Jim Zub's Blog, page 49

Wizards & Wordsmiths – Episode 2

Here’s Part 2 of Wizards & Wordsmiths! If you missed episode 1, you can check it out HERE.

I Dungeon Mastered a special 3-part Dungeons & Dragons adventure for a group of YA authors.

Join me, Kevin Hearne (Ink & Sigil), Adib Khorram (Darius the Great Deserves Better), Andrea Robertson (Forged in Fire and Stars), Sherri L. Smith (The Blossom and the Firefly), and David Yoon (Frankly In Love) as we continues our culinary and creepy adventure!

Stranger Things and D&D on the Cover of Previews

This is the first project I’ve worked on that’s been on the cover of the big comic distributor catalogue and it’s a beauty! Make sure you pre-order because this one’s going to be special.

STRANGER THINGS and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS #1

story – Jody Houser and Jim Zub

art – Diego Galindo

letters – Nate Piekos

Follow the crew from Hawkins, Indiana, as they discover the legendary monsters and epic adventures of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game together.

Long before the dreaded Demogorgon took one of them to the Upside Down, watch Mike, Lucas, and Will bond with Dustin for the first time over the game that would define their childhood. See the party come together as a team through communal stories and perilous quests to learn important lessons about friendship and find the courage to stand up to the bullies that challenge their everyday.

COVER A – E.M. Gist

COVER B – Anna Dittman

COVER C – Diego Galindo

COVER D – David Michael Beck

Empyre: Avengers #2 Reviews

• Bleeding Cool: “Zub remains one of Marvel’s most consistent writers, delivering an action-packed issue with solid emotional beats.”

• But Why Tho: 8/10 “an incredibly enjoyable tie-in issue to the exciting event. Zub is one of the best writers for coordinating huge casts of characters”

• Comicbook.com: 8/10 “It offers a unique juxtaposition on what’s otherwise a very earthy aesthetic to Empyre: Avengers created by the plant-based enemies.”

• Comic Book University: “This was a really good issue, as to be expected.”

• Comic-Watch: 8.3/10 “Jim Zub melds the tension in the plot with the humor of the dialogue to create a comic that is just fun to read, while Carlos Magno and Espen Grundetjern do a wonderful job putting the exotic Cotati and magical effects of Scarlet Witch and Doctor Voodoo on the page.”

Black Cat Live Chat

I spoke to the owners of Black Cat Comics all about working in the comic industry, writing iconic characters like Conan and the Avengers, the kinds of comic stories that ignited my imagination when I was younger, continuity, tabletop gaming and more. Check it out!

Wizards & Wordsmiths – Episode 1

I Dungeon Mastered a special 3-part Dungeons & Dragons adventure for a group of authors we call Wizards & Wordsmiths!

Join me, Kevin Hearne (Ink & Sigil), Adib Khorram (Darius the Great Deserves Better), Andrea Robertson (Forged in Fire and Stars), Sherri L. Smith (The Blossom and the Firefly), and David Yoon (Frankly In Love) as we embark on a culinary and creepy adventure in three parts!

Bardic Inspiration for Minsc and Boo!

It was a pleasure to be on stream with Dylan Wilks and musician and Jason Charles Miller as we composed a blues song for Minsc and Boo. We had a fun time hanging out, reminiscing about gaming and talking about these two legendary heroes of Baldur’s Gate. Check it out!

D&D VS Rick and Morty Liveplay at Reedpop Metaverse!

It was a thrill being part of the Metaverse streaming event, playing Dungeon Master Rick and running a wild D&D VS Rick and Morty game session for voice actress , wrestler Brandon Cutler, game writer and streamer LaTia Jacquise, and cartoonist Troy Little.

You can watch the archived video of our game session above and see how it all went down –
Who played which character and what was their fate by the time we finished?

Beasts & Behemoths New Preview Pages

The fifth D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide, Beasts & Behemoths, arrives in stores on October 20th, 2020. Here’s an exclusive look at four of the creatures from the book!

Cranium Rats:

Legendary Death Knight – Lord Soth:

Lycantropes – Weretigers:

Metallic Dragons – Bronze Dragons:

Study this guide and keep it close at hand–this manual of monsters might save your life! This immersive illustrated bestiary introduces you to memorable monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, from the smallest beasts to the most dangerous behemoths.

This illustrated guide transports new players to the magical world of Dungeons & Dragons and presents a one-of-a-kind course on the unusual creatures, from the minuscule to the massive, that fill the fantastic world of the game. This guide features easy-to-follow and entertaining explanations of where to find each beast, their strange abilities and magical powers, and how to defeat them, along with amazing illustrations that will ignite your imagination. Organized by size from small to large, bigger and more dangerous monsters are introduced with every turn of the page.

Beasts & Behemoths is a perfect way for new players and young fantasy fans to learn about the monsters an adventuring party can meet, with profiles full of example encounters and storytelling tips that encourage creative problem-solving skills when battling beastly foes.

Talking with the Conan Forum in Brazil

Here’s the live interview I did on Saturday in English (translated during the stream into Portuguese) with the Conan Forum in Brazil.

We talk about working on Conan, the movies compared to the literary source, Conan at Marvel, and a whole lot more!

Empyre: Avengers #1 Reviews

• Adventures in Poor Taste: 8/10 “The strength of this book is how it uses characters who don’t usually get a lot of page time. It’s a breath of fresh air, since it allows for more exciting interactions we don’t usually see.”

• Bleeding Cool: “The art is the most interesting of the Empyre books I’ve read so far. Artist Carlos Magno and colorist Espen Grundetjern create a hyper-realistic vision of the Marvel Universe together with a slight painterly touch.”

• But Why Tho: “The art of Empyre: The Avengers #1 does a great job capturing its moments. Magno uses some great choices of perspective to give what could’ve been a standard mission briefing some extra life. That, coupled with his ability to put the reader right in the middle of the action, creates an all-around excellent illustrative performance.”

• Candid Clark: 8/10 “…an action-packed comic filled with great moments from the Avengers that will likely not appear in the main event title. It was nice seeing lesser known heroes, like Doctor Voodoo, the Black Knight and Wonder Man in action.”

• Comic Corner: 8/10 “With some fan favorite characters and some surprise appearances, this has everything an Avengers fan wants.”

• Comic Crusaders: 9.2/10 “Jim Zub could easily make this crossover book into filler, but instead adds enough character moments to keep the issue interesting and make it vital to the larger story.”

• ComicBook.com: 8/10 “…it’s refreshing to see some of the lesser-known characters have their time to shine before we hop right to calling in the core Avengers team.”

• Danger Mart: 9/10 “Magno’s layouts carry the eye across the page and he fills the panels with good looking active, good guys and bad guys.”

• : “The deep roster of characters allow this book to focus in on other Avengers besides just Cap and Iron Man.”

• Fortress of Solitude: 8.5/10 “A great front line set issue as the Cotati war erupts all over Earth…I can’t wait for the second part of this three part story.”

• Tsunami Studios: “I think [Zub] really understands what this book is and what it’s supposed to be, because holy cow is this issue fun. I loved every second of it.”