweet, I’ll miss it for sure but it’s time to move on and let somebody else have a shot at the Turtles, and I’ll be back for more before you know it, whatever form that might take. As two great men once said, ‘Change is constant’ and ‘Life at best is bittersweet.’”

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DC announces big plans for ‘Action Comics’ in 2024

Those plans include Bizarro, a Brainiac crossover event and Jason Aaron.

DC revealed big plans for their flagship title, Action Comics, in 2024 this weekend at the New York Comic Con. In what they’re calling the Superman Superstars initiative — which even has its own logo, shown above — Action will feature rotating creative teams telling stories about the Superman Family, starting in January with a new story by Jason Aaron and John Timms featuring the return of Bizarro.

“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 one that started it all, goes down as one of the absolute most significant honors of my career,” said Aaron. “So the amazing John Timms and I are doing our very best to give readers a Superman tale full of action and surprises, the most Bizarro of all Bizarro stories, in what Bizarro himself would call the worst Bizarro story ever told’!”

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Aaron + Mahnke will take Batman ‘Off-World’ in November

The writer of ‘Scalped’ and ‘The Other Side’ returns to DC following the end of his exclusive contract with Marvel.

After years — decades, even — of plotting the course of Marvel titles like Thor, Wolverine and the X-Men and Avengers, writer Jason Aaron has returned to DC for a new Batman story.

Aaron will team with artists Doug Mahnke and Jamie Mendoza for Batman: Off-World, which he describes as “a different sort of Batman story.”

“One that sees a young Dark Knight undertaking his very first trip into space,” Aaron said in his newsletter. “A journey that’s inspired by some of the DC books that made me a comics fan as a kid, and ultimately set the course for the rest of my life.”

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It’s Vader time in the latest ‘Black, White & Red’ anthology from Marvel

The four-issue anthology miniseries will launch in April.

Darth Vader joins the likes of Elektra, Deadpool and Wolverine later this year as the Star Wars villain headlines in his own Black, White & Red miniseries.

Marvel’s Black, White & Red series feature stories by a variety of creators told in three colors. Luckily Vader’s lightsaber fits the theme.

“This is a project we’ve been waiting to do for a while and we’ve got more amazing talent lined up that I can’t wait to announce,” Editor Mark Paniccia told Marvel.com. “It’s such a thrill to use this unique storytelling approach on one of the greatest villains in the galaxy.”

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Slugfest | ‘Batman/Spawn’ gets an ‘inks only’ edition

Today’s round-up includes news and announcements on ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ Brian Michael Bendis, Keanu Reeves, Shakespeare, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Most of this edition includes all those end-of-the-year announcements I missed because I was on vacation. Hit the links for more information.

DC and Todd McFarlane have announced Batman/Spawn Unplugged, an uncolored and unlettered version of the recent crossover comic by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo.

“It’s always exciting whenever us artists can present our work in as unfiltered a manner as possible,” said McFarlane. “This book will let you see the true skill of how Greg Capullo does his masterful storytelling… and every line that we both put down.”

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