Jim Zub's Blog, page 21
August 28, 2023
Zub at Dragon Con 2023!
It’s been a loo~oong time since I last attended DRAGON CON in Atlanta, Georgia. My entire comic writing career, including a whole swack of sword & sorcery work on Dungeons & Dragons, Conan the Barbarian, Pathfinder, Samurai Jack, and Skullkickers has come out since I was last there. Finally, after 18 years away, I’m back in 2023!
I’ll be set up with the Comic Sketch Art team, at
We’ll have first print copies of Conan the Barbarian #1, including the CSA-exclusive variant illustrated by Dan Panosian, as long as copies last, along with other single issues, variants, trades, and a few sketch covers.
In addition to signing at my table, I’ll be on four panels over the weekend:
FRIDAY, SEPT 1, 2023
1:00pm Image Comics: The Place for Creator-Owned Comics
5:30pm The Comic Writer’s Room Discussion and Q&A
SATURDAY, SEPT 2, 2023
1:00pm Conan the Barbarian in Comics & Art
4:00pm Dynamite Comics’ Female Warriors: Red Sonja & Dejah Thoris
August 27, 2023
Zubby Newsletter #24: Common Critique
The always amazing Steve Lieber put together an extremely helpful list of 12 common comic art portfolio critiques and asked if any comic writer wanted to do the same kind of thing, so I picked up the baton and ran with it.
(Of course, Zdarsky’s version is probably the most realistic out of the three of us…)
Read, learn, and if you like it, feel free to share far and wide.
The D&D Young Adventurer’s Monsters & Creatures Compendium just arrived in stores on August 22nd. It’s a larger trim size collection of creature content (with some text updates) from all of the released D&D Young Adventurer’s Guides so far. Perfect for libraries and game clubs, it also makes a great gift for the new gamer or Dungeon Master in your life.
A 248 page full color hardcover for only $24.99 USD!
Apparently I am a SelloutI received the incredible news that you have done it AGAIN – one week before release and reorders for CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2 blew way past the deep overprint Titan Comics put together!
Conan #2 second print, in stores September 27th, will have a cover by Ravaging Rob De La Torre (or you can snag a ferocious first print copy when it hits shelves next week like a thunderclap) 
.
This launch has been the biggest of my career so far and so much of that has been thanks to the enthusiasm of readers, reviewers, and retailers. THANK YOU for your support. It means a lot.
Forbidden Planet TGConan editor Matt Murray and I had a wonderful chat with Andrew Sumner at Forbidden Planet TV all about our creative careers, our favorite Cimmerian, cataclysmic comic creation, and other curiosities! Give it a watch-
A few nights ago, Richard Pace did a Conan the Barbarian sketch cover livestream and it turned out great.
Richard and I are currently collaborating on a brutal story for the new Savage Sword of Conan series launching in 2024. Can’t wait for you to see what we’re cooking up.
Garlic Lemon Salmon Pasta
I put together a tasty pasta dish on Sunday using ingredients and techniques from a couple other recipes to make it my own. It feels so good to be able to confidently choose ingredients and experiment rather than feeling like I have to strictly follow a recipe in order to get good results.
I usually eat quite quickly, so I know a dish works well when Stacy wolfs it down just as fast as I do. She just kept digging in and saying “Goddamn, this is good.”
Ingredients (two servings)10-14 ounces of salmon, skin off4 Tbsp butter (2 for the sauce, 2 for the fish fry)2 Tbsp all-purpose flour1 cup cream1 cup grated old cheddar1/3 cup grated parmesan4 cloves of garlichalf a lemonpasta of your choicedill, parsley, basil, kosher salt, pepper, other spices of your choiceStart up a large pot of boiling water and salt it well.Chop up the garlic, dill, and parsley. Grate the cheese.Make sure there are no bones in the salmon and cut it into bite-size pieces with a sharp knife.If you’ve never made a roux (which will become a cheesy mornay sauce) before, it’s surprisingly simple – in a sauté pan, large frying pan or medium pot set to medium heat – melt half the butter and then add the flour, whisking it together (if you’re using a non-stick pan use a plastic whisk/spoon so you don’t scratch the coating) until it’s a paste that’s not liquid or powdery at all.(If you want an even more flavorful version of this sauce, you can use meat drippings/lard instead of regular butter. Just about any 1:1 fat to flour combination should work.)
Slowly drizzle in the cream and keep whisking. You want to whisk out any lumps and you’ll soon see it start to thicken up beautifully. Turn the heat down to medium-low and then add in the grated cheddar so it melts and incorporates. If the sauce starts to thicken too quickly, add a bit of water and keep stirring/whisking. You actually want the sauce to be quite liquid at this stage because it’ll thicken up once it interacts with starch from the cooked pasta.Add dill, parsley, pepper, salt and any other spices you want to the sauce, to your personal taste.Start the pasta boiling, setting an alarm for when it will be al dente.In a separate frying pan, add the rest of the butter to a hot pan and then add the salmon pieces and chopped up garlic. It will fry up quite quickly, you just want to cook the outside and give the fish a bit of color. Don’t worry about cooking pieces all the way through in the pan since they’ll be added to the sauce and will keep cooking there.Add the fried fish, garlic and butter to the mornay sauce and stir.Once your pasta is done cooking, it’s go-time.Right before you plate the dish, add the zest and juice from the half lemon to your sauce (being careful not to let any lemon seeds drop in) and stir. This gives the sauce a wonderful bright finishing flavor. If your sauce has thickened up too much, scoop a bit of water from the boiling pasta pot to add it to the sauce and it’ll liquify again.Plate the pasta, add the sauce, and then garnish with parmesan cheese, some fresh cracked black pepper, and a basil leaf.Take that classy food photo and eaaat!Current + Upcoming Books Conan the Barbarian #1 – released August 2nd. D&D Young Adventurer’s Creature Compendium – released August 22nd. Conan the Barbarian #2 – releases August 30th. Conan the Barbarian #1 second print – releases August 30th. Unbreakable Red Sonja – trade paperback releases September 13th. D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide 7: Places & Portals – releases September 19th. Conan the Barbarian #3 – releases September 27th. Conan the Barbarian #2 second print – releases September 27th. Stone Star Vol. 2: In The Spotlight – trade paperback releases October 3rd.
Upcoming EventsAug 24-27 –
Fan Expo Canada
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Aug 31-Sept 4 –
Dragon Con
in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.Sept 15-17 –
Edmonton Expo
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Oct 12-15 –
New York Comic-Con
in New York, NY, USA.Links and Other ThingsThe BAM Animation duo have put together an incredible pair of tutorials on drawing and digitally coloring animation backgrounds. So much good advice, the same kinds of theories and tips I teach my Seneca students each year, jam-packed into these two videos with solid examples. Even if you’re a working pro you will probably find some useful tips and working methodologies here.
That should cover things for this week.
August 22, 2023
Zub at Fan Expo Canada 2023
This week is Canada’s biggest pop culture convention, Fan Expo Canada!, August 24-27, 2023.
I’ll be set up with the Comic Sketch Art team, at
We’ll have first print copies of Conan the Barbarian #1, including the CSA-exclusive variant illustrated by Dan Panosian, as long as copies last, along with other single issues, variants, trades, and a few sketch covers.
In addition to signing at my table, I’ll be on a panel on Friday and a livestream sketch session on Saturday:
FRIDAY Aug 25, 2023 – COMIC WRITERS ROUNDTABLE
2:15pm in THEATRE #7: COMICS [South Building – level 700, room 713 AB]
Join us to see Tate Brombal (House of Slaughter), Stephanie Cooke (ParaNorthern), Anthony Falcone (The Great Comic Caper), Fred Kennedy (Dead Romans), Anthony Ruttgaizer (Heroes of Homeroom C), and Jim Zub (Conan the Barbarian) discuss their approach to writing comics, the industry, and what it means to be creative.
SATURDAY Aug 26, 2023 – JIM ZUB WHATNOT LIVESTREAM
6:30pm online
Jim Zub (Conan the Barbarian, Dungeons & Dragons, Rick and Morty VS D&D) discusses his latest comic projects and sketches Rick and Morty characters live on stream (STREAM LINK) while sketch covers and signed variants are auctioned. Ask questions and get a convention collectible from the Fan Expo show floor, wherever you are.
August 20, 2023
Conan the Barbarian #4 Arrives in October
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4
Writer: Jim Zub
Artists: Roberto De La Torre, Dean White
Publishers: Heroic Signatures & Titan Comics
FC, 32pp, $3.99, October 25, 2023
Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?
COVER A: Roberto De La Torre
COVER B: Giada Marchisio
COVER C: Nick Percival
COVER D: Cary Nord
August 17, 2023
Your Comic Script Critique
The always amazing Steve Lieber put together an extremely helpful list of 12 common comic art portfolio critiques and asked if a comic writer wanted to do the same kind of thing, so I picked up the baton and ran with it.
Read, learn, and if you like it, feel free to share far and wide.
Here’s Steve’s original art portfolio post, packed with great advice:
August 16, 2023
Zubby Newsletter #23: Entering the Uncanny
On social media some fans and creators were recently sharing anecdotes about the first issue of Uncanny X-Men they read, especially if it hooked them on the series, and that pulled me into a bit of a nostalgia vortex.
The first X-Men issue I remember reading was quite the head trip-
Uncanny X-Men #141, first part of the legendary “Days of Future Past” story. As far as I remember, my older brother bought it from a used bookstore in Oshawa that sold comics. The issue was released in late 1980, but I think Joe bought it a couple years later because I must have been 7 or 8 years old at the time.
I didn’t even know who this cast of characters were and they were already thrust into an alternate universe post-apocalyptic future where most of them were dead and their very survival was at stake. It was intense, emotional and incredibly compelling, even if I didn’t understand large parts of the story or had any inkling of the character history at the time. It begged to be explored.
My first point of confusion was the guy on the cover with metal claws. I thought he was “Beast” because he had the exact same haircut as the guy on the poster right behind him-
No one in the story called him “Beast”, they called him “Logan”, but that just added to the air of mystery around him.
Anyways, Joe started collecting Uncanny X-Men a few issues later and I started picking up Amazing Spider-Man and G.I.Joe around the same time.
There was an unexpected joy to dropping right into the middle of the narrative instead of an issue #1 to start things off. Reading and collecting became about filling in holes of the past just as much as it was about engaging the new ongoing stories that arrived each month
Having Uncanny X-Men #141 as a starting point meant that Kitty Pryde was central to the X-narrative and everything Jean Grey/Phoenix-related felt like “history”. I had a similar demarcation point in Amazing Spider-Man – Hobgoblin was the current big bad, so anything Green Goblin-related felt “old” in comparison. (Not bad, of course, just old.)
Marvel Tales and Classic X-Men allowed us to dig into the past and fill in gaps in our collection since we couldn’t afford expensive back issues, especially for “key” moments (first appearances, character deaths, things like that).
It felt like rocket riding through a huge interconnected world that extended way behind us while also zipping confidently forward.
Like a lot of comic collectors, over time we’d start to focus on the creators as much as the characters. Who made the books became just as important as the titles we looked for – John Byrne, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Roger Stern, John Buscema, Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Art Adams, Ann Nocenti, Walt and Louise Simonson, and a slew of others became names we recognized and work we craved because it seemed to stand head and shoulders over others at the time.
And, through it all, the X-Men reigned supreme.
Uncanny X-Men was the best damn soap opera in comics. Claremont and company kept their big cast moving forward with an impressive amount of thoughtful evolution. The team line-up changed constantly. Romances flourished and failed. The month-to-month narrative clipped along with A-plots, B-plots, and occasionally almost completely forgotten C and D-plots that finally popped back up to surprise and delight. One month the team might be in outer space and an issue or two later they could be in the Savage Land, Tokyo, or just playing a game of pick-up baseball in Westchester, New York.
The heroes, villains and supporting cast were deeply flawed and beautifully human. There’s a reason why the series was an absolute sales juggernaut…and it wasn’t because sometimes a character named Juggernaut showed up to break shit.
I don’t think anyone could or should try to put X-Men back in same mold in the here and now, but it’s valuable to re-read those older issues to try and understand why it was so vibrant and how it generated so much loyalty in its readership over so many years.
In an age of endless new #1’s that act as both jumping on and off points, dozens of variant covers every issue, and near-instant digital access to both new comics and almost every issue of the past, it all feels very different. Some things have been gained and other things have been lost and that’s the way life goes, but hearing that prompt of “What was your first X-Men?” brought back a lot of good memories so I thought I’d lean into that a bit here.
Talking ConanI know this will seem odd, but I’m still talking about Conan the Barbarian. 
Someone filmed the Conan the Barbarian comic panel from San Diego Comic-Con, so you can check that out on Forbidden Planet’s channel:
This panel was on Sunday morning, so our voices are pretty shot by this point. Other than that, it was a ton of fun and we were really impressed with the turn out and enthusiasm from the crowd.
I also spoke to the team at Geek Hard all about our Conan the Barbarian relaunch. The interview starts at the 7 minute mark of their latest episode and runs until the 36 minute spot in the show.
Marc Brunet is a former Art Director from Blizzard who goes through a variety of drawing and rendering techniques on his YouTube channel. Like many popular YouTube creators, over time he’s become an exaggerated parody of himself as a way to get more traffic, but if you ignore the twitchy behavior and edits his tutorials are solid and well worth checking out. This new one about rendering skin tone shadows is the same method we used at the UDON Studio on our official Capcom artwork, and a great tool to have in your digital rendering toolbox-
That should cover it for this time.
Next week is Fan Expo Canada!
Jim
August 10, 2023
Zubby Newsletter #22: Gen Conquest
A bunch of readers signed up for this newsletter at SDCC and Gen Con, so – welcome!
Zubstack is where I keep people up to date with my creative projects (mostly comics and games) and also dig into things on my mind, recipes I’m cooking, games I’m playing, articles I’m enjoying, and more. For my main website, go HERE and, for an archive of past newsletter installments jammed with info and links, go HERE.
Social media is more mercurial and annoying than ever, so being able to go old school internet and reach fine people like yourself directly is really nice. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, that’s fine, but at least you get to choose instead of algorithms choosing for you.
Okay, on we go~
Flights to Gen Con were annoyingly expensive for such a short hop, so Stacy and I decided to drive down to Indianapolis instead (9-ish hours on the road depending on traffic). It was a bit of a throwback to my earliest convention years racking up kilometers and crisscrossing the border at strange hours.
In my previous newsletter I talked about how much has changed for me at shows like Gen Con since I first started attending 20 years ago, but it’s even clearer when you see Darrin’s incredible booth set-up for Howard and I this time-
Conan the Barbarian comics, D&D Young Adventurer’s Guides, the D&D Ultimate Pop-Up Book, D&D comic trade paperbacks, Skullkickers, Wayward, and so much more. There were several times when I was asked which books I worked on and just motioned to my left and said “All of those”, which felt cool but also weird. There’s no way we can stock everything, but even this cross section of my work feels like a heck of a lot.
Gen Con was sold out every day, which also meant Saturday-style crowds every day. I have never seen the exhibit hall so consistently packed, hour after hour. I stepped out for some meetings around meal times and managed to visit friends after the floor closed, but during show hours it honestly felt better to have the table between us and the torrent of people moving through the aisles.
Each morning of the four day show, here’s how it looked before the exhibit hall opened-
Gamers were back in full force, ready to play and buy. Sales soared and a lot of the other exhibitors I spoke to said it was their best year ever. Most of the new books I brought sold out by Saturday and I ran out of Rick and Morty VS D&D sketch covers long before the end of the show as well.
Like at San Diego this year, I tried to slow things down to enjoy richer conversations with old friends or deeper impressions with new people I met. Tons of nostalgia and appreciation, that’s for sure. Lots of chatter about possible future plans as well.
Mysteries AboundTom Brevoort hints about big career moves in his latest Substack installment and, based on conversations we’ve had in the past and other rumblings I’ve heard recently, I suspect I know what’s coming. I’m marking it down here in the Zubstack so I can say I knew all along. ;P
Cromulent InterviewsI know this will surprise you, but I’ve been talking about Conan the Barbarian. Here are a couple interviews shot during San Diego a few weeks ago:
Speaking of Conan-The reviews for issue #1 are incredibly kind and I posted a teaser of issue #2 on social media that I’ll include below-
Issue #2 keeps the momentum of our first issue going and then some, my friends.
Line artist Rob De La Torre and colorist Dean White deliver a stunner on every page.
Given how fast issue #1 blew off store shelves, make sure you get your pre-order in for our second slashing attack.
Current + Upcoming Books Murderworld – trade paperback released June 13th. Rick and Morty VS Cthulhu – trade paperback released July 18th. Conan the Barbarian #1 – released August 2nd. D&D Young Adventurer’s Creature Compendium – releases August 22nd. Conan the Barbarian #2 – releases August 30th. D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide 7: Places & Portals – releases September 19th.Upcoming EventsAug 24-27 – Fan Expo Canada in Toronto, Ontario.Aug 31-Sept 4 – Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia.Sept 15-17 – Edmonton Expo in Edmonton, Alberta.Oct 12-15 – New York Comic-Con in New York, NY.
Here’s a quick list of games I picked up at Gen Con, in case you’re interested-
Berlin: The Wicked City Car Wars 6th Edition Dungeons of Drakkenheim Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Mutants in the Now Pendragon Starter Set Scout Tiger & Dragon Wiz-War: Kill Them With Fire 9th EditionMy schedule for the rest of the summer is intense, but I look forward to digging into these when things calm down.
That should cover it for this week.
Jim
August 7, 2023
Conan the Barbarian #1 (2023) Reviews
Just over a year ago we announced that Conan the Barbarian would be returning to comics through Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics. Now, at last, our first issues arrives. What do the critics think?
• AIPT: 8/10 “An all-star creative team and balls-to-the-wall execution make this take on Conan’s legend a winner. Longtime fans will be pleased with the start to this new era.”
• ComicBook.com: “When it comes to invoking that nostalgia, Conan the Barbarian #1 overwhelmingly succeeds. The art is rough around the edges in a way that feels purposeful – an effort to achieve a throwback style.”
• Comic Book Dispatch: 9.5/10 “Like Roy Thomas, Grim Jim’s not afraid to thicken action with narrative or spice battles with dialogue. Anyone who suggests he hasn’t channeled the best traditions of Conan comics is a cowardly dog!”
• Comicon.com: 10/10 “The art is primal and energetic in a way that takes you along for the adventure. The story is brilliantly balanced between narration and dialog making it feel like the classic Conan stories I love.”
• Comic Crusaders: 10/10 “The old school stylings of the work of Zub, De La Torre, Villarrubia and Starkings go to prove how fantastic the comics of the past could be, by CROM!”
• Comical Opinions: 9.5/10 “Jim Zub delivers a sword-slashing, brooding, action-packed debut worthy of Robert E. Howard fans, and Robert De La Torre’s art is a perfect homage to classic Conan comics.”
• Comics Beat: “Enlisting Zub and de la Torre made sure the first issue kicked things off with a vision that nurtures the scale and epic proportions of Robert Howard’s unique style of worldbuilding. If each comic in the new series is as beautiful, raw, and exciting as this one, then readers are in for a read that might just earn its spot among the greats.”
• D-Rock Steady: “It has everything you want – barbarians, boobs, bloodshed, and battles. Fantastic stuff and great artwork.”
• Fanboy Planet: “The narrative allows for quieter moments for world-building, which allows De La Torre to show off his terrific storytelling skills.”
• Geek Culture: 10/10 “…the perfect start for Titan Comics, and the creative team. For Zub and co. the character is their bread and butter, and it’s great seeing them all come together to craft this wonderful opening in perfect synergy.”
• Get Your Comic On: 10/10 “Hard hitting, intense story that will have you gripped to each page. Brutal and dramatic artwork hits the mark, if this issue is anything to go by we are in for a treat for the rest of this series.”
• Graphic Policy: 8.9/10 “I had high expectations going into Conan the Barbarian #1. Somehow it met all of them and then some. This is a hell of a debut and new chapter for the classic character that will hopefully launch adventures of this quality for many years to come.”
• Hero Press: 9.2/10 “… it more than delivers on the promise of the lauded Free Comic Book Day prequel….if this debut issue is a sign of things to come then it feels like we’ll be getting the ‘real deal’ from the Titan era.”
• Horror Tree: 10/10 “…the Conan I read about in this Titan Comics issue still holds appeal to me even as an adult. He’s a nonconformist, a loner, and an intentional outsider. Yes, a rogue, in a way. He’s a restless traveler in a culture that preferred staying in one place, according to a scene in the first few pages.”
• How To Love Comics: “…a visually impressive comic that looks great and has strong storytelling. Overall, Titan’s new era for Conan is off to an excellent start.”
• Infinity Flux: “My favorite book of the week…I can’t recommend this one enough.”
• League of Comic Geeks: 10/10 “BLOWN AWAY! Conan is back and in such an awesome way. This book is savage, bloody and sexy, the way a Conan story should be.”
• Multiversity: 8/10 “The new run on “Conan the Barbarian” is, without question, a love letter to the franchise. This is a creative team that clearly loves the character and the many adventures he’s been through, and are putting that passion to work in creating a comic that captures and pays tribute to the classic style in every detail, whether through narration and dialogue, art and color styles, or even Richard Starkings’ font designs for the lettering.”
• Negromancer: “De la Torre makes me feel the blood, violence, and the heat of bone-breaking, and he creates a sense of foreboding and then, terror when the horde strikes.”
• Next Issue Podcast: “I think Jim Zub is a really fun writer, especially when it comes to barbarian fantasy and I think the art team really nails the aesthetic that one expects from a Conan book.”
• Pfangirl: “De la Torre delivers page after page of big hits, and even bigger battles…”
• Planes, Trains and Comic Books: 10/10 “This comic was fantastic!…It feels very classic but, at the same time, new.”
• Pop Culture Philosophers: “They’re giving us a no hold’s barred classic old school Conan book. I thought it was really solid.”
• Pullbox: 10/10 “I’m looking forward to seeing if these new stories can maintain the ferocity promised in this first issue”
• Sci-Fi 4 Me: “…a steady paced story with a good mix of action sets and quieter character moments to give the action room to breathe. Overall, a great first entry into a new series, and I can definitely recommend you pick this one up.”
• Sci-Fi Jubilee: “Conan the Barbarian #1 has everything Conan fans could’ve hoped for and plenty for newcomers to enjoy as well. Jim Zub, Rob De La Torre, and José Villarrubia are an exceptional creative team and this new series is a fantastic sword and sorcery epic set in the classic Conan style of yesteryear.”
• Scifiward: “Conan the Barbarian #1 absolutely shines. Roberto De La Torre is a great artist and the action really comes alive.”
• Set The Tape: 8/10 “All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read, one that old fans will welcome whilst being accessible to anyone new to the character. If you’re in the mood for some old-fashioned, low fantasy swordplay be sure to grab this title.”
• Stygian Dogs: “It is gory, it’s fantastic…This is a dream team working on a dream project.”
• Super Hero Hype: 10/10 “Those who have never read a Conan comic could not ask for a better introduction to the first son of sword-and-sorcery than Conan the Barbarian #1, and those who are already fans of Conan will find this first chapter to be everything they could have hoped for.”
• Super Powered Fancast: 9/10 “…a fantastic return of the Cimmerian warrior. The story has a classic feel that immediately immerses you into the world of the character and there is a great sense of rising tension throughout the issue.”
• 32 Flavors Of Nickweiser: 8.2/10 “It’s a book that you need to go out and read. Definitely go check this out. Buy this book.”
• Thinking Critical: “I think it absolutely delivers in every way conceivable when it comes to this comic book. It feels like Conan. It feels like a barbarian comic with absolutely awesome fantasy action.”
• Todd Luck: “This really does feel like a premium comic that you’re paying regular price for…This is a good, worthy successor and a good jumping on point.”
• Wakizashi’s Reviews: 8.5/10 “It reminded me of reading comics when I was younger, those moments when the outside world fades away and you are deep in the world of the story.”
• Weird Science Comics: 8.5/10 “This is for the Conan crowd through and through…It does a good job of getting things going…I had a smile on my face by the end with how classic it was.”
August 1, 2023
Zubby Newsletter #21: Gen Con, On and On
Conan the Barbarian #1, the launch point for a new era of Hyborian Adventure, is finally out in comic shops nationwide on Wednesday, August 2nd.
Thank you for your patience. We think it’s worth the wait.
If you pick up a copy (before they vanish and our second print drops), let me know what you think and, if you like it, tell a few friends as well. Building a readership in for the long haul is even more important than our launch numbers.
The Best Four Days In Gaming – Every YearThis week is the mighty GEN CON, North America’s largest tabletop RPG, card, and board game convention. I’ll be there, as always.
When I was a kid, my brother and I would read that an adventure we owned was “originally used for the official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Tournament at Gen Con” and our imaginations would run wild–
What if, some day, we could GO to Gen Con? What would that be like?!
18 years later, I’d finally find out-
In 2003, I attended my first Gen Con as a rep for the UDON studio. It was the first year the show set up in Indianapolis (instead of Lake Geneva, which is its namesake) and the locals were thrown off by over 20,000 gamers descending on their city (in 2023 it’ll be more than 70,000. Thankfully, Indy is now well prepared for the invasion.).
It was amazing and I met so many incredible people, many of them still dear friends to this day.
Gen Con 2003 – Roll for initiative!In 2011, Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary, Writing Excuses) invited me to hunker down at a corner of his booth with his friend Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance, Ravenloft) so I could promote my new fantasy-comedy comic called Skullkickers.
Gen Con 2011 (left to right: Laura Hickman, Jim Zub, Howard Tayler, Tracy Hickman)
I’ve been set up at the show with Howard and our convention family (Sandra, Darrin, Mike, Robin, and many others) every year it’s run since then. My career keeps growing, bit by bit, and when we get together at Gen Con we celebrate, commiserate, and keep planning for the future.
Much like San Diego, my head spins a bit when I look through photos and see so many memories. Twenty years has gone by in a flash. I’m deeply thankful I’ve had these experiences and met so many amazing people who love games, comradery, and sword & sorcery as much as I do.
Sooo~ at GEN CON 2023, we’ll be set up at BOOTH 1249. If you’re at the show, please come on by and see us! Lots of books, games, artwork and good conversation. We’ll also have the Dungeons & Dragons Ultimate Pop-Up Book on display and a chance for visitors to win a free copy each day of the show.
While you’re there, make sure we grab a photo so 20 years from now I can look back and be amazed at how damn young and vibrant we looked.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, so Stacy and I are looking to widen our travel circle even further with conventions we haven’t been to before so we can promote our work and celebrate the hobby that means so much to us.
Nights Of Endless AdventureSpeaking of D&D–
Solicits are out for Dungeons & Dragons: Nights of Endless Adventure, the second D&D comic omnibus collecting volumes 4, 5, and 6 of my Baldur’s Gate heroes getting into trouble in grand and unexpected locales-
If you missed out on Evil At Baldur’s Gate, Infernal Tides, or Mindbreaker (which also acts as a prelude to Larian’s massive Baldur’s Gate III video game launching this week), in October you can get all caught up thanks to this rockin’ tome.
When I wrote the return of fan-favorite characters Minsc and Boo back in 2014, I never could have imagined that scene would appear in a video game, let alone in such an epic way-
(If you don’t have D&D comic volumes 1-3, they’re collected in D&D: Days of Endless Adventure!)
Between the Nights omnibus, two D&D Young Adventurer’s releases arriving soon (details here and here) and other projects yet to be announced, I have a lot more D&D on the horizon.
Conan? I’m Shocked! Shocked, I sayI know, I know. The Conan guy is talking about Conan.
• At SDCC, editor Matt Murray and I chatted with Fanbase Press about the relaunch and how it ties into a 90+ year legacy of sword & sorcery:
• The solicits for Conan the Barbarian issues #3 and 4 are now out. Peep those covers.
Advice in the Mighty Marvel MannerMarvel’s The Art of Storytelling digital training course is now rolling out on Proko and my sections on Story Development, Scripting, and Ideation are the first ones out of the gate, so the studio put together a free video with clips from some of the supplementary interviews I did in and around the formal lessons. Lots of good advice and the production quality is really nice too.
(My voice isn’t normally this smokey sounding, but these videos were shot the day after SDCC last year, so I was coming off of a week long talking binge at the convention.)
Links and Other Things• An architect breaks down design traits of the classic American Diner and it’s a fascinating little bit of culture and history.
• Some art tips from the Helioscope studio, including a couple things I teach my students every year.
• Painter Chris Fornataro breaks down a crucial technique that adds clearer structure when rendering forms. His examples use oil paint, but the technique involved easily transfers to other mediums.
• Ben Eblen discusses how he improved the line quality in his drawings. Good analysis and technique here as well.
Have a great week!
Jim
July 31, 2023
Zub at Gen Con 2023
On August 3-6 it’s time for North America’s largest tabletop, card, and board game show, GEN CON in Indianapolis, Indiana!
Howard Tayler (Shlock Mercenary, Writing Excuses), Sandra Tayler (Hold On To Your Horses),
Stacy King (D&D Young Adventurer’s Guides) and I will be set-up together at BOOTH 1249 in the main exhibit hall, ready to sign for readers.
If you’re headed to Gen Con, it would be great to see you there! It’s one of my favorite shows each year. Getting the chance to promote my work and dig into the latest and greatest the gaming industry has to offer is a wonderful opportunity.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5th3:00-4:00pm – Tabletop to the Page: Comics and Games – Stadium: Meeting Room 12
Tabletop gaming and comics are a natural pairing, and it’s no wonder that many tabletop games have made the jump to comics–and vice versa. Game designers, comics creators, and more come together for this panel to discuss adapting TTRPGs for comics; creating board games and RPGs based on comics; and finding audiences and funding for these projects in different ways, including crowdfunding.
Here’s where you can find our booth in the exhibit hall:
