With the legendary Frank Miller at this year’s Calgary Expo.
There have been 18 Calgary Comic Expos so far and I’ve been to 17 of them for good reason. Every year, it’s a fun celebration of pop culture and creators in a city that proves, time and time again, that they love comics and art…and getting to see old friends and former students is icing on top of a really wonderful cake.
This year’s show included a surreal surprise. On Friday night, our crew had dinner with Frank Miller and I ended up sitting next to the man himself. Over a couple hours we talked about all kinds of things, including Robert E. Howard, pulp stories, and legacy characters. We also talked about lyricism and poetry, and when I mentioned I’d written a poem in the new Savage Sword of Conan #3, Frank wanted to see it.
He carefully read it, line by line, and told me it “felt like Howard by way of Tennyson”, a massive compliment. I have a new poem arriving in Savage Sword of Conan #8, in stores this week, and he told me to send it to him once I got home.
The next morning, Frank came by to get a copy of the new Conan the Barbarian series and we chatted long enough that he was late for his first signing of the day. I know people were waiting, but it really did feel amazing to spend that extra time and go through parts of the book with him as he lavished praise on our team-
“When the story comes from somewhere real, you can feel it. I see the passion you guys are putting on the page. This looks great.”
It’s the kind of interaction you always hope for when it comes to industry legends, but not something you can ever expect or plan for, and it certainly made my weekend extra special.
A couple sketches from Calgary – Batman and Minsc + Boo.
Outside of that, panels and hangout time with other pros at the show was a delight. I lived in Calgary over 20 years ago, and seeing how the city has grown while still being able to recommend some old spots and shops makes it feel like it wasn’t all that long ago.
I’m seeing friends for a couple extra days, and then touching base back home long enough to check mail and do laundry before I zip over to Maryland for a big Free Comic Book Day signing at Third Eye Comics alongside my friend Ray Fawkes. If you live in the Annapolis, Baltimore, or Washington DC area, make sure you come on out to Third Eye – it’s going to be awesome!
On The Homestretch
With Chris dela Torre from CBC Radio’s Homestretch show.
I was interviewed by CBC Radio’s Homestretch show at the 11 minute mark of this section of their Calgary Expo live broadcast. Give it a listen!
At the Corner of Story & Games
It’s always a blast talking with Gerald at The Corner of Story & Games. This time we cover writing craft, navigating creative industries, working with existing IPs, and things I wish I’d known when I was starting out. Check it out!
The past week has been simultaneously slow and fast – Slow to recover from jet lag and a head cold I picked up after traveling halfway around the world, and fast in terms of work still needing to get done, deadlines we had to meet before Stacy and I jump on a plane tomorrow to Calgary for the annual Comic & Entertainment Expo happening this weekend. Thankfully, those deadlines have been met and luggage is laid out behind me in a state of ‘mostly packed’ that will become ‘fully packed’ once the last load of laundry is done.
Even though my Seneca staff account shut down on Monday, quietly marking the end of an era, it certainly doesn’t feel like life has slowed in any way, shape, or form. If anything, things are busier than they have been in quite a while. Stacy has a couple new projects she’s excitedly diving into, which means both of us have been clickety-clacking away on keyboards here at home, touching base for morning tea, lunch, and dinner but otherwise focused on deadlines and deliverables.
I’d like to say that things will slow down in May but, when you scroll down to upcoming appearances you’ll see that isn’t true either…Right now, June looks reasonable, so we’ll go with that. 🙂
While at Mumbai Comic Con, I spoke to PTI, India’s largest news agency. They used sound bites on TV and just posted the full interview on their YouTube channel. We talk about the entertainment industry, conventions, creating fictional characters, teaching, and AI.
Thrilled to announce that I’m back at MCM Comic Con London on May 23-25, 2025 – Bring your Conan the Barbarian and other Zub books to get ’em signed in jolly ol’ England!
• Over on the Proko channel, painter Erik Gisttalks about how to illustrate covers – composition, clarity, and storytelling. A good look at important skills that help sell books.
• Matt Levin continues posting wonderful comic book content. This time he talks about the origin of Blacksad, one of the finest comics ever produced with animation-influenced art that is second to none. Just watching this video makes me want to go back and reread them all.
I’ve told my students that for years and even now, after attending around 200 conventions all over the world, it still holds true. The moment you move outside the places you know and experience other countries and other cultures, you expand your understanding of our shared humanity and see how the place you grew up helped shape who you are.
Traveling to India for the first time was wonderful, but intense. If my schedule wasn’t so stacked right now I would’ve loved to stay longer and see more, but even this quick tour and convention was still a real eye-opener. Mumbai is a bustling, vibrant city jam-packed with colorful sights. It’s also summertime right now, so the weather was extremely hot and humid, which slowed us down on our tour day, but it still made a really big impression on me.
Great food, great conversations, and quite a few ‘How did all this even happen?’ pinch me moments. Six days across the world and back is a rough schedule and I know jet lag is going to have its grip on me for days to come, but it was worth it.
My incredible booth set-up at Mumbai Comic Con
Mumbai Comic Con was absolutely wild. It was one of the busiest and most passionate shows I have ever experienced in my 20+ years of conventions. I am gob smacked at the fandom there. The economics of everything in India is different from North America, so as a creator you need to adjust expectations on that front, but as a social and travel experience it was top notch and incredibly enriching.
Unexpectedly, I was a huge draw at the show. I didn’t realize that the span of projects I’ve worked on would have such international appeal, but looking in the rearview mirror after the show it sort of makes sense – Marvel superheroes, Dungeons & Dragons, Conan the Barbarian, Rick and Morty, and Samurai Jack. Obviously I didn’t create those properties, but I’ve contributed to all of them and so fans from India came out in a big way to show their excitement and appreciation. In many ways, I was a one-stop shop for both younger and older fans. It was so crazy-busy on the show floor that volunteers had to form a human ring around Rob DenBleyker (Cyanide & Happiness, huge with the online crowd) and I to get us to our booths or out to the green room for lunch. I have never experienced anything like that before. I’m not stating that to brag, honestly, the whole thing was amazing and also mind-numbing.
The Comic Con India staff worked their butts off to keep the event running smooth and I could see a lot of shared values and bonds between them that reminded me of the original Calgary Expo crew, a show put together by one of my closest friends that earned its excellent reputation. That’s the best compliment I can give – the hospitality and hard work in Mumbai reminded me of some of my favorite convention experiences and is now right up there with them.
All in all, it was one heck of an adventure. I’m so thankful I was able to experience it and now have advice for other creators who might be interested in heading to India for conventions in the future.
One of the many sketches I did for fans and staff at the show.
Indian Comic Creators – Info and Links
With Ravi Raj Ahuja, Bijoy Raveendran, and Utsab Chatterjee – The Technicolour Lovers team.
One of the other nice surprises at the con was getting to meet other creators in India, both independant and commercial. I wish I had more time to explore and meet local creators at the show, but here are a few highlights:
• Vivek Goel was inspired by Marc Silvestri‘s company Top Cow Entertainment and, since India reveers cows as sacred, his comic company is called Holy Cow Entertainment, and they have a slew of original titles worth checking out.
• Tadam Gyadu is the artist of Spider-Man: India, producing amazing artwork locally and abroad. Check his art out!
• Aparna Chaurasia gifted me a copy of Soul Contract, her manga-style graphic novel and it looks great!
Twisting Loyalties and the Road Ahead
Zula makes his Titan debut – line art by Doug Braithwaite, colors by Diego Rodriguez, lettering by Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith.
Today sees the arrival of Conan the Barbarian #20, the final part of our Twisting Loyalties story arc! Doug, Diego, and the rest of the team put their all into every damn page. I am so, so proud of our work here. Please grab your own copy and let us know what you think.
Now that we’re a month removed from the previous issue, I can spoil that Zula is back. He’s a fan favorite character from the original Marvel run who was adapted into a female version in the Conan the Destroyer movie. Like with introducing the iconic Atlantean Sword into comic continuity, I’m working to merge pop culture visions of Conan together into a somewhat cohesive whole, so expect to see multiple versions of Zula work their way into the story in ways readers may not expect. Issue #19 even has tabletop roleplaying game stats for Zula included, a bit of cross promotion with the Conan: The Hyborian Age TTRPG.
Twisting Loyalties is transitional in some ways, setting up chess pieces for future moves in the big mythic story I’m building in the monthly flagship book and yearly events, but I wanted to make sure that the adventures here also had pulpy power all on their own. That’s the tricky balance we’re trying to keep and so far readers are responding well.
Conan the Barbarian #20 sneak peek.
Current + Upcoming Releases
With the sale of Diamond Distribution there have been shipping delays and hassles galore across the comic industry, but it looks like things are set to improve with new ownership and new options, including Lunar. We’ve been on time, production-wise, but to keep from having a gap mid-story arc as ownership changes hands, it looks like Titan is delaying the release of Conan the Barbarian #21 by one month, from May to June. Thankfully, with Free Comic Book Day we’ll still have a May release, our free Scourge of the Serpent Prelude issue. Don’t miss it!
• Stacy is over the moon for the upcoming Murderbot TV series coming to Apple+ next month and has been feverishly watching the new trailer. I hope it’s just as sharp as the novella source material by Martha Wells.
• Superman writer Josh Williamson has a great chat with Sal over at Comic Pop. His straight forward advice and practical understanding of how the business works is bang-on.
• My buddy Ron Marz has a new campaign on Zoop for a Shinku comic series collection, a creator-owned book that came out not too long after Skullkickers back in the day. It’ll be nice to finally have as much of this story available as possible, with artwork by the late-great Lee Moder.
• Mike Dargie, one of my old friends from Calgary when I first started teaching animation, has a new book coming out called Brandjitsu all about creative branding and business.
In the Delhi Airport waiting for my flight to Mumbai.
16 hours travel time and I’ve arrived in India. I managed to get some sleep on the plane and feel a bit spacey but not too bad so far. I’m going to crash out early and try to reset in the morning to match local time as best I can. Fingers crossed.
Every time I’ve been fortunate enough to go on one of these international convention trips, the surrealness of it all really hits me. Traveling the world because of comics, stories, and games. It’s the kind of thing I didn’t even dream about when I was younger because it never even crossed my mind that it might be possible to do this as a career. As far as I could tell back then, in order to do comics you either had to live in New York City or be brilliant and British.
I’ve said it many times, but it’s still true – meeting the people who worked on superhero stories, or D&D, or Conan the Barbarian would have been mind-blowing enough for this kid. Actually doing this, year after year, and getting to meet fans and fellow creators in so many places – Let me never take this for granted.
Swords & Larceny Arrives in September
I have a short story in the upcoming prose anthology Swords & Larceny alongside a slew of amazing industry authors and friends, including John C. Hocking(Conan: City of the Dead) and Mark Finn(Blood & Thunder), with a cover by the amazing Todd Lockwood.
— Even the most flawless plans have a way of unraveling. When the stakes are high and the odds are stacked, only the cleverest and most daring will make it out with the prize. Thirteen daring tales of fantasy heists and high-stakes capers—where charm is as sharp as steel, and the score of a lifetime is just one misstep away.
Conan Chatter at Comic Shenanigans
Always wonderful to chat with Adam at Comic Shenanigans. This time we dive in deep on Conan the Barbarian, Battle of the Black Stone, Scourge of the Serpent, other Robert E. Howard characters, Free Comic Book Day promotion, working with Jonas Scharf, Ivan Gil, readers getting their money’s worth every issue, the intensity of Frozen Faith, doing conventions with Comic Sketch Art, Skullkickers, Thunderbolts, and more!
You can listen to our previous conversations here: Episodes 368,794, 986, and 1022.
Traversing Epic Realms
I had a fun chat with Nick over at Epic Realms. We talk up a storm about growing up nerdy, how my love of comics and gaming are intrisincally tied together, Skullkickers, Dungeons & Dragons, the Thunderbolts movie and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, source material, Conan the Barbarian, and more!
• Legendary Dungeons & Dragons illustrator Jeff Easley has a big art book funding over on Kickstarter. His artwork for gamebooks through the 80’s and 90’s helped set the vision for D&D.
My creative career leapt forward as soon as I started doing instead of stockpiling plans and looking for the ‘right’ moment to start. There is no inevitable success, but improvement and personal satisfaction comes from consistently doing and building good creative habits.
I’ve known way too many people who paralyse themselves with learning about learning or planning the plan and never finish anything, because they’re afraid of being judged on the result and coming up short. It’s a self defeating cycle because actual improvement only happens with experience and if you don’t do the actual thing, over and over, you are not building that experience.
Luc covers some absolutely crucial ways of looking at a creative skillset – finding time, setting realistic goals, building momentum and incremental improvement that leads to actual growth.
A lot of people seem to understand the importance of practice and habit when it comes to physical pursuits, being an athelete or dancer, but they have a blind spot around the same mentality for other creative pursuits – art, writing, music, acting, photography, filmmaking. It is the same. The sooner you get into the habit of creating on a regular basis, the sooner you will be able to see progress, no matter where that path may lead.
Deep Archives
Excerpt from Conan the Barbarian #7 (2024) – Line art by Doug Braithwaite, colors by Diego Rodruiguez, lettering by Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith.
Speaking of seeing progress, over on my Patreon there are now over 320 scripts in the archive, work from almost every major comic publisher in North America that you can check out and compare my script to the published version to better understand how comics are created, step by step. All those scripts, plus Q+A’s and other resources all available for the price of a fancy coffee. Check it out!
Upcoming Hyborian Adventures
Conan the Barbarian #21 (2025) artwork by Fernando Dagnino, colors by Diego Rodriguez.
Eagle-eyed Conan fans noticed that a few unlettered preview pages of Fernando Dagnino artwork were incuded with the pre-order listing for Conan the Barbarian Vol. 6: A Nest of Serpents and they’ve been excitedly posting them up on Conan fan groups, so I thought I’d put a link to those here so readers can see how wonderful the story arc coming in a few months is going to look.
Fernando is a massive Conan fan, he’s bringing his absolute best to the series, and I can’t wait for you to see how this story kicks off! Just this morning he sent over character designs for an upcoming issue and they are stellar. I feel so fortunate that I get to work with so many phenomenal artists and that they’re just as passionate about these stories as I am.
Talking to Black Gate
I spoke to Ismail Soldan at Black Gate: Adventures In Fantasy Literature all about working on Conan the Barbarian and the importance of the character’s legacy in prose and comics.
• With economic struggles happening everywhere, we’re seeing more GoFundMe campaigns popping up for older American comic creators who have fallen upon hard times. I try to signal boost these fundraising campaigns when I can. Mike W. Barr(Camelot 3000, Batman and the Outsiders), Thomas Tenney(West Coast Avengers, Iron Man), and Peter David(Incredible Hulk, Star Trek) are all in need right now, so if you’re able to help and/or spread the word wider, please do so.
• Alex Segura, Sara Century, and Patrick Kennedy have a new comic online called The Forgotten Five, all about a strange new superhero group on the run from the government. It’s paced like a classic comic strip serial with a fun retro style to match.
Sprinting from event to event in March and it’s been exhausting and yet also energizing at the same time. Seeing so many friends, meeting so many readers, reminding myself how important human contact is to what I do and what I enjoy.
Last year I thought I would attend Gary Con one time only, just a chance to celebrate 50 years of D&D and then I’d go back to my regular comic convention show schedule but Gary Con, Gamehole, and D&D in a Castle really sunk their hooks into me in ways I didn’t expect. Without trying to sound too dramatic – running games for friends and strangers, having that immediate feedback loop of entertainment at the gaming table, and making spontaneous memories and stories is absolutely core to me as a creative person and when I get too busy to engage that side of my life I am less inspired and less happy. So, yeah, adding tabletop gaming shows to my travel schedule makes things more hectic, but the benefit is worth more than the mileage for me right now.
In other words, Gary Con 2025 went really well.
Zub and Erik Mona after a successful Gary Con.
Like last year’s whirlwind, I don’t have space to recount it all here, but some high points include:
• Wonderful conversations with friends, just unabashedly telling people how awesome they are or how inspiring they’ve been to me and seeing them light up.
• Talking with one of the head people at Titmouse animation about our shared excitement for Conan the Barbarian, though his fandom has gone to a level I won’t be able to match – one of his children is actually named “Conan!”
• Hilarious tales of gaming and comic conventions before the arrival of smartphones and social media, with everyone involved quite thankful we couldn’t be instantly recorded and posted online back then.
• Singing Mr. Brightside at the Chaosium 50th anniversary party while the whole room sang/screamed along.
• Running the new Conan: The Hyborian Age TTRPG for fans of the comics, and bringing that same lyrical pulp sensibility to my descriptions of the environments, characters, and action scenes.
• Running a frenetic and hilarious 9-player (!) pick-up game of the Mothership RPG for The Dungeon Dudes and a bunch of my other friends with B. Dave Walters stopping by to play a tragic and nihilistic NPC until he was brutally snuffed out.
• Contributing to the Gary Con charity art jampiece-
The Gary Con 2025 Charity Artist Jampiece.
Young Zub: Some day you’ll get to sketch a piece beside the legendary Larry Elmore, Jeff Easely, Erol Otus, and more to raise money for charity because you’ll be part of the tabletop role-playing game industry! Pinch yourself, kid. The future is gonna be surreal.
We’re signing FCBD CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT Prelude and THE PHANTOM #0 issues, along with any other Zub/Fawkes comics you bring to the event or buy at the shop!
Last week I mentioned that I hoped Emerald City Comic Con would lift my spirits and, thankfully, it did that and a whole lot more!
The convention was hopping, with a ton of readers and retailers stopping by to chat about superheroes or sword & sorcery and the social scene was as strong as ever, with both small and focused chatter and big party blowouts. The world can feel divisive and cruel right now, but there’s also a lot of kindness if you seek it out and share it with others.
There was a nice balance of quick signatures and hearty handshakes alongside more in-depth conversations. After MegaCon, some of my industry friends joked that I’ve become “Everyone’s Dad’s favorite new comic writer” thanks to Conan the Barbarian and if that’s true it’s a badge I’ll wear with pride. Hearing so many heartfelt stories from collectors who are back in comic shops after 20+ years thanks to the series feels incredible.
Superman Sketch from ECCC 2025
I was also able to do some sketches for fans, which can throw some people off if they only know me from my writing work. Over the years I’ve done a few variant covers on series (notably Samurai Jack, Rick and Morty) and it’s something I’d like to do more of as time permits, but for now these quick ones at least make sure rust doesn’t build up on my drawing basics.
The March sprint continues with plenty of events and deadlines, and Seattle proved to be just the boost I was looking for. Thank you to all the friends and fans who stopped by.
This weekend is Toronto Comicon and I’ll be there on Friday and Sunday. My grandmother is turning 95 and there’s a big family get together on Saturday for her, so I won’t be at the convention that day.
Get this new printing of my first sword and sorcery story at a great price or get the books and other spiffy extras like signatures, sketches, original art, and other add-ons – It’s also a perfect gift for the sword & sorcery fan or TTRPGer in your life, so please check it out and share the link far and wide!
Talking Skullkickers All Over The Place
Plenty of Skullkickers-related interviews popping up in and around the Zoop campaign:
• I spoke to the Comic Book Yeti about my career in comics and there’s a big piece in there about balancing work and personal stuff, including my teaching career alongside freelance writing.
• I spoke to True North Country Comics all about Comps Con, convention season, Skullkickers, Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, tabletop gaming, and more.
• I spoke to The Comic Source all about the history of Skullkickers, growing up playing Dungeons & Dragons, how making comics are like a time capsule and more!
Just announced – I’m going to INDIA for MUMBAI COMIC CON on April 12-13! Rob Den Bleyker (Cyanide & Happiness) and I are International Guests at the show and it’s going to be an incredible adventure.
As I type this, the new SKULLKICKERS Collection campaign on Zoop has popped over the funding line and we still have 3 weeks left, so it’s definitely happening and you can join in!
Get this new printing of my first sword and sorcery story at a great price or get the books and other spiffy extras like signatures, sketches, original art, and other add-ons – It’s also a perfect gift for the sword & sorcery fan or TTRPGer in your life, so please check it out and share the link far and wide!
A little slice of sunset serenity in Alberta.
I’ve been staying just outside Calgary, visiting friends and recharging before Emerald City Comicon in Seattle and it’s been a nice change of pace, but I miss Stacy a lot. On our shared calendar the schedule looked relatively organized, but I always forget the ‘mental mileage’ of being on the road compared to being at home with her.
March is extremely busy with conventions on 3 out of 4 weekends along with deadlines aplenty and, with the tumultuous state of politics and economics, it’s also incredibly hard to concentrate on creative projects even when I love what I’m doing and am working with such incredible people. That said, a big reason why I keep going back to Emerald City Comicon is because the social component is so strong and it reminds me why I do what I do. Here’s hoping this year’s show casts a similar spell because I think everyone there could really use a burst of uplifting energy.
There are 9 nominees for the coveted Rankin Award and I’m thrilled to have 3 of those nominations alongside our killer creative teams. Congrats to all the nominees, especially Howard scholar Jeff Shanks, whose essays in Battle of the Black Stone also earned him a nomination! Seeing so many friends, collaborators, and prominent members of the fandom represented in those nominations is wonderful.
Vancouver Fan Expo was a lot of fun and, as I type this, I’m just outside Calgary staying with friends and getting some writing work done before I ricochet back to the west coast for Emerald City Comicon in Seattle next week. On to more important news-
The sword & sorcery action-comedy series that kicked off my writing career is back in a wonderful new compact-manga-sized format, perfect for reading, sharing, or giving as a gift to the fantasy fan in your life.
As some of the middle volumes of the original trade paperbacks went out of print at Image, the numbers didn’t quite make sense to reprint them on their own, but that also meant retailers and readers couldn’t easily get the whole series. We talked about possibly doing an all-in-one omnibus but the reality is that although those big tomes look awesome on a bookshelf, they’re a pain to actually hold and read. I wanted to make sure new readers could easily discover the series and longtime fans could snag a copy for themselves in a format and price point that would work for everyone.
This 3-volume complete edition is perfect for retail and ideal for readers, with eye-catching new cover artwork by Edwin Huang and Misty Coats.
Lion at the Sword & Sorcery Book Club has been a steady supporter of my work in the Hyborian Age. We met in person last year at Robert E. Howard Days in Texas and since then we’ve been talking about getting together for an interview. Finally, almost 8 months later, we made it happen and it was a really nice chat:
Toronto got walloped with multiple days of intense snowfall and the roads are treacherous, so Stacy and I have been bundled up here getting writing done and trying not to venture outside unless absolutely necessary – February definitely has its fangs sunk in deep!
Conan the Barbarian #18 cover artwork by Rob De La Torre.
January was the first skip month we’ve had since the new Conan series launched mid-2023 but now, finally, CONAN THE BARBARIAN #18 arrives in comic shops this week! It’s the second half of “Fangs and Foolish Thieves”, a Conan and Bêlit caper that will cast unexpected ripples out toward later stories I have planned, including SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT.
I’m already working on scripts for issues #26-28 and promotional plans around our extra-special issue #25 that I can’t wait for you to see. The Age of High Adventure is going strong!
On Thursday I fly out to British Columbia for Vancouver Fan Expo, which I’ve never done before, and a couple weeks after that is Emerald City Comic Con, which has always been a great show for me. February and March is absolutely packed and I know it’s going to be exhausting, but also a lot of fun.
If you’ve enjoyed my work on CONAN THE BARBARIAN or DUNGEONS & DRAGONS or PATHFINDER but never read the original story that led to those projects, you’re about to get another chance to kick some skulls…thanks to ZOOP!
Compact/manga-sized volumes are all the rage right now with new readers and the animation-styled artwork of Skullkickers is perfectly suited to this form factor.
• Steve Jackson Games is bringing back the original Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks and I am ecstatic that a whole new generation of readers can discover these classic stories and art. The triumverate of my sword & sorcery influences are D&D, Conan, and FF. If I ever had the chance to write a Fighting Fantasy Gamebook it would complete an inspiration circuit in me that could light up a whole city.
• Comic artist Yanick Paquette is covering the basics of Perspective Drawing in his newsletter and it’s a wonderful little introduction. These skills are always worth reviewing and perfecting.
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Makeshift Miracle