The Paizo Blog has posted up a writer’s commentary I did for the first issue of the new Pathfinder: City of Secrets comic series. Get an expanded look at my thought process on the story and some extra info you may not have known about the Pathfinder iconic characters.
Bleeding Cool has a new interview with me all about the Pathfinder: City of Secrets comic, which launched this week. Click on through to find out more about the series and my love of tabletop gaming.
Three comics arrived over the past two weeks, Skullkickers #25, Suicide Squad: Amanda Waller, and Red Sonja and Cub, so it’s been a lot to keep track of. Let’s do a review quote blowout here:
SKULLKICKERS #25
• Nerds on the Rocks: 7/7 “An action/adventure/comedy with a dungeons and dragons/video game vibe that is executed perfectly? I’m sold.”
• Newsarama: 8/10 “Skullkickers delivers some laugh-out-loud moments that left this reader more than satisfied”
• Comic Bastards: “It is a niche title and like I said a guilty pleasure that I like to read.”
• The Outhousers: “Jim Zub and co. can wait as long as they need to between issues; especially going into the penultimate arc, I have no problem dragging this series out as long as possible!”
• Whatcha Reading: 4/5 “I can’t wait to see how Zub is going to reconcile all this cross-dimensional doppelganger mumbo-jumbo.”
• Geeks of DOOM: “This is just a fantastic comic and this issue is a great jumping on point if you’ve been thinking about picking it up for a while.”
• Comic Attack: “…any longtime reader will be happy to know that the hilarity and madness you’ve come to expect continues here!”
SUICIDE SQUAD: AMANDA WALLER
• IGN: 8.8/10 “…an action-packed exploration on the psychological costs of making the tough choices.”
• The Good Kind of Geek: 7.8/10 “Overall, it’s an interesting issue that develops Amanda Waller’s character even more.”
• Comic Book Resources: 3.5/5 “…a strong command of Waller’s personality shown through deliberate narrative choices and tight plotting.”
• Shadowhawk’s Shade: 7.5/10 “The core of who she is can never be taken away from her and that’s partly what this one-shot is about.”
• Too Dangerous: “Zub does a great job of showing us how resourceful Waller is. Her leadership skills and knack for strategy are admirable.”
• Cinelinx: “It does a great job of injecting a dose of humanity into the character I think she’s denied in many of the incarnations we’ve seen in the past. “
RED SONJA and CUB
• TMStash: “This is a touching tale and well worth the rating of 9/10.”
• Geeks In Capes: “Kudos to Jim Zub for crafting a compelling story of Red Sonja that covers many aspects of her character. Jonathan Lau does a wonderful job on art with great action sequences.”
• Whatcha Reading?: 5/5 “The art is gorgeous. The colors are vibrant, the fight scenes are dynamic, and I love the way Lau draws Red Sonja.”
• Comic Bastards: 4/5 “…entertaining and true to the main character and that’s all you can ask for from a good one-shot.”
• Unleash the Fanboy: 8/10 “The overall journey is the star of the piece as the scribe takes on the ideas of a promised union, betrayal and a sense of honor.”
• Adventures in Poor Taste: 7/10 “Not a bad one-shot by any means with plenty of taut action to keep the action fans happy.”
• Fanboy Nation: “Lau creates some of the most violent battle scenes I have yet seen in a Red Sonja book”
• Shadowhawk’s Shade: 9/10 “Jim Zub front-loads a lot of character development and he shows a softer side of Sonja, which contrasts excellently with her bloodlust and her fighting skills when she gets into the thick of things.”
• My Geeky Geeky Ways: “I came into this book expecting comedic sword-and-sorcery akin to what you’d see in Skullkickers. What I got was Red Sonja ala Kurosawa. And this is not a bad thing.”
Comics Alliance has an exclusive first look at the new Pathfinder: City of Secrets comic I’m writing that continues the story of the iconic heroes of the award-winning Pathfinder RPG. Click on through to read about the story, new exclusive RPG material, and see sample interior and cover artwork.
PATHFINDER: CITY OF SECRETS #1
(W) Jim Zub (A) Leandro Oliveira (CA) Carlos E. Gomez
The Pathfinder heroes head to the city of Magnimar, and danger isn’t far behind. As the wizard Ezren seeks an audience with the Pathfinder Society, his adventuring allies explore the city’s ancient magic, well-hidden secrets, and deep political divides. The dangers and opportunities of the big city could bring the adventurers closer together–or tear them apart!
This issue marks the start of a new adventure series and is the perfect jumping on point for new readers. Come aboard and see why Pathfinder is the world’s best-selling fantasy roleplaying game. Each issue of this exciting new series also includes an exclusive Pathfinder Roleplaying Game encounter and a bonus playable tactical map/art poster, bound in with each issue!
Li’l Sonja, the one-shot comic story of a young Red Sonja written for younger readers, came out on Wednesday. Here’s what critics thought of it…
• Comics Bulletin: 5/5 “The character Li’l Sonja is cute, and fun, and feisty, and at the same time, like her older model, strong, independent, and smart.”
• Unleash The Fanboy: 5/5 ” she may be cute but she is still pretty bad ass”
• What’cha Reading?: 5/5 “Li’l Sonja is adorable and yet every bit the bad ass her more grown-up counterpart is, but yet child-friendly enough that I can hand this book over to my younger/tween comic fans”
• Fandom Post: B+ “Li’l Sonja is plucky, courageous, and clever, and the quality of the art and writing are straightforward enough for children to enjoy, and cute enough for adults as well.”
• Comic Book Therapy: 7/10 “Zub writes a cute and fast-paced story. It’s a witty yarn that gives us a very different version of the character we know and love.”
Arriving in April…
While Gail Simone’s Red Sonja series is scorching hot, Dynamite is presenting a Red Sonja one-shot done as a manga style book! In April of 2014, Red Sonja and Cub will be offered, written by Jim Zub (Pathfinder), drawn by Jonathan Lau, with a cover by Jeffery “Chamba” Cruz! This oversized issue will be available in April from Dynamite Entertainment in comic stores and digital.
In Red Sonja and Cub, blood will rain down upon the snowy ground as the She-Devil With A Sword battles her way across the Asiatic lands of Khitai. In a land of complex family loyalties and death before dishonor, will sharpened steel and the muscle to wield it be enough?
“Getting the chance to write a samurai-style story of savage combat and sacrifice with Red Sonja, one of the heavyweight characters of fantasy, is a real thrill,” says Red Sonja and Cub writer Jim Zub. “I’m stoked for people to see the big action-big emotion ride Jonathan and I are putting together for this.”
Red Sonja and Cub will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ February Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release on April 2nd, 2014. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of Red Sonja and Cub with their local comic book retailers. Red Sonja and Cub will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.
Comic Book Resources
The Beat
Bleeding Cool
Arriving today at your local comic shop – The Legends of the Dark Knight 100 Page Spectacular with my Harley Quinn VS Batman story drawn by Neil Googe and Pathfinder #12, wrapping up the second story arc of the series with a big dragon battle drawn by Sean Izaakse and Ivan Anaya!
Click on the covers above to check out previews from either one.
Arvid Nelson (who writes the Warlord of Mars series for Dynamite Comics) interviewed me on Bleeding Cool and we cover a pretty good range of things including the secret of my motivation to hit work deadlines.
The Pathfinder Special arrived in stores on Wednesday. What did critics think of it? Read on and find out…
• Newsarama:8/10 “This was a fun comic that should readily appeal to any fan of the fantasy genre as it strikes a balance between adventure, humor, and character development.”
• Fellowship of the Geeks: “It’s really cool to see Zub handle the characters like this, in a way that he couldn’t get away with in the main title.”
• Unleash the Fanboy:5/5 “It isn’t easy to draw fast scenes with everything that is going on but Kevin Strokes does an awesome job of making sure that you understand the pace and excitement behind the scenes.”
Bleeding Cool has posted up an interview with the creative teams working on Dynamite’s Li’l Kids Comics Event happening in January, including the Li’l Sonja one-shot comic I’m working on with artist Joel Carroll. Click on through to give it a read.
Zub on Amazon
Zub on Buttondown
Zub on deviantART
Zub on Facebook
Zub on GoodReads
Zub on Instagram
Zub on Patreon
Zub on Tumblr
Zub on Twitter
Zub on YouTube
Follow this blog's RSS feed
Makeshift Miracle