The Tide is back! Oh happy day.

Here's a movie that's just dying to be remade. And I would sure love to write it. Thanks to Jason Latour for turning me on to this flick.

Kris Kristofferson plays a struggling musician who's been busted for selling weed but is trying to go straight. Gene Hackman is the narc who busted him. When Hackman needs some cash, he steals a metric fuck-ton of weed and gives it to Kristofferson to sell, putting a gun to his head and telling him he needs to make ten thousand dollars in two days or he's dead. The movie kind of falls apart at the end (I kept waiting for the guys Hackman ripped off to show up, gunning to get their weed back, but they never did), but how great a set-up is that?

On another note, how cool is Kris Kristofferson? If I was to come up with five people, living or dead, I'd want to invite over for dinner, you better believe he'd make the list.

I bid goodbye to the country of Wakanda today as my last issue of BLACK PANTHER ships. It was a fun three issues, and I don't regret for a second that so many Skrulls had to die during the making of this series. Adieu, King T'Challa. Adieu. Perhaps we'll meet again some day.

SCALPED #24
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by R.M. Guera
Cover by Jock
"The Gravel In Your Guts" comes to its shockingly violent conclusion. The dark roads Chief Red Crow and fledgling criminal Dino Poor Bear have been traveling finally bring them together - with haunting repercussions for both.
On sale December 24 * 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US * MATURE READERS


GHOST RIDER #30
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by TAN ENG HUAT
Cover by GERALD PAREL
Villain Variant by TBA
"The Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" kicks into high gear! With Zadkiel and his army on the verge of conquering heaven itself, a force is gathering to oppose them, a group unlike any we've ever seen. But will their ranks include Johnny Blaze or has he given up the fight once and for all? Find out for yourself in this exciting new ###-kicking installment of the red hot GHOST RIDER!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99


PUNISHER MAX X-MAS SPECIAL
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by ROLAND BOSCHI
Cover by CHRIS BACHALO
"AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN"
It just wouldn't be Christmas without the Punisher, now would it? There's no room at the inn for a mobster and his pregnant wife who are on the run from rival gangsters, but lucky for them Frank Castle is in a giving mood. Though keeping them alive won't be easy, what with three vicious gun-toting wise-guys and a wacked-out pimp named Shepherd all hot on their trail. But then nobody ever said Christmas miracles came easy, did they?
48 PGS./Explicit Content ...$3.99


WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY #3 (of 4)
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
Cover by DAVE WILKINS
50 years ago Wolverine turned his back on the people of San Francisco's Chinatown when they needed him the most. Now he must make up for his mistake and somehow manage to unite all of the Kung Fu schools in the city, if he hopes to have any chance at defeating the brutal Black Dragon Tong that currently controls the underworld. Unfortunately, that's going to be hard for Logan to do when he happens to be locked inside a San Francisco jail cell.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99

Go buy SCALPED #21, the first part of a new arc, "The Grave In Your Guts," featuring the always amazing art of R.M. Guera (and as an extra tidbit, there's an original essay I wrote for the backmatter, titled "19 Things That Fuel SCALPED").

Go buy GHOST RIDER #27, which features a man with a flaming skull for a head fighting an albino vampire and the always exciting art of Tan Eng Huat. Oh and also, nuns with nunchucks.

Come back here or go to my message board and tell me what you thought.

Give yourself a hug from me.

Tomorrow. Columbus, Ohio. I want to deface your comic books with my sloppy handwriting.

More info.

All from books that are coming soon to a shop near you.

My first two issues of BLACK PANTHER have both sold out, so thanks everybody for the support. The second printing of issue #39 is out next week.

Marvel is proud to announce that Black Panther #40 has sold out at Diamond (though copies may be available at the retail level) and will return with Black Panther #40 Second Printing Variant! With Secret Invasion underway, the Skrulls go to war with the nation of Wakanda! Join red-hot star writer Jason Aaron (Ghost Rider), along with rising star artist, Jefte Palo (X-Force: Ain't No Dog), as the Black Panther takes on an army of Super-Skrulls! Plus, an all new explosive cover, featuring the interior art of Jefte Palo! This marks the second straight sell out for this storyline.

The reviews are in and the critics are raving about this Secret Invasion tie-in!

"Praise be to the Panther God... Jason Aaron "gets" Black Panther." --Jesse Schedeen of IGN.com

"Writer Jason Aaron has done a good job... His Black Panther is a fantastic tactician who is able to dispatch Super-Skrulls with surgical skill." --Shawn Kirk of ComicNewsI.com

"Structure and pacing are excellent, and specific characters are beautifully rendered." --Mark J. Hayman of ComicsBulletin.com

Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on Secret Invasion and all tie-in issues, as they continue to sell out quickly at Diamond. Don't miss your second chance for this Secret Invasion tie-in!

As war rips across the globe, the Skrulls might just have Black Panther where they want him! Make sure you check out Black Panther #40 Second Printing Variant!

BLACK PANTHER #40 SECOND PRINTING VARIANT (JUL088530)
Written by JASON AARON
Pencils and Cover by JEFTE PALO
Rated T+ $2.99
FOC - 9/18/08, On-Sale - 10/08/08

Roll Tide!, originally uploaded by Jason Aaron.

Just a sitrep on what all I'm working on right now.

GHOST RIDER -- Things really ramp up beginning with issue #27, and I think the five part arc that begins there will be the best thing I've done on the book so far. I'm introducing a lot of new characters and writing some outrageous fight scenes, and man, I can't wait to write the ending. It's a doozy.

WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY -- In the second issue of this mini I get to give Wolverine a beat-down like he ain't seen since I don't know when. And I also get to bring back the Sons of the Tiger. Anybody out there remember them?

SCALPED -- Still need to finish up the "Gravel in Your Guts" arc that begins with #21, then it's on to a big arc with some more of those stand-alone character-driven issues that our readers seem to love, including looks at some characters we haven't previously focused on, like Agent Nitz and Shunka, Red Crow's right hand man.

PUNISHER CHRISTMAS SPECIAL -- Just in case I ain't already going to hell when I die, this book will most assuredly reserve me a special place there. You've been warned.

UN-NAMED X-RELATED ONE-SHOT -- This hasn't been announced yet so I don't wanna say too much, just that it's a character I haven't written before and it features the only Marvel universe villain I know of who's from Alabama.

ONI GRAPHIC NOVEL -- Things look to be picking up on the graphic novel I've started working on for Oni. Don't want to spoil too much about it since it's still pretty far in the future, but I will say it's about one of my favorite subjects in the entire world: college football.

NEW PROJECTS FOR NEXT YEAR -- Just this past week I've learned about a couple of sweet gigs that look to be lining up for me next year at Marvel. As fun as this year has been for me, next year is looking to be even better. Stay tuned. And thanks for the support.

Up late on Labor Day, working away on GHOST RIDER #30. Just how many Ghost Riders do you reckon I can fit into one single issue? The answer so far: five. And there's more to come.

Had my second fantasy football draft of the week, so you better believe I'm set for the NFL kickoff in a few days. Oh how I abhor that despicably long wait between football seasons. Thank God for the NFL Network. And how about that Crimson Tide the other night? We're back, baby. The Bear is smiling down from his throne in heaven. All is right with the world again.

If you like looking at awesome pieces of original comic art, you should definitely check out the blog of my friend Ande Parks, inker and writer extraordinaire. Ande has an amazing collection. Tell him I sent ya. And remind him I'm gonna kick his ass in Fantasy Football this year too.

That is all. Ghost Rider awaits.