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

Three days after getting back from my vacation, I was on a flight to Orlando for MegaCon. It’s rare that I do any conventions in February, let alone a four-day monster like this one, and it was intense! Tons of signed comics, great interactions with fans, and fun conversations with friends. Even with the Comic Sketch Art crew doing set up and tear down, I was exhausted by the end of the show.

Given the state of the world right now I wasn’t sure how the convention would feel, but it seems escapism is front and center on the minds of fandom, and I can’t blame anyone for that.

I don’t normally buy myself presents at conventions, especially on day one of a show, but I couldn’t pass up a stunning raw copy of CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 from 1970. The retailer who had it gave me a really good price so, after all these years, I finally have one!

Fans at the show seemed really surprised to see me doing sketches, which makes sense since my writing career has been so prominent compared to my art and I don’t get the chance to draw as much as I used to. It was nice shaking off some of the rust and busting out a few new drawings.

This is my first show of the year and the next month is jam-packed with travel, but if MegaCon is a sign for my convention appearances in 2025, I am both excited and intimidated. Thank you to everyone who stopped by!

Conan Screening Intro

Four Color Fantasies comic shop and the Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast organized a screening of the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie at the Alamo Drafthouse in Virgina and asked if I could record a short intro to play before the film.

Here’s what I put together for them – Some info about the character’s legacy and my memories of the movie and its impact:

Skullkickers: The Digest Edition is Coming!

If you’ve enjoyed my work on CONAN THE BARBARIAN and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS but never read the original story that led to those projects, you’re about to get another chance to kick some skulls…thanks to ZOOP!

Compact/manga-sized volumes are all the rage right now with new readers and the animation-styled artwork of Skullkickers is perfectly suited to this form factor.

Sign up HERE to make sure you don’t miss it!

Current + Upcoming Releases

If you are a comic retailer or press outlet and want to get advance PDFs of my upcoming releases, please reach out with your contact information so I can add you to my retailer or press mailing lists which are seperate from this newsletter.

Upcoming Appearances

More shows getting added to the schedule – February and March are going to be busy!

Feb 21-23, 2025	Fan Expo Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, CANADA
Mar 6-9, 2025	Emerald City Comic Con	Seattle, Washington, USA
Mar 14-16, 2025	Toronto Comicon	Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
Mar 20-23, 2025	Gary Con XVII	Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Nov 3-14, 2025	D&D in a Castle	Castle Lumley, Newcastle, UK

Other Links

• Comic creator Tyler Jenkins (Peter Panzerfaust, Grass Kings) could use financial help in these troubling times. Donate if you can and share the link around to help him meet his funding goal.

• Best-selling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn) is posting lectures up from his Fantasy-Sci-Fi Writing class on his YouTube channel. There is lots of good writing and motivational advice here worth checking out.

• The Sword & Sorcery Book Club channel has put together an extensive review of Battle of the Black Stone, with analysis aplenty.

• Nomination submissions for the 2025 Hugo Awards are now open, so if you have membership at WorldCon, make sure you submit your picks (and keep my work in mind).
Jim

I don’t normally send out two newsletters in less than a week but my big announcement about stepping away from teaching after 20 years deserved its own post, so thank you to everyone who reached out with comments and kind messages. It meant a lot to hear from so many of you.

Just to clarify – I’m not retired! I’ve been juggling two full-time careers for a long time and now just get to have one – writing and creative projects. This has been my dream for many years and I’m incredibly excited for 2025 and beyond!

Rest In Peace

Back in October I mentioned that my friend Howard Andrew Jones had been diagnosed with multifocal glioblastoma, an intense brain cancer, and we knew time would be short. I was gutted to hear that he died last week. His friends and family are in mourning and the sword & sorcery genre is more barren for his passing.

I am so thankful for the time spent with Howard at Robert E. Howard Days back in June. Howard, John C. Hocking, and I were thick as thieves during the event, chatting about writing, fandom, and life, and laughing almost the entire time. So much of what we talked about was important then – shaking off rough spots in our careers and celebrating each victory, no matter how small – and those conversations are even more poignant now with his passing.

2025 seems set for challenges and upheaval, but we carry on as best we can.

Every day is precious. Hold your loved ones close and tell them how much they mean to you.

Heroic Signatures Fundraising For Los Angeles

Here’s what Heroic Signatures sent out last week:

LA is far from just being our company’s home. It is where our kids play, where our friends live, and where our dreams have taken root.

With gratitude-
Fredrik Malmberg, Jay Zetterberg, Steve Booth, Marcos Cronander, Mike Pepin, Chris Buterz, Ashley Hodgkins, Shawn Curley, Mei Ng, Lion Martinez, Gerardo Zaffino, Jim Zub, Doug Braithwaite, and Jeff Shanks.

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

Feb 6-9, 2025	Mega Con	Orlando, Florida, USA
Feb 21-23, 2025	Fan Expo Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, CANADA
Mar 20-23, 2025	Gary Con XVII	Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Nov 3-14, 2025	D&D in a Castle	Castle Lumley, Newcastle, UK

Other Links

• My friend and frequent collaborator Max Dunbar has a new online course he’s put together to teach Drawing Fantasy Characters and you can sign up for it over on his website!

• Old webcomic friends of mine Dave Kellett (Drive, Sheldon) and Brad Guigar (Evil Inc., The Webcomics Handbook) have a new YouTube channel called “The Wrong Way” all about sketching copyrighted characters in a non-copyright way. It’s really fun stuff.

• I made Stephen Cusato‘s Beef Stroganoff recipe over the weekend and it was amazing winter comfort food.

• Marc’s Brunet‘s use of digital layers here is almost identical to the way I was taught to color comics/illustrations at the UDON studio over 20 years ago. It’s a smart way of working that can emulate a bunch of different styles and is flexible for editing to a client’s needs.

My next newsletter will be the big #100! What will I do to celebrate that wondrous third digit? No idea, but given the ‘cover price’ on these updates ($0.00), keep your expectations in check.
Jim

Multiple blasts of snow here in Toronto over the past week has made for a surreal contrast with reports and footage of the devastating California wildfires.

With so many of my friends who work in comics, animation, and games being in or around Los Angeles, a lot of them have been impacted by the destruction. Listed below are places providing aid to those affected or places to find aid if you are in need. Please help if you can.

California Fire Foundation’s Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund:
https://cpf.salsalabs.org/disasterrelief/index.html

California Community Foundation Wildlife Recovery Fund
https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/

Greater Good Charities:
https://greatergood.org/disaster-relief/california-wildfires

World Central Kitchen — Working to provide meals for affected families and first responders.
https://donate.wck.org/give/654000#!/donation/checkout

L.A. Food Bank’s map of where to find food and meals.
https://www.lafoodbank.org/find-food/pantry-locator/

California Department of Social Services Disaster Help Center:
https://www.cdss.ca.gov/

A spreadsheet of LA-based animators affected by the wildfires with links to fundraising pages:
https://airtable.com/appugwkqKAVGDdeaJ/shrrujOu1GKwKAW0f/tblBTejpocYFoeauX

Support for people displaced by LA fires — A new public Facebook group offering a place for people to share resources
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1162491225218312/

Sandswept

New York Magazine‘s feature story on Neil Gaiman’s horrific mistreatment of women who moved in and out of his sphere of influence over decades is truly harrowing and disturbing. If you want to read it, make sure you’re braced for disgusting content and the shattering of any grand illusions you might have about the creator of beloved stories of fantasy and the supernatural.

Allegations started bubbling to the surface last summer and, like most other people in comics and entertainment, I wasn’t personally involved and didn’t know what to say so I waited to see if the initial reports were corroborated. Even if he’s never charged in terms of criminal activity, I think we’ve passed the Rubicon now.

Like so many other readers and writers, Neil’s work was an absolute game changer for me. Sandman and the first Death mini-series arrived at a formative time in my life and opened my eyes to the power that comics could have – lyrical, emotional, and relevant. I bought a first edition copy of Good Omens in hardback when it was first released and literally read it cover to cover in one night.

Meeting Neil and chatting with him at a Comic Book Legal Defense Fund party in 2003 was one of the first times I felt like I had a meaningful interaction with a ‘celebrity’ and it gave me the confidence to be more fearless in approaching other creators.

Of course, I’m framing this awful news in terms of how it affects me and a lot of other people are too because for so many of us it feels personal, the fucked up betrayal of the dreams and ideals shown to us by the man and his work. The bone deep assumption that someone who could craft those tales and speak so eloquently about our hopes and fears could not be the kind of monster he showed us could be defeated with the power of stories.

And yet, here we are. More than a dozen women scattered along a trail of gruesome behavior in ways that speaks to a frightening lack of morals, empathy, or decency.

There’s absolutely nothing I can type here that changes any of it, but this is my outlet and, even though I try not to let politics or other weights of the world intrude into this newsletter, you’re here for my thoughts, and the shadow of this shit looms too large to ignore. It’s abhorrent and, for better or for worse, teaches so many of us to be more wary of the larger-than-life people we put our faith in.

It also speaks to an incredibly selfish and damaged ego who didn’t understand or appreciate the responsibility creators have to the people associated with them and their work. Yes, your name is on the cover of that book or prominently displayed in the opening credits of that show or movie, but that also means there’s a whole industry of artists, editors, actors, marketers, and other production people banking their faith, hard work, and livelihood on you and your reputation.

Great power, great responsibility.

That’s the baseline, you fuck.

Robert E. Howard Award Nominations Now Open

For the next month (January 13th-February 15th), fans can nominate their favorite Robert E. Howard-related material released in 2024 across 8 possible awards to make the final voting ballot.

The ongoing Conan the Barbarian monthly comic series and Conan: Battle of the Black Stone are eligible for both The Costigan and Rankin awards, so if you agree that they have merit, please fill out the form and let your voice be heard.

Comic Book Resources posted a list of “10 Best Dungeons & Dragons Comics Since 2015“ and I’m stoked to have written 5 out of the 10 on their list!

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

The crew at D&D in a Castle have announced their Autumn 2025 line-up and I’m thrilled to be returning with an all new adventure called Dark Lords’ Gambit!

Details on all the Fall sessions HERE.
Pre-registration links are on my DM profile page HERE.

Other Links

• Joi Massat organized an incredible resource for people working in animation or who want to understand how cartoons are made – Every Cartoon Pitch and Writer’s Bible on Archive.org.

• Kieron Gillen and Jim Rossignol have a new blog where they talk about game theory and design and it already has some great material.

• Here’s a fascinating archive of tabletop gaming – Early Collaborative Games of Fantasy and Imagination.

• If you run a convention and have tabletop gaming in the mix, Chaosium will send you a Convention Support Pack of their games worth up to $500, including Call of Cthulhu, Runequest, and Pendragon as part of their company’s 50th anniversary!

Jim