By Francesco Francavilla. It's part three of "High Lonesome," a sad little tale called "The Ballad of Baylis Earl Nitz."

The stove was fired up by a fellow that looked to be made of coat hangers and a thin coating of flesh. When Skinny got the grease in the frying pan going, eggs were cracked by the meat heads and dumped into the pan and the pancake batter was whipped by the pointy heads and poured onto buttered griddles. The fat lady with the beard began to flip and cook the pancakes then took over the egg chores from the meat heads. Conrad made an appearance, rearing up on his hind legs to stand at the stove and talk to the fat lady.

Skinny found a camp stool and a pack of cigarettes and began to smoke and look off thoughtfully into the bright damp morning, as if everything he might ever need to do had just been done.
--from FREEZER BURN

This is the story of 1970’s action legend Black Dynamite. When “The Man” murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages, and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to fight all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House.

SCALPED #28
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by RM Guera
Cover by Jock
In 1975, two federal agents were shot and killed on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation. This issue, find out what really happened that day and who fired the fatal shots as we catch up with jailed militant Lawrence Belcourt and the lonely mystic known only as Catcher.
On sale April 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • MATURE READERS

GHOST RIDER #34
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by TONY MOORE
Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM
Wolverine Art Appreciation Variant by TBA
"TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS," PART 2
Among the truckers who work the loneliest stretches of highways at night, there is a legend. The legend of the Highwayman, the hellbilly terror of the hammer lane, a former trucker who was cursed by the devil and now drives a mystical black rig, preying on the souls of anyone foolish enough to drive his highways come nightfall. This issue, that happens to be Danny Ketch, a man who knows a thing or two when it comes to curses.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99


WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #1
Written by JASON AARON
Pencils & Cover by RON GARNEY
50/50 Variant Cover by ADAM KUBERT
Variant Cover A by TBA
Variant Cover B by TBA
“THE ADAMANTIUM MEN” Part 1 (of 5)
In the jungles of Colombia, people are turning up dead, whole villages brutally slaughtered by a team of soldiers who move through the shadows like ghosts. On the streets of San Francisco, Logan learns that the files from the old Weapon X program, the blueprints for building Adamantium-laced super soldiers like himself, have fallen into the hands of the evil corporation, Roxxon. Once again, it seems, someone is looking to build the perfect killing machine. That means it's time for Wolverine to step in, and remind them that someone already did. Plus 8 pages of Director's Cut Extras!
40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99


MARVEL ASSISTANT-SIZED SPECTACULAR #1 (OF 2)
Written by CHRIS ELIOPOULOS, JASON AARON, CHRIS YOST, CHRIS GIARRUSSO, ADAM WARREN, WYATT CENAC & BRIAN PATCHETT
Art by JACOB CHABOT, RICHARD ISANOVE, JOH JAMES, CHRIS GIARRUSSO, TODD NAUCK & XURXO PENALTA
Cover by DAVID WILLIAMS
Rejects, benchwarmers, lovable losers, and might-be Avengers...assemble! In the beloved tradition of Assistant Editors’ Month, we the staffers are sick and tired of our bosses telling nothing but Wolverine stories, Spider-Man stories, Captain America stories...and we’re taking matters into our own oddball hands! Little guys can be heroes, too...and when this motley crew of misfits gets their shot – in stories featuring Elsa Bloodstone, American Eagle, D-Man, the daughter of Galactus, Mini Marvel cake-eating Hawkeye, Candidate Luke Cage, and more – it could be the start of something big! Don’t miss this two-issue anthology of also-rans who might – just MIGHT – ascend to the A-list! (Fingers crossed. Really we’re just hoping this doesn’t get us fired.)
40 PGS. (each)/Rated A ...$3.99(each)

That game hurt just to watch. That was football at its toughest and most violent. And I loved every second of it.

Hard to write SCALPED though when I'm this jazzed.

It's the penultimate chapter in the big "Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" arc, and it marks the return of artist Roland Boschi to the pages of GHOST RIDER. Roland steps in to pencil the opening flashback this issue, which catches us up on Deputy Kowalski, who we last saw back in the "Hell Bent and Heaven Bound" arc that Roland drew. As you can tell, things haven't been going so great for Kowalski. Having your hand chopped off and eaten will do that to you. Look for more GHOST RIDER art from Roland later this year.

The rest of this issue is drawn by the always amazing Tan Eng Huat.

GHOST RIDER #31 hits stores on January 21.

Here's the rundown:

I'm always posting on my message board at standardattrition.org. There are Q&A threads for each one of my books, plus a bibliography and art posts and heartwarming stories like this.

I occasionally post things at the Standard Attrition group blog that you won't see reprinted here, like the recent end of the year sit-rep.

I spout random nonsense throughout the day at twitter (usually having to do with football or my parental misadventures) and post my photos to flickr (though I've never been much of a shutterbug) and if you wanna know what's on my iPod then check out last.fm (hint: there's a lot of Springsteen and alt-country).

I also have pages at myspace and facebook, but admittedly I don't keep up with either one of them very well. If you want to get in touch with me, best bet is to use the email address listed on this page instead of trying to contact me through either one of those other sites.

I'm nominated for Best Writer and SCALPED is nominated for Favorite Mature Reader Comic. If you're a mature reader and would like to vote, here's the link:

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/wizardfanawards2008.html

And names R.M. Guera as artist of the year. Right on.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/36556324.html

"What a magnificently stupid son of the great whore this one is."
--from THE BOUNTY HUNTERS

If there's such a thing as reincarnation, please let me come back as an outside linebacker in the Steelers 3-4 defense. Please.

Also, if you're not excited to see the brutal slugfest that will be the Steelers vs. Ravens this weekend, then you don't love football.

And I pity you.

"We're trying to paint a picture of his life," actor Rodney Clark says of Paul "Bear" Bryant, whom he portrays in "Bear Country."

http://blog.al.com/aharvey/2009/01/alabama_shakespeare_festival_p.html

Do you think I will see this? Choose from the following:

OH, HELL YES

OH, HELL NO

ONLY IF THERE'S NUDITY

If you chose anything other than OH, HELL YES, then you are officially not qualified to update my Wikipedia entry.

Hustler's Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis Ask for Government Bailout of the Adult Entertainment Industry

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind," Flynt says, "It's time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."

Oh, Larry Flynt. Sometimes you can't help but like the guy.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hustlers-Larry-Flynt-and-prnews-13992641.html

Looks like the American Eagle story I did recently for Marvel.com will be reprinted in this upcoming ASSISTANT-SIZED SPECTACULAR, which harkens back to the days of "Assistant Editor's Month." It's due out in April.

Francesco is an artist I've been wanting to work with for a while, and now he's drawing issue #27 of SCALPED. He posted this on his blog. Behold.

As I'm sure you know, Cory's the artist on Robert Kirkman's INVINCIBLE. He posted this cool sketch on his blog.

Icicle Bird, originally uploaded by Jason Aaron.

Icicle shaped like a bird. Found along Mill Creek, the stream that runs behind my grandfather's old farm, outside Jasper, Alabama.

SCALPED placed at #3, and here's what their reviewers had to say:

Jason Aaron pulls no punches and is unafraid to really delve into his characters as they struggle with the reality of living on an Indian Reservation. - Reviewer Chad Nevett

So much more than just a Vertigo crime comic, Jason Aaron & R.M. Guerra's "Scalped" tells a complex story of family, corruption, and destiny. This is the best monthly series on the stands, and if you're not reading it, you are missing out on something special. - Columnist/Reviewer Timothy Callahan

I worried that Aaron's workload would cause this title to suffer. I worried he didn't have the skill to pull together this complex web of characters and to make them real. I worried he didn't have the balls to make this as dark and tragic a story as it demanded. Now I just read the book. - Contributing Writer Alex Deuben

Aaron and Guera's Native American crime saga, “Scalped” is the pulpy four-color equivalent of HBO's highly acclaimed series "The Wire." The intriguing cast of characters and powerful and often heart breaking stories make “Scalped” the best comic series I've read all year. - Staff Writer Dave Richards