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Jason Aaron Interview, Part 3: On Artists, Wrestling And A Popular Movie He Doesn’t Like

By Rav Powell

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Jason Aaron is a busy guy, but he recently took some time to talk to Bam Smack Pow about everything he’s got on his plate. In Part 1 of our interview, he talked about Thor and the big reveal of the Goddess of Thunder, and in Part 2, we learned about his ideal writing environment, Southern Bastards and Star Wars.

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To wrap things up, Aaron tells us about Weirdworld, his love for the WWE and a classic movie he thinks is overrated.

Bam Smack Pow: Let’s talk about what’s coming up for you. You teased Secret Wars earlier and you have a couple of books coming up as part of that. Thors will be highly anticipated because of your work on the previous book and your passion for the characters, but talk about Weirdworld. This looks like a book a lot of people will have their eyes on. With many different elements to draw from and the opportunity to do a sprawling epic, this looks like it will be a fun book to write.

Jason Aaron: Yea, I think that’s the cool thing about Secret Wars is that it’s provided the opportunity to do different kinds of tie-in books you wouldn’t normally see being published by Marvel. Weirdworld is one of the best examples of that. This is a very much a weird genre story. It’s lots of fantasy, lots of sword and sorcery kind of stuff with a lot of weird sci-fi elements mixed in. I’ve been at Marvel for quite a few years, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to write a book like this. So of course, I jumped at that. Let alone the chance to work with Mike Del Mundo who I think is one of the most talented artists working in comics today. The stuff he is doing on this book is mind-blowingly good. So yea, it’s been really fun. It came from an idea by Tom Brevoort. It was his idea to create a land like this, and I was happy to jump on board and throw together as many different oddball characters from throughout Marvel history.

BSP: You’ve had an embarrassment of riches when it comes to artists from Bianchi, Cassaday, Garney and more, and now Del Mundo. How exciting is it for you as a writer to get pages back from these guys and see your words, your ideas come to life in these really incredible pages that ultimately will accompany your words in these books?

Aaron: It’s amazing! It’s easy to get spoiled because, you’re right, especially lately, it’s been a murderer’s row of artists that I’m getting to work with. That’s when the job is the most exciting. You want it to always feel like a collaboration. But work for hire stuff can feel more impersonal at times. You are working with artists you may never meet in person, may not talk to on the phone. But the magic of collaboration can still happen. When you’re getting to work with the caliber of  folks I’m getting to work with lately, it’s great just to send the scripts off to them and get pages back that are so above and beyond anything you could’ve possibly imagined. It makes it fun to check your email.

BSP: Okay, here are some quick hitters…

What’s your dream character to write?

Aaron: Hmmm … there are characters I like, I mean I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid, so if you flip through my long boxes you’ll see lots of Fantastic Four comics, Batman comics … Teen Titans. But I quickly figured out when I started writing comics that it never makes sense to chase after characters. If anything, I chase after editors and other creators … that’s the path to happiness. Working with people you want to work with, people you have similar sensibilities with. With pretty much any character, you can do the work and figure out a good story to tell. There are characters I’d like to get a shot at but I’m not carrying around a suitcase full of Batman stories or Spider-Man stories that I’m just dying to tell. For me, it’s more about the relationships and the challenge. Thor wasn’t a character I was dying to write until the opportunity presented itself and I came up with some Thor ideas I was really excited about. To me, that’s one of the things that keeps the job exciting. Looking for surprises like that as opposed to chasing after one character or another.

BSP: Many may not know you are a wrestling fan as am I so I have to ask, what is the best feud in wrestling? And which performer do you get the most excited to see?

Aaron: I am a huge fan of Seth Rollins, even though I don’t know if I’m a fan of how he’s been booked since winning the championship. I started watching wrestling at about the same time his career was beginning in the WWE. I got to watch him with the Shield and then him going out on his own and becoming champ. All that time, he was the guy who always delivered. Whether it was a promo or a match, he always seemed to steal the show.

In terms of feuds, I really like the Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens feud right now in NXT. I think that’s been really cool. The storytelling has been very simple. You watch Sami Zayn, him being the underdog who struggled for so long and then finally won the title … Then in the same show, when he’s in the midst of celebrating the greatest moment of his career, one of his best friends stabs him in the back out of the blue. That’s so simple, yet so archetypal and so powerful. That feud is going to be fun to watch. The other guy I love is Finn Balor. I’m a huge Finn Balor mark. Whenever I see that guy I feel like I’m 12 years old again, looking up at the man I wanna be when I grow up. You can’t help but just freak out when you see the guy. He just seems to be made out of money at this point … whatever they choose to do with him, he’s going to be a big star.

Last question, I heard from a mutual friend (William Binderup at Elite Comics in KC) that you aren’t a fan of Ghostbusters, what’s up with that?

(Laughs) I’m a fan of Ghostbusters. It’s not that. I just think that the original film is rather overrated. That’s my general opinion that has gotten me yelled at on many Wednesday nights at the comic book store. I like the idea of Ghostbusters, I like the concept. I used to watch the cartoon when I was a kid. I still like the cartoon. But I don’t know, I just think that original film isn’t very funny. It feels like they’re all just kind of sleepwalking through that movie, especially Bill Murray.

Would you write a Ghostbusters book if given the opportunity?

(Laughs) Sure, I wouldn’t turn it down if I had a story to tell.

Next: Jason Aaron interview, part 2: On Star Wars, Southern Bastards and more

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