Monthly Archives: June 2026

Zubby Newsletter #160: Jumping Into June

Posted by Jim Zub on June 1, 2026 No comments

May was a busy month with my big birthday and deadlines aplenty. I prepped for a bustling summer by getting a lot of writing done. From January to May this year I’ve already written more than I did for all of 2025, which is pretty wild. It feels good crossing off each deadline and building momentum, week after week.

*The more torn up Conan gets, the more you know a story is gonna be gooood.*

Now that Conan the Barbarian #31 is in stores and we’ve wrapped up our Son of the Tooth 3-parter, the focus of course now turns to issue #32, which I’m incredibly excited about.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #32 is a done-in-one sword & sorcery spectacle called “A Sacred Task”, built in the style of the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories from Weird Tales magazine. Our Cimmerian is hired as a bodyguard for a beautiful and mysterious woman on an important quest and their journey together will be memorable, to say the least.

I’m so proud that we’ve built enough trust with readers and retailers over the past 31 issues that we can do this kind of self-contained story as a breather between larger plot developments.

A classic adventure. An easy jumping on point.

In the current North American market, many series get cancelled outright or rebooted every 10-12 issues. I know how special this kind of extended run is, especially outside of DC or Marvel.

Great word of mouth got us this far and it’ll keep the adventure going, on and on, with reader support.

Where Should You Start Reading?

With all the excitement around Conan the Barbarian – movie rumors, the enhanced Exiles video game, new action figures, and publishing projects aplenty – it can be a lot to take in, especially if you want to jump into this world of High Adventure for the very first time.

Thankfully, Titan has officially released their Free Comic Book Day Conan promo issues online, no charge, so make sure you check them out and please share these links far and wide:

CONAN THE BARBARIAN Free Comic Book Day 2023:
https://titan-comics.com/news/download-the-conan-the-barbarian-fcbd-comic/

CONAN THE BARBARIAN Free Comic Book Day 2024:
https://titan-comics.com/news/download-the-conan-the-barbarian-fcbd-2024-pdf-her/

CONAN THE BARBARIAN Free Comic Book Day 2025:
https://titan-comics.com/news/download-the-conan-fcbd-issue-here/

CONAN THE BARBARIAN Free Comic Book Day 2026:
https://titan-comics.com/news/read-the-2026-conan-fcbd-issue-here/

Hubris By Name, Hubris By Nature

Last week’s livestream of Conan Exiles Enhanced was not what I expected, but apparently much closer to what the experienced Exiles audience thought would happen back on session 1.

Hubris lived up to his name and I spent 90% of the stream trying to retrieve my corpse and/or running from enemies. It was a rough ride in the ol’ Hyborian Age:

Trying to be entertaining on a livestream (banter, answering questions, keeping things moving) and being careful/methodical about playing a game do not go hand in hand. Especially on a game I’ve never played before and purposefully did no prep for in advance.

Glancing down at the chat and keeping that conversation going means I keep missing brain damagingly obvious stuff in-game. People watching must have thought I was incompetent, and I was, because it’s like trying to learn to drive with 50 people in the car with you giving directions and changing the radio station.

I definitely have a much different perspective on livestreamers who do this well. Playing a game you know and are good at would certainly make a huge difference. The learning curve and distraction is wild. At some point I may have to stream a game I know so viewers don’t think I’m absolute trash at video games in general. I’ve platinumed Souls games. I don’t mind a challenge.

Stacy: “How’d your game go?”
Zub: “Hyenas chewed on my gnards and I lost all my equipment.”
Stacy: “Did you have fun?”
Zub: “Sort of.”

Hubris was brought low and lost all of his spiffy equipment. I learned some of the game’s systems despite my foolishness and will return to lick my wounds and rebuild, more carefully this time.

Current + Upcoming Releases

Conan: Tides of the Tyrant-King Prelude – released May 2.
Manga Classics: Journey to the West Prelude – released May 2.
Savage Sword of Conan #14 – released May 6.
Conan the Barbarian Vol. 7: The Conquering Crown TPB – releases May 20.
Conan the Barbarian #31 – released May 27.
Conan: Scourge of the Serpent TPB – released May 27.
Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 4 TPB – released May 27.
Stranger Things VS Dungeons & Dragons HC – released May 27.
MAD About DC – 2nd printing – releases June 3.
Conan the Barbarian #32 – releases June 24.
Conan the Barbarian #33 – releases July 29.

Upcoming Appearances

The D&D Weekend I’m Dungeon Mastering on November 12-15 in Georgia was sold out, but one of the players had to drop, so a single ticket is now available. If you want to play in a whirlwind 24-hour campaign over 3-days, get on board!

Jun 12-13, 2026	Robert E. Howard Days	Cross Plains, TX, USA
Jun 14, 2026	Madness G&C 11:30-3pm	Plano, TX, USA
Jul 23-26, 2026	San Diego Comic Con	San Diego, CA, USA
Jul 30-Aug 2, 2026	Gen Con	Indianapolis, IN, USA
Aug 15, 2026	Comics Assemble	Gloucester, England, UK
Oct 15-18, 2026	Gamehole	Madison, WI, USA
Nov 12-15, 2026	D&D Weekend	Lake Sinclair, GA, USA
Jan 14-16, 2027	Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo	Philadelphia, PA, USA

Conan the Barbarian #31 Reviews

Posted by Jim Zub on June 1, 2026 No comments

This week sees the release of CONAN THE BARBARIAN #31, the climax to our 3-parter all about a new villain called the Son of the Tooth, a supernaturally-charged assassin set on the trail of our Cimmerian. This issue is a 22-page knockdown, dragout fight. Let’s see what reviewers thought of it-

• 9 Panel Grid: “Everything was rendered beautifully and brutally and it was just the perfect end cap for this part of the arc. I love what they’re doing in Conan. It keeps building. It keeps also bouncing around too, but not in a way that’s jarring. Not every book can do that. Not every writer and artist can do that, but the creative team on Conan absolutely brings it every single issue.”

• Comic Book Clique: 9/10 “Jim Zub has established himself as one of the strongest voices since Robert E. Howard himself, and this issue is another example of why…An issue like this lives or dies on its staging and choreography, and thankfully [Doug Braithwaite] is exemplary. You can feel the brutality of each stab, strike, and kill.”

• Comic Book Corner 2.0: “This was an all-out brawl between Conan and the Son of the Tooth and the action in this issue was so good…I love when Conan uses all his resources and wits to try to win.”

• Comic Culture: “Non-stop action. It’s over the top. It’s violent. It’s gory. There’s lots of drama behind it…If you haven’t jumped into this series yet, I highly recommend doing so.”

• Cool Thunder: 9/10 “This is exactly what you want from a great sword-and-sorcery comic…Doug Braithwaite and Diego Rodriguez once again bring the Hyborian Age to life with art and color that practically leap off the page. Enough cannot be said about how strong this creative team has been on the title.”

• Cupcakes Comic Reviews: “Again, great artwork and one of the best Conan stories ever…Over 30 issues and never missed a beat. That’s how good this is.”

• Eternal Crusader: “A brutal, dirty, and grim fight, mostly grounded in reality, and I was pleasantly surprised that the story still left some room for quieter character interactions and moments to breathe…Doug Braithwaite is one of England’s finest comic artists, and his work on Conan already feels like a well deserved career highlight. “

• Fanlight Zone: 10/10 “One of, if not the best books on the shelf every single month. Nothing is worth your money more at the comic shop than Conan. Incredible art by Doug Braithwaite. The action is in your face, jumping off the page. It just kicks your ass…Jim Zub is doing the best work of his career on these books and it is incredible stuff.”

• Gaming Trend: 8.5/10 “Adding to the brutality displayed across issue 31’s pages is the artwork by Doug Braithwaite. The detail his illustrations provide allows us to feel every bit of the fight, from the physical exertion of both combatants, to Conan’s growing desperation and the assassin’s fervent determination and ruthlessness.”

• League of Comic Geeks: 10/10 “The battle in this chapter is everything that makes the action side of Conan enjoyable, and Jim Zub has a deep understanding of how to make it compelling and exciting…This book was perfect for me and I’ll remember it for quite a while. “

• Old Man Hyborian: “A lot of violence, a lot of twists and turns, great fight scenes, and Doug Braithwaite did an excellent job. I really liked his art for this one.”

• Pop Culture Philosophers: “What a freaking great book right here. Amazing artwork from Doug Braithwaite and a really solid concluding chapter to this story by Jim Zub. He has taken Conan and elevated it for old school fans and new school fans into one of the best books on shelves today.”

• Read More Comics: “Titan’s been swinging for the fences on Conan and I’ll be honest, it’s been worth it. They have been doing justice to Conan in a way that I don’t think even original Marvel did…Highly recommended.”

• Stygian Dogs: “The issue is indeed a 22-page fight scene, and it’s awesome…This was a thoroughly satisfying issue.”

• Thinking Critical: “It is an action-packed, bloody thrill ride from beginning to end, well illustrated by Doug Braithwaite…Conan continues to be one of the two or three best comic book series in the entire industry.”

• Two Guys and a Stack of Comics: “This issue is a perfect example of why Conan is, in our opinion on this channel, the best comic that comes out on a monthly basis and has been the best comic for the last couple of years…This is an incredible issue I think everybody should check out.”