In my previous newsletter I mentioned that in 2024 I’ll be at a pair of tabletop gaming events in Wisconsin celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons. I’m looking to run some old school games at those shows so, with that in mind, I pulled together an impromptu Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition character roll-up and game session with a few friends to refresh my brain on the old rules and gameplay.

(Three and a half years ago, I dug back into the original D&D B/X box sets while co-writing the Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons mini-series with Jody Houser and that stirred up a ton of gaming nostalgia from my youth, but I didn’t actually get a chance to re-run the game at the time.)

This quick session was a lot of fun, as expected, but it also reminded me of a crucial part of the original TTRPG experience-

Dungeon Master Fiat Is Everything in 1st Edition D&D

In books and fanzines there was always talk of the DM being “god” at the table, and I’d honestly forgotten how much that was actually the case. The old rules are specific about certain stats or limitations (the level limits for race-class character combinations, for example, or the percentage chance a character can bend the iron bars of a prison cell), but there is very little in terms of using character abilities, skill checks, or specific combat maneuvers as we think of them in modern gaming. Almost all old school dungeon delving is an off the cuff Player VS DM negotiation made in the moment.

“Can I talk these goblins out of a fight?” Maybe. Tell me what you say to them – how you try to bribe or intimidate them. I’ll decide if they’re convinced or make an arbitrary roll behind the DM screen and tell you what happens.

“Can I step in front of the Magic-User to keep them from getting hit by the goblins?” Yes. You’re an armored Cleric with a shield and they’re close by, so that makes sense.

“There was livestock in the equipment shopping list, so I bought a goat. Is that okay?” It’s your starting gold. Spend it however you want.

“Can my pet goat bite a goblin?” Why not? Make an attack roll and we’ll see what happens.

Seeing it all again through the old school lens, I was reminded just how much of the game hung completely on the Dungeon Master saying ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘roll this die and let’s see’ instead of absolutely codified combat or social skill checks that try to cover every eventuality.

I know technically that holds true for every edition of every tabletop RPG (groups can make or break any rule at the table they like), but the “we’re just making this up as we go along” quality feels really laid bare in the original rules, even more than I remembered.

Now that it’s all come flooding back, I need to figure out how much of that old school freeform DNA I want in this playtest game and these convention sessions – where I feel the dials should be tuned between ‘then’ and ‘now’. Wish me luck!

Speaking of D&D – Stacy, Andrew, and I spoke to James Grebey at Fatherly all about the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guides series and how they engage kids and other new players to help them create their own characters and tell fun interactive stories in a group setting.

The Young Adventurer’s Guides also made Polygon’s list of “Best Gift Ideas for D&D Newcomers’.

Thrice Marked For Death, Twice Marked For Print

One day after release, Titan went back to press on CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5!

Retailer orders are due by December 4th and it will be in stores on December 27th. Liam Sharp‘s killer variant cover is in black & white for the 2nd printing.

This kind of release day rush sellout is unusual for a first issue and on an issue #5 it’s practically unheard of. I know I sound like a broken record on these reprint announcements but, seriously – Thank you so, so much.

I don’t think I’ve ever received so many messages or reviews for the fifth issue of a comic I’ve written before. We’re doing all we can to prove worthy of your support, enthusiasm, and that cover price, month after month.

Bound in Black Stone, Bound in Book Form

Conan the Barbarian Vol. 1: Bound in Black Stone arrives in collected trade paperback in February. If my constant chatter about it here didn’t convince you to get on board the single issues, now you can read issues #1-4 (and our prequel issue #0) in one sitting and see what all the excitement has been about.

If you’ve been collecting the issues every month, this will sit nicely on your bookshelf, or act as a perfect way to hook friends and family on our new era of Hyborian High Adventure.

All this to say – now is a great time to pre-order!

Links and Other Things

• Animator Marc Hendry has a stellar video all about clean final line work in 2D animation that goes through the process using digital tools. The techniques here are solid gold. I have not seen a video that lays it out so clearly before, let alone one free online. If you’re an animator or animation fan, definitely check it out.
• Back in January David Hines posited some interesting theories around a secondary character in John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian movie, and I recently saw the thread pop up on social media again. It’s a neat bit of analysis about characterization that exists beyond what we see on camera in the film.
• I keep linking Matt Colville videos here on my newsletter because his topics are cogent and timely. His latest, a rundown of various editions of D&D that is part history, part advice, is bang-on and feels even more appropriate after running AD&D this week.

Jim

My writing schedule has been intense this Fall, but Stacy and I are slooowly but surely making our way through Baldur’s Gate 3. I’m in the final act of the game, wrapping up side quests and preparing to take things to the finish line as I relish each bit of fun character interplay and obscure bit of Dungeons & Dragons lore that the Larian crew has jam-packed into it.

After recruiting Minsc and Boo for my adventuring party (which is quite the task, I must say), I chatted with the butt-kicking Rashemen about his past and these two bits from my D&D comic run came up in dialogue-

“Did he take a bath in the River Styx and temporarily forget himself?”

Minsc is notoriously brain-addled and forgets things all the time, so he’s not sure if those stories happened, but longtime fans know the truth. At the end of Dungeons & Dragons: Infernal Tides I did indeed have Minsc take a dunk in the River Styx and lose his memories so he’d be a ‘clean slate’ for the video game team since I knew BG3 was in development even though it hadn’t been announced to the public at that point.

This also leads to one of my favorite scenes at the end of the mini-series, where Boo (Minsc’s companion) tries to fill him in on his past adventures and he delights at hearing about his own legend-

Thanks, Team Larian! I really appreciate it.

Doing the research and making stories sync up helps it all feel personal and interconnected, which is one of the many reasons why people get attached to these characters and ongoing worlds in the first place.

(I went into this in more detail in Newsletter #4: Connectivity and Continuity, which is worth reading if you didn’t see it back in March.)

50 Years of Dungeon Delving

Speaking of D&D, I’m doing back-to-back conventions in March to celebrate 50 years of the world’s biggest and most famous RPG where it all began. I’ll be at both Founders & Legends (March 16-18) and Gary Con (March 21-24) in 2024.

In theory I’m a guest at both these shows (and will be on some panels and running some games) but, honestly, I’m heading there as a lifelong fan and really looking forward to hanging out with industry friends and meeting some of the amazing people who helped build the game that ignited so much of my creativity.

Spatch For The Win

It’s been a while since I covered a recipe here, so let’s correct that now – Spatchcock Chicken, do it!

Taking the back out of your bird of choice (chicken, turkey, duck, etc.) and roasting it in the oven is the best way to cook the whole thing at once, period. It’s way easier, much faster, and far tastier than you might think, and you can use the leftover bones for soup or gravy stock!

My local grocery store has specials on whole chickens – it costs less than $10 for a 3½ pound bird that turns into at least 4 meals for Stacy and I – roast chicken dinner, sliced chicken breast on a bun, chicken salad sandwich, and chicken soup. Plus, when I make soup stock the whole house smells like my grandma’s place did around the holidays, a flood of amazing sensory memories.

I cooked a 12-pound turkey in just over an hour using the same method back in 2021 (turkey-specific recipe video HERE) and it was one of the best I’ve ever had in my life. No more waking up at dawn to start the roasting and basting process where you have to babysit the bird all day. This approach solves it all.

Don’t be intimidated by a whole chicken or turkey. Follow this method and you can save money (whole birds are way cheaper per pound than separated breast, thighs, or wings) and make soup without stressing over whether the white meat will be dry or the dark meat will be undercooked.

Links and Other Things

• Daniel Warren Johnson is doing stellar stuff in comics and his new Comics Journal interview is a lot of fun. My buddy Derek raved about Murder Falcon and Do a Powerbomb and I finally fell in headfirst and enjoyed the hell out of both of them. (I know, I know. I should have read this stuff many months ago.)
• Wizards of the Coast posted a video where some of their staff posit on What D&D Monsters Taste Like, which is both amusing and awkward. In a fictional world you can absolutely have all kinds of unusual flavor options, but if a creature is capable of carrying on an intelligent conversation with you then it’s probably a fantasy form of cannibalism.

Okay, that’ll cover things this time. Have a fantastic week!
Jim

What’s your best/most memorable Halloween costume?
Here’s mine, from 2007–

When Stacy and I started dating she pulled out all the stops and offered to build me a Halloween costume from scratch, any character I wanted. I picked a comic book accurate Master of the Mystic Arts and she absolutely crushed it with a handmade Cloak of Levitation, screen printed tunic, and custom Eye of Agamotto amulet. I swooned (I still do, honestly).

I know nowadays it’s common to see high quality cosplay at conventions and online, but 16 years ago that was not the norm. Stacy’s craftmanship still shows strong in 2024, and in 2007 it blew people away.

We went to three different Halloween parties that year, including the classic Silver Snail-o-Ween gathering where a bunch of the Toronto comic community showed up in grand style. Stacy and I swept in and took first prize in the costume contest.

It was pure magic.

Back then I had to dust my sideburns with white to get the salt and pepper hair look of Stephen Strange. If I did it again I’d need to darken the top. *sigh*

Big Plans in the Hyborian Age

I spoke to Sam Stone at Comic Book Resources about wrapping up the first arc of CONAN THE BARBARIAN – planning the new series, working with Rob De La Torre and what comes next, including an exclusive first look at Doug Braithwaite‘s incredible art from arc 2, Thrice Marked for Death!

Here’s a crucial piece from the interview–

I’m extremely proud of the Conan stories I wrote at Dark Horse and Marvel, but an even deeper dive into research is helping me find even more inspiration as the Heroic Signatures-Titan series charges forward.

Speaking of charging forward, AIPT has the first look at cover artwork for CONAN THE BARBARIAN #7, arriving in January!

Over on my Patreon- The full script for CONAN THE BARBARIAN (2019) #13, the first issue of my original run and part 1 of Into the Crucible, with Conan caught in a death contest in a strange land.

Learn how comics are made for the price of a coffee

This is the 296th script I’ve posted up on my Patreon. Creeping ever closer to 300…

Class is in Session

Stacy, Andrew, and I spoke to Tom and Dan at Teachers in the Dungeon all about the D&D Young Adventurer’s Guides, especially our newest volume Places & Portals, and how the series is built to engage young readers and expand their vocabulary.

You can listen to the interview on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Links and Other Things

• If you enjoy board games and have caught the game collecting bug, this straight forward video on 10 Pitfalls to Avoid will hit the mark. Lots of good tips and bad habits in there that I’ve definitely fallen into at times.
• Here’s another video with solid tips about hobby gaming (especially miniature painting) you may not know if you’re just getting started.
• Monolith Games has a notification page up for Red Nails, their next Conan board game expansion.
• Arrow Video is releasing Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer with a newly restored 4K UltraHD Blu-Ray in January. US orders should go here. Canada here.

Trick or treat-
Jim

Twice a year, Character Design instructor Jim Graves organizes a drawing meet-up he calls Sketch Jam. Instructors and students from Seneca’s art programs hang out, draw for fun, and socialize. It started in late 2004 with a couple instructors and approximately a dozen students and has continued ever since. No marks, no assignments, just making art for fun.

We haven’t had a big Sketch Jam meet-up since Covid and I could tell Jim was worried it was going to fade away so I beat the drum hard last week, encouraging current students, especially our new first years, to make an appearance and be part of the tradition.

On Saturday, the students came out in force and it was amazing.

At least 40 students and alumni showed up at St. Lawrence Market for afternoon sketching and more than double that met up with us at the pub after for After-Jam drinks and celebration.

I enjoyed college and made a lot of friends while busting away on my drawing and storytelling skills, but there aren’t many of my profs I would have wanted to spend time with outside of their required lectures. The fact that so many of these students and grads come out in droves to hang out with us, year after year, kind of blows my mind.

They tell us about their work and creative projects, they regale us with their victories and setbacks, they wax nostalgic about their time in Seneca’s Animation program and how much they miss being on campus.

I joke that they’re our “kids”, even though they’re adults, but it’s even more surreal when they bring their own kids to celebrate with us-

It’s my 19th year teaching at Seneca, so there are 16 years worth of grads out in the industry, creating art and telling stories. When I have a moment to think about that, and when I see first hand how excited they are to reconnect – it fills my heart right up.

Killer Comics

Speaking of former students, David Yu is one of them and he has a new comic coming from Scout called TOTAL PARTY KILLER arriving in comic shops late December.

I’ve read the full story and it’s a ton of fun, especially if you play tabletop or video game RPGs.

Killer Art

Speaking of former students, Jorge Molina is one of them and he has a new Patreon where he shows off the illustration and design techniques that have made him a top notch artist for Marvel and DC.

Bound in Black Stone – The Conclusion!

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4 arrives in comic shops tomorrow, on Wednesday, October 25th, wrapping up the first story arc of this bold new era. I’m nervous and excited to hear what people think.

Once issue 4 arrives, readers will have a complete ‘mission statement’ for the new Conan series and Heroic Signatures imprint and can let us know via social media or by emailing chainmail@conan.com if we delivered the goods:

• Grand mythmaking
• Visceral storytelling
• New stories with respect for the past

Links and Other Things

• Marvel Editor In Chief C.B. Cebulski talks about comic art samples for portfolios for people trying to break into the business and inker Mark Morales covers some important inking techniques using traditional pen on paper as some free teasers from the Proko-Marvel Art of Storytelling program I helped design.
• Legendary letterer Richard Starkings talks about his career and comic lettering trends with Adam Chapman on the newest episode of the Comic Shenanigans podcast. The last 12 minutes includes some insight from Richard about lettering the new Conan the Barbarian comic series for Heroic Signatures and Titan.
• Sean “Wordburglar” Jordan has a new music video called 1980 Force that plays off of the ridiculous names and endless waves of G.I.Joe figures from the 80’s.
• Dean Kotz‘s Inktober sketches this year are all Conan themed!
  

I hope your week is going well!
Jim

New York Comic Con was a whirling dervish and the Conan fandom came out in force. It was a thrill hearing their excitement for the new series and signing a storm of issues, including a pair of exclusive variant covers put together for the show. My voice is shot and I’m pretty exhausted here on the Monday post-con, but also really happy with how it all went.

Beyond that, there were a couple really nice Conan-centric moments with other professionals-

While chatting with friends at a party on Thursday night, we realized there were four recent Hyborian Age creators in the mix, so we grabbed a quick photo-

On Friday at the show, legendary Savage Sword of Conan cover artist Joe Jusko stopped by my table. He told me we were doing right by our favorite Cimmerian and that he was excited for the Savage Sword relaunch coming in February. Such an honor-

Savage Scripts

Speaking of Savage Sword of Conan, I received permission from Heroic Signatures to post older Conan scripts on my Patreon. I’m starting with an extra-special story, Conan the Gambler, from the 2019 Savage Sword relaunch.

At the time, I thought this tale would be my last chance to write Conan, so I tried to pour everything I love about classic Robert E. Howard writing into it – danger, betrayal, mystery, magic, and a corrupt civilization in need of a barbarian’s brutal judgement. Instead, beyond my wildest dreams, the Gambler became an audition to take over the flagship Conan series!

When this newsletter goes out, I’ve posted the scripts for Savage Sword of Conan #7 and #8 and will have the final part up on Friday, with more issues from my pre-Titan run to come in the weeks ahead.

If you’ve never seen my Patreon before, it’s an archive of my comic writing, with almost 300 scripts currently available. You can see how comics are written through scripts and pitches and find other information about working in the industry for the price of a fancy coffee.

Proper Portals

Random House and Ten Speed Press hosted a signing on the show floor of New York Comic Con and gave away over 100 copies of the latest Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer’s Guide, Places & Portals. It was wonderful meeting D&D fans, librarians, and other people curious about how to get into this fun fantasy game they keep hearing about.

Making Magic

Speaking of Young Adventurer’s, Artificers & Alchemy (the eighth book in the series), has just been announced! Arriving in April, our newest volume is all about magic items and the artificers who create them.

(If you haven’t seen the D&D YAGs before, check out this Frequently Asked Questions article I put together for more information on the series and how they’re tailor-made to bring new people into the hobby.)

Food

A couple weeks ago I put together something different for lunch – I followed Adam Ragusea’s recipe for a Savory Dutch Baby with egg, green onion, pepperoni, and cheese. It turned out far better than expected, especially for my first try.

(Quick note: I halved his recipe since mine was personal size in a small cast iron pan.)

Links and Other Things

• QRBits has a neat video comparing confident handwriting to confident drawing techniques:

• Jetpack7 is a successful indie TTRPG publisher with a slew of great 5th edition supplements under their belt. One of the reasons why their books look so great is because they’re the same art studio supplying new illustrations for the D&D Young Adventurer’s Guides. Their latest Kickstarter campaign is for Legendary Undead, and it’s looking sharp, as expected.
• A couple years ago my good friend Tory Woollcott took a break from comic-making to put together a divination set called the Tessera Oracle and it did so well that she pivoted toward that as her new business! Her newest release is called the Trine Oracle and the crowdfunding campaign ends early November.

That should cover it for this time. Have a great week!
Jim

This weekend it’s Canadian Thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for, as you’ll see below. Thank you for checking out my newsletter and sharing it with others!

Social media is more mercurial and annoying than ever, so being able to reach fine people like yourself directly is really nice. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, that’s fine, but at least you get to choose instead of algorithms choosing for you.

It’s delightful/surreal to see Soul Coins in Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons canon as a whole.

I came up with the concept of Soul Coins, souls minted in infernal metal, during a brainstorming session for Descent Into Avernus at the Wizards of the Coast office way back in 2017.

We were talking about Hell in D&D and the discussion turned to what kind of stuff happens there beyond the Blood War. There’s obviously wheeling and dealing going on, but how does that work?

Is there an economy? Yes, and souls are the most valuable currency.

Okay, cool. If that’s the case, then how do you trade souls? What’s that look like? Are they in jars, trapped in the parchment of a contract, or spun like cotton candy? All doable, but also finicky.

What if an archdevil has hundreds or thousands of souls to move or spend?

I said “Soul Coin” and it immediately clicked for Adam Lee (head of narrative on the project) and I:

• Devilishly simple and appropriate. Souls get trapped, minted, and are used for payment, fuel, and sometimes even ammunition.
• A mortal carrying a Soul Coin feels the “moral weight” of its infernal metal pulling them down.
• You have currency. You have an economy. It’s a twisted take on commerce worthy of Lawful Evil devils.
• Their value is based on the quality or power of the soul, which leads to hording, coveting, stealing, and piracy.

It solved a lot of problems and created all kinds of story potential.

While playing BG3 (it’s been tough to find time to play lately, but I am sloo~oowly making my way through it in between project deadlines) I heard eerie whispers in game, tracked the sound to its source, my character picked up a Soul Coin…and I smiled. 🙂

“Strange, incomprehensible whispers emanate from this coin, pervading your mind with rage and despair.”

So awesome.

Attack of the Relentless Readers!

I was going to post about the fourth printing of Conan the Barbarian #1, a limited edition release with full body character cover artwork by Dan Panosian arriving on October 25th, but then Titan Comics received a surge of reorders on every issue released so far!

New readers have heard such great things about the series and they want to catch up on the story, so I’m genuinely astonished to announce three more reprints your favorite local comic shop can order–

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1- 5th print (Colleen Doran cover) in stores Nov 8.
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2- 3rd print (Alan Quah cover) in stores Nov 8.
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3- 3rd print (Doug Braithwaite cover) in stores Nov 15.

I felt we were making something special, but never could have imagined this kind of response. All I can say is a heartfelt THANK YOU.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for buying.
Thank you for sharing with other people you know.
Thank you for the kind words and high praise.

This Conan relaunch has been a career milestone in so many ways and our team is working hard to keep the momentum going for years to come.

Back In The Spotlight

Stone Star Vol. 2: In the Spotlight is finally available in trade paperback thanks to comiXology and Dark Horse Comics. The original digital-first release was in 2020-2021 so it’s wonderful finally getting a printed version in my hands.

Max Dunbar is a dream collaborator who designs, tells a great visual story, and brings enthusiasm and energy to every part of the process. Espen Grundetjern is genuinely one of the best colorists in the business. Marshall Dillon is my ride-or-die letterer and friend who always goes above and beyond the call of duty. We put a lot of heart into this space-fantasy series and I’m hopeful for its future.

(and seeing these pages again definitely gives me the itch to launch some new creator-owned comics in 2024…)

Big Apple Barrage – Here Comes NYCC!

Next week is New York Comic Con, Fall’s pop culture extravaganza. I’ll be there thanks to Comic Sketch Art, at Artist Alley Table F37, and will also be signing at Insight Editions and Random House.

On Friday, Oct 13th at 1pm EST/10am PST, artist Jay Anacleto and I will be doing a livestream signing at Unknown Comics (Booth #3753) with the special first print Conan #1 variant Jay illustrated of Brissa, the valiant Pict warrior-scout introduced in the new series. It’s a beauty! Here is the WhatNot livestream link.

On Friday, Oct 13th at 4:30pm I’ll be on stage with the Glass Cannon Network playing the new Marvel Multiverse Tabletop Role-Playing Game along with narrator Troy Lavallee and players Sydney Amanuel, Matthew Capodicasa, Nick Lowe, Skid Maher, and Joe O’Brien!

Which Marvel characters are we playing? What is the Friday the 13th-worthy spooky adventure we’ll be going on? Be there and find out!

Sequential Thoughts

I spoke to Brendan Montgomery at Sequential Magazine about my career and recent thoughts on creator-owned comics. Lots of good material and an archive of older issues you should also explore.

Links and Other Things

• My friend Richard Pace’s COVEN: A Book of 100 Witches artbook is currently funding on Zoop and it’s an impressive gallery of witchful things for mature readers.
• I stumbled across Campbell Walker’s YouTube channel where he talks about art and motivation. Three of the videos he has sum up some fantastic thoughts on habits, procrastination, and focus. They’re well worth watching and internalizing.
• Fred Kennedy’s Dead Romans arrives in hardcover mid-November. It’s gooood stuff.

Canadian or not, I hope your weekend is filled with family, friends, and good food.
Jim

I received a copy of LORE & LEGENDS, the history and art of D&D 5th edition by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer, arriving in stores on Oct 2nd.

It’s an incredible tour filled with great anecdotes and illustrations. Surreal to see my books and face in the mix, a tiny piece of Dungeons & Dragons’ illustrious history.

There are a lot of memories wrapped up in the pages of this book. A decade of development with many colleagues who have since become friends.

And, a silly point of pride, I’m the only “Z” listing in the index. 🙂

Win the Battle, Lose the War

After several friends recommended it, I recently watched Jurassic Punk, a documentary about Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams, the Canadian animator who pioneered a ton of 3D animation and special effects technology that changed the face of moviemaking for better and for worse.

The story of Steve’s innovation, rebellion and self destruction is compelling stuff, but also quite sad. The same qualities that caused him to buck the system and develop groundbreaking visual effects also put him at odds with the corporate hierarchies and social relationships that run Hollywood. He proved his technical skills in the battle on a few key creative projects (The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park) but couldn’t win the war when it came to handling people – colleagues, friends, or his family.

When I was at Sheridan for Classical Animation we heard a lot about Spaz – the rockstar party hard computer animator blowing up the way things used to be done who could not be stopped. Almost thirty years later, he absolutely made his mark but it cost him almost everything. The recent scenes of Steve bitter about his place in film history battling severe alcoholism are a far cry from the confident take-no-shit genius of his youth.

As I watched it all play out in the documentary, my opinion toggled back and forth (and I’m sure that was by design). I could see Steve’s impressive ambition and tenacity, but it also seems he would’ve been an unbearable bastard to work with.

Creative industries are about results, but your ability to stay relevant and keep creating in a corporate environment also requires you to be a good communicator and collaborator.

Internet Dead Zone

Going through my ‘Art Tutorials’ bookmarks to find a few gems to post here and I realize many of the hundreds of helpful art links I’ve saved over the years are now defunct – dead URLs or empty images.

The internet giveth and it also taketh away.

It’s a good reminder of why I encourage my students to gather their own digital ‘scrap file’ of tutorials they find that are helpful to them.

I have thousands of art tutorial images saved and organized into folders curated to my needs and taste, the digital equivalent of old school filing cabinets of reference images in an art studio.

Assume stuff online is transitory and back-up ref material, just in case.
You won’t always have access to the things you want to keep.
Future proof it for yourself.

Links Aplenty

You’re reading this newsletter because you want to keep up on what I’m up to but I also want to direct your attention to people I think are creating great work or generating interesting discussion. Here’s a round-up of some good stuff from collaborators, friends, and other folks who have recently caught my attention:

• Jamie McKelvie’s rundown of North American comic art template specs is right on point and worth adding to your reference pool.
• Rachel Stott’s artwork is an absolute knockout. If you’re not following her on your social media of choice, you’re missing out!
• Ed Brubaker’s newsletter is well worth following, and his latest thoughts on the terms “IP” and “content” are deeply in line with my own.
• Matt Rosenberg’s ‘Ideas Don’t Bleed’ podcast has a great series of interviews that cover a cross section of comic creators and other creative people.
• Speaking of interviews, John Siuntres’ Word Balloon podcast is still great and there’s a deep archive of interview material from some of the biggest names in comics.
• Howard Tayler is running a Kickstarter campaign for Schlock Mercenary Vol. 18: Mandatory Failure. Howard’s brilliance and consistency has made him a mainstay of sci-fi and webcomics culture for good reason. The entire archive is well worth checking out.
• Steve Tassie is bringing back Grave Robbers From Outer Space, a fun B-Movie-themed card game that originally launched back in 2001. My friends and I played the hell out of it when it first came out and I’m excited to snag the updated version. Make sure you jump in before the campaign ends.
  

That’ll cover it for this week.
Jim