THE END OF MY RUN ON WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN

As seen in the Marvel solicits for February, issue #42 will be the end of my run on WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN. The original plan was for me to write both WatXM and AMAZING X-MEN as sister titles. One dealing with the school, the other with the X-Men from that school going on adventures out in the world. But unfortunately my schedule just didn't allow that. So I've been writing the post-Battle of the Atom arc of WatXM as my goodbye to that series and to the Jean Grey School. Believe me, it wasn't easy for me to step away from this book. I've loved building that school and writing those characters, both the students and the teachers, as much as I've loved anything I've done in comics. But the school itself isn't going anywhere. And I'll still be writing a lot of those same characters over in AMAZING. And I've got lots of other stuff coming up that demanded my time, like THOR and SOUTHERN BASTARDS and some new things I can't tell you about just yet.

So I'll save all my tearful goodbyes until we get to the end, but for now, just let me say THANK YOU once again to everybody who's bought this book along the way. Thank you for embracing such an offbeat X-series. 42 issues of Bamfs and Doop and sentient lawns? I love you all for helping make that happen.

JGS forever.

My Stuff Coming In July 2013

Love is in bloom as Thanos finds his soulmate. God help us all.

THANOS RISING #4
JASON AARON (W)
SIMONE BIANCHI (A/C)
Variant COVER by Mike Deodato
Thanos kills a lot of people.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

It's not a good day to be a Thor, as Gorr stands triumphant and the Godbomb is finally triggered.

THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #10
JASON AARON (W) • ESAD RIBIC (A/C)
GODBOMB - Part Four of Five
• The penultimate chapter in the saga of the God Butcher.
• Thus comes the final battle against Gorr, as three Thors lead an army of slave gods in the fight to save all of divinity.
• But will it all be for naught...as the massive Godbomb is triggered at last...?
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

It seems Krakoa is more than just the X-Men's front lawn. 

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #33
JASON AARON (W) • NICK BRADSHAW (A/C)
X-MEN 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
THE HELLFIRE SAGA CONTINUES!
• Searching for answers of how the JGS students left the school, the X-Men look to the very ground they walk on.
• The X-Men discover that Krakoa, the island that walks like a man, can fight like one, too.
• Meanwhile, Quentin remains the most sought-after student at the Hellfire Academy.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

My Stuff Coming in June 2013

The most depraved cosmic romance comic ever made continues, as young Thanos leaves his home among the moons of Saturn to walk the wild worlds of the galaxy's outer rim. This book is really quite unlike anything I've ever written for Marvel. Thought in some ways I suppose you might say it's a combination of what I'm doing on THOR GOD OF THUNDER and what I did on SCALPED. Gritty god-powered epicness. Cosmic noir.

THANOS RISING #3 (OF 5)
JASON AARON (W) • SIMONE BIANCHI (A/C)
• The Mad Titan flees his home in search of true love.
• But how many lives will he have to take to find it?
• The book so blood-soaked you’ll be glad it’s a mini-series.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Speaking of Thor... How about that damn cover? Good God. That's my favorite one yet by Esad. In this issue, the Godbomb arc kicks into crazy high gear, as we get what are without a doubt the biggest, most truly epic fight scenes I've ever written. Just as you might expect from a book featuring not one, not two, but THREE damn THORS!

THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #9
JASON AARON (W) • ESAD RIBIC (A/C)
Wolverine Costume Variant By Julian Totino Tedesco
GODBOMB Part Three of Five
Three Thors, side by side at last, united in battle! But will even that be enough, as Gorr the God Butcher’s grand plan nears completion and his powers grow beyond anything we’ve seen before…?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

The beginning of the Hellfire Saga, the biggest arc yet on WatXM. The series has been building toward this for quite a while, so a lot of plots that have been percolating for a couple of years now begin coming to a head with this issue. This one features a whole bunch of bad guys, both old favorites and some new characters, including one particular little fella that I still can't believe Marvel let me get away with. This may be the one that gets me drummed out of comics forever.

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #31
JASON AARON (W) • NICK BRADSHAW (A/C)
Wolverine Costume Variant By Ryan Stegman
HELLFIRE SAGA PART 1!
• Welcome to the Hellfire Academy, there’s little chance you’ll survive the experience.
• The most villainous school you’ve ever seen has its grand opening. With teachers like Mystique, Sauron, Mojo, Wendigo and Master Pandemonium there’s no limit to the terrible things you’ll learn.
• Can Wolverine and the X-Men find the school before their kidnapped students are turned into villains?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

At long last, the Bamfs get in on the action. Yes, there will be whiskey involved.

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #32
JASON AARON (W) • NICK BRADSHAW (A/C)
HELLFIRE SAGA PART 2!
• Wolverine has plans for the Bamfs…
• Meet the new Hellions!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Collecting the beginnings of WatXM's Season Two. Wolverine fights Frankenstein. Quentin Quire meets Jean Grey. The world meets Shark Girl and Eye Boy. Kitty Pryde and Iceman go on their first date. The internet melts down. These are all things that I am proud to have accomplished.

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN BY JASON AARON VOL. 5 TPB
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by STEVE SANDERS & NICK BRADSHAW
Cover by NICK BRADSHAW
The next era of the most talked-about new X-book starts here! It’s fresh faces aplenty as a new students enroll, and Storm joins the faculty! Then: Wolverine is a clown? Iceman is a fire swallower? Rachel Grey is a fortune teller? Frankenstein’s Murder Circus has come to town, and he’s brainwashed the X-Men! Do the students stand a chance against their teachers? Find out as the Murder Circus claims its victims! All this and the world’s most awkward date night! Collecting WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #19-24.
136 PGS./Rated T+ …$17.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-6577-4

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #20 cover by Nick Bradshaw

I've been wanting that "Strangest Heroes of All" blurb for a while now. Looks nice, right?

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN covers for January

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #23, by Nick Bradshaw. Wolverine vs. Frankenstein's Monster!

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #24, by Ramon Perez. Date night!

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN Update

With issue #16 of WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, which hit shelves this week, we unfortunately must say goodbye to artist Chris Bachalo, who moves on to another as-yet-unannounced new project. I owe many many thanks to Chris for kicking off this series in such a great way, for designing the Jean Grey School and for an all-around amazing run. He's been a terrific artist to work with. As wildly inventive as they come. So inventive I had to change the way I wrote my scripts. Chris has so many unique ideas about how to layout a page, that our editor Nick Lowe encouraged me to move to more of a Marvel style, meaning more of a loose plot instead of a full script. So I did, and loved it. My scripts still weren't exactly in the most traditional Marvel style, in that they still included dialogue (when I get a chance in the next few days, maybe I'll post some examples), but it's been an exciting challenge just to break out of my usual routine and a thrill to watch Chris work his magic. I wish we could've done more stuff together. Maybe someday.

As for WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, we've thankfully got an amazing roster of artists to pick up the slack, like Mike Allred (whose Doop one-shot is coming up next), Jorge Molina (who wraps up our AvX tie-ins in a huge way in issue #18), Steven Sanders (who shows us Angel's all-new mission in issue #20) and of course Nick Bradshaw, who's already cranked out some gorgeous work on this series and returns to help kick off our second year with issue #19 and then handles our crazy new Murder Circus arc beginning with #21. And as if that wasn't enough, come next year we add Ramon Perez to the mix, fresh off his Eisner win for Best Penciller.

I'm one lucky dude.