Zubby Newsletter #127: The Nest Beneath
Conan the Barbarian #24 artwork by Fernando Dagnino and Diego Rodriguez.CONAN THE BARBARIAN #24, the climax of our Nest of Serpents arc (which, as you can see from the amazing artwork above, is a title that’s both literal and symbolic), is in stores TODAY and, I’m obviously a bit biased, but I think it’s sharp sword & sorcery entertainment. This issue is propelled to amazing heights by the line art of Fernando Dagnino and colors of Diego Rodriguez, with sublime lettering by Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith, and a captivating lore essay by the always informative Jeff Shanks.
We’re cookin’ now, kids! Big atmosphere, big monsters, big action.
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #25, our fully painted King Conan done-in-one epic anniversary issue, is on Final Order Cutoff NOW so make sure you let your favorite local or online retailer know which cover(s) grab you and get in that pre-order. It’s going to be one for the ages, as will our event mini-series…
Hype Trailer Is Hype…Speaking of which, Titan has put together this teaser trailer for the CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT mini-series. Let Ivan Gil‘s excellent artwork and the pounding soundtrack sweep you up in the excitement of our time-twirled epic. The first issue arrives in stores on September 24th!
Dragon Con InterviewsWhile I was at Dragon Con a couple weeks ago, I spoke to a couple different press outlets:
• Over on the Super Powered Fancast, I chatted about how wild the convention was and comics I enjoyed growing up.
• An English Man in San Diego recorded a short interview with me where we talk swords & sorcery, D&D, conventions, great new comics, and more.
I received this email last week and it took me a few seconds to realize “Rebecca” generated this message with AI. It’s oddly specific yet also vague at the same time.
A quick search of “Rebecca”‘s contact info revealed that they can also tutor my child in Math, compose essays, and write my next resume.
It’s laser targeted at me (and many other authors are receiving similar targeted emails from different outlets), with distinct info about Savage Sword #10 and my career injected with excitement, but there’s also a glossy emptiness to all of it. By the time I hit the sales pitch I already knew it was generated, and also creeped out by how specific it was.
Stay vigilent and don’t fall for this kind of crapola.
Also, this recent comic strip about AI by Riley Wigglewood made me chuckle:
Thrilled to announce I’ll be at New York Comic Con in early October celebrating the release of Conan the Barbarian #25 that week! So excited to be back in Artist Alley with the Comic Sketch Art crew.
• It’s nice to see the new Conan the Barbarian series listed alongside other classics in this article about the Best Conan Comics on Superhero Hype.
• My friend Francis Manapul‘s YouTube channel is packed with great art advice and the latest videos, showing him penciling and inking top notch quality art from his creator-owned comic series The Rocketfellers, is an ideal way to see a skilled artist at work and learn from his technique.
• Equally inspiring to watch is my buddy Dan Panosian‘s YouTube channel. Lots of great traditional and digital technique on display you can learn from.
• Over on the Robert E. Howard Foundation‘s YouTube channel, they’ve posted the first part of a series of videos for Cimmerian September with an all-star panel of writers and researchers talking about the original Conan the Barbarian stories.
• Tripwire Magazine is funding archival volumes of their classic comic creator interviews, a great piece of comic journalism that deserves to be read and preserved.
Jim
