
Sprinting from event to event in March and it’s been exhausting and yet also energizing at the same time. Seeing so many friends, meeting so many readers, reminding myself how important human contact is to what I do and what I enjoy.
Last year I thought I would attend Gary Con one time only, just a chance to celebrate 50 years of D&D and then I’d go back to my regular comic convention show schedule but Gary Con, Gamehole, and D&D in a Castle really sunk their hooks into me in ways I didn’t expect. Without trying to sound too dramatic – running games for friends and strangers, having that immediate feedback loop of entertainment at the gaming table, and making spontaneous memories and stories is absolutely core to me as a creative person and when I get too busy to engage that side of my life I am less inspired and less happy. So, yeah, adding tabletop gaming shows to my travel schedule makes things more hectic, but the benefit is worth more than the mileage for me right now.
In other words, Gary Con 2025 went really well.

Like last year’s whirlwind, I don’t have space to recount it all here, but some high points include:
• Wonderful conversations with friends, just unabashedly telling people how awesome they are or how inspiring they’ve been to me and seeing them light up.
• Talking with one of the head people at Titmouse animation about our shared excitement for Conan the Barbarian, though his fandom has gone to a level I won’t be able to match – one of his children is actually named “Conan!”
• Hilarious tales of gaming and comic conventions before the arrival of smartphones and social media, with everyone involved quite thankful we couldn’t be instantly recorded and posted online back then.
• Meeting a couple gamers who have already signed up for my D&D in a Castle sessions happening in November. They’re excited and now I’m even more excited.
• Singing Mr. Brightside at the Chaosium 50th anniversary party while the whole room sang/screamed along.
• Running the new Conan: The Hyborian Age TTRPG for fans of the comics, and bringing that same lyrical pulp sensibility to my descriptions of the environments, characters, and action scenes.
• Running a frenetic and hilarious 9-player (!) pick-up game of the Mothership RPG for The Dungeon Dudes and a bunch of my other friends with B. Dave Walters stopping by to play a tragic and nihilistic NPC until he was brutally snuffed out.
• Contributing to the Gary Con charity art jampiece-

Young Zub: Some day you’ll get to sketch a piece beside the legendary Larry Elmore, Jeff Easely, Erol Otus, and more to raise money for charity because you’ll be part of the tabletop role-playing game industry! Pinch yourself, kid. The future is gonna be surreal.


The new SKULLKICKERS Collection campaign on Zoop has crossed the funding line and there are ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT, so contribute while you still can!
Current + Upcoming Releases
Upcoming Appearances
Just announced – My good friend Ray Fawkes and I will be signing at THIRD EYE COMICS in Annapolis, Maryland for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY on MAY 3rd, 2025 from 9am-Noon! It’s a short drive from Baltimore or Washington DC.
We’re signing FCBD CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT Prelude and THE PHANTOM #0 issues, along with any other Zub/Fawkes comics you bring to the event or buy at the shop!
For Conan fans unable to attend – When CONAN THE BARBARIAN #0 came out, Third Eye had extra stock signed for mail order, and that will likely be the case here as well, so reach out to them directly to secure a signed copy.

Apr 12-13, 2025 | Mumbai Comic Con | Mumbai, INDIA |
Apr 24-27, 2025 | Calgary Expo | Calgary, Alberta, CANADA |
May 3, 2025 | Third Eye Comics – FCBD Signing | Annapolis, MD, USA |
Nov 3-14, 2025 | D&D in a Castle | Castle Lumley, Newcastle, UK |
Other Links
• The official Conan the Barbarian Youtube Channel has a great overview of Thulsa Doom, the original necromancer-skeletal badass – prose, comics, and in the movies.
• Matttt puts out another banger of a video. This rundown of Don Rosa‘s career drawing Donald Duck comics is informative, engaging, and heartbreaking.
Jim