I was honored to accept an invitation to be a Special Guest at PaizoCon, happening July 5-7 at the Seattle Airport Mariott Hotel.
It’s been an absolute pleasure working on the Pathfinder comic series for Paizo Publishing and Dynamite Entertainment and getting a chance to interact with some of the biggest Pathfinder fans anywhere is going to be a thrill.
As we get closer to the show I’ll have details on signings, panels and other events I’ll be at during the show.
A heartfelt “thank you” to Steve, Trish and the rest of the staff at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, Maryland. It was a wonderful weekend and easily one of the busiest signings I’ve ever been a part of.
I was stunned at how large the store was and how well organized and well stocked they were. Third Eye is easily on par with some of the biggest and best shops I’ve seen in New York, Los Angeles or Toronto.
If you’re a comic creator you definitely want to arrange a signing with these folks. Just top notch all around. Edwin and I are not big names but we had a solid signing that rarely let up the entire time. Skullkickers, Pathfinder and Street Fighter fans aplenty.
Check out the impromptu store tour video I shot minutes before they opened the doors for the signing:
Convention season 2013 begins with the always-amazing Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, Washington!
I’ll be exhibiting at the show all three days and will have books and comics on hand for you to check out, including our wonderful Emerald City Comicon variant of the brand new UNCANNY SKULLKICKERS #1 with cover art by Jeff “Chamba” Cruz (who is also attending, so you can get two signatures).
In addition I’ll also be hosting two panels and signing at both Image Comics and Dynamite Entertainment at select times.
SATURDAY 11am-12pm at BOOTH 1802 Signing at Dynamite Entertainment
SATURDAY 1pm-2pm in HALL C: CONVENTION HORROR STORIES
Join Katie Cook (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic) and Jim Zub (Skullkickers) as they tell tales about what it can be like behind the convention table. Stories like that of a man in California that introduced a fox puppet as his son, to a man in a tiger costume that talked about his removable loincloth! Sometimes the folks that go to conventions really are “those weirdos”. Some stories will make you laugh out loud, some will make you cringe! (May not be appropriate for all ages)
SUNDAY 11am-12pm at BOOTH 1802 Signing at Dynamite Entertainment
SUNDAY 12pm-1pm in HALL C: WRITING & PITCHING CREATOR-OWNED COMICS
Creator-owned comics have grabbed the imagination of the comic-reading community all over again and publishers are looking for fresh ideas from a new generation of talent. Listen closely as creators Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun), Charles Soule (27), and moderator Jim Zub (Skullkickers) discuss pitching their hit comic series to publishers and offer advice on how to climb to the top of the treacherous submission mountain, along with comic writing techniques and amusing anecdotes.
SUNDAY 1pm-1:45pm at BOOTH 1110 Signing at Image Comics
The Comic Book Lounge in downtown Toronto is having a one day mini-convention to celebrate their 1st anniversary in business. I’ll be there Saturday night as part of Ty Templeton’s “On The Couch” panel chat all about the comic industry.
If you’re in the Toronto area come on down and take in the Comic Book Lounge and Gallery this Saturday. It’s going to be a good time.
One of my favorite shows every year, Animex UK, is coming up the week of Feb 18-22 at the University of Teesside in England. This year they’ve got a stellar guest line-up for their brand new Comics Day on Wednesday Feb 20th! I’m going to be the host of Animex Comics, introducing each of the speakers as they discuss their comic art, storytelling and business with an auditorium full of enthusiastic fans and students. It’s going to be awesome.
I’ve attended Animex three times before this and I’m consistently impressed with the wide range of speakers they draw upon and quality of programming they put together. If you’re an artist, filmmaker, game maker or animator in the UK you really need to make Animex a yearly destination.
New York Comicon 2012 was a chaotic and exciting show – a satisfying finish to this year’s whirlwind convention season.
It also felt like a level-up moment. Edwin and I had a lot of great interactions with fans of Skullkickers. The good word of mouth and intense promotion we’ve been putting into it seems to be paying off, bit by bit. Having 3 trade paperbacks and a spiffy 1+2 combined hardcover works well, giving people enough material to start digging in to the series without feeling left behind.
Thank you to everyone who came by to visit, longtime readers and new readers alike. Thank you to my friends and colleagues at Bandai-Namco, Image Comics and UDON for helping make the show so successful and enjoyable.
Before the year wraps up I’ve got at least one more comic project announcement. I was hoping it would be unveiled in New York, but am okay with holding out a bit longer as momentum slowly builds.
I’m intensely excited for 2013.
The UDON crew are writing and drawing a bunch of strips for the ShiftyLook webcomics portal, and ShiftyLook is going to have a totally amazing booth on the New York Comicon floor with signings, games, and much more! You can find the me at the Shiftylook Booth and Stage, #3374, at the following dates and times:
Thursday October 11
4:00PM – 5:00PM: Wonder Momo: Draw a Comic Live & Fireside Chat. Wonder Momo writer Jim Zub talks Wonder Momo while artist Omar Dogan draws live.
Friday October 12
11:00AM – 12:00PM: BMxWM: Bravoman x Wonder Momo. The Super-Unequalled Hero of Excellence meets the Battle Idol this Fall! Bravoman writer Matt Moylan and artist Dax Gordine join Wonder Momo writer Jim Zub and artist Omar Dogan on-stage to discuss ShiftyLook’s first ever crossover event.
2:00PM – 3:00PM: ShiftyLook Meet & Greet. ShiftyLook Producer & Editor-in-Chief Rob Pereyda introduces the NYCC crew. With Rob Paulsen, Chris Hastings, Anthony Clark, Jim Zub, Omar Dogan, Matt Moylan, and Dax Gordine.
Saturday October 13
12:00AM – 1:00PM: Wonder Momo Party. Wonder Momo writer Jim Zub and artist Omar Dogan hang out and talk about all things Momo!
3:00PM – 4:00PM: Bravoman: Cartoon of Unequalled Excellence. With voice of Bravoman Rob Paulsen, character designer Dax Gordine, writer Matt Moylan, writer-producer Jim Zub, and producer Rob Pereyda talk about ShiftyLook’s first animation project.
6:00PM – 7:00PM: ShiftyCast Live! NYCC Day Three. With guests Jim Zub (writer, Klonoa, Wonder Momo and Dragon Spirit) and Matt Moylan (writer, Bravoman) talk all about writing for Bandai-Namco.
New York Comicon, the 4-day pop culture extravaganza, arrives this weekend and I’ll be there in a big way.
Edwin and I will be set up at Artist Alley Table W-11, and we’re very proud to be launching the Skullkickers Vol. 3: Six Shooter on the Seven Seas trade paperback at the show, along with a convention-exclusive sketch variant of Skullkickers #18, our latest Tavern Tales short story issue.
I’ll also be moderating another writing/pitching panel on Friday evening…
Writers Unite: Pitching and Writing Creator-Owned Comics
Date: Friday, October 12
Time: 5:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Location: 1A14
Speakers: Jim Zub, Charles Soule, Cullen Bunn, Justin Jordan, Ray Fawkes
Description: Creator-owned comics have grabbed the imagination of the comic-reading community all over again and publishers are looking for fresh ideas from a new generation of talent. Listen closely as creators Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun), Ray Fawkes (One Soul), Charles Soule (27), Justin Jordan (Luther Strode) and moderator Jim Zub (Skullkickers) discuss pitching their hit comic series to publishers and offer advice on how to climb to the top of the treacherous submission mountain, along with comic writing techniques and amusing anecdotes.
…and will also be appearing at the ShiftyLook booth area promoting Wonder Momo, Klonoa, Sky Kid and Dragon Spirit.
It’s going to be a great weekend and I hope to see you there!
Here’s footage shot from the deviantART panel at SDCC talking all about
“How To Supercharge Your deviantART Profile Like the Masters”.
Check it out:
Featured Panelists, from left to right:
Adam Warren – (The Dirty Pair, Empowered, Gen-13)
Mark Brooks (Spider-Man, X-Men, Wolverine)
Jim Zubkavich – (UDON Project Manager, Skullkickers)
Dave Elliot – (Heavy Metal Magazine)
Yuumei (Wenquing Yan) – (Digital Artist and Cyber-Activist)
Kevin Eastman – (TMNT co-creator)
Chris Sanders – (Lilo & Stich, How to Train Your Dragon)
This weekend I’m at PAX Prime 2012 in Seattle, set up with the UDON crew. 3 conventions in 3 weeks. It’s an exhausting end to the summer, but I’m riding through it on quite a high mentally, if not physically.
Gen Con had record-breaking sales for me with lots of interest in both Skullkickers and Pathfinder. This past weekend’s Fan Expo Canada broke Gen Con’s records from the week before, which was really surprising and amazing. The advantage of being in Toronto where I could restock books from home made all the difference. If I would’ve traveled for Fan Expo and shipped what I thought I could sell I would’ve had an empty table by Saturday morning.
The “webcomic effect” on my convention sales is distinctive and pronounced. Putting out a consistent comic, both in print and online, is breaking down resolve people have for trying something new. They see it, they keep seeing it and eventually they try it. At shows this summer I’ve been hearing a lot of “I’ve heard of Skullkickers, but haven’t read it yet” and “I heard it was really good”, which makes it even easier to get people on board when I’m right there ready to autograph a copy for them.
Contrary to what fans may think about Image based on the massive success of its founders, the Skullkickers creative team isn’t riding atop a mountain of money. I joke around that Skullkickers is the most expensive hobby I’ve ever had, but it’s actually quite true. I’ve never been paid to write SK. Practically every dollar I get from Image or make at conventions goes right back into the “warchest” to pay for art production on current/upcoming issues. Every time I have a really solid show, it keeps us moving forward bit by bit.
It’s an exciting time. My fingers are crossed that it all continues to roll onwards and upwards.
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