Jason Aaron Interview
Itai Rosenbaum

Itai Rosenbaum: Hi, Jason. First off, thank you for taking the time to chat with me, I know our readers would be stoked.

Jason Aaron: Thanks for having me.

IR: Let’s start at your beginning, how did you first get into reading comics?

JA: My mom bought me my first comics back before I was even old enough to read, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Some of my early favorites were NEW TEEN TITANS, BLUE DEVIL, ATARI FORCE, Alan Moore’s SWAMP THING, TOMB OF DRACULA and anything by Steve Gerber.

IR: Do you still keep up with them today? Do you have a character or characters you follow religiously?

JA: Yeah, I’ve had a pull list ever since I went to my first comic book store, and my collection has grown exponentially over the years. I have lots of FANTASTIC FOUR, lots of BATMAN, but mostly I follow my favorite creators more than characters.

IR: What about creators, anyone you could point out that you would pick up no matter what?

JA :At present, that list includes Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Brian Wood, Brian Azzarello and Grant Morrison, to name just a few.

IR: What is it about writing comics that drew you into the business?

JA: I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a writer, but for years I had no idea how to even go about trying to break into the comic writing business. Eventually I got lucky and won a Marvel Comics talent search, and even though that didn’t lead to anything else at the time, it encouraged me to keep plugging away. It gave me the courage to believe that I was actually good enough to do this for a living.

IR: Let’s talk about “The Other Side”, the book many consider your breakout book, it chronicles the parallel lives of an American Soldier and a Vietnamese soldier during the Vietnam war. What inspired you to write that story?

JA: My late cousin, Gustav Hasford, was the direct inspiration for THE OTHER SIDE. Gus was a Marine combat correspondent during the Vietnam War and later wrote the novel THE SHORT-TIMERS, which became the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s FULL METAL JACKET. In researching my cousin’s life, I’ve been lucky enough to hang out with his old unit of combat correspondents, and those guys were all a big influence as well.

IR: How did you manage constantly shifting your brain to tell the two very distinct stories of Bill Everette and Vo Dai?

JA: I never really thought about it. I just did as much research as I could, and went from there. I really worked my ass off on that book though. I was working crappy jobs during the day and working like crazy at night on THE OTHER SIDE, and eventually it all paid off when I somehow convinced an editor at Vertigo to take a look at it.

IR: Do you see yourself returning to the characters and/or setting in the future?

JA: Not to the characters. That specific story is finished. But I’m definitely interested in returning to the subject of the Vietnam War at some point. If I do, it’ll probably be a very different story. There are so many different facets of the war to explore, so many different perspectives, and I’d love to tell more of those stories.

IR: Your other Vertigo book, “Scalped”, is receiving great reviews. There are plenty of crime-books out there, but yours is very unique in its setting. What made you choose an Indian reservation as the setting for your book?

JA: It just seemed like a natural setting, really, what with the poverty that grips a lot of present day reservations, and with the current popularity of Indian casinos. And like the Vietnam War, Native American culture and history had been an interest of mine for quite a while.

IR: In today’s franchising worlds, many media outlets are looking to each other for ideas. With books like Wanted, 30 Days of Nights and Watchmen now movies, do you see a potential for Scalped (or maybe The Other Side) being turned into a movie? If so, would you like to have a hand in production, or would you be content to “let the movie people do their thing”?

JA: If it ever happens, I would probably be very hands-off and let the movie people do their thing. I’m still so new to the comic writing biz, that I have no interest in trying to tackle another new industry by writing a screenplay. Maybe some day, but not now.

IR: Moving on, you started your tenure on Ghost Rider a few months ago, and you inherited quite a change in the status quo for the character. Did you know about that going in, or did they tell you “By the way, he’s an angel now, good luck.”?

JA: I was told about that change when I was first asked to pitch for the book, and that’s what really piqued my interest. I loved the idea that I was being given the perfect springboard for telling new stories and introducing new characters, and I’m having a total blast doing that.

IR: You’ve brought your own change to the book by bringing back Daniel Ketch, how do you plan to integrate Dan into the book?

JA: For now, he’s an adversary for Johnny Blaze, and the big arc that begins in issue #28 will pit Ghost Rider vs. Ghost Rider for the very first time. As for what happens with Danny after that, we’ll just have to wait and see. But I will say that one of the reasons I wanted to bring him back in the first place was to try and make him a stronger character, a character I would enjoy writing and one that would hopefully be a part of the Ghost Rider cast for years to come.

IR: What do you think are the key difference between the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider and the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider? Do you have a favorite between the two (or maybe it’s Zero Cochrane (The Marvel 2099 Ghost Rider -Itai))?

JA: I’ve always preferred Blaze, just because he’s a more interesting character to write. Blaze is more tortured, because of his origin. He became Ghost Rider because of a stupid decision he made years ago, selling his soul to the devil. Ketch became Ghost Rider merely by touching a magic gas cap.

IR: Ghost Rider is very unique in that unlike most Marvel characters, he allows you to explore a very spiritual side of the world, and it won’t come off as strange or wonky. Why do you think there aren’t more characters who tap into this slice of the Marvel Universe?

JA: I don’t know, they just aren’t as popular. The 90s series was at its highest point popularity-wise when it was pretty much a straight super hero book, but as far as I’m concerned, Ghost Rider works best when it’s more of a supernatural series.

IR: You have recently come off a very well-received run on Wolverine. I’ll be perfectly honest with you - I wasn’t reading Wolverine before, and started with your run just for Mystique, who’s one of my favorite characters. But you sold me on Logan. How was did it feel, writing one of Marvel’s biggest characters?

JA: It was surreal, since that talent search I won years ago was for a Wolverine story. So it was like coming full circle, really. I love writing Wolverine. Some people complain about him being overused, but the reason everybody wants to use him is because he’s such a fun character to write. And he’s one of those guys you can use as a conduit for telling all sorts of different stories.

IR: With Wolverine being such a prolific character, appearing in nearly ten books a month, it’s very hard to write something that’s never been done before. Did you find that difficult, or did the story just come to you?

JA: No, it wasn’t difficult at all. As I said, he’s such a rich, complex character that you can use for very different kinds of stories. The one-shot I did in WOLVERINE #56 was a very dark character drama where Wolverine was just a secondary character. “Get Mystique” was a gritty, high-octane chase scene from start to finish. And the story I’m currently writing, for a Wolverine mini-series titled “Manifest Destiny,” is my over-the-top salute to Kung Fu cinema.

IR: I, for one, loved the cat and mouse game Wolverine and Mystique played, and have said many times I would read an entire run of that storyline. Do you think you could (and would) do a 50+ issue run of Wolverine vs. Mystique?

JA: That would be one awfully long chase scene! I don’t know about that, but I could definitely do a 50 issue run of WOLVERINE.

IR: In your run you touched on Wolverine’s healing factor. He may heal, but it’s not like he doesn’t feel pain. Do you think there should be a limit to the extent Wolverine should heal from? Do you think people may use it as a cheat to pull off some kind of “cool factor”?

JA: Yeah, it probably does get over-used, and I do like having limits to it, but different writers like to do different things, so it’s sometimes hard to create a consensus.

IR: With Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Scalped and your upcoming run on Black Panther, you’re slowly developing a name for yourself as the “Badass Character” writer. Do you want to solidify that by taking on characters such as Blade or Luke Cage, or do you want to go in other directions?

JA: I’m sure I’ll continue to write the badass characters for a while, but yeah, I do enjoy flexing different creative muscles, so I’d love to tackle different things. I’m really hoping to write a kids’ book pretty soon.

IR: If you could write any character right now, who would it be and why?

JA: I’m actually writing a lot of my favorite characters right now, but at some point I’d love to get my hands on The Thing.

IR: I know you’re a Marvel exclusive right now, but are there any DC characters you wish you could get your hands on?

JA: Hawkman would be fun. And Batman, of course. And I’d kill to write any of the old Atari Force characters.

IR: With the slow move of comic culture into the mainstream, do you think it will be ever be “cool” to collect comics?

JA: Who knows. I’ve always been so far out of touch with what’s cool, that I can’t even say.

IR: Where do you see comics in 10 years?

JA: I’d say dominated more by the book trade than by the direct market. That’s assuming that it’s not all digital by that point.

IR: And finally, who would win in a fight, the Dali Lama or Mahatma Gandhi?

JA: I’m not sure who’d win. I just know we’d all lose.

IR: Thank you for your time!

JA: Thank you!

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