Zubby Newsletter #34: Something Savage Stirs

Posted by on November 17, 2023 No comments

Big. Bold. Black & White.

Cover and solicitation info have been revealed by ComicBook.com for the grand return of SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN in February 2024, including this stunning cover by legendary illustrator Joe Jusko–

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #1

Writer(s): John Arcudi, Patch Zircher, Jim Zub
Artist(s): Max Von Fafner, Patch Zircher
$6.99, 80 pages, black & white, on sale February 28, 2024

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN IS BACK from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics!

Featuring a new CONAN epic from John Arcudi and Max Von Fafner, the rousing return of SOLOMON KANE written and drawn by Patch Zircher, an electric prose story from Jim Zub, spectacular art pin-ups, and more, the SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN issue #1 heralds a new era of adrenaline-fueled adventure.

  • COVER A: JOE JUSKO
  • COVER B: GERARDO ZAFFINO
  • COVER C: MAX VON FAFNER

—
Yes, you read that right, I’m writing a new Conan prose short story (that ties in with Joe Jusko’s killer cover art) as part of the premiere issue! It’s an absolute honor to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Savage Sword with this magazine-sized relaunch and craft pulpy prose like Robert E. Howard did for Weird Tales.

The crew at Heroic and Titan want to deliver brand new visceral stories every two months, bringing back classic Conan artists and also showcasing newer talent whose work will grab attention in bold black & white.

Richard Pace and I are building an intense story of survival and sacrifice that will either be in issue #2 (April) or issue #3 (June). I also have other plans for future issues as we hammer out the ongoing schedule.

There’s even more Conan news just announced as part of Free Comic Book Day 2024, but I’ll save that for my next newsletter installment so I can go into more detail.

Fortune Found

Dungeons & Dragons: Fortune Finder #1 arrived in comic shops and online this week!

My latest D&D comic story is a wild one that introduces readers to the wonderful setting of Planescape, a place where anything and everything can happen. There’s a mystery afoot as our main character has amnesia and needs to piece together who they are and how they’re connected to the grand forces that dictate reality before it’s too late.

Artist Joe Jaro is doing a delightful job presenting the strange and scenic sides of D&D’s most ambitious setting and colorist Adam Guzowski hones each expressive page with fantastic atmosphere.

If you’ve enjoyed my other D&D comic stories, you’ll find a lot to love here. If you’ve never read one of my D&D comics before or even played D&D the game, Fortune Finder #1 is 100% new reader friendly. Finder is searching for answers, so you’ll learn everything you need right alongside them.

Marvel Heroes On Stage in the Big Apple

The Marvel YouTube page just posted up the live play video from the Marvel Multiverse Tabletop Roleplaying Game session I was part of at New York Comicon! It’s a whirlwind Halloween-themed session with our team of Merry Marvel heroes played by the Glass Cannon crew and Marvel editor Nick Lowe. I played Captain America, Sentinel of Liberty, and had an absolute blast!

The new Marvel TTRPG is really well put together and I’ve been impressed at how well it handles superhero-themed gameplay at the table with lots of fun combat maneuvers and teamwork built right in, and you’ll get a great feel for that in the live play session here-

Quite a few people have asked if I’m going to be contributing to any future Marvel TTRPG sourcebooks or adventures and, all I can say right now is, there might be some exciting news to announce in the weeks ahead… 🙂

Original Art at Your Fingertips

The Conan: Colossal Edition crowdfunding campaign is running on Zoop right now and the book looks absolutely amazing, with reproductions of original art at their original production size. I’m not directly involved in this book, but will definitely be adding it to my collection.

If you’re a collector, it’s a must. If you’re an artist, these Artist’s Edition-style releases are incredibly useful because you can see the exact marks made in pencil, ink, or paint to better understand the methods involved and how they translate from that larger size when they’re shrunk down on each final printed page. When you see a finished page published it can be easy to forget the deep craftsmanship involved, especially using traditional media, and having a page right there in front of you as if you’re holding the original art board in your hands gives you a much better understanding of line detail, texture, spacing, composition and even the mistakes made and corrected by the artist. I find the primacy of it really inspiring and helpful.

My good friend John Barber (a guy I first met over 20 years ago when we were both making webcomics) is the editor on this project and he’s done two really good video interviews about it you can check out HERE and HERE.

Links and Other Things

  • Larime Taylor is a comic creator and artist struggling with one of the toughest years imaginable. Help directly if you can and share the GoFundMe campaign page on your social media if at all possible.
  • I don’t know who Bobby Fingers is, but the videos he puts together as he builds incredibly detailed dioramas of strange pop culture moments are pure entertainment. His voice drones on in a strangely appealing way while he matter-of-factly constructs unexpected scenes using top quality materials and pro quality craftsmanship. It’s pure internet WTF that is oddly inspiring.
  • Matt Colville’s excitement for Baldur’s Gate 3 mirrors my own and his new video about how to incorporate similar ideas into your own tabletop RPG games is really sharp. And don’t worry if you haven’t played the video game yet – He doesn’t spoil any major plotlines.
  • Tristan Penafiel has an in-depth article all about How to Deprogram a Conspiracy Theorist that I found really compelling and discussion-worthy.

Thank you for reading!
Jim

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Conan the Barbarian

Posted by on November 17, 2023 No comments

Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics are pleased to announce that CONAN THE BARBARIAN will feature as part of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, May 4, 2024. Written by Jim Zub with art by Jonas Scharf, this issue will launch a BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE event, which will roll out through late Summer and into the Fall, building on plotlines introduced in the critically acclaimed CONAN THE BARBARIAN ongoing series.

CONAN OF CIMMERIA is haunted by shadows, a nightmare of events glimpsed beneath dark waters of the past. The unspeakable evil foretold by THULSA DOOM looms over the Hyborian Age and every age connected to it…and it will take more than a Barbarian-King to stop its relentless march upon time, space, and sanity.

Heroic Signatures’ and Titan Comics’ CONAN THE BARBARIAN has been a critical and commercial hit, becoming the highest-selling issue in Titan Comics history. With the series in its second year, CONAN THE BARBARIAN: FCBD EDITION will give readers a taste of what’s to come, including art by brand new CONAN artist, Jonas Scharf.

“In May 2023 we kicked off a brand-new era of the Hyborian Age and used Free Comic Book Day as our first charge to reach thousands of new and lapsed readers. Now, a year later, with record-breaking sales for Heroic Signatures and Titan and an energized readership, we’re back and bigger than ever,” says series writer ‘Grim’ Jim Zub.

“There’s never been a Conan the Barbarian event book before, but that changes in 2024 with BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE! The mythic power at the heart of Robert E. Howard’s legendary storytelling will be unleashed. Our Free Comic Book Day prelude issue is perfect for new readers as it sets the stage for high adventure, visceral action, and eldritch horror.”

Free Comic Book Day takes place every year on the first Saturday of May. With over two thousand stores and several comic book publishers participating, the event gives readers a chance to grab a free comic and meet fellow comic readers. Readers can find their local participating store HERE.

Look out for more news on Free Comic Book Day 2024 from Titan Comics, as well as everything CONAN. You can follow Titan Comics on Facebook,X, and Instagram.

Zub Comics Arriving January 2024

Posted by on November 11, 2023 No comments


CONAN THE BARBARIAN #7
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Doug Braithwaite
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
COVER A: Alex Horley
COVER B: Patch Zircher (Connecting Cover)
COVER C: Jessica Fong
Publishers: Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics
$3.99, On sale January 24, 2024

WARRIOR. THIEF. PIRATE…

After adventures on the high seas, CONAN returns to shore to find himself haunted by his memories of BELIT, captain of the Tigress and Queen of the Black Coast. Can a high-stakes heist draw him out of his tortured past, or will it plunge him deeper into the chaos that has always been waiting for him?


DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER #3
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Joe Jaro
Colorist: Adam Guzowski
COVER A: Max Dunbar
COVER B: Joe Jaro
Publisher: IDW
$3.99, On sale January 24, 2024

Finder is now a Herald of the Dust and still has amnesia, but that’s far from his biggest problem. A series of corpses found around Sigil have traces of a strange magical energy that’s tearing the fabric of reality itself, and if the murderer isn’t stopped soon, Finder won’t have a chance to find out who they really are before the end of everything. The mystery deepens in the series inspired by the new Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook!

Zubby Newsletter #33: Now and Then

Posted by on November 6, 2023 No comments

Last week the music world was abuzz with the release of the “last” Beatles song, a cassette-recorded demo called Now and Then by John Lennon completed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with contributions by George Harrison (from a late 90’s recording session where the trio tried to make it work.)

The song itself is simple but carries a wistful, almost haunting quality, especially in the context of how it was finished and its place as probably the last time these four will make music together…even though that collaboration happened decades after half the band are already gone.

Which got me thinking about the power of nostalgia, good and ill.

(I like the track, by the way. It feels like something unearthed from the 1970’s rather than an over polished modernization of the Beatles sound.)

I’m in an unexpected nostalgia vertex right now because my latest and largest ongoing project is built on the distinct foundation of what’s come before – the legacy of Robert E. Howard’s seminal sword & sorcery hero and formative barbaric work by comic legends Roy Thomas and John Buscema

Wait a sec – You mean Conan wasn’t bare-chested in the original stories?

When people tell me I’m doing ‘right’ by Conan on the new comic series, they mean that these new issues deeply remind them of the look and feel of comics from 40 years ago – the poetic caption work of Roy Thomas and dynamic action of John Buscema.

Rob De La Torre’s linework has been compared to Big John’s so much that I worry readers won’t recognize or appreciate the masterful page layouts and subtle interplay of light and shadow that’s also at the heart of Rob’s top notch work, qualities above and beyond the nostalgic way he draws the Cimmerian’s body or stoic expressions.

Make no mistake – Being compared to absolute legends is an honor now and always will be. Being mentioned favorably in the same breath as people who helped ignite my imagination is a thrill.

When we first started working on the new series, I worried that it might come across as just a shrewd business move – trying to milk nostalgia bucks from the Conan fandom because we didn’t have anything new to bring to the table.

Do I want the series to sell? Of course, but the aesthetic choices we’ve made are not just a sales tactic. It’s about reestablishing a baseline of trust. Proving we could deliver old school storytelling with modern fidelity; Big picture mythmaking that acknowledges the past and then marches forward without losing the intrinsic elements that made it so special in the first place.

Our inaugural story arc had to remind readers that Conan was must-read comic entertainment and can be again.

Splash pages – Conan the Barbarian (1970) #75 and Conan the Barbarian (2023) #3.

Summoning the same visceral excitement I had when I first read Conan.

Celebrating key qualities of a seminal era of comics.

I’m learning a lot from Robert E. Howard and Roy Thomas, but I’m still me. I still break stories in my own way and work to please myself in terms of character, voice, plot, and payoff.

I put together story beats that feel right for our big picture plan for the series, whether REH or Roy would have done the same thing as I try to bridge the narrative gap between the 1930’s, the 1970’s, and the 2020’s. It’s a challenge and an honor, one I’m thrilled that people are responding to with high praise and solid sales so far.

Conan vs undead Cimmerians.

So yeah, that new-old Beatles song is interesting. It conjures a lot of feelings from the past and reminds us why the band was so good. For some fans it’ll be exactly what they need in this moment, and for other people it might be too twee, trying to recapture things that have already slipped away.

The song itself is solid but, honestly, the new music video almost breaks the spell for me. The use of poorly composited video cutouts from the past, old Beatles footage awkwardly dancing and interacting with the present comes across as ghoulish instead of glorious. It’s the remix calling too much attention to itself. Desperation instead of delight.

There’s a fine line that can be crossed, when nostalgia moves from engaging and fun to treacle fawning over the past. We shouldn’t pretend the media of our youth was flawless or that the present has nothing worthy to offer. We shouldn’t lionize or exorcise the past…and saying that is infinitely easier than actually doing it.

Where is the line between loving homage and vapid facsimile?

When does remixing lose the magic of the original?

How can we measure quality when it’s so tightly wound up in our warm feelings of the past?

All good questions. Your answer will vary wildly depending on personal taste.

My instincts and helpful feedback from our publishing team seems to be keeping the new Conan series respectful but not trapped in a retread of what’s been done before. So far, so good. Wish me luck as we get even more ambitious next year.

(You may be thinking “Holy crap, this dude is comparing himself to one of the greatest prose authors in genre fiction, one of the finest writers in comics, and the most popular band of all time. What an asshole!” I don’t have a swelled head about this, I swear. I just saw a throughline of nostalgia in the current pop culture conversation – something I could talk about in the constant tug of war between past and present, creative and commercial.)

Links and Other Things

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

Conan the Barbarian #4 Reviews

Posted by on October 30, 2023 No comments

Bound in Black Stone, our first story arc for the new series, comes to an epic conclusion in CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4! What did the critics think?

• Comical Opinions: 9.5/10 “Conan the Barbarian #4 ends the perfectly crafted first arc on a high note with action, mythos, adventure, and excitement. Zub should be proud of his near-flawless take on the world’s most famous barbarian, and De la Torre’s art is an exquisite pairing.”

• Comicon.com: 10/10 “Conan The Barbarian feels like you are reading an undiscovered pulp classic for the first time and an actual new installment to a landscape you have tread a thousand times before”

• European Lore: “It is everything you want from a Conan the Barbarian story…This is the best comic book experience of 2023.”

• Geek Hard: “It has everything you want in a classic literary story with all the blood and guts you expect…I’m just really blown away by the artwork and story on this one.”

• Grammaticus: “Well done, Titan Comics. Two thumbs up on this one. I really liked it a lot. This is a super strong comic on a super strong series…This comic line is going to go down as one of the great Conan comic books.”

• Hither Came Conan: “Holy s**t! This was such a great freakin’ story and a damn good start to this new Titan run. This is one of those stories that people refer to as an ‘instant classic’. I don’t think it’s going to take too long before people are talking about ‘Bound in Black Stone’ the same way they talk about ‘Red Nails’, ‘The Tower of the Elephant’ and ‘The Phoenix on the Sword’.”

• League of Comic Geeks: 9/10 “This issue had a good balance of action to world building and just makes me want to know more about where this will be headed.”

• Negromancer: “Artist Roberto de la Torre has brought Zub’s script for this final chapter to comic book life in a veil of magic, smoke, and mysticism…if you love Conan comic books, you will hate yourself for denying yourself this new Conan the Barbarian.”

• Pop Culture Maven: “Zub’s done a really nice job of capturing the spirit of Conan in comics and De La Torre’s artwork is just gorgeous. It’s really a good book.”

• Pop Culture Philosophers: “It’s dark, it’s horrific, it’s filled with barbaric violence…These are people who care about this property, these are creators who understand what Conan represents and the fans of this world of Cimmeria, and they nail it every single time. I love the f**k out of that book!”

• Sci-Fi Pulse: 9.5/10 “Roberto De la Torre produces some brilliant artwork for this issue…Jim Zub’s first story arc of Conan with Titan comics comes to a crushing conclusion with Conan and his men doing what must be done.”

• Set the Tape: “With this first story, Zub, Torre, and all the other contributors have proven that a Conan title doesn’t just ‘work’, but can become a must-read title.”

• Stars My Destination: 8/10 “Zub creates a narrative that connects with the way comics were created in the 60s and 70s, with abundant prose that adds a poetic touch to the story.”

• Stygian Dogs: “The chance to see Roberto De La Torre draw an absolutely epic 4-issue arc of Conan the Barbarian, something that seems as if it was always meant to be yet was never guaranteed and now realized and informed by lineage, his work sets a new standard for the barbarian’s comic depiction…This new series has me excited for comics again.”

• Tennessee Fats: “The key takeaway that really makes this story arc successful is the marriage of the art style and the writing. Both of them are well done in their own right, but it’s the fact that these two things together work so well that carry this.”

• Thinking Critical: “Jim Zub, four issues in a row. He nailed it. Told a great complete story and the art in this is just beautiful, a truly great homage to the Bronze Age…If you’ve never read Conan before, this is a perfect jumping on point.”

• Todd Luck: “It has a cameo in the last issue that is very well done, a major cameo and I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what they do with other Robert E. Howard properties.”

Zubby Newsletter #32: Halloween Magic

Posted by on October 29, 2023 No comments

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

Zubby Newsletter #31: Big Jam

Posted by on October 24, 2023 No comments

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.

The 2023 Fall Sketch Jam crew walk to Union Station before heading to the pub.

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-

Lynn and Andrew met at Seneca and have been married for ten years.
Now they have two beautiful daughters. I’m proud and feel absolutely ancient.

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

I hope your week is going well!
Jim

Zub Comics Arriving December 2023

Posted by on October 20, 2023 2 comments


CONAN THE BARBARIAN #6
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Doug Braithwaite
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
COVER A: Jae Lee
COVER B: Patch Zircher (Connecting Cover)
COVER C: Dan Panosian
COVER D: Joey Spiotto
Publishers: Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics
$3.99, On sale December 20, 2023

WARRIOR. THIEF. PIRATE…
After adventures on the high seas, CONAN returns to shore to find himself haunted by his memories of BELIT, captain of the Tigress and Queen of the Black Coast. Can a high-stakes heist draw him out of his tortured past, or will it plunge him deeper into the chaos that has always been waiting for him?

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: FORTUNE FINDER #2
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Joe Jaro
Colorist: Adam Guzowski
COVER A: Max Dunbar
COVER B: Joe Jaro
Publisher: IDW
$3.99, On sale December 27, 2023

After the shocking conclusion of last issue, Finder finds themselves undergoing some big changes, but there’s no time to dwell on the past when they must test their luck against a group of assassins in Sigil’s most famous casino! Will Finder escape with their life, or has their luck run out?

Find out in the second issue of the series inspired by the new Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook! Written by Dungeons & Dragons fan favorite Jim Zub with art by Jose Jaro.

Zubby Newsletter #30: After Con

Posted by on October 16, 2023 No comments


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-

Hyborian Hangout: Jim Zub, Mahmud Asrar, Torunn Grønbekk, Jason Aaron

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-

So many iconic images of Conan have been painted by Joe Jusko.
Such an honor to finally meet him and hear that he’s enjoying the new run.

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

  • 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

Zubby Newsletter #29: Those Souls You Stole

Posted by on October 7, 2023 2 comments

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

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