Zub Tales

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-

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-

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

• QRBits has a neat video comparing confident handwriting to confident drawing techniques:

• 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