Aaron And Deodato Jr. Launch 'Original Sin' Event For Marvel

It's become customary in comics for the major publishers to announce their "summer blockbuster" miniseries each year, with big event stories from high profile artists and writers. Today, Marvel has revealed plans for its annual event series, and this time it's a murder mystery on a grand scale. Starting this spring, Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato Jr. are teaming up for Original Sin, an eight part story that starts off on the moon, where the dead body of The Watcher is discovered. Simply put, when a seemingly omnipotent being who knows everyone's secrets is suddenly found murdered outside of his home, and all his stuff is gone, it's a problem.

Original Sin is a cosmic murder mystery, with Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Black Widow, and more hunting down the killer, as they try to figure out what a being who sees everything must have seen that would lead to someone deciding to kill him. “This is basically a crime story. A murder mystery. A manhunt. But with the entirety of the Marvel Universe as its backdrop,” said Aaron, in a statement released by Marvel. "We’re taking all the toys out of their packaging for this one. Everyone and everything is in play. For some characters, life will never be the same again. And it’s only a matter of time before more bodies are popping up.”

While Aaron has been involved in big projects for Marvel in the past, most recently "Battle of the Atom," this series represents his first time as the solo scribe on an "event" book. In an interview with CBR, the writer revealed that this was an idea that had been "in the ether" for some time, having originally come up in a Marvel retreat a few years back and at one point being tentatively attached to Ed Brubaker. "Some time last year it was floating around again, and I just kind of reached out and grabbed it." The series will have a "huge" cast, and Aaron believes Deodato is ideal for such a story. "It's cool to get to see Mike's take on The Punisher, and Doctor Strange, and Fury, some of those sorts of characters -- Gamora, from Guardians of the Galaxy."

Even if it's an event book, at it's heart this is a crime story, something that Aaron, the writer of the critically celebrated Scalped for Vertigo, excels at. "The thing the hooked me, that I gravitated toward, was that murder mystery aspect of it; the crime story part of it. I love the idea of doing a crime story that plays out in such a grand and epic way across the whole Marvel Universe. I think those are the kinds of stories you don't get to write every day, so once it comes along, I grab for it."

Original Sin #1 goes on sale in May.