Zub Tales

Stacy and I are finishing packing for our upcoming week-long jaunt to England and Ireland after a week of recovery from SDCC/Gen Con con crud and a sprint of writing deadlines. On the calendar it looked like more than enough time between events but now, in the midst of it, it’s been a bit crunchy.

Still, we’re England-bound and excited to explore some new places.

• This Saturday, August 15th I’m at COMICS ASSEMBLE in Gloucester, England from 10am-5pm.
• On Wednesday, August 19th Stacy and I are signing at DUBLIN CITY COMICS in Dublin, Ireland from 5-7pm.

If you can make it to either event, I look forward to seeing you there!

Beyond trip recuperation and trip prep, it’s been relatively quiet. Research reading and writing aplenty. Avoiding the scorching heat or torrential rains that have been hitting our area through late summer.

Making Stuff Less Than Mint

Autographing books is frosting on the cake that is getting to write these stories and collaborate with amazing people in this business. It’s nice to be able to personalize something for a reader and acknowledge their enjoyment of the work that went into the book. As Stacy’s writing career gets more traction, she’s been figuring out her signature and, watching her go through that process reminded me how long it took before I felt comfortable signing my work and that I’ve internalized some key pieces of autographing advice I received many years ago.

“Advice? Just sign your name, dude.”
Would you believe there’s more to it than that? Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Make sure your autograph is not the same signature you use for legal documents. You don’t want that legal signature floating around everywhere.

• If you can do your signature quickly without having to lift the pen multiple times, you’ll be able to sign much, much faster and won’t mess up your wrist if you need to sign a LOT all at once.

The most signatures I’ve done in one shot was probably Free Comic Book Day 2023 at Third Eye Comics. I signed well over a thousand Conan the Barbarian #0’s and dozens of other issues and trade paperbacks that day. It’s the only time I’ve ever finished a signing session with wrist pain and I was extremely thankful my signature was quick and legible.

Current + Upcoming Releases

• Conan the Barbarian #33 – released 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

I didn’t have any September shows on my schedule, but just added Ottawa Comicon to the mix. It’s been way too long since I was in our nation’s capital and I’m looking forward to seeing readers, friends and family there!

Other Links

• My friends Deborah Ann Woll and the Dungeon Dudes have launched their crowdfunding campaign for the second season of the Tales From Woodcreek TTRPG liveplay narrative.

• The title of this video seemed click-baity, but writer Jed Herne‘s advice on naming fantasy characters is actually quite solid and useful. Worthwhile for anyone in writing or gaming who is coming up with fictional character names.

• Speaking of advice, my friend Justin Jordan (writer of Luther Strode and other top notch comics) has started his own YouTube channel called Death Or Comics that’s filled with advice on developing and pitching comics in the traditional publishing market.

Jim