Zub Tales

Last year I wrote that 2021 felt like a vortex, eating up time as we wondered when things would get better. 2022 showed some respite from the lows I felt over the past two years and it was a return to more in-person interaction, but it’s still hard to say if any of this is “normal.”

Stacy and I started traveling again for conventions, but almost immediately came down with Covid, forcing us to drive one way from Alberta to Ontario to get home.

I’m back on campus at Seneca teaching again, but I’m no longer Coordinator, so the Animation program is changing and growing under new leadership. I get to be around as an “elder statesman” of sorts, offering advice but not being in charge. It’s a good change.

My run of Conan the Barbarian ended at Marvel last year, but I’m relaunching it again at Titan in 2023.

Another crack at Thunderbolts. A new Red Sonja story. A dark fantasy spin on the Dark Knight. Another Rick and Morty crossover mini-series. A crazy old pitch long buried that came back from the dead.

New versions of old things. A weird mix of the familiar and the unknown.

2022 felt transitional, but I can’t quite put my finger on where things are headed right now. I know I’m not the only one with that anxious energy. We want to leave the pandemic behind. We want to jettison old issues and finally arrive somewhere new and exciting.

Is that arrival coming up next year? I have no idea and you don’t either.
The chaos of it all is harder than ever to ignore.

Stacy and I are in a good place overall and I know that. I cherish it. It keeps me grounded and whole when everything else in the world feels like it’s becoming unhinged and broken.

I’m trying to stay optimistic and also not be naïve. Is that an impossible balancing act? Probably, but it’s a better plan than no plan at all and it’s taken me this far, so let’s keep going.

I hope your year went well. I hope 2023 is looking bright.

Jim