Category Archives: Conan

Zubby Newsletter #144: Down With the Mad King

Posted by Jim Zub on January 27, 2026 No comments

This week’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN #28 feels strangely appropriate to the mood out there-

Conan of Cimmeria and his forces fight a desperate battle against the oppressive Mad King Numedides of Aquilonia and only one will survive their final confrontation! If you love epic swords & sorcery or ever wanted to know how Conan became king, do not miss this issue!

A Grand Zubstitution

*With Anthony at the Revue Cinema just before the screening start.*

Saturday night’s Dumpster Raccoon screening of the Director’s Cut of CAPTAIN AMERICA (1990) at the Revue was supposed to be hosted by current Cap comic writer Chip Zdarsky here in Toronto, but he was incredibly sick so I stepped in as his *ahem* Zubstitute.

Back in 2019, Chip subbed in for me at East Coast Comic Expo when I had to attend an Avengers creative summit in New York City. He tweeted that he was the superior “Z” and signed my comics while taking selfies with fans. 8 years later, turnabout was fair play as I signed a bunch of his Captain America #1’s sent as giveaways to the screening.

*A 100% genuine “Chip” signature – Worth big money!*

Big thanks to Anthony Oliveira for bringing me on board and the crowd for being good sports about it all. America is a terrifying mess right now, but the dream can endure if patriots keep fighting for it.

(Want more info on the 1990 Captain America movie? Secret Galaxy has a solid overview of its production woes and how the Director’s Cut completely changes the film.)

A Most MADdening Situation

*Zub and Ramon at this Year’s RAID Holiday Party.*

Speaking of his Chipness, Zdarsky invited me to be a part of his guest edited April Fool’s Day issue of MAD Magazine called MAD ABOUT DC. I teamed up with my friend Ramon Perez on a brand new SPY VS SPY comic strip called GUY VS SPY with Green Lantern vet Guy Gardner squaring off against the pair of infamously hapless espionage agents.

As one of the millions of kids who grew up reading MAD Magazine and was changed by the way it playfully ripped the veil off pop culture and politics, it’s a rush to contribute to this issue, especially on Spy VS Spy, one of the most iconic features. Make sure you pre-order this special, as it’s jam-packed with comic talent.

Back in the Fight

*Street Fighter Masters: Elena cover art by Jeff “Chamba” Cruz.*

Delayed several times but now finally in comic shops, the STREET FIGHTER MASTERS: ELENA one-shot is a throwback to my favorite fighting game franchise, reuniting characters I enjoyed writing back in 2010!

Ibuki and Makoto head to Africa to visit Elena and tournament-laden trouble ensues, with pulse-pounding artwork by Genzoman and Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz!

Double-Zubble on Free Comic Book Day!

*Two Zub-Written Free Comic Book Day Titles Coming in 2026!*

It’s rare having one release on Free Comic Book Day, but this year readers will be see Double-Zubble as I have two free books available Saturday, May 2nd!

Titan Comics unleashes our CONAN: TIDES OF THE TYRANT-KING Prelude, foreshadowing the return of Thulsa Doom, Necromancer of Ancient Atlantis, and UDON asked me to do some epic scripting on their Manga Classics take on JOURNEY TO THE WEST, an anime action-adventure version of the famous Chinese fables.

UDON just sent out their press release about Journey to the West HERE and it contains more info and preview artwork. I’ll have a lot more to cover on Tides in the coming weeks.

Happy Birthday, REH!

Last week, the Robert E. Howard Foundation celebrated Bob’s 120th birthday with readings of poems and story excerpts. I was honored to be in this year’s line-up alongside other authors, literary scholars, pulp researchers, and lifelong fans. Check it out and raise a glass to the man and his work:

Hugo Eligible

It’s that time of year when Worldcon members get their registration finalized (the registration deadline is January 31st, 2026) and think about which titles they will nominate for the Hugo Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in fiction. Stacy and I attended Worldcon in Seattle last year and it was an absolute whirlwind of panels, parties and time well spent with some of our favorite people in the business.

It can be an odd balance when it comes to making sure members are aware of work without coming across like you’re sucking up, but in this case I feel a deep need to beat the drum, so here we go-

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #25, “The Nomad” is a heck of an achievement. It took almost a year for Alex Horley to traditionally oil paint 38 pages of stunning sword & sorcery imagery and I did everything in my power to summon lyrical narration and dialogue to live up to those visuals. It’s a self-contained story about legacy, loss, and survival – poetry amidst pain. It’s one of the best comics I’ve ever worked on and the response from readers and reviewers was top notch.

If the Worldcon membership considers The Nomad worthy of nomination for Best Graphic Story or Comic and Alex Horley for Best Professional Artist, our whole team would be thrilled.

Anyone can join the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), even if you’re not attending this year’s event in Los Angeles in person, and a $50 base membership allows you to nominate up to five titles/people in all 17 award categories and vote on winners once the Hugo nomination ballot is ready. Get involved and nominate your favorites!

Current + Upcoming Releases

Conan the Barbarian #27 – released Dec 17.
Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4 – released Jan 7.
Conan the Barbarian vol. 6: A Nest of Serpents – released Jan 7.
Conan the Barbarian #28 – releases Jan 28.
Conan the Barbarian #29 – releases Feb 11.
Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 1 – releases Feb 17.
Conan the Barbarian 30 – releases Mar 11.
Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 2 – releases Mar 17.
Mad About DC – releases Apr 1.
Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 3 – releases Apr 21.
Conan the Barbarian #31 – releases Apr 22.

Upcoming Appearances

More shows have popped up on my Spring schedule:

Feb 14-16, 2026	Fan Expo Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, CANADA
Mar 5-8, 2026	Emerald City Comic Con	Seattle, WA, USA
Apr 23-26, 2026	Calgary Expo	Calgary, AB, CANADA

Zub Comics in April 2026

Posted by Jim Zub on January 23, 2026 No comments

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #31
On sale April 22, 2026
Story: JIM ZUB
Line Art: DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Colors: DIEGO RODRIGUEZ
Cover A: MAHMUD ASRAR
Cover B: DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover C: MAX DUNBAR
Cover D: PAOLO PANTALENA

A DEADLY FOE CONTINUES TO HUNT CONAN
A DEADLY NEW FOE hunts Conan the Barbarian, tracking his spirit wherever he travels – a killer with keen blade in hand and teeth from old prey strung ‘round his neck. The cult of the Black Stone WANTS REVENGE against the Cimmerian and the Son of the Tooth is their weapon of choice.

MAD ABOUT DC
On sale April 1st, 2026
Written and Drawn by THE USUAL GANG OF COMIC BOOK CREATORS WHO NEEDED THE EXTRA MONEY
Cover by DAN “MAD ABOUT GLUTEN LABELING BECAUSE IT SHOULD ACTUALLY BE CLEARER OR ELSE WHAT’S THE POINT” PANOSIAN
Variant covers by SIMON BISLEY and CHIP ZDARSKY

Chip Zdarsky is a funny guy. Remember when he made that whole April Fools’ gag comic with rub ‘n’ smell farts? Oh, wait, that was me, DC Comics E-I-C Marie Javins. Chip was the one saying, “I’d turn back if I were you,” but he couldn’t stop me. Editors are a self-destructive lot. Which is why this year, I said, “I give up, you do it, Chip, you are so much funnier and prettier and also better with cats than I am.” And look, he went and did it. Chip demoted himself to “editor.” Chip is turning the DC universe on its ear and bringing you savage mockery of all we hold dear, and he is assisted in this brutal task by Matt Fraction, Gail Simone, Skottie Young, and many, many more. Next year? Back to farts.

Includes MAD favorite Sergio Aragones with “A MAD Look at Comic Book Stores,” “Guy vs. Spy” by Jim Zub and Ramon Perez, and a DC Fold-In by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. Plus a slew of MAD-style parodies of all DC Comics you hold dear, and some you’ve always hated anyway.

MAD About DC #1 will fulfill your every comic book dream, or at least three or four of them.

Conan the Barbarian #25 is Hugo Eligible

Posted by Jim Zub on January 23, 2026 No comments

It can be an odd balance when it comes to making sure members are aware of work without coming across like you’re sucking up, but in this case I feel a deep need to beat the drum, so here we go-

If the Worldcon membership considers The Nomad worthy of nomination for Best Graphic Story or Comic and Alex Horley for Best Professional Artist, our whole team would be thrilled.

Zubby Newsletter #143: Endless Haze

Posted by Jim Zub on January 20, 2026 No comments

I flew back from Portland yesterday after the 3-day Fan Expo show and it was a strange day of travel. I had to head to the airport from my hotel at 3:00am and hazily made my connection in Denver before mechanical issues kept us hanging out on the tarmac for an extra hour. I rarely sleep on planes and had an aisle seat this time, so even when I did nod off it only lasted for a minute or two before someone needed me to get up or moved alongside me on their way to the back of the plane. Waking up this morning after some deep sleep, I still feel tired and out of sync with the waking world. Hoping I can shake off this lurgy feeling today and dive back into my To-Do List.

In a similar fashion, it was nice seeing friends and fans in Portland but I don’t think my brain was ready for a January convention. This is the first time I’ve ever headed to a show at the start of the year and now I know why – I need more hiberation time and a few deadlines under my belt before I dive back into convention culture. No one did anything wrong and the show itself was fine, I just felt like I floated through most of it instead of being fully engaged.

That said, I did meet some new fans who were really nice and drew up a few sketch covers that turned out pretty solid:

*Some sketch covers from Fan Expo Portland.*

When I was starting out in this business, conventions seemed to run from around May to September and now there are pop culture conventions every single weekend of the year. On one hand that’s great, but on the other it can start to feel like an endless maze of events and social pressure, so I need to be more careful about defining limits on when travel for work.

Big Fight in April

**Conan the Barbarian #31** cover artwork by **Mahmud Asrar**.

Over on AIPT, they’ve just posted covers for April’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN #31. This issue is where things really explode with a full 22-page battle between our favorite Cimmerian and our brand new villain called The Son of the Tooth!

Talking to The Shortbox

I spoke to Badr Milligan at The Shortbox in their latest podcast episode all about my career in comics, tabletop gaming, iconic characters, pulp writing, working with incredible artists, almost creatively burning out, teaching college students, writing advice, and more. Give it a listen or watch it here:

Current + Upcoming Releases

D&D Young Adventurer’s: Warriors & Wizards Compendium – released Nov 4.

Stranger Things-Dungeons & Dragons: Tales from the Table – released Nov 4.

Conan the Barbarian #27 – released Dec 17.

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4 – released Jan 7.

Conan the Barbarian vol. 6: A Nest of Serpents – released Jan 7.

Conan the Barbarian #28 – releases Jan 28.

Conan the Barbarian #29 – releases Feb 11.

Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 1 – releases Feb 17.

Conan the Barbarian 30 – releases Mar 11.

Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 2 – releases Mar 17.

Upcoming Appearances

I’ll have more convention announcements for March, April and the summer coming soon, but for now there’s just one confirmed event happening in February.

Feb 14-16, 2026

Fan Expo Vancouver

Vancouver, BC, CANADA

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4 Reviews

Posted by Jim Zub on January 12, 2026 No comments

The climax of our second Conan event mini-series arrived in stores last Wednesday – what did critics think of the big finish and the pieces it sets up for the future?

• 9 Panel Grid: “It feels like these events are stacking up and making a story unto themselves where one leads to the next and we get this great fleshing out of all the Robert E. Howard properties…I had a really good time with it.”

• Brother Lore: “As far as everything goes – the writing, the pacing, the suspense, who is behind it all (which I’m not going to reveal) and the art. This comic book is a culmination, an apex, and 100% worth it to go and either get the single issues or paperback.”

• Comic Culture: “Gil on the art spectacular. Love the art. Love the coloring inside the stories and I feel like I get my money’s worth when I read Conan every single time.”

• Comic Patrol: “This really impressed me and won me over in a big way…Holy smokes, did I ever love this.”

• Comical Opinions: 8/10 “Ivan Gil’s artwork on this issue is the strongest yet because he has to illustrate something that should not be illustratable: a god existing outside of time speaking directly to a human consciousness…A confident, ambitious final chapter that makes a genuine philosophical statement.”

• Cool Thunder: 9/10 “This issue brings everything together in a stunning and satisfying finale…Jim Zub continues to write with a sense of grandeur and mythology that feels unmatched in current comics, while Ivan Gil proceeds to artisticly deliver epic weight on every page.”

• Eternal Crusader: “It becomes evident Zub has been planting both subtle and more overt hints throughout his Conan run from the very beginning, all of which come together here in a harmonious way…Artist Ivan Gil unleashes a veritable fireworks display of epic spreads and striking panels. It’s a feast for the eyes, though by now that’s something I’ve come to expect given the consistently high quality of the artwork throughout Titan’s Conan run.”

• Fanlight Zone: “Conan by Titan and Heroic Signatures is one of the best books on the shelf every single month. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it – This crossover event has been fantastic…Awesome art and a really cool story.”

• League of Comic Geeks: 10/10 “Ivan Gil’s artwork is a feast for the eyes, capturing the raw ferocity of battles and the eerie, otherworldly dread of the cosmic sequences with equal prowess. The colors pop with a gritty Hyborian palette. If you’re into pulp fantasy laced with cosmic chills, this is essential reading.”

• Major Spoilers: “I still enjoyed it very much, even though I’m not a big Robert E. Howard scholar or fan of all his work, and I was still able to follow it. It’s a very good four issue series.”

• Pop Culture Philosophers: “The end of this book was masterful. This is a must-read if you’re following the work Jim Zub and company are doing on Conan, which is phenomenal work…The entire family of Conan books have become some of my favorite books to read.”

• Stygian Dogs: “A magnificent marker in this multi-year mission to deliver pulp adventure and mystery drawn from the wider cast of Robert E. Howard’s formidable stable of characters…The result is a story that raises the stakes and inexorably pulls readers along, thrusting us deeper into an encroaching mystery that leaves us eager and guessing for more.”

• Thinking Critical: “This issue’s foot is on the accelerator and it just flies by…It’s tension filled, fast-paced, well illustrated and once again left me wanting more.”

• Two Guys and a Stack of Comics: “This is build up. This is payoff. Great action, incredible art, and balancing different timelines, delivering stakes and I’ll give them credit – One of the coolest last page teases for what comes next.”

Zubby Newsletter #141: One Beast To Another

Posted by Jim Zub on January 5, 2026 No comments

*Set telepathically communicates with our heroes in **Scourge of the Serpent #4**.*

Welcome to 2026, everyone! I hope your holidays were a worthy respite from the turbulent world around us. I had some great social time with family, relaxing time with Stacy, and nerd out time with movies, video games, board games and reading aplenty. Most of my clients and collaborators took vacation days until today, so there was a good amount of time to rest and reenergize before diving back into work this morning.

We originally planned for the final issue of Scourge of the Serpent to arrive before the end of the Year of the Snake, but a shipping slowdown bumped it to first week of the Year of the Horse instead. That’s okay – The issue no longer has to compete with holiday chaos and I’m eager to hear what readers think of the big reveals that erupt in this climactic chapter. (Speaking of which, Youtuber Tennessee Fats is the only person I’ve seen so far who picked up on this visual bread crumb I asked artist Dean Kotz to include in Savage Sword of Conan #4, released back in August 2024.)

In Scourge #4, artist Ivan Gil and colorist João Canola deliver a swirling, stirring finale that ripples backward and forward, recontextualizing moments that have come before and teeing up cool things still to be revealed…

As you’d expect, I have a lot of Conan projects on my plate and couldn’t be happer with that. Between multiple art teams working on the monthly title, more Savage Sword anthology stories, and our next event mini-series that will kick off with a free prelude in May (and I’ll start chatting about more in the coming weeks), the Hyborian Age will be central to my 2026 schedule but that doesn’t mean that’s all I have on tap. I’m reaching out to other editors and talking to a couple publishers, so we’ll see if any of that bears fruit.

Serpents Everywhere

Also in stores this week, Conan the Barbarian vol. 6: A Nest of Serpents. Artist Fernando Dagnino joins our team and makes a huge splash with pulse-pounding action and soaring environments worthy of the world’s greatest sword and sorcery hero.

Fernando is currently drawing another storyline coming later this year, one he teased in this New Year’s sketch on his Instagram:

Yup, that’s Valeria, pirate swordswoman of the Red Brotherhood… 🙂

Movies + Games

With such an intense writing and travel schedule in 2025, I fell way behind on other pop culture stuff. I try to read comics or other books when I’m flying somewhere, but movies and video games took a pretty serious backseat over the past few months, so it was nice to bum around with a bunch over the holidays.

• Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out mystery movie, impressed the heck out of Stacy and I. It’s a classic whodunit with lots of fun twists and turns. Even though the film is packed with actors clearly having a blast chewing up the scenery, Josh O’Conner manages to outpace the rest and delivers a performance that feels both intense and effortless – genuine, humble and yet always engaging. We enjoyed it enough that it led us down a bit of a rabbit hole with a few other classic murder mystery films, but the genre can be a bit of a minefield with painful tropes and cringe-laden stereotypes, so it’s interesting to revisit some of them but hasn’t been a full blown revelation.

• Speaking of awkward classics, Christmas films can be a real mixed bag as well, with nostalgia goggles fogging out a lot of poorly paced storytelling that puts me to sleep. Over the years, Stacy and I have endured a lot perennial ‘favorites’ and slowly winnowed down our X-Mas movies/specials list to a handful we actually enjoy rewatching year after year.

Currently on that list: Scrooge (1951), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), A Muppet Family Christmas (1987), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Invader Zim: The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever (2002), Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special (2016), and Klaus (2019).

Feel free to suggest others, but don’t be too surprised if they’re not my cup of tea.

• We also watched Tokyo Godfathers, a 2003 tragi-comedy anime film that takes place around the holidays and enjoyed that too, though I’m not sure if it’ll become an annual tradition or not. Seeing the seedier side of Tokyo so well represented reminded me how many interesting and unexpected places can be found outside the more touristy spots in Japan. We tried to channel a similar off-the-beaten-path vibe in Wayward, my creator-owned teen supernatural series.

*Our treehouse in the Black Forests of Valheim.*

• On the video game front, my brother and I have been using our weekly gaming meet-up to chip away at Valheim (originally launched in 2021 but still technically in Early Access) and thoroughly enjoy exploring and surviving each challenge, bit by bit. The simple 3D models and environments are wildly enhanced by lighting and effects, creating a compelling atmosphere even though the game has a thankfully small footprint on my hard drive.

• I snagged Astro Bot thanks to a Playstation Store holiday sale and have been blown away by just how polished and charming it is. I’m about halfway through right now, and almost every single level has some kind of innovative gameplay element or twist on an existing 3D platform concept that surprises me and makes me smile. When it won Game of the Year in 2024 I wondered if it had been overhyped, but now that I’m playing it I can see exactly why it earned so many accolades.

• I also finally had the chance to finish Spider-Man 2, a game that came out late 2023 that I enjoyed, but just did not have the time to complete the main storyline until now. The whole Insomniac team did an incredible job distilling tons of comic book material into their own continuity, turning some of my least favorite comics from the 90’s into something actually resonant and interesting, which in itself is a heck of an achievement. The super smooth gameplay that makes you feel like you’re Peter Parker or Miles Morales – swinging, fighting, dodging and quipping the whole way is a damn delight. I’m hopeful that the studio’s upcoming Wolverine game is just as compelling and well executed.

Current + Upcoming Releases

D&D Young Adventurer’s: The Warriors & Wizards Compendium – released Nov 4.

Stranger Things-Dungeons & Dragons: Tales from the Table – released Nov 4.

Conan the Barbarian #26 – released Nov 26.

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3 – released Nov 26.

Conan the Barbarian #27 – released Dec 17.

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4 – releases Jan 7.

Conan the Barbarian vol. 6: A Nest of Serpents – releases Jan 7.

Conan the Barbarian #28 – releases Jan 28.

Conan the Barbarian #29 – releases Feb 11.

Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 1 – releases Feb 17.

Upcoming Appearances

Two shows announced so far for 2026, and more to come:

Jan 16-18, 2026	Fan Expo Portland	Portland, OR, USA
Feb 14-16, 2026	Fan Expo Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, CANADA

Conan the Barbarian on ‘Best of the Year’ Lists for 2025

Posted by Jim Zub on December 30, 2025 No comments

I’m honored to see Conan the Barbarian make it on to so many ‘Best of the Year’ lists. Working with this creative team is such a thrill. Our artists elevate every single story I put together and I could not be more proud of the work. Thank you for the enthusiastic support!

• 9 Panel Grid: “Zub continues to show his love and dedication to this character each and every issue, and make sure you check out issue #25 in particular as it’s one of the best single issue experiences you’ll have in 2025.”

• CBR: “Conan the Barbarian has always been home to brutal comic book action, and Jim Zub has given Robert E. Howard fans everything they could possibly want. It’s the greatest sword and sorcery comic in decades and the peak of what dark fantasy should be.”

• Comic Book Corner 2.0: “This book is absolutely phenomenal. If you’re not a Conan fan, the only thing I can say is give it a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

• Comic Culture: “The world of Conan feels complex and vast, making you want to go back and read from the beginning…There is an aesthetic that needs to be upheld and, in my opinion, each Conan book does that perfectly.”

• Comic Patrol: “I think it’s highly entertaining and extremely well written…It’s an exceptional read and always has beautiful artwork.”

• Larry’s Library: “Dare I say that Jim Zub is the next best Conan scribe after Robert E. Howard himself and the legendary Roy Thomas. There’s no higher praise I could give a writer on Conan than to say that.”

• The Sanctuary of Comics: “Comic book of the year is Conan the Barbarian #25…The brutality, melancholy, epic scale and artwork of Alex Horley. It’s absolutely stunning, powerful, savage and completely worthy of the Cimmerian.”

• Thinking Critical: “My #1 book of 2025, the best of the best, is Conan the Barbarian…Fernando Dagnino has done an amazing job and really gotten better every single issue. Jim Zub really is able to channel that inner Robert E. Howard…It’s so amazing just to read this. I’m loving every single issue.”

• Two Guys and a Stack of Comics: “The third year in a row that Conan the Barbarian is the #1 comic on our list…It’s enthralling, it’s incredible, it astounds me. It’s the best book of the year by far.”

Zubby Newsletter #139: Conquer the Holidays!

Posted by Jim Zub on December 23, 2025 No comments

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope this Yuletide Dwarven Defender finds you well and that you’re able to make the most of the season.

Gift shopping is done and I’m just sending off a few more emails before I settle in for my holiday break. I’ll have more to cover in my annual Year In Review post but, in short, I’m feeling good and really looking forward to spending more time with family and friends to wrap up the year.

Patreon Update

I’ve updated my Patreon page with more material. If you join, you’ll get access to an archive of over 300 scripts, outlines, and other helpful behind-the-scenes material. Learn how comics are made for the price of a fancy coffee, or give access as a gift to an aspiring creator you know.

And if you’re tight on funds, I also have over 40 FREE writing tutorial articles on my website packed with advice that you can dig through and enjoy.

First Comics Interview

I spoke to Richard Vasseur at First Comics News about working on CONAN THE BARBARIAN – Who he is, key components of his lore, and why he continues to be such a legendary character 93 years after his first appearance in Weird Tales Magazine.

What’s Cookin’ in the Zub Kitchen

Last week I made a Teriyaki Flank Steak Stir Fry with Garlic Broccoli and Rice with beef that turned out extremely flavorful and tender. I ‘velveted’ the meat (a Chinese cooking technique) and that made all the difference. Definitely adding that to my cooking arsenal:

Cut the beef into small pieces, then marinade them in this mixture for around 30 minutes before stir frying (per 1 pound of beef):
♦️1 tsp corn starch
♦️1 tsp soy sauce
♦️2 tsp of oil
♦️1 tsp mirin
♦️1 egg white
with a dash of salt and white pepper

After I quickly cooked the meat in my wok pan, I added a homemade teriyaki glaze and it tasted fantastic. One of the best stir fry meals I’ve ever made.

Current + Upcoming Releases

D&D Young Adventurer’s: The Warriors & Wizards Compendium – released Nov 4.

Stranger Things-Dungeons & Dragons: Tales from the Table – released Nov 4.

Conan the Barbarian #26 – released Nov 26.

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3 – released Nov 26.

Conan the Barbarian #27 – released Dec 17.

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4 – releases Jan 7.

Conan the Barbarian vol. 6: A Nest of Serpents – releases Jan 7.

Conan the Barbarian #28 – releases Jan 28.

Conan the Barbarian #29 – releases Feb 11.

Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 1 – releases Feb 17.

Upcoming Appearances

Two shows announced so far for 2026, and more to come:

Jan 16-18, 2026	Fan Expo Portland	Portland, OR, USA
Feb 14-16, 2026	Fan Expo Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, CANADA

Conan the Barbarian #27 Reviews

Posted by Jim Zub on December 22, 2025 1 comment

The second part of The Conquering Crown arrived in stores on December 17th. What did critics think of it? Read on and find out-

• 9 Panel Grid: “This might be crafting itself to be one of my favorite arcs within Jim Zub’s time with Conan. I can’t wait to see what next issue brings.”

• Brother Lore: “It’s very much written for a collected edition, but at the same time it works brilliantly in issues as well…Once again, I 100% recommend this comic book.”

• Comic Book Corner 2.0: “The writing is just so next level. It’s not just babble. It’s so imperative to read what Jim Zub is trying to describe and what’s going on with Conan, and it’s so good.”

• Comic Book University: “This was a really awesome issue and I’m going to argue that you probably need to have this in your collection.”

• Comic Culture: “As always, Jim Zub and team are doing an amazing job keeping this exciting. The artwork is always solid. It always puts you in that same mood….I don’t know how they’re doing it, but it’s a spectacular book.”

• Comic Patrol: “These are constantly the best written, most exciting, detailed, in-depth, fun you can possibly have. I get so much pleasure out of reading these issues…It’s so immersive and wonderful. I can praise this book all day long.”

• Comical Opinions: 8.5/10 “The writing is sharp and the art is purposeful, making every conversation feel loaded with danger…What truly earns this issue its value is the promise it plants about what comes next.”

• Cool Thunder: 10/10 “Month after month, Jim Zub continues to knock this run out of the park in classic Conan fashion!”

• Cupcakes Comic Reviews: “I’ve been continuing with this for 27 issues and it’s been gold. Every issue has been a bombastic, action-packed Conan story…The art is fire, the story is killer. If you like sword & sorcery, this is the best sword & sorcery book out there.”

• Eternal Crusader: “I have to give it to Jim Zub with how much plot, lore and scenes he was able to cram into just 22 pages. That’s impressive on its own. Dagnino continues to soar to new heights, with some of the best pages in the whole series.”

• Fanlight Zone: “Every issue it feels like your old school Conan books you were buying off the spinner rack…You need to read this book.”

• Gaming Trend: “Overall a fantastic second chapter in that journey. While nowhere near as action-packed as the previous issue, it pushes the story forward significantly, establishing not only the antagonist Conan must face, but also the embers of the revolution that will help to secure Conan’s ascension.”

• Goodreads: 10/10 “An exciting story that starts off with showing the players but seems to stay active with anticipation throughout, a fair amount of violence, with art to boost the tale well.”

• Kabooooom: 10/10 “[Conan] continues to be one of the best comics on the stands. Not merely one of the best fantasy comics or action/adventure comics. It is a great comic and well worth reading if you are any fan of the medium.”

• League of Comic Geeks: 10/10 “On a monthly basis, this always feels like the most bang for your buck of any comic on the shelf…The political unrest and the action were very strongly delivered in this issue.”

• Old Man Hyborian: “Another solid issue from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics. Zub’s doing a good job with the story arc. This issue was a little bit slower, but I’m sure he’s going to build up to an excellent finale.”

• Pop Culture Philosophers: “Conan is the perfect comic book for old school fans and new school fans. It’s a perfect comic book for comic book fans. This is one of the best books on shelves and it has been for over two years now.”

• SciFi Pulse: 9.6/10 “Each interaction feels purposeful, quickly establishing the political tension and the sense that Conan is being pulled in multiple directions by competing interests.”

• Stygian Dogs: “Jim Zub delivers a solid mid-arc entry, succinctly depicting the world of political peacockery under the rule of a maniacal monarch. Conan especially shines here in the moments of his opposition to the opulent and supposedly civilized realm.”

• Titan Comics Corner: “The artwork is a dynamic visual experience due to versatile paneling, lighting, and coloring. Even with some layout chaos, Fernando Dagnino ensures a strong left-to-right flow.”

• Thinking Critical: “This is easily my pick of the week…The dialogue, the art, the covers, the pacing, the humor, the action, all top notch from Zub and Dagnino. Another strong recommend for Conan the Barbarian #27. Conan just continues to be one of the best books out there right now and Fernando has definitely cemented himself as a rising star.”

• Two Guys and a Stack of Comics: “Conan is a book that if you love old school comics, you just want something where you can dive into the story, see excellent world building, excellent character moments, and it always delivers every single month.”

• Void City Reviews: “There’s always young Conan and older Conan and I never quite understood how he got from here to there, and this is telling me exactly how that happened, so it’s what I wanted right when I wanted it and it’s kind of mind-blowing. So awesome…The art is great.”

Zubby Newsletter #137: Parallel Moments

Posted by Jim Zub on December 2, 2025 No comments

*Conan the Barbarian #18 -> Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3*

There’s a grand plan for the Conan the Barbarian series through to issue #50, using many of the original Robert E. Howard prose stories as pillars to build a larger mythic arc about men, gods, courage, sacrifice and storytelling. Each year we also have a 4-issue event mini-series that exemplifies and extends ideas from the monthly series, putting a button on broader themes and showing how adventures the Cimmerian has been part of echo outward, interacting with other characters in the ‘Howardverse’. My first Heroic Signatures editor Matt Murray and I generated this concept in brainstorming sessions long before the series launched, hopeful we’d get the chance to see it through and, as year 3 continues, it feels amazing to slowly unveil each major moment along the way.

Scourge of the Serpent #3 reveals the reality of a flashback first shown in Conan the Barbarian #18, built around the REH story God in the Bowl. Conan’s memories of that moment are hazy and I love the way artist Danica Brine‘s flashback version has a dreamlike quality while Ivan Gil‘s reality of that moment is more textured and horrific, even while both compositions are identical. Getting to plan all this out and see it executed so incredibly well by our team is a thrill.

With holiday shipping and distribution all jammed up, Scourge of the Serpent #4 has slipped to first week of January, but I promise that you won’t want to miss what gets revealed there, a big piece of the broader mythic puzzle.

Our year 3 event mini-series for Fall 2026 has already been teased in the upcoming distribution catalogue, but I’ll save discussion around that for after Scourge wraps up…

*Art by Danica Brine and Ivan Gil, colors by João Canola, letters by Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith.*

Conan.com Has The Crown

Conan editor Chris Butera talks with the official Conan website all about The Conquering Crown, the story of the Cimmerian’s rise to become the King of Aquilonia. There are exclusive sneak peeks at upcoming artwork and a lot more. Check it out!

Assembling Mighty Memories

There were a lot of fond memories of working on AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER + NO ROAD HOME in the interview I did with the Avengers Forever podcast. Working on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was a really special time for me. There are other discussions as well, but if you want to dive right into Avengers-related anecdotes, those start right HERE.

War Chatter

I was on World at War Comics last week, chatting on their livestream all about Conan the Barbarian – the current storylines, long term planning, our amazing artists, and a whole lot more!

Zub Books for the Holidays

When you’re looking at gifts for friends and family this holiday season, don’t forget to check out the Buy page on my website for a massive alphabetical list of books I’ve worked on over the years, across all different genres and age groups.