Three show appearances for 2011 have been nailed down, so here they are:

February 7-11 Animex: In early February I’ll be heading to Teesside, England for the Animex game and animation festival as a guest speaker and lecturer.

March 4-6 Emerald City Comicon: About a month later we’ll be launching the first Skullkickers trade paperback at the ECCC in Seattle and I’ll be stationed at the Image booth.

May 7-8 TCAF: Then in May I’ll be exhibiting at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival here in downtown Toronto. With free attendance and an easily accessible location it will be busy and exciting, as always.

Skullkickers on CBR

Comic Book Resources and Robot 6 team-up for a brand new interview all about Skullkickers that includes exclusive artwork and a sneak peek at issue #5!

Year In Review

Some times I get a chance to bang out thoughts on the year that was, but I don’t do it as often as I should. So, here goes…

2010

2010 was, unarguably, a banner year. It’s one that will warm my heart in possible future chilly times and a year I will never forget.

Marriage. A relationship that’s grown in depth and joy the longer it’s gone on. I’m unbelievably thankful for the love and support Stacy has brought to my life. I wake up each morning and don’t feel complete until I have my wedding ring on. Seriously. I know that’s the kind of afterglow that comes with 2 months of happy marriage, but the deep bond I feel surprises me time and time again as we embark on this amazing journey together.

Career. UDON celebrated 10 years and released a commemorative anthology/tutorial book I spearheaded. Other UDON-related duties included writing a 4 issue Street Fighter mini-series and managing high profile projects including ad/concept work for Inception, Clash of the Titans, Godzilla, Alice: Madness Returns and Suckerpunch. The company is focused and the books the studio has lined up for 2011 are looking sharp.

Career. I wrapped up my 2 year probationary period for full-time employment at Seneca, so I really am a Professor and Coordinator now. Crazy. The college has been incredibly supportive of my work schedule and other pursuits. The students continue to inspire and challenge.

Career. I launched a creator-owned comic series at Image called Skullkickers that has been an exciting roller coaster ride. I’ve built up fantastic new working relationships, pushed myself creatively and am doing my best to make a mark in comics bit-by-bit. In an industry where original properties tend to die, we’re fighting the good fight and getting some decent press coverage while Image puts some extra muscle behind the trade release coming in March. I tentatively pitched SK as a mini-series but it’s now expanded in to an ongoing that will be keeping me extra busy in 2011.

Travel. England (London and Teesside), USA (Seattle x2, Dallas, San Diego, Hawaii, Portland, New York, Baltimore and Boston), Japan (Tokyo) and Canada (Calgary and Quebec City). This may have been the most travel-centric year I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t even realize how many places I’d been to in 2010 until I went back through my calendar and photos.

I keep telling myself that 2011 cannot be as crazy as ’10 was. The fact that we made it through so much astonishes me. If Stacy and I can handle all of that and still arrive at December 31st with buoyant energy I know we can handle whatever 2011 throws at us.

2011 Goals

Communicate joy. Tell people how much I appreciate them more often. Compliment the people around me who are doing great things. Engage creative people online and let them know that their work is inspiring.

Buy less and buy smarter. Stacy and I have been talking about how we don’t need as much “stuff”. Question purchases and ensure that what’s being bought is needed and decent quality. Our money is better served paying down the mortgage and having new experiences rather than just piling items in to our home.

Cook more. I enjoy cooking and find it challenging and rewarding. I want to cook more and try new foods.

Keep going. Keep doing the things I love and put myself behind the work, day in and day out. The plan (is there a plan?) is working. Keep going. Don’t stop.

Skullkickers #4 Reviews

In and around holiday festivities we’ve had a few new Skullkickers #4 reviews roll in.

“Jim Zub’s writing is fun and breezy, Edwin Huang and Misty Coats provide some great, anime style art with crisp, clean colors, and the whole thing is just, well… Fun.”

“Skullkickers is a D&D inspired world where, like the game itself, the deeper you get into it the better it gets. With each issue Zubkavich is able to squeeze in more tropes of the fantasy world and then make them a) awesome and b) hilarious. It’s all about awesome action and big laughs — it’s a great mix.”

“Skullkickers is easily one of my favorite comics being published right now and this issue is another prime example of why. It’s big, bold, and bodacious in its unrelenting awesomeness. It has memorable characters, great action, and a unique sense of humor that sets it apart from every other book on the stands. “

“Skullkickers continues to be a fun read”…”I like this comic; I’ve decided to add it to my pull-list, and wish it great success. “

Dwarf Ornament

My good friend Tory Woollcott made up a fantastically cute little Dwarf Skullkickers Christmas ornament. I’ve had it for a couple weeks but wanted to make sure it was photographed on the tree and properly lit, so here it is!

He’s got the beard braids, ponytail and angry eyebrows… so awesome!

Tory, you rock.

Merry Christmas!


click for larger version

Merry Christmas!

Image Comics asked us to provide the artwork for their official Christmas card this year and we were honoured to put this piece together for them. Line art by Edwin, colours by me. 🙂

All the best to you and yours this holiday season!

Skullkickers #4 Arrives Today!

Today’s the day!

Treat yourself to some pre-Christmas monster mashing with the season’s joy that is Skullkickers #4, in comic book stores nationwide today!

Special thanks to Game Designer/RPG Guru Robin Laws for providing role-playing game stat bonus content in this issue. If you’re a fan of Dark & Deadly tabletop dice-chucking fantasy games you definitely don’t want to miss this extra material.

Graphic Novel Review- Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki



Ryan Schrodt at Weekly Crisis has an extensive trade paperback review of Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki (which arrived in stores this week) and he enjoyed it cover to cover.

“Writer Jim Zubkavich is clearly aiming to be as accessible as possible while keeping the book all-ages appropriate” … “The characters themselves are highly engaging and don’t come with any unexplained baggage. Lapsed Street Fighter junkies, devout followers, and even those completely unfamiliar with the franchise will all be able to pick up and read the series without any problem. If the goal is to appeal to as large of a potential fan base as possible, than Zubkavich does a tremendous job.”



Woburn-bound

Edwin and I are flying in to Boston this afternoon as part of a day and a half event being organized by retailer Larry’s Wonderful World of Comics. If you live in the Boston area you should attend!

Friday night is a Skull’kegger’/Street Fighter tournament and Saturday is the Woborn Warehouse comic show.

Larry’s Comics sells a series of exclusive comic variant covers promoting titles he feels are hot or up-and-coming for the comic industry. Soon after Skullkickers #1 came out he contacted Image about getting a variant produced for his store. Usually the variants are just line art or recoloured versions of the regular issue’s cover but I wanted to make sure it stood on its own as a different pic. Edwin and Espen delivered a beauty:



SK #1 Retailer Variant (limited to 1000 copies)

It’s an exciting day trip right before the holidays really kick in to gear. Wish me luck!

Skullkickers Quotes 5

Possibly my favourite Skullkickers Quotes ad so far.
Ryan Ottley’s words are golden: