Stacy and I are at our hotel in Madrid, easing our way through the morning as we finish packing our luggage and then head to the airport. I wanted to send out a newsletter four days ago after we finished the London leg of it all, but it’s been too busy for me to carve out the time to get it done until now.

Man oh man, what a trip. MCM London Comic Con was bustling, the store signings I’ve done have been hopping, and there’s been a steady drumbeat of go-go-go punctuating almost every day. Even our ‘break’ days have been intense as we packed in visits with old friends and a couple business meetings as well. It wasn’t until yesterday, when we took a day trip to Segovia with Ivan Gil and his wife Luda, that things seemed to slow down enough to realize how quick it’s all been going.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been really fun. Among the many highlights:

• Being set up at the convention between Mark Brooks and Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau, watching both of them absolutely crush it in terms of sketches for fans.

• Dinner with Sean Gordon Murphy and his crew, talking about broader industry trends and weathering the storm of publishing highs and lows.

• Catching up with Alex Trowers, Leanne and their amazing kids after the show wrapped up on Sunday.

• Wandering London with them, Gabrielle Kent, Satish and their little one, including a foray into the British Museum.

• A big pizza dinner with so many of our England friends, including the wonderful Rhianna Pratchett, to cap off our time in London.

• Stopping by the Titan Books office to discuss future Conan the Barbarian plans.

• Stacy and I gallery and museum’ed it up in both cities, with visits to the British National Gallery, the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museums. So much art, an overflowing blast of inspiration.

• Both signings in Madrid were amazing! So many Spanish readers came out and quite a few of them brought stacks of my books to sign. The staff at Arte 9 and Omega Center were so incredibly welcoming and stocked deep on titles as well.

• A bunch of Spanish comic creators came out for dinner after the Omega Center signing on Saturday, including my friend Pepe Larraz, who is the current artist of Amazing Spider-Man.

Getting face time with Spanish creators, especially the wonderful artists I’m currently working with, was incredibly special. As much as we all try to stay in touch, via email or Zoom, nothing can replace that in-person experience. We really are a creative team, and the stronger that bond can be, the better. I want my collaborators to know how much I value their efforts, month after month.

As tired as I feel sprinting through the past nine days, my mind is sparking with electricity because of the great interactions I’ve had with everyone here overseas. In a year already packed with amazing experiences, this trip has been an unexpected high point…

(…and we’ll be back in the UK again in November for a double dose of D&D in a Castle!)

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

I’m a surprise guest at the Glass Cannon Retreat happening in Las Vegas in a couple weeks! I’ll be running TTRPG sessions and playing a few NPCs during the festivities and it’s going to be awesome.

Other Links

• An artbook retrospective of Frank Frazetta’s early career is funding over on Kickstarter and it looks like it’s going to be a beauty: Becoming Frazetta- The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master.

• Another artbook for a classic artist that’s also funding right now online and well worth checking out: Into White- The Art of George Pratt.

• The unofficial Howardverse website has a list of ‘Where to start with Conan the Barbarian comics’ that acts as a quick overview of the character’s history in comics.

Jim

Two years ago, the new Conan the Barbarian series launched on Free Comic Book Day with our special promotional zero issue and I signed at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, Maryland. This past weekend, I was back there again with a new FCBD issue as we rocket toward the third year of the series. Longtime friend Ray Fawkes, comic newcomer Jason Shaw, and I had a 3-hour whirlwind signing at the flagship store and easily signed over 800 books apiece. It was exhausting and invigorating. What a rush.

This was my fifth signing at Third Eye (wait, maybe my sixth – Is it good that I’m not sure?) and, each and every time, I leave with a warm feeling that, no matter how tumultuous publishing comics can be, things are going to be okay.

I’ve told many comic professionals this, but it’s well worth repeating as loud and wide as possible – If there was a shop like Third Eye Comics in every state in the U.S., the North American comic book industry would be in a completely different place – a much better place.

What Steve and Trish have managed to accomplish over the past 17 years is absolutely incredible. They have taken the buzz around pop culture – comics, superheroes, anime, manga, games, music, horror, sci-fi, alt culture – and built incredibly well curated stores that celebrate and sell on a scale I have rarely seen before. Most importantly, their staff are knowledgeable, friendly, exuberant, patient, motivated, and – wait for it – well taken care of (solid base pay, health insurance, retirement benefits) and in turn they deliver a customer experience that is top tier. That, in turn, has built a phenomenally loyal customer base that trusts their recommendations and comes out in droves for their events. It’s the kind of vibrant pop culture ecosystem that people in this business dream about, located a short drive from Baltimore and Washington DC.

Hardcore collectors, casual readers, and kids are all well served. Whatever you are into, Third Eye has it – stocked deep and sold with a sincere smile. Until you see it, it’s hard to describe.

Comic publishers, distributors, and other retailers could learn a hell of a lot from those people and their stores. I learn something new about this business every single time I visit, and you can bet I’ll be back whenever they want me there to promote my work.

Want a Signed Copy?

Speaking of well stocked, Third Eye has a limited number of extra signed copies of the CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT Prelude and PHANTOM #0 set aside for people who couldn’t make it to their shop, and they do mail order as well, so if you want a copy for your collection, don’t miss out.

The Serpent Revealed!

Now that the Scourge of the Serpent Prelude issue has been released (and don’t worry, the free digital version will be arriving online soon), it’s time to start revealing some of our secrets!

Over on the official Conan website I dug in deep with Lo Terry, talking at length about my grand plan for the story and how we’re weaving three different Robert E. Howard tales together into one swirling sword & sorcery tale.

It’s ambitious, audacious even, but man oh man, it’s also a lot of fun. Ivan and João are delivering glorious artwork, sweeping readers across time, space, and sanity. The twinkle in my eye for this story has become so much more thanks to our team and I’m incredibly grateful.

D&D in a Castle Deep Dive

One of my two tables are already sold out, but there are still seats available for my November 10-14 adventure!

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

Stacy and I are headed to England later this month for MCM Comic Con London, but the adventure doesn’t stop there – We’re hopping over to Spain for a few days so I can meet some of the amazing artists I’m working with and will be signing with Fernando Dagnino and Ivan Gil on May 31st at 7pm at the Omega Center comic shop in Madrid!

Other Links

• Ed Zitron‘s articles on the flaws and economic pitfalls of generative AI are extensive and his latest newsletter, Reality Check, is well worth reading. “Generative AI isn’t about helping you or me do things — it’s about making new SKUs, new monthly subscription costs for consumers and enterprises, new ways to convince people to pay more for the things that they already used to be slightly different in a way that often ends up being worse.”

• The Byte’s Noor Al-Sibai has an article about people becoming addicted to chatbot interactions, which is hard to fathom but feeds into a dystopian ‘loneliness economy’ we should not ignore.

• Are we doing three dark article links here at the end of an upbeat newsletter? I swear, I’m in a good mood. Anyways, I also couldn’t ignore Jia Tolentino‘s latest New Yorker article called ‘My Brain Finally Broke’. It’s hauntingly well written, despite its deeply depressing subject matter.

Jim