Emerald City Comic Con signaled that convention season has started once again and, as always, Seattle was very good to me. Long time fans stopped by, new readers met me for the first time, and time with industry pals reminded me why I love these events.

Obviously, Conan the Barbarian was central to every signing, but Skullkickers, Wayward, Dungeons & Dragons and my superhero stories were a steady source of discussion and excitement as well, which was really nice.

On Thursday I was part of the LitRPG OMG panel alongside Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl) and Tao Wong (A Thousand Li), and it was an absolute blast. I went into the panel with some trepedation because, although I write TTRPG stories and game material, it’s not exactly LitRPG and that I’d be out of sync with the room. On top of that, Matt’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series has become such a phenomenon that I imagined a scenario where every time he wasn’t talking the audience (jam-packed with his fans) would be annoyed. Thankfully, my fears were quickly put to rest. Even though I met Matt and Tao for the first time 30 seconds before the panel began, we instantly gelled and it felt like hanging out with old friends, playfully riffing with eachother and the standing room-only crowd. The energy in the room was joyous and we all left feeling like a million bucks.

Best of all, the panel had the effect you always hope for (but rarely get) where a substantial number of people were introduced to me there and then went out of their way to track me down at the show and pick up a book.

Katie Cook wasn’t able to make it to ECCC this year, so I held down the fort on the 14th annual Convention Horror Stories panel by myself, filling 60 minutes with anecdotes about embarassing situations that have popped up in the more than 200 conventions I’ve been to around the world. In open mic or stand-up comedy situations, people talk about having a “tight 10” (10 minutes worth of well-tested material) or a “tight 20”, but at this point I have enough ridiculous stories to fill a half dozen HBO specials, which is amazing and bewildering at the same time.

Thursday was extremely busy, on Friday and Saturday the crowds came in waves, and Sunday was a relaxed wrap-up, with longer discussions and bleary-eyed good-byes (especially after the Spring forward time change stole an hour from our souls). The show was great, people were excited, and I am exhausted in a satisfying way.

Now I’m catching up on work emails and trying to nail down convention/travel plans for the rest of the year. Looking at the calendar, it’s going to be busy but not quite as crazy as 2025 was, which is a very good thing.

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Popverse‘s Grant DeArmitt covered some highlights from the LitRPG panel, which you can check out over on their site.

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Code-X Interview

Dan over at The Code-X Station interviewed me about my comic career – How I started as a comic reader, kicking off my creative career, launching Skullkickers at Image, breaking in with other publishers, Marvel projects, the strange dynamics of a creative career, relaunching titles, writing Conan the Barbarian, and more!

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Current + Upcoming Releases

• Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 1 – released Feb 17.
• Conan the Barbarian #29 – released Feb 25.
• Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 2 – releases Mar 17.
• Conan the Barbarian #30 – releases Mar 25.
• Mad About DC – releases Apr 1.
• Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 3 – releases Apr 21.
• Conan: Tides of the Tyrant-King Prelude – releases May 2.
• Savage Sword of Conan #14 – releases May 6.
• Conan: Scourge of the Serpent TPB – releases May 6.
• Conan the Barbarian Vol. 7: The Conquering Crown TPB – releases May 20.
• Conan the Barbarian #31 – releases May 27.
• Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 4 TPB – releases May 27.

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Upcoming Appearances

Mar 19-22, 2026	Megacon Orlando	Orlando, FL, USA
Apr 23-26, 2026	Calgary Expo	Calgary, AB, CANADA
Aug 15, 2026	Comics Assemble	Gloucester, England, UK

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Other Links

• Iron Circus has a new fantasy TTRPG-centric comic called Sleeping Wizards they’re currently crowdfunding over on Kickstarter. They sent me samples of the story and it’s looking quite sharp, plus there are bundles of other ICC books available if you support at a higher tier so I highly recommend checking it out!

• Also looking sharp is the vampire comic Shards of Reflection by my friend Kel McDonald. I chatted with her about it when I was at ECCC and it’s looking great. So many creators come and go in indie comics, but Kel just keeps plugging away, project after project, and I’m always glad when she has something new underway.

• Zdarsky filmed a promo for Mad About DC, the new Mad Magazine superhero parody I’m part of, and hints that there’s more to come on April 1st…I am not prepared.

Jim

Tomorrow sees the arrival of CONAN THE BARBARIAN #29, which kicks off a brand new story arc and introduces a new villain to the Hyborian Age called The Son of the Tooth! When I first outlined this arc, I titled it “A Taste of Vengeance”, but as I wrapped up all the scripts for it I saw different elements had come to the forefront, so now Conan Arc 8 is called “Ghosts & Echoes.”

Conan the Barbarian #29 might also be unique amongst Conan comic stories in that (*minor spoilers ahead*) there’s basically no Conan in this issue. I wanted to build up a strong sense of ‘self’ for this new villain, showing both his motivation and capabilities in a Weird Tales-style origin story. Not having our title character show up for a month is a risk, but also the kind of creative swing that keeps things interesting and challenging for our team.

Surprising no one, Doug Braithwaite and Diego Rodriguez delivered phenomenally atmospheric pages, leveling up every part of the script I wrote. Working with such skilled collaborators is an absolute gift.

I really hope you check the issue out and let us know what you think!

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A Pathfinder Omnibus

At the ComicsPRO event last week, Dynamite Comics announced that my PATHFINDER comic series is getting colected into an omnibus edition arriving late May.

Pathfinder, using characters and concepts from the best-selling TTRPG of the same name, was my first work-for-hire sword & sorcery series, building on the foundation I started with Skullkickers (which is also back in print in new Compact Attack Editions from Oni Press). It showed people I could write an ensemble of characters, deliver work on a monthly basis, and showcased my excitement for TTRPG worlds in comics. It also established personalities and backstories for several of the Pathfinder iconic characters, which have remained canon to this day.

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Good Stuff, No Lie

Over the weekend, I finally finished Lies of P, a Soulslike video game that came out a few years ago. In one of my earliest newsletters, I talked about how much I enjoy the Souls series and this is right in that same sweet spot.

When I played the demo in mid-2023 I enjoyed aspects of it, but didn’t quite fall in. A recent play of the full game finally clicked and I really dug it. It’s right up there with Nioh 2 for me in terms of Soulslike games outside the FromSoft dynasty.

The kookiness of turning Pinocchio into a grim gothic-steampunk action RPG felt like a chore at first, but I was surprised how charming it became once I settled in.

The environments are interesting, the combat is tight, and it scratches that Souls itch surprisingly well. The slavish adherance to the Souls formula could easily have left it feeling painfully derivative, but smooth gameplay and some smart choices around character builds + side quests (how they’re given, how they’re tracked) give it just enough to stand out strongly on its own.

There are story beats and character turns that are bizarre-bordering-on-comedy, but if you can handle the plot development of most mainstream anime you won’t bat an eye at any of this. Everything in the game takes it seriously, so eventually you do as well.

Not sure when I’ll have a chance to play Overture (the DLC) with everything on my plate right now, but the base game was a fun ride.

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Current + Upcoming Releases

• 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.
• Skullkickers: Compact Attack Edition Vol. 1 – releases Feb 17.
• Conan the Barbarian #29 – releases Feb 25.
• 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.

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Upcoming Appearances

Happy to announce that I’m back at Megacon Orlando next month. I had a wonderful time last year and am eager to see friends and fans in Florida.

Mar 5-8, 2026	Emerald City Comic Con	Seattle, WA, USA
Mar 19-22, 2026	Megacon Orlando	Orlando, FL, USA
Apr 23-26, 2026	Calgary Expo	Calgary, AB, CANADA
Aug 15, 2026	Comics Assemble	Gloucester, England, UK

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Other Links

• Asian Boss has a great video talking all about the history of Japanese 7-11 stores, how the ‘konbini’ revolution changed retail in Japan, and how difficult it will be for 7-11 to reproduce that success in North America. If you’ve ever been to Japan you know how impressive these stores are for value and convenience and this insight into how they work is surprisingly compelling.

• Speaking of Japan, how much do you know about the country’s extensive drinking-work culture? Dogen breaks down how it all works in this video. I have experienced all this first hand and it’s both amazing and disconcerning when you don’t know what exactly is happening or why.

Jim

On Friday, a package arrived with the first volume of the new SKULLKICKERS Compact Attack Edition being reprinted by Oni Press! Each compact-sized volume collects two of the previous Image Comics trade paperbacks at a value-packed price, introducing a whole new generation of readers to the swords & sassery story that kicked off my comic writing career.

Skullkickers Compact Attack vol 1 is in stores February 17th.
Skullkickers Compact Attack vol 2 arrives March 17th.
Skullkickers Compact Attack vol 3 concludes the trilogy on April 21st.

I sent all the signed and sketched items to Zoop, so the special crowdfounded editions should be shipping to backers soon as well. Deep thanks again to everyone who supported that campaign.

It’s wild to think how much changed for me 16 years ago. I distinctly remember the chaos of planning my wedding at the same time as preparing to launch this creator-owned comic, while also teaching and managing creative projects at the UDON studio. I genuinely have no idea how I had the energy to juggle all that, but obviously I’m glad I did.

Omar at Near Mint Condition has a rundown of how this first volume turned out and, as you can see, it’s a beauty:

(Omar also recently put together a review of Conan the Barbarian vol. 5 + 6, which was great to see.)

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Zubdarsky Live!

Making it a Near Mint Condition hat trick here, Chip Zdarsky and I chatted up a storm with Omar, Melanie and livestream viewers who asked us questions:

Here are some timecode-linked highlights:
• Talk show anecdotes
• The community of comic creators in Toronto
• Writing iconic characters
• The Sex Criminals TV show
• E.C. Comics and MAD Magazine
• Publisher contracts: exclusivity or not
• Long term story building
• Writing Spider-Man
• Writing Deadpool
• John Hickman’s story skills
• Robert E. Howard’s shared universe of characters
• Teaching students the fundamentals of art + storytelling
• Other comics or books we’re enjoying right now
• Tabletop roleplaying games
• Chip has never played D&D
• Gaming at an all-star table with Deborah Ann Woll
• Vertigo comics and why they were so great
• Banned books/Censorship
• Chip’s favorite Wu-Tang track
• Writing Wolverine
• Page count and writing ahead
• Meeting fans at conventions
• The infamous Mexican Spider-Man comics
• What we’re working on right now
• Letterers are the unsung heroes of comics
• Chip fluffs the Marvel Universe

So, yeah – We covered a LOT. Make sure you check it out!

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Current + Upcoming Releases

• 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.

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Upcoming Appearances

This weekend I’m on the west coast for Fan Expo Vancouver.

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
Aug 15, 2026	Comics Assemble	Gloucester, England, UK

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Other Links

• Reasons To Stay is a website designed to reach people at difficult moments through anonymous letters written by volunteers. Every letter is written by a real person and delivered at random to someone visiting the site. The intent is simple but profound: to remind people that they are not alone, even when it feels that way.

• Keith Lehtinen from We Have Issues talks all about Wayward vol. 1: String Theory and how much the series meant to him when it first came out.

• Dave Bell‘s latest article on The Howard-Verse is an exhaustive rundown of the current CONAN comics (and related titles) being published by Titan Comics. Beyond the praises he gives our creative teams, it’s a solid overview of what’s coming out and where to start reading.

Jim

Last week’s newsletter was a monster, with lots of stuff to cover, so let’s keep this one more under control-

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #28 arrived in stores last week and I was thrilled to see how many reviewers had it as their Pick of the Week. Our team put their all into this wartorn storyline and I’m so glad readers keyed into what we were going for while we filled in a crucial gap of Conan’s history.

As we’ve been doing throughout the series (and how Robert E. Howard did it in the original Weird Tales stories in the 1930’s), we’ll keep jumping around Conan’s timeline, so our next story arc returns to pre-King adventures, but I definitely have big plans for future stories with the mighty monarch of Aquilonia.

One of the other things I’ve been seeing lately is the good word of mouth online leading to more readers getting on board with volume one and excitedly catching up. Having that clear entry point for the series and our whole publishing line is something that so easily gets lost with rebooted issue #1’s and I’m hopeful that if we keep going on this trajectory we’ll build something that lasts, a run worthy of the world’s greatest sword & sorcery hero.

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Game Day

I spent yesterday in studio with the Dungeon Dudes filming a few episodes of a TTRPG Actual Play one-shot adventure, which was a fun way to start the week. More details and footage should be coming later this month.

Beyond spending a whole day gaming and laughing with great people, the other unexpected advantage was being too busy to check social media at all. I came home and realized how nice it felt, before reengaging in updates about the current merry-go-round of garbage that is world news.

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Introducing Cap, As Only Chip Can

Last week I mentioned that Zdarsky was unable to attend the Captain America (1990) screening so I stepped in for him, but he also sent along a video introduction of his own, which is as Chip as you might expect-

At the same time, Amazon announced a Sex Criminals TV show, which is surprising, amazing, and about fuckin’ time (literally, it’s about people who stop time when they have sex and use the time freeze to rob banks), so big congrats to his Chipness and Matt Fraction.

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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.

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Upcoming Appearances

I’m heading to the UK in August for a one day comic festival happening in Gloucester!

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
Aug 15, 2026	Comics Assemble	Gloucester, England, UK

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Other Links

• “Art is the means by which we become what we want to be.” – Author Brandon Sanderson‘s keynote speech has some great moments talking about art, AI, and what we might lose if we punt all our creativity to prompts.

• Uriah has a really good piece of tabletop RPG advice that cuts to the heart of player agency and interactive narrative in ways that completely make sense but also surprised me. Great stuff.

• Ever have that paranoid feeling that your smartphone was listening in on conversations and pushing ads your way based on what you said in private? Yeeeeah~ so now both Google and Apple are paying out many-many millions because it really was happening behind the scenes.

• Rob Liefeld is a contentious comic creator whose career has spanned multiple booms and busts in the comic industry. His Robservations podcast can be all over the map in terms of subject matter but, when it’s at its best, it’s filled with enthusiasm for the medium, insightful anecdotes, and deep cuts about some of the biggest names in the industry. His latest episode, an interview with Jim Valentino, is one of the more enjoyable ones I’ve listened to as they reminiscence about the founding of Image Comics.

Jim

Some New Year’s house cleaning-

I’m no longer on Twitter. Last week, I downloaded my archive and deactivated my account. If you used that platform to contact me or follow along with my work, check my website for other options or just reach out to me here instead.

Looking through 15 years worth of photos over the weekend was nostalgic and wistful. So many incredible memories and a reminder that I benefited from a distinct uptick in visibility and excitement around my work thanks to the chatter and shareability Twitter helped generate in its heyday. The enshittification algorithms (now focused on enforcing a walled garden, boosting illegal material, and echoing dangerous rhetoric) haven’t allowed for that kind of positive communication and empowerment for quite some time…and I knew that, but the sunk cost fallacy of sticking around and expecting the rot to be swept out finally became too much. Frankly, I’m thankful to lose what had become such a potent anchor of negativity pulling my brain down.

I’ve mentioned it several times, but having my own website and this newsletter as direct outlets has been key to maintaining a sane online presence capable of riding out rising and crashing tides of the internet. If someone gets this in their inbox and deletes it without even reading it, that’s okay – At least they chose that rather than systems out of their control deciding they should never see or be able to interact with it in the first place.

Some of you may be angry I left, other people may be angry I didn’t leave many months ago, and still others won’t give a damn at all – Welcome to the internet.

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Dude, You Didn’t Write That

Speaking of people not giving a damn, just before X-mas an old high school friend popped up on social media and announced that he’d finished his first novel. I didn’t know he had aspirations to write so it was surprising, but in that good way where you realize someone has other sides to them and it’s intriguing.

(But wait~)

Self published on Amazon, which makes sense since he has no previous creative track record. I grab the free Kindle preview. Two chapters. The cover looks grim, but also a bit weird…Weird…and uncredited…

Oh fuck, this is all AI-generated, isn’t it?

Deep sigh as I read the sample. Ironically, it’s dystopian, about enclaves of humanity holding on after technology simultaneously saved and damned the world. Plant life overtaking skyscrapers, people musing on technology VS nature, etc. etc.

Some of the sentences come across as ‘profound’ in isolation, but the telltale slop is too distracting to ignore. Paragraphs repeat concepts and visuals in subtly different ways, making you question whether you’re getting any new information. A deer glimpsed on abandoned streets 3-4 times because it’s symbolic.

Chapter Two is a different character in the same city with similar musings about how the world crumbled and the impact of technology on our shared humanity. Getting AI to slop about how it will wreck us would almost be witty if the whole thing wasn’t taken so seriously and sold as his genuine work.

The sentences are readable and in isolation there are some poetic turns of a phrase, but when the sample ended nothing stuck in my mind because it’s aggressively filling its word count rather than engaging me with a voice or anything unexpected.

Have I read worse? Absolutely.
Did I want more of this? Not even a bit.

No insight into my friend or maybe too much – He thinks this is what writing and creativity are all about and that’s just incredibly sad to me.

Ordering a pizza and calling yourself the chef.

And, showcasing how little value any of it has to him, that one post where he announced the novel is the only time he’s mentioned it 3 weeks after its debut. Some family and friends hit ‘Like’, a couple dozen people congratulated him, and that’s that.

Nothing earned, nothing gained.
Utterly hollow.

I still remember the excitement and fear I had when I launched my webcomic 25 years ago. In an instant, I can recall how proud I was holding my first book. I can close my eyes and remember some of the tales we created together at the gaming table because they were ridiculous, energetic…and real.

Dude, are you proud of this?

Creative projects aren’t just “content”. They’re time capsules, glimpses into who we are and what we value at that moment in time – Choices made and time spent.

Even the bad ones.
(Especially the bad ones.)

Congrats. This book is the milestone of your shitty shortcuts and stolen valor.

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Genuinely Okay

Daaamn~ That’s two negative posts in a row there, Jim. You better stop typing in third person and mention some positive stuff!

Honestly? Like I mentioned in my Year in Review post, on a personal level I am doing well, and I’m not saying that in some kind of sarcastic tone while power stapling my arm to the table next to me or anything.

“I’m…fine! Everything is…FINE!”

I’m more thankful than ever to be where I’m at, working on projects I’m passionate about, and able to chart the course of this stuff with Stacy at my side. We’ve had a good couple weeks easing into the new year – Getting reorganized and back into the work groove. Appreciating what we have and trying not to endlessly get stuck on things we cannot control.

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But Wait-

Why aren’t you mentioning Conan? You talk about Conan every single time!

Okay, self-imposed straw man. Calm down.

He’s fine. Readers seem happy with Scourge of the Serpent #4 and I’m happy they’re happy but, even more important than that, I’m satisfied with the work and excited for what comes next.

Doug Braithwaite sent in new inked artwork the other day and every page is soul-stirring stuff. His deep skill for posing, staging, light and shadow, and texture is just off the charts. I mean, look-

Doug turns ‘guy inspecting a campsite’ into a goddamn masterpiece!

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FREE SCRIPT!

Speaking of the Cimmerian, I shook a bit of dust off my Patreon and have been updating it weekly since the holidays. In addition, my first post of 2026 is absolutely FREE so people can read the script for the CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE Prelude issue and get a feel for how plot-style scripting works.

My Patreon has an archive of over 300 scripts I’ve written for a variety of different comic publishers over the past 20+ years – Learn how comics are made for the price of a fancy coffee.

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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 #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.

Conan the Barbarian 30 – releases Mar 11.

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

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Upcoming Appearances

This weekend I’m in Portland! Are you in Portland? Come on by and say “Hi!”

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

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Other Links

• The Humble Comics Bundle Dark Horse has going right now for Lone Wolf and Cub and Other Classic Manga is absolutely ridiculous, in the best way possible. 63 volumes of must-read material that is ‘pay what you want’? Bonkers.

• Tom Francis distills 15 years of indie game development advice into 4 bits of advice and it’s both fascinating and applicable to many other creative projects.

• It sounds dumb but Capcom fixed a typo in Street Fighter II by using a human leg. What? The technology under the hood of old school arcade cabinets is kind of amazing, especially when they have to jury rig something weird like this.

Jim