Zub Tales

Fan Expo Canada 2024 was a complete whirlwind. The weather was perfect and there was great energy in the air. The hometown show was busier than ever with friends, former students, and fans stopping by to visit and get books signed. Every few minutes someone new would pop up and I never knew if it would be a pal from high school, a colleague from Seneca, a long-time reader, or someone excited to meet me for the very first time.

By Saturday afternoon I was completely exhausted to the point that I almost fell asleep at dinner so I missed out on festivities that night, but the extra rest gave me enough energy to rally for Sunday and make the most of the last day.

There was a lot of discussion with friends about being “veterans” of the whole comic convention thing and it’s true. Year after year, it all becomes more familiar, but not in a bad way. We’ve seen the ups and downs, we’ve experienced good and bad runs, and we’re still here. Still making books and telling stories, and I’m thankful for it.

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Conan Panel at Fan Expo

Stygian Dogs recorded the Conan the Barbarian panel I host at Fan Expo Canada over the weekend, so if you weren’t able to attend you can watch the whole thing right here:

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Delving Into Doug’s Dynamite Work

Shawn Curley at the official Conan the Barbarian youtube channel interviews Doug Braithwaite, the incredible comic artist who drew Thrice Marked For Death, our second story arc, and is currently drawing Frozen Faith, our fourth one. They go over his amazing career, breaking in, learning from legendary creators, working on iconic characters, and more!

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Current + Upcoming Releases

Conan the Barbarian #14 – released August 21st.

Savage Sword of Conan #4 – releases August 28th.

Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #1 (of 4) – releases September 4th.

D&D Young Adventurer’s Collection Box Set 2 – releases September 24th.

Conan the Barbarian #15 – releases September 25th.

Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 (of 4) – releases October 2nd.

Conan the Barbarian #16 – releases October 30th.

Savage Sword of Conan #5 – releases October 30th.

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Upcoming Appearances

With Fan Expo Canada done, the summer con season is finished for me, but there are discussions underway for other appearances in the Fall, especially in the UK around D&D in a Castle. Hopefully I’ll have more to announce soon.

Oct 17-20, 2024	Gamehole Con	Madison, WI, USA
Nov 4-8, 2024	D&D In a Castle	Newcastle, UK

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Links and Other Things

• Legendary creator Larry Hama has a new comic project fundraiser called Mounties Vs Werewolves and he’s put out the call to get more eyeballs on the work and help him through a tough financial period where G.I. Joe is one of the best-selling comics in the industry again, but he is not financially benefiting from the characters or concepts he created.

• Manifesto TV has an extensive interview with Jeff Shanks, the Robert E. Howard scholar who writes the essays in the back of each issue of Conan the Barbarian. It goes through a ton of different material across a broad range of topics.

• A lot of people commented on my new sword, and a couple people linked to pre-orders for a Conan sword based on the original Frazetta painting. I think I’m good with the one I have for now, but that does look pretty sweet.

• Last week I cooked up Pomodoro Crudo based on this simple recipe and it turned out really nice, a light summertime pasta.

Jim