More of everything is coming.
And some new stuff too.
That’s the short answer to the question of "Hey, when are we getting more new creator-owned work?"
But to be a bit more specific…
The next arc of THE GODDAMNED is called “The Virgin Brides,” and it is even more wickedly gorgeous than the last.
It’s also a completely different sort of tale than our opening Cain vs. Noah showdown. THE GODDAMNED is about exploring all the different depraved corners of the pre-flood Biblical world. Think CRIMINAL by Brubaker and Phillips, but set during the book of Genesis. So take out the guns and replace them with lots of pointy sticks and jagged rocks and the jawbone of an ass.
(God, I love caveman comics.)
But even though THE GODDAMNED is basically meant to be a collection of loosely-connected stand-alone stories, that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing Cain again. As we’ve already learned, the man who invented murder has a knack for sticking around.
With “The Virgin Brides,” a couple of new characters take center stage. We’re introduced to two young girls who’ve been raised their entire lives in a remote nunnery, surrounded by creepy old nuns and stone-faced amazon warriors and strange, unearthly wails coming from the misty mountain that looms above them. One day those girls discover the terrible secret at the dark heart of their world and realize they’ve got no choice but to get the hell out at any cost.
Guera has been working away and solely focused on THE GODDAMNED for months now, and at this point we have a few issues worth of beautiful pages in the can. We’re just holding off a little longer before we solicit, to try and make sure we can deliver the whole arc in a timely manner. Please know that your eagerness for the next story is noted and greatly appreciated, and all of us involved are super excited for you to see what fresh new Biblical brutality we've been cooking up.
Pretty much the same goes for SOUTHERN BASTARDS. Right now we’ve got four trades in print, and that fourth one ended at a pretty pivotal moment story-wise, as Roberta Tubb made the decision to stick around in her father’s old stomping ground and fight to oppose Coach Boss’s interests. The next story will open on a Craw County in upheaval.
Jason Latour is writing and drawing the next issue himself, and that’ll serve as a direct lead-in to our next big arc, “Rebs,” when the shit really starts to hit the fan, for everybody involved. We’ll also be looking to release our second hardcover collection in conjunction with the book’s return for another season of football, BBQ and stick-swingin’.
There also continues to be movement on a possible SOUTHERN BASTARDS TV show through producer Scott Rudin and FX, though there’s really nothing more we can say right now, other than that Latour and I both remain excited about who’s involved and how things seem to be looking.
Speaking of TV stuff, I also continue to get questions about the SCALPED series that was announced a few years ago. It didn’t happen. They shot a pilot with a really incredible cast (including Zahn McClarnon who turned heads on “Westworld” this past season), but the series didn’t get picked up.
As always, I just remain grateful that all of us involved got to tell the story we wanted to tell over the course of 60 issues. Sixty issues that literally changed my life. And those issues are out there for all to read, in trade and hardcover.
In terms of other existing creator-owned books of mine, I was really happy to get new hardcover editions of THE OTHER SIDE and MEN OF WRATH in print at Image. I think both of those turned out pretty sharp. Add them to your library today if you haven’t already. If people are interested, I could also add signed copies to my store at this new site.
This site will continue to grow and evolve and feature new updates and info on everything I’m working on going forward. Which, shit, is a lot right now. But holy fuck, I’m sincerely loving it all, so very damn much. This is gonna be a fun year, for sure.
And hey, speaking of new things I’m working on, I wanna leave you with a little tease of a brand new creator-owned project I’m super excited about.
I don’t wanna tell you what it’s called yet or what it’s about. I’ll just say you’re looking at art by Stephen Green and Rico Renzi. And the book is unlike anything I’ve ever been involved with. And it’s coming very soon to make sweet, sweaty love to all of your eyeballs.
Thanks for looking. Thanks as always for reading.
Jason Aaron
KC, January 2019