Franklin Jonas talks Fireborn, music, and breaking into comics

Episode 374 of the AIPT Comics podcast puts a major spotlight on a surprising and passionate new voice in comics: Franklin Jonas. Best known for his music career, Jonas joins the show to talk about co-writing Fireborn within the Lost Fantasy universe, offering a candid look at how a lifelong love of comics turned into a full-fledged creative pursuit. Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you can sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us on our Discord soon! NEWS Marvel Comics releases all 'Queen in Black' solicits for titles out July 2026 Queen in Black grows with 'Venom Unchained' miniseries Marvel Comics’ ‘Queen in Black’ Blind Bag gets bigger with ‘True Believers Display Boxes’ Marvel teases a new mystery hero who may outpower Red Hulk in ‘Avengers: Armageddon’ Marvel Comics teases a cryptic new threat: DNX Marvel’s What If…? returns with multiverse twists for its 50th anniversary Batman vs. FIVE Robins?! 'Absolute Batman' #20 cover reveal changes everything Aquaman and Jeff team up now available on Marvel Unlimited DC and Marvel reveal 'Supergirl/Blade' digital crossover launching April 2026 Top 50 March sales is live Our Top Books of the Week: Dave: Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #1 (Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell) Uncanny X-Men #26 (Gail Simone, Luciano Vecchio) Chris:​​ Punk'n Heads (Dave Baker and Nicole Goux) Bleeding Hearts #3 (Deniz Camp, Stipan Morian) Standout KAPOW moment of the week: Chris: Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #1 (Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell) Dave: Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Joe Kelly, Francesco Manna) TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK Chris: Tigress Island #2 (Patrick Kindlon, EPHK) Dave: Super Creepshow #2 (info) JUDGING BY THE COVER JR. Dave: Lobo #2 (Lee Bermejo) Chris: Narco #2 (Daniel Hillyard and Dave Stewart) Interview: Franklin Jonas - Out April 15, FOC March 23rd - Artist: h with Curt Pires co-writing You’re stepping into Curt Pires’ Lost Fantasy world—what excited you most about co-writing in an established universe, and how did you find your voice within it? As someone who works in music, where rhythm, pacing, and emotion are everything, did that background influence how you approached writing Fireborn—especially in terms of momentum, dialogue, or how scenes “flow” on the page? Aaron Hillburg is introduced as a “rich-kid failson,” which is such a loaded archetype—what made him the right entry point for a story that quickly becomes this massive, magical chase? The dragon egg bonding to Aaron is such a striking image—what did you want that relationship to represent, both visually and emotionally, as the series unfolds? Patrick Mulholland’s art brings a kinetic, almost explosive energy to the concept—how closely did you collaborate on visual storytelling, especially with something as wild as a floating dragon egg? 11:10 Dark Reign war machine 11:45 Fear Itself This feels like a story about inheritance in more ways than one—family, power, responsibility—what themes were most important for you to explore through Aaron’s journey? For readers who haven’t touched Lost Fantasy before, how accessible is Fireborn as a jumping-on point, and what kind of experience were you aiming to deliver in issue #1? If Aaron had to survive in New York for 24 hours before the egg bonded to him, what’s the most “failson” decision he’d make that would somehow make everything worse?