Jim Zub's Blog, page 123

Crowdfinders Interview

I was interviewed by David from the Crowdfinders podcast. We talk about my career, getting my start, working on commercial and creator-owned properties, and a bunch more. Give it a listen.

Audio Interview on The Comic Shoot

The gang at All-Comic interviewed me at the Calgary Expo and we chat about Wayward, Skullkickers, Samurai Jack, creator-owned comics and more.

Click on through to listen to it.

SFX – POP! on Comics Alliance

Over on Comics Alliance I’m one of four creators interviewed about our stories in Vertigo’s latest comics anthology called POP! Click on through to check out my thoughts on sound effects and to see an exclusive preview of my short story “Little Medals”, illustrated by Matt Rockefeller.

Wayward – The Original Pitch, Redacted

Several people have asked me to post up my pitch document for Wayward like I did with Skullkickers. I’ve avoided doing that because the Wayward pitch is filled with story spoilers, but Rob Xara suggested I redact all the bits no one can see yet and that sounded fun… so here’s the original Wayward pitch with big spoiler sections blacked out like a classified military document.

Enjoy!

You’ll notice the whole thing is only 6 pages and the core of it is really just this one summary page. Yeah, it’s lean and mean. As I’ve said before, keep pitches short and focused. If a publisher likes it they’ll ask for more.

Normally you’d also include finished comic pages with a pitch package, especially if you’re new to the industry. In this case both Steve and I were established with a solid body of work and the publishers we were pitching to knew we could deliver pro quality so that wasn’t required.

If you’ve never read Wayward before and the pitch material above has you intrigued, find out more about it by clicking HERE!

Wayward Vol. 1
String Theory
(issues #1-5)
Rori Lane is trying to start a new life when she reunites with her mother in Japan, but ancient creatures lurking in the shadows of Tokyo sense something hidden deep within her, threatening everything she holds dear. Can she unlock the secrets of her power before it’s too late?

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

Chapters-Indigo

Cheap GNs

comiXology

Forbidden Planet

Instock Trades

Midtown Comics

TFAW

Third Eye Comics

Exploring Tokyo in Wayward

Chase Magnett has written a new article all about the way Steve Cummings and I present the city of Tokyo in Wayward and the details we put into it. He’s included a nice photo of Ikebukuro station from Wayward #1. Give it a read!

Wayward #10 Solicitation

Arriving in July. Pre-order now!

WAYWARD #10

STORY: JIM ZUB

ART / COVER A: STEVE CUMMINGS & TAMRA BONVILLAIN

COVER B: HANZO STEINBACH

JULY 29 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50

The second arc ends. The future revealed. Welcome to the next level.

COVER A is part 5 of a five-part panorama by STEVE CUMMINGS and TAMRA BONVILLAIN. Buy all five issues of this story arc to fit them together into a massive WAYWARD illustration.

COVER B is a variant by online fan favorite Hanzo Steinbach.

Skullkickers Vol. 6 Solicitation

Arriving in July, pre-order now!

SKULLKICKERS VOL. 6: INFINITE ICONS OF THE ENDLESS EPIC

STORY: JIM ZUB

ART: EDWIN HUANG & MISTY COATS

COVER: EDWIN HUANG & ESPEN GRUNDETJERN

JULY 8 / 144 PAGES / FC / T / $16.99

In this volume the SKULLKICKERS story comes to an end, but it’s not going out without a fight!

Beer, blood, and battle collide in the ultimate brawl to end it all!

“If you like action or humor, no one is doing it better than these guys.” -The Weekly Crisis

Collects SKULLKICKERS #31-33 & #100.

Skullkickers Vol. 6
Infinite Icons of the Endless Epic
(issues #30-34)
Introduction by Joe Zub
The Skullkickers story comes to an end, but it’s not going out without a fight! Beer, blood, and battle collide in the ultimate brawl to end it all!

PRE-ORDER

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

Chapters-Indigo

Zub on Word Balloon – The Comic Conversation

John Siuntres and I had a wonderful in-depth conversation about my career and the changing face of the comic industry. It’s one of the most extensive interviews I’ve done and covers a lot of ground I haven’t tread elsewhere. It is quite long, so I put together a breakdown of what subjects we cover in case you just want to zero in on a few sections instead of listening to the whole thing.

0:00:00 John’s Introduction

0:04:18 Interview Start: Talking about Canada

0:11:03 Convention Culture

0:15:40 The changing comic industry

0:20:24 How I got my start doing webcomics

0:28:43 Working at UDON

0:34:19 Starting Skullkickers

0:41:48 Working with Edwin Huang

0:44:25 Skullkickers’ final issue

0:51:50 Skullkickers complete Omnibus?

0:54:10 Tutorials, Economics and Working with Image

1:00:56 Working with Retailers

1:06:33 Wayward

1:14:14 Manga sales in North America

1:17:49 Wayward’s touchstone character and the big story

1:22:46 Samurai Jack

1:40:47 Conan and Red Sonja

1:52:57 Teaching and Animation History

2:02:59 Conventions and Travel

2:15:29 Role-Playing Games and Creativity

2:18:35 Wrapping Up

Newsarama Interview About the End of Skullkickers

I talked to Chris Arrant over at Newsarama all about the impending end of Skullkickers and what it feels like to wrap up five years worth of work. Give it a read!

Zub at the Calgary Expo 2015!

Hard to believe that 2015 is the 10th anniversary of the incredible Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, but it is and, for my tenth year in a row, I’ll be there promoting my comics along with some of my dearest friends and collaborators. It’s one of my favorite shows each year and this special anniversary edition is looking to be the best one yet.

I’ll be set up at Artist Alley Table X20 beside Edwin Huang (Skullkickers) and Max Dunbar (Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Baldur’s Gate).

I’ll have convention exclusives (including a limited number of copies of the Wayward Vol. 1 limited edition hardcover left over from ECCC), and a special Calgary Expo variant of Wayward #6 with art by Max Dunbar and Tamra Bonvillain.

I have a new pin-up piece in the Calgary Expo Artbook this year:

In addition, the Skullkickers appear in a special 6 page short story created for this year’s Calgary Expo Program Guide. Rex and Rolf storm the convention in their search for a Baby Thool and chaos ensues. If you’re at the show make sure you check it out.

I’ll also be appearing on a couple panels over the weekend:

FRIDAY

Writing and Pitching Comics

Room: Palomino H

Time: 5:30PM – 6:15PM

Jim Zub of Skullkickers, Samurai Jack, and Pathfinder fame teaches the intricacies of bringing your original ideas to publishers the right way. Bring your own ideas to work with!

SATURDAY

World-Building

Room: Palomino H

Time: 11:30AM – 12:15PM

Ever wonder what it takes to create a world? Seasoned creator guests discuss how they turned their imaginations into worlds with societies and laws that both entertain and make you return to read more. Creator Guests: Conor McCreery, Camila d’Errico, Jim Zub, Ryan Ferrier

Get Published or Die Trying: Try Smarter

Room: Quarter Horse

Time: 3:30PM – 4:15PM

It’s never been easier to get published, but is it a route to a career? This Renegade Arts Entertainment panel features publisher Alexander Finbow and special guests discussing their experiences. Creator Guests: Alexander Finbow, Brett Monro, Jim Zub, Riley Rossmo