Zub Tales

Another busy week coming up for me as June ends and the real sprint begins. My personal goal is to get all my July and August writing done in the next three weeks so I can relax when I’m on the road for late July and most of August. Will it happen? I’ll let you know as the weeks countdown.

My Canadian and American readers have Canada Day and Independance Day coming up, meaning that most people have a shorter work week, but for me they’re probably going to be regular working days. That’s the way it goes when you’re freelancing and deadlines loom. It’s okay though, because I’m working on some wonderful projects right now. Speaking of which-

Last Thursday, IGN had the exclusive reveal that there are new INVADER ZIM comics in the works at BOOM! They teased some covers and you can see the variant I drew and colored in the mix there.

When the Invader Zim cartoon ran on TV 25 years ago, I was working at an animation studio and wished I could be part of a show so fun and subversive. Unexpectedly, now I get my chance.

A lot more details weill be revealed in the coming weeks and I’ll keep all of you up to date as that happens. All I can say for now is that our team is amazing and we’re putting our all into it. Tell your fellow earth-monkeys!

---

A Pirate’s Life

Now that the Ghosts & Echoes story arc has all wrapped up (and fans seemed to really enjoy our done-in-one adventure issue) our attention turns toward our 9th story arc Cursed Shores Beyond, set in the period when Conan was part of the Red Brotherhood, a pirate crew looting ships on the Western Sea alongside the beautiful and deadly Valeria.

Fernando Dagnino is back on art after absolutely crushing it on A Nest of Serpents and The Conquering Crown, so expect top notch art and visceral action throughout. The words are pretty good too. 😉

The way this storyline syncs up with Monolith‘s next Conan board game and TTRPG crowdfund campaign is a wonderful bit of unexpected synergy, and I couldn’t be happier.

---

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Animated Conan the Barbarian

Speaking of synergy, man oh man, keeping this a secret was tough, but we can finally start talking about it. As announced at Annecy, Genndy Tartakovsky, the creative mind behind Samurai Jack, Primal and Hotel Transylvania has signed on to create a new Conan the Barbarian animated series for Amazon Prime!

Yes, it’s really happening. The teaser artwork by Genndy, Stephen DeStefano and Scott Wills is official and it looks awesome.

Back in 2014, I had the incredible honor of writing 20 issues of the Samurai Jack comic series, building on Genndy’s world and ideas inbetween season 4 and season 5 of the animated series alongside director designer Andy Suriano. That comic swept in and changed my career, putting my name in front of thousands of readers and bolstering my spirit when I genuinely thought my time working in comics was coming to an end.

Seeing Genndy and his team finally sign on to do this animated series, a dream of his for decades, is really wonderful. I don’t have any other production details I can reveal at this point, but you can read more over on the official Conan website.

---

Amazing Digital Insight

The Amazing Digital Circus is the most Gen-Z piece of media I have ever seen.

I don’t mean that as an insult.

It’s a genuinely insightful look at a specific cohort. Their fear of hopelessness and insignificance in a world that uses and abuses them while they try to figure themselves out.

Parts of it were great, other parts messy and unfocused, but it’s a postmodern whirlwind of conflicting messages and emotions that encapsulates people growing up in a time where everything feels wrong and no one is coming to save them.

Not all of it worked for me, but it wasn’t made for me and that was clear from the start, so I managed to enjoy most of it.

Okay, “enjoy” is the wrong word, because it’s 9 episodes that bathe in neurotic trauma wrapped in a colorful candy shell, but I appreciated the craftsmanship.

As with any piece of media I read/watch/play, I can’t help but think about what I would have changed but that would shift its intent, so I’ll step back and just say that at the right age it probably would have affected me deeply.

Also, I’m genuinely curious how the next generation builds their stories when every trope has been played-replayed-remixed-regurgitated and their parents have sold out the future for a quick buck.

---

Current + Upcoming Releases

• MAD About DC – 2nd printing – released June 3.
• Conan the Barbarian #32 – released June 24.
• Conan the Barbarian #33 – releases July 29.
• Conan the Barbarian #34 – releases August 26.
• Journey to the West: The Beginning – releases September 15.
• Savage Sword of Conan #16 – releases September 16.
• Conan the Barbarian vol. 4-6 Slipcase Set – releases September 16.
• Conan: Tides of the Tyrant-King #1 – releases September 23.
• Savage Sword of Conan vol. 1-3 Slipcase Set – releases September 23.
• Wayward Compendium – releases September 29.
• Conan the Barbarian #35 – releases September 30.

---

Upcoming Appearances

Jul 11, 2026	Dungeon Comics 1pm-4pm	Oakville, ON, CANADA
Jul 23-26, 2026	San Diego Comic Con	San Diego, CA, USA
Jul 30-Aug 2, 2026	Gen Con – Booth 1349	Indianapolis, IN, USA
Aug 15, 2026	Comics Assemble	Gloucester, England, UK
Aug 27-30, 2026	Fan Expo Canada	Toronto, ON, CANADA
Oct 15-18, 2026	Gamehole	Madison, WI, USA
Nov 12-15, 2026	D&D Weekend	Lake Sinclair, GA, USA
Jan 14-16, 2027	Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo	Philadelphia, PA, USA

---

Other Links

• My friends John Layman and Rob Guillory (the team behind CHEW) have a crowdfunding campaign roaring for their new creator-owned comic called Ghostbrawler and it looks like a ton of fun. Check it out!

• My friend Samwise Didier, best known for his art and design that defined the look of Warcraft at Blizzard, has a fantasy artbook coming out in October called The ABC’s Of Fantasy that you can pre-order now.

Jim