A Marvel comic-book writer
is coming to Winter Park to share “Legacy” of stories.
Comic-book writer Jason Aaron has a fondness for A Comic Shop in Winter Park. “It’s one of my favorite shops anywhere,” said the author from his home in Kansas City, Kan. The venue is home to The Geek Easy, a bar in back of the comic store. “I know whenever I do a signing there, they always make it a big party.”
Aaron, 44, heads Wednesday to A Comic Shop. The writer of “The Mighty Thor,” “Doctor Strange” and more than a dozen other titles will celebrate the release of “Marvel Legacy,” a 50-page one-shot story that will usher in the next couple years of story lines in the Marvel universe.
“The initiative is about honoring the rich history of Marvel and the long legacy of the awesome characters that have been built there over the course of 50-plus years and the amazing creators that worked on those characters,” said Aaron.
The Alabama native is the author of the acclaimed series “Scalped” for DC/Vertigo and the award-winning Image Comics series “Southern Bastards.” In 2014, he caused a controversy among comics fans when he turned Jane Foster, a former love interest for Thor, into the God of Thunder herself.
People who are only familiar with Marvel from the movies might be a bit surprised by what they see in “Marvel Legacy.” Not only does this resurrect characters who have been dead or altered in the comics, it also focuses on many of the newer alter egos of famous superheroes, such as Riri Williams, the 15-year-old teenager who has taken the mantle of Iron Man from Tony Stark.
“It’s also about taking those characters that we all love and grew up with and telling new stories with them,” said Aaron. “As the writer who made Jane Foster into Thor ... I’m not eager to throw that all away and just bring back the old guy.”
But Aaron recognizes his power with changing characters isn’t limitless. “There are a lot of hands such a decision goes through,” he said. “You’re never given free reins.”
Dealing with icons is tricky business. At Marvel, writers and editors attend semiannual retreats to discuss the direction for the imprint. Aaron notes this process is a big change from writing alone at home.
“It’s always very different when you go sit in a room with 40 different people, and you’ve got 40 different perspectives,” he said. “You can take any one story and give it to five different writers in that room, and you’d get five different versions of that story.”
The challenge to create something that honors the origins of the characters and their impact is very personal for Aaron.
“My career as a comicbook writer coincided with me becoming a dad for the first time,” he said. “So as I’m sitting here typing up stories about Wolverine, Doctor Strange and whoever, right down the hall, my son has those same characters in his toy box. That makes me very aware of the responsibility I have and the influence.”