By Kevin Mahadeo
Certain people just have "The Write Stuff."
Marvel proudly announces its "The Write Stuff" promotion, which will shine the spotlight on a quartet of up-and-coming writers in the same "Young Guns" has highlighted some of the industry's top artists over the past several years. Over the next four days, Marvel.com will unveil the names participating in this initiative and introduce you to the writers of tomorrow.
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WOLVERINE #73
cover by
Adam Kubert |
Jason Aaron never once stopped being a comic book fan—and that commitment helped drive the Alabama-born writer to become one of the hottest names currently at working at Marvel Comics and a key member of Marvel's "Write Stuff" quartet.
"I've been buying [comics] consistently for a long, long time," Aaron admits. "I've always stayed a fan. I've also known for a pretty young age that I wanted to write. I remember in sixth grade I wrote a story called, 'Charlie Brown and the Chainsaw.' I wrote stuff back then that would maybe get you expelled in today's society. But I had some great teachers who always encouraged me to keep writing and I always stuck with it."
Through fiction writing courses in college, drafting short stories in his free time and even a stint in journalism, Aaron continuously honed his craft to become the best he is at what he does, all while consistently consuming comics. And although it took a while for Aaron's two worlds to collide, once it did his rise to stardom went faster than
Quicksilver on a coffee binge.
With his four-issue "Get Mystique" arc in WOLVERINE, the writer clawed his way into the minds of readers and gained enough popularity to receive his own ongoing series starring the ol' Canucklehead, WOLVERINE: WEAPON X. His time writing GHOST RIDER has combined continuity and comedy into an over-the-top run that showcased the penman's ability to ride alongside some of
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GHOST
RIDER #35
cover by
Arthur Suydam |
the best in the business. When informed of his "Write Stuff" status, the writer expressed nothing but joy and appreciation of not only the honor, but also at his recent and upcoming assignments.
"So far the workload's been great," says Aaron of his multitude of Marvel projects. "This past year or so I've been able to balance a couple of sustained runs with short stints. I did a BLACK PANTHER story, a couple of
Wolverine ones here and there and I most recently did a
Fat Cobra one-shot [as part of the IMMORTAL WEAPONS limited series]. It's good to mix things up—focus on the ongoing [titles] but mix in a few other things here and there. It always keeps things interesting. I've never had time to get bored with anything that I'm working on."
Coming up, the always busy Aaron finishes a two-part story with artist Adam Kubert that began in WOLVERINE #73, on sale now, and concludes his GHOST RIDER stint with the six-issue limited series GHOST RIDER: HEAVEN'S ON FIRE beginning in August. However, despite already tackling characters like Wolverine,
Ghost Rider and
Black Panther, the Kansas City scribe readily admits to two comic characters he especially wants to write.
"I'm a huge
Fantastic Four fan in general, but in particular I love Ben Grimm," enthuses Aaron. "I get to write him for just one panel in WOLVERINE #73. I managed to wedge him in to one panel with his regular poker game. I would love to write the
Thing in an
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WOLVERINE:
WEAPON X #2
cover by
Ron Garney |
extended story. Maybe I can have him swing a guest spot in WEAPON X at some point. That'll be really cool. Another character I would love to write is
Longshot. I'm a huge fan of the old Ann Nocenti and Art Adams miniseries. I would love to put him back to the Mojoverse and back to his roots. [I like] the manic energy of it, the craziness of that world."
As his star continues to rise, Aaron's chance at writing those two characters doesn't seem like such a long shot. But as for the definitive future, while readers won't be seeing the aforementioned "Charlie Brown and the Chainsaw" any time soon—although the writer jokingly suggested he call the Schulz representatives to work it out—Aaron admits to a big fall project involving him and his fellow "Write Stuff" writers and leaves readers with a little, but extremely exciting tease.
"I'll just say that I'm getting to live out one of my biggest comic fantasies and I'm getting to play with some Grant Morrison toys. I'm a huge Grant Morrison fan, and while I can't say what those toys are going to be, it'll definitely be a lot of fun."
Come back tomorrow as we reveal another "Write Stuff" writer here on Marvel.com!
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