Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launches today! I was originally going to immediately dive into expansion content, then realized two days ago that the character I used to Platinum the game is on New Game +3, they haven’t slain the correct boss to get to the expansion on this current playthrough, and the new content cranked up to +3 would almost certainly smash me to bits, so over the next week or two I’ll be power leveling a new character build to play Erdtree, which is already garnering intense praise.

I also want to get ahead on writing, enjoy summer weather, and see family and friends…
What I’m trying to say is that it’s hard to ‘git gud’ and also be a responsible adult.

(If you missed my previous newsletter where I raved all about why I enjoy Souls Games and the particular qualities that grabbed my attention, give it a read right HERE.)

In September – Battle of the Black Stone #1

Comic Book Resources has an exclusive first look at the solicit and covers for CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE #1, arriving in September! This four issue mini-series, running parallel to the monthly Conan series, unleashes an epic across the ages, with stunning art by Jonas Scharf and Jão Canola.

Battle of the Black Stone uses story threads we’ve been weaving in right from the start, from last year’s Conan the Barbarian #0 Free Comic Day issue and our entire first year of stories. The mysteries and powers of the Black Stone are one of the pillars I put into my proposal for the series and, now that we have momentum, we can really go all out in telling this epic tale of pulp-inspired adventure across the ages.

Black Stone is a mysterious material that showed up in multiple Robert E. Howard prose stories, including the titular Black Stone horror story from 1931, and we’re using it to link not just Conan’s Hyborian age to Kull’s Thurian age, but other points in time and characters from those eras as well.

The art on Battle of the Black Stone is so damn good. Every time Jonas and Jão send pages in I’m ecstatic. Don’t tell anyone that I showed you this teaser of Solomon Kane-

Thrice Marked, One Volume

I spoke to David Brooke at AIPT all about Thrice Marked For Death, the second arc of Conan the Barbarian, arriving in trade paperback on July 16th. This interview covers the Hyborian Age, the nature of Conan, and my favorite era of the character. Give it a read!

Talking To The Corner Box

I had a great time talking to my friends John Barber and David Hedgecock on their podcast.

In this first part, we cover my nerdy origin story – reading and collecting comics, comic universe continuity, tabletop RPGs, bringing new people into gaming, the D&D Satanic Panic, gaming during the pandemic, making comics, the early internet, webcomics, and more! Such a fun and nostalgic chat. Make sure you give it a listen.

Deep Script Archives – How Deep?

How many scripts are in my Patreon writing archive?
Currently 318!

That doesn’t even count outlines, tutorials, Q&A’s and more. The latest scripts posted are CONAN: SERPENT WAR #4 and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER #5.

You can learn how comics are made for the price of a coffee.

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

I’ll back be at San Diego this year and am currently getting my schedule figured out for Wednesday through Sunday. I’m really looking forward to seeing friends and celebrating another exciting year. Same goes for Gen Con in Indianapolis, which is the following weekend. Man oh man, two of the biggest conventions back-to-back…It’s going to be a ride.

Links and Other Things

• My friends Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen are crowdfunding a deluxe artbook for the cover illustrations for The Wicked + The Divine. Well worth investing in.

• My friends Marcus To, David Brothers, and Chip Zdarsky have a new creator-owned series coming out called Time Waits that sounds fantastic.

• My friend Raina Telgemeier was recently on PBS News talking about her graphic novels. I’ve known Raina since I was working on my original Makeshift Miracle webcomic in the early 2000’s. Seeing her phenomenal success and acclaim has been such a pleasure.

• A bunch of my friends have contributed to the new Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks, but I want to call special attention to Mike Schley‘s amazing new Greyhawk Map that is part of the revised Dungeons Master’s Guide. Gorgeous cartography work, as always.

• John C. Hocking, who I just met a couple weeks ago at Howard Days, has a great interview talking about the nearly 30 year journey to see his second Conan the Barbarian novel published. Conan: City of the Dead is now available wherever fine books are sold, and it includes new illustrations by my friend Richard Pace. Read it!

• A Brazilian publisher is crowdfunding the Portuguese version of Mark Finn‘s Robert E. Howard biography Blood and Thunder. I know a lot of foreign Conan fans follow this newsletter, so if you want this in Portuguese, don’t miss out.

Otherwise, I hope you’re looking forward to the weekend!
Jim

Over on Facebook Messenger I clicked through to ‘Message Requests’ and saw dozens of messages from readers and retailers who have enjoyed my work, artists wanting feedback, and writers looking for advice. It was awkward realizing that these people assume I’ve just ignored them all this time.

I don’t have time to mentor people one-on-one on their creative career or give extensive feedback (that’s why I put together 40+ free tutorial articles on my website), but getting a message to that effect is way better than someone sending material and feeling completely ignored. I remember what sending notes out into the void felt like and do everything I can to avoid doing it to other people.

Then, on a whim, I clicked the dreaded ‘Spam’ tab…

As expected, there were hundreds of useless ad messages and sex chat garbage, easy to spot with a half dozen or more people tagged on each one, but there were dozens of legitimate messages too, filtered there for reasons unknown.

• International fans excited about Conan.
• A convention runner asking if I wanted to be a guest at a show from over a year ago.
• Readers asking questions about Marvel continuity.
• Creators asking for signal boosts on their crowdfunding campaigns.
• Artist portfolios.
• Old friends touching base.

It’s humbling to see so many people reaching out, but also a bit overwhelming, especially finding them all at once. How is anyone supposed to keep track of all these outlets? How much time do I spend sending out little ‘sorry I missed this’ messages vs just plowing ahead on current projects/deadlines/commitments? I don’t know.

Anyways, if you’ve reached out to someone online and they didn’t get back to you – it might not be intentional. The algorithms that dictate so many of our online interactions may have just siloed it elsewhere.

For Your Consideration

If you’re part of the Harvey Awards Nomination Committee–
CONAN THE BARBARIAN: BOUND IN BLACK STONE is eligible to be nominated for Book of the Year.

Our team put everything they have into this relaunch and I want to make sure people know that Harvey-eligible titles are for books released from August 1, 2023-July 31, 2024, not just 2023 books.

Killer Covers From Mars

Legendary artist Joe Jusko has posted up the first three stunning covers for the upcoming release of the Barsoom Saga, the official reprint of the John Carter of Mars series being put out by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. They have a 20% off preorder promotion running now, so if those covers grab your eye, make sure you get on board while you can save.

Also, while I was at Howard Days last weekend I met Henry Franke, editor of The Burroughs Bulletin, and his excitement for pulp stories was infectious so if you’re a Burroughs fan make sure you check that out too.

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

Links and Other Things

• Artificers & Alchemy gets a shout out on Forbes in A Father’s Day Gift Guide For Dungeon Master Dads. Comicon also reviewed the book and gave it a 10/10!

• In a few days, my friend Sandra Tayler is launching a crowdfunding campaign for her new book Structuring Life to Support Creativity, a much-needed guide to project management and avoiding burnout. Definitely check this one out.

• Jordan Sorcery has a great video run through on the initial development of Warhammer 40,000. When I was a kid I thought the game looked incredible, but the price point of metal miniatures and daunting work involved in painting figures and assembling terrain kept me from playing until I was older, but it looked amazing right from the start.

• Legendary anime studio Gainax has filed for bankruptcy after financial mismanagement and controversy. Gainax was an anime studio built from convention fan films that evolved into auteur-centric work and a pop culture juggernaut. It’s strange to think of the studio not being around anymore, but we’ll always have the the Ballad of the Otaking to remind us of their greatness.

Jim

While we were in Japan, Stacy and I went to a cafe where they had the menu available via QR code on coasters at each table and I thought the same kind of thing could work well at conventions, be durable and also be easy to pack in with luggage. This morning I picked up these spiffy laser cut wood coasters from a shop near our place and they turned out great!

I’m looking forward to using them at my upcoming signings.

Signing at Fan Expo Dallas

Speaking of signings, since I’m flying in and out of Dallas for Robert E. Howard Days on June 7-8, I figured I might as well stop by Fan Expo Dallas at the same time.

If you’re heading to the show, I’ll be there only on Sunday, June 9th from 11am-3pm at the Comic Sketch Art area in Artist Alley (Tables P-00 to P-11). We’ll have a limited number of books and variants for sale and I’ll of course be signing any comics or other books people bring by.

A Critical Eye

On my website I just put up a new tutorial post. It’s an unvarnished rundown on problems with a pitch, and hopefully some helpful reminders for new creators trying to organize their ideas and get attention from a producer/publisher.

Give it a read and, if you find it helpful, share far and wide.

August Arrivals in the Hyborian Age

Comic Book Movie has the exclusive first look at solicitation info and covers for CONAN THE BARBARIAN #14 and SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4, both arriving in August.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #14 continues Frozen Faith, the fourth story arc in our relaunch. With this arc we’re celebrating the 90th anniversary of the classic Robert E. Howard story The Frost-Giant’s Daughter by looking at it and surrounding events in a different light and I’m excited for readers to see it all come together.

Doug Braithwaite is drawing the best damn pages of his career on this one. About a week ago, Doug sent us a beautiful finished two-page spread and then, a few days later, he sent a completely new version redrawn from scratch that was even better. Just stunning dedication and and amazing artwork coming from the whole team.

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4 is a special Battle of the Black Stone tie-in issue with six different short stories that set up key plotlines for-

It’s been a blast coordinating with this crew in and around the upcoming event mini-series. Can’t wait for you to see this one.

Eisner Nominations for Conan

Thrilled to see that letterer Richard Starkings and colorist Dean White received Eisner Award nominations this year for their amazing contributions to Conan the Barbarian.

Congrats, gents! You both helped make the new series a stunner that has won over old fans and new readers alike.

If you’re an industry professional or comic retailer, make sure you vote and help our Hyborians bring home the gold!

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

Links and Other Things

• Matthew Li has an interesting rundown on the origin of “Yoshoku”, Japan’s western-inspired cuisine and how it ties into the country’s history and values. Really neat stuff, especially for someone who is a big fan of Japanese cooking.

• Tony Diterlizzi, one of my favorite fantasy artists, has been doing a dive into his past work on the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual release in 1993 and it’s a fascinating look at his work history and process at that time – PART 1 and PART 2 are up so far.

• Ernie Smith has put together an alternate home page for AI-free Google searching called &UDM=14. Here’s hoping it keeps working and that the tidal wave of generated garbage data gets swept aside in the future.

I hope your June is starting strong – Happy Pride Month to all my friends and fans!
Jim

Today’s my birthday. 48.

Things are good!

Stacy and I are still in Japan, at least for a few more days. The friends we were traveling with headed home Thursday so it’s just the two of us now. Getting back here at last has been wonderful, but I can definitely feel a difference deep in my bones. Exploring all day wipes us out faster than it used to. There have been several days where we’ve run around in the morning and early afternoon, literally had a midday nap back at our hotel, and then rallied for more social stuff in the evening. We’re not in our twenties anymore.

That said, tons of walking and great food has also been good for us, even if my feet are sore and muscles ache. As always, there’s so much to see and do.

For my birthday we braved the line at Mutekiya, a famous no reservation restaurant and one of my favorite food spots in Tokyo. Incredible ramen and then cocktails at a nearby pub with the love of my life. A fine start to 48.

I posted up a gallery of photos from The Ghibli Park in Nagoya on Facebook and Twitter and will have other galleries for the Super Mario World theme park, Design Festa 59 and other locations once I have time to filter through the hundreds of photos we’ve taken.

Alien Gods and the Hyborian Age

Jeff Shanks, the Robert E. Howard scholar who writes the amazing essays in the back of each issue of the monthly Conan comic, talks up a storm about the literary and spiritual references that helped build the Hyborian Age, plus lots of interesting background on pulp writing in the 1920s and ’30s.

The official Conan the Barbarian YouTube channel is doing a great job creating original material for fans to dig into.

Current + Upcoming Releases

• D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide: Artificers & Alchemy – released April 16th.
• Conan the Barbarian #10 – released April 24th.
• Savage Sword of Conan #2 – released May 1st.
• Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #0 – released May 4th.
• Conan the Barbarian #11 – releases May 22nd.
• Conan the Barbarian Vol.2: Thrice Marked For Death – TPB releases June 11th.
• Conan the Barbarian #12 – releases June 26th.

Upcoming Appearances

Links and Other Things

• Five years ago on my birthday, I played Minsc the Mighty alongside an all-star cast at Dungeons & Dragons Live: The Descent. It was a milestone in so many wondrous ways, near and dear to my heart. If you haven’t watched the old liveplay video, it’s still on the official D&D YouTube channel.

• I mentioned playtesting and enjoying Keith Baker‘s GLIM game a couple months ago and it’s now on Kickstarter, so check it out.

• My buddy Ian Moss has designed a new board game called EVERBLOOM also worth checking out.

• Veritasium‘s video all about game theory and the Prisoner’s Dilemma is well worth watching.

I hope the rest of your weekend is a blast!
Jim

Greetings from Nara Park. The deer here are as friendly as ever.

Tokyo, Nagoya, Nara and Osaka. Our vacation in Japan continues. It’s been a great time to engage much-missed experiences and discover new ones. Our friends are on a 2-day temple retreat over the weekend while Stacy and I enjoy exploration and amazing meals in one of Japan’s most vibrant cities.

This whole trip has been a gift, but it’s time to give all of YOU a gift as well…

Battle of the Black Stone Prelude – FREE

Last weekend was Free Comic Book Day and Titan released our CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE prelude issue to shops but, if you missed it, I’m happy to point you toward the FREE PDF DOWNLOAD now available from Titan’s website and Amazon Kindle!

Jonas Scharf‘s line art is sublime, Jao Canola‘s colors are intense, Richard Starkings‘ letters sing, Jeff Shanks‘ essay is enlightening…and the story is pretty good too. 😉

Please share that download link far and wide, my friends. I want to get it in the hands of as many people as possible as we ramp up for more Conan adventures through 2024 and beyond.

Nerd Chatter

During the Calgary Expo I chatted with Chris Doucher from GeekNerdNet and the interview is now available on his site. We cover Conan aplenty and conventions.

Current + Upcoming Releases

• D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide: Artificers & Alchemy – released April 16th.
• Conan the Barbarian #10 – released April 24th.
• Savage Sword of Conan #2 – released May 1st.
• Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #0 – released May 4th.
• Conan the Barbarian #11 – releases May 22nd.
• Conan the Barbarian Vol.2: Thrice Marked For Death – TPB releases June 11th.
• Conan the Barbarian #12 – releases June 26th.

Upcoming Appearances

Links and Other Things

• Gale Force Nine is crowdfunding The Adventures of Conan with dice-rolling action and asymmetrical gameplay. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet, but the previews look solid and I’m eager to give it a try. There’s still 4 days left if you want to get in on the ground floor on this one.

• Conan the Barbarian letterer and all-around amazing creator Richard Starkings is crowdfunding Elephantmen: Yvette, a new 48-page special issue and the campaign has some fun extras worth checking out. Richard talks more about Conan connections here in this Facebook post.

I hope your weekend is going well!
Jim

9 years of elementary school, 4 years of high school, 4 years of college, and 22 years of teaching.
Fall term, winter term, summer term…They’ve been like a drumbeat every year.

My life has been defined by semesters.

Back in 2020, I announced I was stepping away from teaching to start a 16 month sabbatical focused on writing and travel. When the pandemic flared up just a few weeks later, that ambitious change quickly fell to the wayside as projects went into stasis or crumbled completely and Seneca asked me to pause my plans to help with teaching online.

Four years later and now it’s really happening. I’m breaking free of the semester mold for the next 16 months and, honestly, when Fall rolls around I don’t even know how that’s going to feel.

On Thursday, we watched the 2D Animation grad films and then some of the profs grabbed dinner and a pint. Werner Zimmermann, one of my mentors and a dear friend, starts his retirement at the same time I’m starting my sabbatical, so we celebrated our wrap up together. When I was in charge of Seneca’s Animation program, I told Werner I needed to leave before he retired because I couldn’t imagine running the program without him, so it felt oddly appropriate to toast big changes and then grab the train with him at the end. On the way home, we talked about why we love teaching so much and our passion for stories.

It was a great night
End of an era.

Free Comic Book Day in Japan!

So yeah, that sabbatical thing I just mentioned…next month Stacy and I head back to Japan for the first time in six years! I won’t be working much on the road, but I did set up a signing-

Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 4th and I’ll be at Verse Comics in Tokyo from 1-3pm!

CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE #0 is my free issue this year and I’ll sign copies as long as supplies last, along with any other books I’ve worked on (including Japanese language ones).

Telling Tales With a Stygian Dog

Here’s the second half of the interview I had with Stygian Dogs all about CONAN. This time, we cover:
• Free Comic Book Day 2024 and Battle of the Black Stone
• Conan the Barbarian Arc 4
• The brilliance of Doug Braithwaite
• Diego Rodriguez’s incredible colors
• Upcoming Savage Sword of Conan issues
• Gary Con anecdotes
• Conan fandom
and more!

A Savage Sneak Peek

Here’s a glimpse of atmospheric black & white page art by Richard Pace from our feature story coming in SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #2, arriving in stores May 1st.

In 2019, I pitched two different stories to Mark Basso, the Conan editor at Marvel at that time-
One of them was The Gambler, which ended up in Savage Sword of Conan (2019) #7-9.
The other one was Leaving The Garden, which finally comes to life in this new issue of Savage Sword.

Ginny Di Gets Our Guide

Thrilled to see D&D YouTuber extraordinaire Ginny Di cover ARTIFICERS & ALCHEMY, the new D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide, in her latest video!

She has tons of creative ideas about flavoring magic for RPGs, which we encourage in the series!

Upcoming Appearances

Links and Other Things

• Mike Monteiro‘s classic presentation on freelancer contracts called F*ck You, Pay Me should be required viewing for anyone in a creative field.

• Chef John‘s recipe for Golden Butter Rice hit the spot.

• Questing Beast talks about Braunstein, the first tabletop RPG, with some footage and chatter from Gary Con.

Have a great week!
Jim