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 Steve Wacker, who I wrote an as yet unpublished Spider-Man story for that got me this gig.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.

Long Beach Comic Con and Upcoming Project News

As I write this, I'm preparing for two special events at Long Beach Comic-Con, which I'll be attending today, Saturday October 3oth. I'm conducting a workshop called "Writing for Comics, TV and Film" from 12-12:45pm - in Seaside Room 301 and the signing is 2:30-4pm at a location TBD (I'll update as soon as I know).

The bad news is that I won't be signing Rift Raiders. It was supposed to be out already, and I was supposed to be signing copies for the first time today. Evidently, there is some kind of problem with the printer. It's a shame because Rift Raiders has been done since before San Diego. Julian is an extremely fast artist and any delay should be no reflection on him (nor on Kickstart, for that matter).

Like I said, though, I'll be happy to sign anything else. But I'm mostly excited about the workshop I'm having.

Aside from writing, my other "job" is teaching screenwriting for The Writers Boot Camp. It's an acclaimed writing program based out of Santa Monica and New York, and I teach writers from literally all over the world online. I've had a great track record, with my writers winning contests, fellowships and getting hired to adapt bestselling novels for the screen.

The workshop at LBCC will be my way of passing on some of my teaching experience as well as my years of experience writing professionally. It's a short class, but I plan to really delve into substantive storytelling material, along with the usual "how to break in" stuff. I will try and drop as many behind the scenes stories into the mix as possible, the common theme of which I imagine will be "do as I say, not as I do".

As for where I am with my writing now, I'm doing quite a bit more than awaiting the release of Rift Raiders. December will see the release of What If? Spider-Man from Marvel, and Teen Titans: Cold Case from DC. Paul Azaceta is drawing Spidey, and the pages so far look PHENOMENAL. If you've been loving what he's been doing with Mark Waid on The Amazing Spider-Man as I have, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Even better news is that as soon as Paul is finished with What If?, he'll be ready to start our creator owned project, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES. If I say Zombies vs. Marines vs. Taliban, will that whet your appetite. I promise, it's like no zombie book you've ever read, and hopefully one of the stronger war books that you will. GRAVEYARD finally has a publisher, which I hope to announce soon.

I'm also working on my second book for Kickstart. It's called DECOY, and it's a mix of sci-fi and espionage. If you dug UNTHINKABLE or Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, it should be right up your alley. Hopefully there will be an artist announcement soon. The names in consideration have me excited already.

Finally, a webcomics I've been working on for years, DRACULA: SON OF THE DRAGON, will be drawn by my Tori Amos Comic Book Tattoo collaborator Salgood Sam and should see the light of day soon.

I'll have art to show from RIFT RAIDERS, GRAVEYARD and DRACULA for anyone who shows up at Long Beach today.