DF Interview: Jason Aaron & Mahmud Asrar launch a dark brutal conflict in ‘Bug Wars’

By Byron Brewer

Slade Slaymaker is a kid from Alabama suddenly lost in a vicious world beyond his imagining, a world of marauding ant armies, spellcasting spider witches, and beetle-riding barbarians. A kingdom of tiny but deadly warriors hidden in his own backyard. The same world that saw his father eaten alive by insects now plunges young Slade into the middle of a brutal Bug War to decide the fate of his family.

From Image Comics, writer Jason Aaron and artist Mahmud Asrar bring readers the over-sized debut of a dark fantasy epic for the ages. It was my honor to talk with this superstar creative team about their coming limited series.

Byron Brewer: Jason & Mahmud, tell readers how you came together to create this dark fantasy beneath our feet, Bug Wars.

Jason Aaron: We had such fun working together on Conan the Barbarian and King Conan for Marvel that we wanted to create our own fantasy world. One where we’d be purely unfettered. and unrestrained. A world we could explore for years to come.

Mahmud Asrar: It appears we are in sync with Jason on a few things. Making fantasy adventure comics together seems to be one of those things. So once we started discussing making a comic of our own, we ended up with creating Bug Wars.

Byron: Jason, what inspired such a savage saga? Is this idea something that has been on the Aaron backburner awhile now? What was its inspiration?

Jason Aaron: Yeah, this is an idea that’s been percolating in my head for about a good 40 years. When I was a kid back in the 80s, Sword of the Atom was one of the first comics I fell in love with. It’s a book that sees the Atom discover a secret kingdom of sword-wielding, frog-riding, six-inch-tall warriors hidden in the jungle. Something about that kind of miniaturized sword and sorcery saga really sparked in my brain, and since then I’ve been fascinated with stories of people shrinking down and finding adventure in fantastic worlds that lie hidden beneath our feet. The Yard of Bug Wars is based exactly on the huge backyard I played in when I was a kid. To me, that yard became whatever sort of fantasy land I wanted to imagine. I fell in love with storytelling in that yard. So, you might not initially think so, but this is actually a very personal story for me.

Byron: Mahmud, I understand you have been very enthusiastic about this limited series, even calling it “the culmination of what I wanted to do in comics”?

Mahmud Asrar: Absolutely. I’m very scientifically minded when it comes to my outlook on life. Logic and reason are usually what drives me. However, when it comes to making comics, I truly enjoy fantasy. Bug Wars kind of scratches both of those itches. I can be as imaginative as I want where every panel is a chance to create something new while still having to learn and research things I didn’t know about in regards to all the insects and critters I get to draw. I’ve worked on fantasy books before but not something of my own where I could do as I choose without restriction. I get to learn and use that to imagine new things.

Byron: Would you both talk about protagonist Slade Slaymaker from your separate perspectives? Jason, could you introduce him to us and give a little backstory, as you are able without spoilers? Mahmud, how did you decide to approach this character? Did you do the character designs for the book?

Jason Aaron: Slade’s a 15-year-old kid who’s a bit shy and awkward, more comfortable around insects than he is other humans. But when he finds himself shrunk to the size of a bug and lost in his own backyard, he’ll have to grow up really fast because he’s suddenly facing a very brutal fight to save his family. Even though this is a story where the main character is a kid, this most assuredly isn’t a story for children. The stakes in the Yard are quite grim and brutal.

Mahmud Asrar: Aside from some visual cues from Jason, I was inspired by my teenager son in both demeanor and visuals. As a father, I can’t help but see a lot of my son in him, yet I also see a lot of myself as a kid growing up in Slade. So it was a bit of observation along with conjuring of memories that I used to portray him. And yes, I did all the design work for the book. That is a particular perk of making creator-owned comics. It’s all up to us.

Byron: Jason, tell us about the mini-militaries that dwell in the Slaymaker family yard: arachnid sorceresses casting hexes, roving ant armies, Conan-esque insects mounted on beetles, etc. Is this normal in the Alabama of the world which is your canvas herein?

Jason Aaron: No, this definitely isn’t your standard backwoods yard. Slade and his family just moved into this house, and Slade has no idea what’s lying hidden in the overgrown grass of the backyard until he’s suddenly lost in it, fighting for his life. The Yard is divided between various warring sects of Mytes, like the mystical Spyder Wytches of Wyrdweb, the rum-guzzling barbarians of the Beetle Clans and the ruthless Anturion soldiers of the Ant Imperium, not to mention the creepy, carrion-loving Maggot Monks. The sects have been warring against each other for many molts, but now they find themselves putting aside old grudges to come together and face a new enemy: Slade’s family.

Byron: Mahmud, I would imagine this would be very fun to illustrate, an adventure where your imagination could run wild? And while I don’t know this, I would think there would be some unusual looks at perspective as well? What other ways could you go crazy with your artist’s toolbox?

Mahmud Asrar: The particular challenge with this book is two-fold, I would say: Getting to play with scale and having to research how small things look up close. Scale is a constant issue as I have to figure out how things relate to each other in size. Also normally, when illustrating comics, we tend not to go into details on most small things, such as blades of grass or the mouthparts on a European Rhinoceros beetle. Now I have to investigate all of that and find a visual language to depict them in my own style. So acquiring a few books and building a reference library was essential.

Byron: Very cool! … Jason, are there any undercurrent messages within the six parts of Bug Wars you hope readers pick up or take to heart?

Jason Aaron: That you can find adventure wherever you look. And that we need to maintain a healthy respect for insects, since there are roughly a billion of them for every one of us. So here’s hoping they don’t someday get organized and decide they’d rather live on this planet without us big, bumbling humans around.

Byron: Mahmud & Jason, what can each of you tell us about other projects coming out in which you are involved, inside or outside comics?

Jason Aaron: More Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, more Absolute Superman, and a whole lot more Bug Wars.

Mahmud Asrar: A lot of Bug Wars and likely a few shorter ventures here and there. Perhaps dabbling with some writing myself too. My art can also be found on quite a few comic covers from various publishers.

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Jason Aaron & Mahmud Asrar for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer our questions. Bug Wars #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale February 12, 2025!

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