• Having a great and loving family, in particular a couple of incredibly supportive women: namely my wife Kelly and my mother Betty.
• That I actually get paid to write comic books (Trust me, every time I get a check in the mail, I still can't believe it).
• All the support I've gotten from writers like Ed Brubaker, Brian K. Vaughan, Brian Wood, Garth Ennis and Andy Diggle, retailers like Adam Mix of Daydreams Comics in Iowa City and William Binderup of Elite Comics here in Kansas City, and from other great people like Vaneta Rogers of Newsarama and Chris Neseman from the Around Comics podcast.
• My best friend, Jon Falkner, who's the proud father of a beautiful new baby girl.
• My late cousin, Gustav Hasford, the greatest writer I've ever known, and his friends and fellow vets of the First Marine Division ISO Snuffies.
• Editor Will Dennis of Vertigo, without whom I wouldn't have a writing career.
• Artist R.M. Guéra, my always passionate, always creative partner in crime.
• The other amazing artists and editors I've been fortunate enough to work with over the last year, in particular editor Axel Alonso of Marvel, and artists Cameron Stewart and Jock.
• The NFL Sunday Ticket on Directv (I don't know where I'd be without it).
• My laptop, AKA "My Office."
• My DC comp box.
• That President Bush is a lame duck.
• Getting to sleep late on the weekends.
• Being born a Southerner.
• Living in a city with great BBQ.
• Bruce Springsteen.
• You. Thanks for reading.

Big month for me in February:

SCALPED #14
Written by Jason Aaron; Art by R.M. Guera; Cover by Jock

"Dead Mothers" Part 2 of 5. The murder mystery heats up when Dash Bad Horse finds himself between a rock and a hard place after learning the shocking secret behind the suspect he's been chasing. Plus, Chief Red Crow greets a most unwelcome visitor.

On Sale February 6, 2008

SCALPED Vol. 2: CASINO BOOGIE

Written by Jason Aaron; Art by R.M. Guera; Cover by Jock
This volume, collecting issues #6-11 of the acclaimed new series by Jason Aaron (THE OTHER SIDE), explores Dash Bad Horse's troubled origin and chronicles his day-to-day life on The Rez working for Chief Red Crow.

On Sale February 6, 2008

GHOST RIDER #20
Written by JASON AARON Art by ROLAND BOSCHI Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC

HEAVEN BOUND, HELL TO PAY, PART ONE
Following the startling revelations of the previous arc, writer Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE, Scalped) and artist Roland Boschi take Ghost Rider down a blazing new road! Over the years, Johnny Blaze has lost everything to the curse of the Ghost Rider -- his family, his life, even his soul. But now, at long last, Johnny finally knows who's responsible for turning him into a flame-headed horror-show on wheels, and he's hitting the road, looking for vengeance and answers…but mostly just vengeance.

On Sale February 13, 2008

WOLVERINE #62
Written by JASON AARON Pencils & Cover by RON GARNEY
"GET (TOP SECRET) PART 1
Writer Jason Aaron (Scalped) and artist Ron Garney (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) bring you a searing 4-part epilogue to the biggest X-Men Event in a decade. In the searing aftermath of "Messiah CompleX," Wolverine has just one thing on his mind: revenge. But who is the focus of his rage, and what dark secret does he share with them? And how far over the edge is Wolverine willing to go to get what he wants?

On Sale February 13, 2008

It's always great to chat with Chris Neseman at Around Comics. Listen here.

Newsarama has an interview with my GHOST RIDER collaborator Roland Boschi that incluces some sweet preview art.

Click here for the interview

Andy Diggle says:
Do you miss PREACHER? I miss PREACHER.

I remember picking up the first issue and thinking, "Finally!" Finally a comic for people like me. Finally a comic for the regular guy in the street. Finally a comic I can show to my brothers, who love tough-guy movies as much as anyone but wouldn't piss on a comic shop if it was on fire.

(I've always been the black sheep of the family in that regard. If by "black" you mean "comic-reading" and by "sheep" you mean "nerd").

SCALPED is the new PREACHER.

If, like me, you're gut-sick of comics being polarized between marketing-driven spandex continuity clusterfucks on the one side, and too-cool-for-school indie posturing on the other, you'll love SCALPED.

If you're into HBO or Tarantino or Scorsese or Eastwood or Peckinpah, you'll love SCALPED. It'll kick your ass hard and leave you coming back for more. And I'm not just saying that because my good mate Jock is rocking the covers.

SCALPED writer Jason Aaron doesn't just talk the talk - he's walking the walk too, putting his money where his mouth is by offering you a money back guarantee if you buy the first trade paperback collection SCALPED: INDIAN COUNTRY, and don't like it. But it's a pretty safe bet because, trust me, you're gonna want more.

Don't believe me? Download the first issue for free at DC Comics.com, and once you hit that bitch-slap of a last-page reveal, you're gonna go pick up the trade to find out what happens next. Then head over to www.Scalped.info to see what guys like Brian K. Vaughan, Garth Ennis, Ed Brubaker and, hell, Playboy magazine are saying about the best new series in comics.

We need more comics like SCALPED. Buy it. Tell your friends. This is the good shit, and it deserves your support.


Brian Wood says:
SCALPED - I once said it was “perfect comics” (huh, just like the Italians!) and I meant it. Jason Aaron makes it look effortless. Even though I KNOW it’s not, all too well, he makes me believe it is, that his writing tumbles out of his head easily and beautiful on the first draft. It’s such a pleasure to read, all bad and dirty and nasty and sexy with dialogue like razors… and the art (ah, the art!)… Will Dennis, our mutual editor, wrote in an “On The Ledge” that you can see the dirt under the fingernails of the characters. Well, you can’t ACTUALLY see the dirt, but the art is so well executed that it makes you imagine you can. Why this isn’t a major, major seller is beyond me, especially with the logline “The Sopranos on an Indian reservation.” Anyway, as if anyone should need further convincing, Jason’ll give you your money back if you don’t like it.

It's the conclusion of the epic "Casino Boogie" arc, and it focuses on Gina Bad Horse, as she grapples with the secrets of her militant past.

Check it out and then come talk about it here.

Guéra and I really want you to read SCALPED. We want you to have no excuse for not trying SCALPED. To that end, we're now offering a money-back guarantee on the first trade paperback collection, "Indian Country." If you buy a copy and don't like it, just mail it back to us and we'll refund the price, plus the cost of your shipping. It's as easy as that.

Here are the details:

http://www.scalped.info/

Tell your friends.

Listen to Garth Ennis:
The best new series in years. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Talk about it. Blog about it.

Listen to Ed Brubaker:
Read SCALPED and love it, or your money back! Jason Aaron is going a different route to try to get more readers for his excellent Vertigo book - SCALPED. This is one of my very favorite comics right now, and I highly recommend you all take him up on his offer. Please give a great book a chance. Drop some superhero book (not one of mine, of course) that you've been buying out of habit and not enjoying and try something new.

There's a new interview at Newsarama where I talk about my upcoming Marvel work, namely a four issue stint on WOLVERINE and the ongoing duties on GHOST RIDER. One thing I forgot to mention was that covers for my GHOST RIDER run will be by the amazing Marko Djurdjevic.

Here's the interview.

P.S. There's also some exciting news about SCALPED mentioned.