When Jason Aaron’s Punisher miniseries came to a close last summer, it was viewed by many as the swan song for the writer’s time with Marvel — an impression helped by the fact that he’s been noticeably absent from the publisher’s output in the months since, with brand new superhero work instead appearing from DC with the likes of Batman: Off-World and Action Comics. As it turns out, Aaron's Marvel break was just that — and he’s already got something new in the works over there.

Talking about where his head is creatively these days, Aaron told Popverse as part of a recent conversation, “I was very happy at Marvel. I started at DC, and then I was at Vertigo, but I think of that as its own little secret clubhouse within the halls of DC. And then [I] spent so many years at Marvel, [and] still have great relationships there, still doing some things at Marvel, but just my career reached that point where I wanted a change. I wanted to break away from doing one ongoing book after another after years and years of that. Wanted to not be exclusive so I could work wherever, take any phone call that would come my way.”

Yes, that’s right. “Still doing some things at Marvel.”

As to what those things are, he’s teased some details as part of his newsletter recently. He wrote that he’s doing two projects for the company, adding, “one of them [is] a mini-series that is stylistically and tonally a combination of my Punisher: King of Killers book and my work on Thor: God of Thunder,” although he added that “it’s neither a Punisher story or a Thor one.” The second, he teased, “I can’t really say anything about his one at all, other than… it’ll be a surprise, just like it was to me when I got the phone call.”

It’s worth bearing in mind that Marvel continues to hold a number of licensed titles, and that Aaron has done licensed work with the company in the past, launching its Star Wars title in 2015, and its Conan the Barbarian relaunch in 2019. Could we be about to see an unexpected licensed book from Aaron at Marvel in the near future…? (My fingers are crossed for him to take on Planet of the Apes, I’ll be honest.)

Popverse members will be able to read the full conversation with Aaron on Popverse later today.

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