WHAT IF? SPIDER MAN (KILLED KRAVEN THE HUNTER)- OUT NOW

My Marvel Comics debut, "What If? Spider-Man" is out in stores as of this Wednesday, December 15th 2010.

It's hard to say what means more to me, achieving my lifelong dream of working with Marvel, or having my name on another book with Paul Azaceta.

While I've enjoyed writing for DC, I was a Marvel guy growing up. The theme of my Bar Mitzvah was Marvel Comics. Somewhere out there are shirts with a caricature of me in Iron Man's silver and crimson armor with the words "I had a MARVELous time at Mark's Bar Mitzvah".

That particular Iron Man suit, along with a bearded Thor and a Black and Red Captain America, also heralded my favorite Spider-Man garb - his black and white costume. To me, that's the iconic version, and it's the one he wears through most of our What If? story.

What If? Spider-Man spins out of Joe Kelly's recent GRIM HUNT storyline. In it, Spider-Man is run through a gauntlet, with many of those close to him killed by his classic foe Kraven The Hunter. Spider-Man comes close to killing him, and our story asks what would have happen if he'd taken that next step.

There's some people I should thank for this opportunity. Editor Tom Brennan, who not only picked me for this assignment but really stepped in and made this a better story. Steve Wacker, who I wrote an as yet unpublished Spider-Man story for that got me this gig. And Mark Waid, former editor-in-chief of BOOM! Studios. Mark recommended me to Marvel when I was working on Unthinkable, and helped get my foot in the door. That was no small favor - it's hard to imagine the EIC of any major publisher recommending a writer or artist to a competitor. It speaks to the kind of guy Mark Waid is - a mensch.

While it's a dream come true, so is working with Paul again. While he did the covers for UNTHINKABLE, this is the first time we've collaborated on a story since my first published work, GROUNDED, nearly five years ago. Since that time, Paul has become one of the main Spider-Man artists, and one of the top talents in the industry. There's no greater compliment to me than an artist wanting to work with me again. If you like what we're doing here, you're going to love our creator-owned book, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, which should be out in 2011.

In the meantime, I hope you'll check What If? Spider-Man out. Next Wednesday, December 22nd, my last book of 2010 comes out, when I head back to DC Comics for TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE with Sean Murphy.

Big Fun with the Big Two: What If? Spider-Man and Teen Titans: Cold Case

Wow...December is shaping up to be a big month for me. Two books from the big two.

The first is one I haven't announced yet: WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN

Picking up from Joe Kelly and Michael Lark's Amazing Spider-Man arc "Grim Hunt", it asks the question "What if Spider-Man had Killed Kraven the Hunter?".

I'm excited about it for so many reasons I don't know where to start first. How about the artist - Paul Azaceta. Paul has been kicking ass with Mark Waid on Amazing Spider-Man for the past year, so he's a natural fit. If you're not familiar with my creator owned work, Paul drew and co-created my first book, GROUNDED, and did the covers to UNTHINKABLE. This is the first book that we've done together since. (Although it won't be the last, we're working on a creator-owned project that I hope to announce soon, and I think will be BOTH of our best work to date).

If the cover doesn't look like classic Azaceta to you, it's because it's drawn by industry superstar Phil Jimenez. Very excited about that as well.

This will also be my first published work for Marvel (I did do a Web of Spider-Man story that hasn't seen print yet, but I'm still hoping will see a digital release). Saying that I'm a Marvel fanboy would be an understatement. The THEME OF MY BAR MITZVAH was Marvel Comics. I'm debating whether, next time I'm in NY, I should dig out my message board with a mock-up of me as Wolverine, or the t-shirt with my caricature posed in Iron Man's silver and crimson armor.

SPIDER-MAN? What if will be in stores December 15, 2010.

Exactly one week later, will see the release of TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE




This is a project I've mentioned before. A few years ago, my first work-for-hire assignment was to write an arc of Teen Titans for DC. The art was finished, but for reasons I'm still not clear on, it was shelved. Until now.

The artist on the book, Sean Gordon Murphy, is red hot now, due in large part to his great work on Vertigo's JOE THE BARBARIAN with Grant Morrison. Trust me when I say that his Titans art is worth the wait.

(You'll notice that the cover is NOT by Sean - it's by someone named Jay Fabok. I don't know Jay, but if the pencils are anything to go buy he's got it down).

Why is the book called "COLD CASE". Well, in part, it's because it's an untold story of the Teen Titans, like an old murder case being re-investigating.

And, as the cover suggests, it features Captain Cold. It's actually the first meeting between the Titans and The Flash's Rogues gallery, so Cold is just one of the MANY villains the Titans face. I don't want to give to much away, but the story also ties into Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis, providing an answer to an unresolved mystery there.

If you're worried that you won't understand the book because it takes place in the Titan's past (or because you didn't read Identity Crisis, or follow the Titans or Flash etc.) - don't. DC didn't just dust this story off and publish it. I went back and did a major rewrite, with the primary aim being to make this book as accessible as any other I've written.

The original title was actually Father's Day, as one of the threads deals with (then Robin) Tim Drake, and how he deals with the loss of his father. It's an odd bit of coincidence, as I lost my father this year. The rewrite was incredibly emotional because of this. My father was a huge supporter of my work, and a real-life hero (a Federal prosecutor who went after the mob, tried espionage cases etc...he even once chased after a guy with a machete). So I like to think that this story finally seeing print is a sign of some sort.

On a more cheerful note, with the price of comics so high these days, the book is a bargain at $4.99. I know - $4.99, bargain and comic should not be in the same sentence. But it's two issues - 48 pages worth of story! - for less than five bucks. Considering most of the Big Two's comics are $3.99 each, I think it's better than buying two books for eight bucks. When you factor in that it actually tells a complete story, with a beginning, middle and an end (I know shocking in mainstream comics), that's a great deal.

That's out December 22nd 2010.

There are more projects in the works, particularly on the creator-owned side of things. And more announcements. But for now, I hope you pre-order these books from OCTOBER PREVIEWS - I'm quite proud of them book.

(I'll post in more detail later, but I'll be appearing at New York Comic-Con next week, sharing a table with FEARLESS artist PJ Holden, and signing at the Graphic.ly booth as well. And I hope to have copies of RIFT RAIDERS, although I can't guarantee that).