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.

This November, it's the return of Kid Gladiator, as part of an extra-sized story that takes into the depths of Shi'ar space to see KG's new school, the Imperial Guard Academy. And then the events of Infinity come into play, as the whole universe is threatened, and Prince Kubark gets to do what he loves best: punch things.

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN ANNUAL #1
JASON AARON (W)
NICK BRADSHAW (A)
Cover by Ramon Perez
INFINITY TIE IN!
The Avengers find an unlikely ally against the forces of the Builders—KID GLADIATOR!
What has the prince of the Shi’Ar Empire been up to since he left the Jean Grey School?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

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

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

THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #6
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by BUTCH GUICE
Cover by ESAD RIBIC
In a chilling interlude from Jason Aaron and artist Butch Guice (WINTER SOLDIER) discover the dark origin of Gorr…and the truth behind his bloody quest to butcher the gods.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #26 & 27
Jason Aaron (W) • Ramon Perez (A/C)
• Jason Aaron and Eisner-Award winning best artist Ramón Pérez continue the arc that readers will remember for years to come.
• Dog Logan is back and Wolverine is in for a world of hurt.
• The students are on their own in the Savage Land with no supervision. Uh-oh.
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)

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

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!

Many of the students and teachers from the Jean Grey School now have their own accounts on twitter. There's a list of them here. Recently they played out an original scene that can be read in conjunction with WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #5, involving Beast's Biology 101 class examining the wonders of the mutant body in an up-close and personal setting.


@HenryMcCoyPhD Doctor Henry McCoy
Welcome to the @JeanGreySchool Biology 101 class, this is coming to you live from within the circulatory system of an adult male mutant!

@HenryMcCoyPhD Doctor Henry McCoy
That mutant’s identity will remain secret in order to protect his medical privacy.

@JanitorToad Toad
This feels weird.

@HenryMcCoyPhD Doctor Henry McCoy
Thanks to the miracle of size-altering Pym Particles, today we will view the wonders of the mutant body up close!

@QQuire Quentin Quire
I got caught doing that same thing on my computer in Psyche class and got detention for a week.

@idie_okonkwo Idie
This all seems very… indecent. I feel like I should cover my eyes.  

@GenesisHero Genesis
Where I come from in Kansas, I’m pretty sure this sort of thing is illegal.

@GlobHerman Glob Herman
It smells like feet. Are we inside somebody's feet?

@_Broodling_ Broo
So much learning feel like like I’m going to hyperventilate. Keep it together, Broodling.

@KidGladiator1 Kid Gladiator
This is boring! When do we start the dissection?

 @HenryMcCoyPhD Doctor Henry McCoy
Wrong class… alien-boy-whose-name-I-still-cannot-remember. We are not dissecting anything today.

@HenryMcCoyPhD Doctor Henry McCoy
We are merely observing, and experiencing firsthand the intricate beauty of mutant physiology.

@KidGladiator1 Kid Gladiator
You mean... we're just LOOKING at someone's guts?

@KidGladiator1 Kid Gladiator
I've been doing that since I was 12! Usually because I punched someone too hard in the stomach.

For the rest of the scene, visit Marvel.com

Guess who's dropping by the Jean Grey School for a visit?

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #10 
Written by JASON AARON
Pencils & Cover by CHRIS BACHALO
ON SALE THIS MAY!

Our latest Marvel creative retreat was this week, where a bunch of us writers come to New York and sit in a room with our editors and publishers, and for three days straight we all talk comics and make fun of each other. While I can't tell you exactly what was talked about, I can say with confidence that this retreat was more jam-packed with awesome ideas than any retreat I've ever been to. I always come home from these things fired up to get back to work. After this one, even more-so.

Among the things I'm working on right now are AVENGERS VS. X-MEN and its tie-ins issues of WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN. I'm happy with the momentum we've all got going on X-MEN right now, so trust me, I'm very conscious about trying to maintain that during the tie-in months. Our story will not suddenly stop and be replaced but a bunch of crossover stuff that has no connection to what I was doing before. It will all flow together, including in some ways you might not be expecting.

As always, thanks for reading.





The other big highlight of the week for me was dinner at David Chang's momofuku ssäm, where thanks to C.B. Cebulski, a bunch of us gorged on a ridiculous spread of duck, steak, fish, pork buns and spicy sausage. Over dinner I told Remender and Hickman why I think Session 9 is awesome and Christopher Nolan not so much. I also extolled the virtues of Exorcist III but I'm not sure I won them over quite like the pork buns did.

David Chang, I think I love you.

This one by Nick Bradshaw, who's drawing the book's second arc. It features some of the same characters that are on Bachalo's cover, plus at least two that aren't. And those two will probably prove to be the most unexpected members of the cast. That's all I can say for now.

As announced today over the AP wire, X-MEN REGENESIS is the tagline for the new core group of X-books spinning out of SCHISM.

Kieron Gillen will be shepherding UNCANNY X-MEN with Carlos Pacheco and Greg Land.

And I'll be writing WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN. My collaborator? The amazing Chris Bachalo.

More interviews with both Kieron and I will be hitting in the coming days. There's not much we can reveal at this point though, as everything hings on events that will be soon be unfolding in the pages of SCHISM.

I can't say who's going to be on my team, other than Wolverine of course. I can't say where they'll be or what they'll be doing. I will say, don't assume you know the full roster for either team based off this one promo image. Both sides will feature their share of surprises.

I can also say, with profound certainty, that I am having the time of my life working on this series.

The AP story
Interview with Kieron and I at Marvel.com

"WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN will have everything I love about the X-Men,” explains series writer Jason Aaron, who will be joined by artist Chris Bachalo. “Big crazy plots, intense character drama, love, sex, anti-mutant hysteria, man-eating aliens, all-new characters, old favorite characters, bizarre space tech, strange transformations, property damage, telepathic shenanigans, Wolverine drinking whiskey, mutants playing baseball. Except perhaps for that last part."