Two years ago, the new Conan the Barbarian series launched on Free Comic Book Day with our special promotional zero issue and I signed at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, Maryland. This past weekend, I was back there again with a new FCBD issue as we rocket toward the third year of the series. Longtime friend Ray Fawkes, comic newcomer Jason Shaw, and I had a 3-hour whirlwind signing at the flagship store and easily signed over 800 books apiece. It was exhausting and invigorating. What a rush.

This was my fifth signing at Third Eye (wait, maybe my sixth – Is it good that I’m not sure?) and, each and every time, I leave with a warm feeling that, no matter how tumultuous publishing comics can be, things are going to be okay.

I’ve told many comic professionals this, but it’s well worth repeating as loud and wide as possible – If there was a shop like Third Eye Comics in every state in the U.S., the North American comic book industry would be in a completely different place – a much better place.

What Steve and Trish have managed to accomplish over the past 17 years is absolutely incredible. They have taken the buzz around pop culture – comics, superheroes, anime, manga, games, music, horror, sci-fi, alt culture – and built incredibly well curated stores that celebrate and sell on a scale I have rarely seen before. Most importantly, their staff are knowledgeable, friendly, exuberant, patient, motivated, and – wait for it – well taken care of (solid base pay, health insurance, retirement benefits) and in turn they deliver a customer experience that is top tier. That, in turn, has built a phenomenally loyal customer base that trusts their recommendations and comes out in droves for their events. It’s the kind of vibrant pop culture ecosystem that people in this business dream about, located a short drive from Baltimore and Washington DC.

Hardcore collectors, casual readers, and kids are all well served. Whatever you are into, Third Eye has it – stocked deep and sold with a sincere smile. Until you see it, it’s hard to describe.

Comic publishers, distributors, and other retailers could learn a hell of a lot from those people and their stores. I learn something new about this business every single time I visit, and you can bet I’ll be back whenever they want me there to promote my work.

Want a Signed Copy?

Speaking of well stocked, Third Eye has a limited number of extra signed copies of the CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT Prelude and PHANTOM #0 set aside for people who couldn’t make it to their shop, and they do mail order as well, so if you want a copy for your collection, don’t miss out.

The Serpent Revealed!

Now that the Scourge of the Serpent Prelude issue has been released (and don’t worry, the free digital version will be arriving online soon), it’s time to start revealing some of our secrets!

Over on the official Conan website I dug in deep with Lo Terry, talking at length about my grand plan for the story and how we’re weaving three different Robert E. Howard tales together into one swirling sword & sorcery tale.

It’s ambitious, audacious even, but man oh man, it’s also a lot of fun. Ivan and João are delivering glorious artwork, sweeping readers across time, space, and sanity. The twinkle in my eye for this story has become so much more thanks to our team and I’m incredibly grateful.

D&D in a Castle Deep Dive

One of my two tables are already sold out, but there are still seats available for my November 10-14 adventure!

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

Stacy and I are headed to England later this month for MCM Comic Con London, but the adventure doesn’t stop there – We’re hopping over to Spain for a few days so I can meet some of the amazing artists I’m working with and will be signing with Fernando Dagnino and Ivan Gil on May 31st at 7pm at the Omega Center comic shop in Madrid!

Other Links

• Ed Zitron‘s articles on the flaws and economic pitfalls of generative AI are extensive and his latest newsletter, Reality Check, is well worth reading. “Generative AI isn’t about helping you or me do things — it’s about making new SKUs, new monthly subscription costs for consumers and enterprises, new ways to convince people to pay more for the things that they already used to be slightly different in a way that often ends up being worse.”

• The Byte’s Noor Al-Sibai has an article about people becoming addicted to chatbot interactions, which is hard to fathom but feeds into a dystopian ‘loneliness economy’ we should not ignore.

• Are we doing three dark article links here at the end of an upbeat newsletter? I swear, I’m in a good mood. Anyways, I also couldn’t ignore Jia Tolentino‘s latest New Yorker article called ‘My Brain Finally Broke’. It’s hauntingly well written, despite its deeply depressing subject matter.

Jim

Stacy and I have been in England for ten days so far and, as expected, it’s been a swirl of activity. London MCM Expo was really fun with readers bringing comics from the past decade or more to get signed. There was lots of chatter about the latest issue of Conan, and a great panel about the Cimmerian as well.

A work day at the Titan Books office, a wonderful visit with dear friends in Nottingham, a couple comic shop signings, a cramped train ride to Newcastle and, finally, our arrival at Lumley for Halloween fun, Dungeon Master University, and D&D in a Castle.

When Stacy and I started dating, she wanted to impress me by sewing “any costume you want”. 17 years later and the Sorceror Supreme is still ready to unleash a few incantations:

When I first wore this costume I had to dust my temples with powder to get gray sideburns and now I really should be darkening the top of my hair. Oh well~

(Some day I’d like to make my mark on Marvel’s Master of the Mystic Arts but, as I covered in a recent blogpost, those things aren’t under my control so I’ll just carry on with other projects and see what the future brings.)

The D&D in a Castle crew have been incredible so far. It took me a couple day to find my “sea legs” around the twisting geography of the castle and the way the schedule and meals work, but now it’s starting to feel…I wouldn’t say “normal”, but definitely more confident in any case.

This is the first time the Castle crew have run their Dungeon Master University programming, using the transitional days between major game sessions as a way for the DMs to advise eachother around playstyle and technique, which is really interesting, especially given the wide range of people in attendance. I was asked to deliver the key note speech to kick things off last night and it felt great to see that the message I had around how far tabletop RPGs have come and the importance of spending time together at the table was so well received, especially while looking out at a crowd that included respected colleagues, dear friends, and the love of my life.

Being right in the middle of the castle event as I type this, it’s honestly quite hard for me to accurately summarize it. Everyone is incredibly welcoming and excited about gaming, and the environment and resources here are absolutely surreal. I feel like even after it’s done I’ll need a couple weeks to process it all.

Even though the calendar has been packed, there have been a few little moments to take a breath and be thankful for the journey – A peaceful walk in the rain, a home-cooked meal in Nottingham, a quiet corner of the castle for some introspection – This is my last event for 2024 and approximately the halfway point of my sabbatical. Whatever comes next, it’s good to mentally mark things that are good in the here and now.

Forbidden Planet TV

Andrew Sumner and I recorded an interview when I visited the Titan Books office last Monday. It’s a vibrant chat about Conan the Barbarian, Battle of the Black Stone and fun future plans.

Getting to meet the staff at Titan in person and chat about the future was an absolute pleasure. The team is so enthusiastic about how well things are going boith in terms of reader response and sales, and it’s full steam ahead.

Faithful

When I put together the proposal for Frozen Faith, our fourth story arc on Conan the Barbarian, I knew it conceptually it could work, but felt a clutch of fear around whether or not we could pull off a story about stark survival and belief with our barbaric hero and, thankfully, it looks like we stuck the landing. I received a lot of enthusiastic messages around our ‘Hidden World’ epilogue issue and the fanbase seems to have received it well, even as we carefully extended concepts in and around the original canon Frost-Giant’s Daughter story that forms its core.

Back on the Street

As shown in ads in the back of Street Fighter Masters: Lily, I’ll be returning to Capcom’s incredible fighting game world to write a one-shot for fan favorite character Elena in Spring of 2025. Writing the Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki mini-series back in 2011 was a real highlight early in my comic writing career and getting to come back to contribute to one of the other Street Fighter III characters is a real pleasure.

Look for more info on this project in the new year!

Hyborian Surprise

Rob De La Torre and I have a really short comic in this week’s issue of Savage Sword of Conan #5. Getting to collaborate with Rob, even just on this 2-pager, was a delight. He’s wrapping up production on his black & white feature story written by Roy Thomas and then we’ll be teaming up again and I can’t wait.

Current + Upcoming Releases

Upcoming Appearances

No other links this time out. I’ve got to get back to my game prep. My players arrive tomorrow and, over the next four days, I’ll be running 26 hours of Dungeons & Dragons for them while also doing interviews and B-roll for a documentary being filmed here at the castle at the same time. Wish me luck!

Jim