The serpent god’s influence tightens its coils around the Hyborian Age and every other age linked to it. Three stunning supernatural stories will spiral together to answer a chilling question framed in past and present—What is Set’s grand plan for humanity and, now that it has begun, can it be stopped?
Cover Art by Rob De La Torre. Colors by Diego Rodriguez.
Ivan Gil is our interior artist on this FCBD issue (and accompanying event). You may not know Ivan’s name now, but he’s been doing wonderful work in the European graphic novel market and he’s definitely going to turn some heads with the inspired Conan art he’s putting together here. Make sure your local comic retailer is participating in Free Comic Book Day and secure your copy because, just like in 2023 and 2024, I suspect copies of this issue are going to vanish quickly on release day.
The conclusion to Battle of the Black Stone (arriving in stores Dec 4th) completes an epic adventure that began in 2023 with Conan the Barbarian #0. Now we’re ready to move into a new stage of this grand journey.
Obviously there will be a lot more details to come, especially once Battle of the Black Stone #4 is out in the world and readers can start theorizing about plot points revealed there. Until then, all you need to know is that the new Age of High Adventure will keep going strong in 2025 thanks to your support!
• Jared Henderson talks about why everyone stopped reading books, including college students enrolled in english and writing programs. Anecdotal, but it does line up with what I’ve been seeing as well.
A crew of top notch DMs in front of their domain: B. Dave, Nicolas, Mháire, Tim, Jason, and Thor.
It’s hard to summarize D&D in a Castle as an experience because it encompasses a lot around this moment of nerd culture as mainstream culture, but also things about myself and why I do what I do.
When I was in high school, tabletop RPGs were both a hobby and a coping mechanism. I didn’t feel comfortable with myself and was unsure of where I fit in socially, but at the gaming table I could be fearless and funny. It was pure escapism and also a way for me to better understand social dynamics and creativity…or, at least, that’s the romanticized version that’s stuck around in my head. I know other people in my gaming group looked at it as just a way to kill some time, have a few laughs and nothing more, and that’s 100% valid too.
In any case, when we’d get the chance to marathon gaming sessions over multiple days, it was extra special. We’d meet up at my friend Chris’ house on a Friday night after school, play through the evening until we literally couldn’t keep our eyes open any more, crash on sleeping bags, wake up the next morning, scarf down breakfast, and then keep gaming as long as we could. It was obsessive, all-encompassing escapism that built incredible memories and deep bonds of camaraderie.
And that, in a nutshell, is kind of what D&D in a Castle felt like, only on a grander scale.
I had a surprisingly intense gaming marathon with a group of strangers and all of us came out the other side with stories and memories that will stick with us. It was engaging, exhausting, and amazing. Utterly ridiculous, but also unexpectedly pure.
D&D in a Castle is a retreat-style vacation with a structure and environment built to push away outside distractions so each group can game up a storm with a Dungeon Master who exemplifies a playstyle they enjoy. The ‘standard’ schedule over four days includes a 2-hour ‘Prelude’ session and six 4-hour play sessions, totaling 26 hours worth of game time with the same group, plus the option for additional one-shot adventures with others, meal-time party games, archery, design panels and discussions, opening and closing ceremonies, and general socializing.
It is a lot.
It’s immersive, indulgent, and expensive, but also a unique opportunity to interact with a focused group of gamers from around the world and experienced DMs who are constantly striving to engage and entertain. The distance you’ve traveled and evocative location you find yourself in seems to unlock an unexpected ‘permission to play’ that can be hard to achieve at home with familiar trappings and distractions galore.
The event had elements of convention gaming, bits of community theater and improv, aspects of summer camp, and the trappings of a Ren Faire on overdrive, but it was also far more than the sum of those parts.
Lumley Castle, in the courtyard.
Lumley Castle is a 14th-century castle in northern England that’s been converted into a hotel. During the event our crew had practically full run of the entire place, with multiple meeting spaces converted into dedicated gaming rooms alongside banquet halls, social lounges, and bars for shared time between sessions. When people weren’t playing in their dedicated games, they were chatting about how their sessions were going, or ramping up for their next series of encounters. On site there was also event support staff working to keep everything organized, make sure people knew where they were supposed to be, and provide resources (handouts, miniatures, terrain, lighting, speakers, snacks, and even playing key NPCs if we wanted).
When Stacy and I arrived, we were taken aback by how quiet everything was. Almost every group was ‘in-session’ at that point, tackling their last day of play for the first half of the larger event – The late October groups were wrapping up and we had a few days before the early November games began, giving us a chance to prepare for what was to come. As each group finished their campaign, I met the DMs and they were happy to see me (or meet me for the first time) but also clearly quite tired. Right off the bat I could tell that this was going to require a lot more energy and focus than a 3–4-hour tournament-style game at a convention.
On my first day I was quite nervous but hoped to make a strong first impression with my group to reassure them (and myself) that this was going to be a damn good time. Two of the players were ‘Forever DMs’, the people who almost always ran games for their friends, and with that came an added level of expectation. A married couple in my group had been to D&D in a Castle before, so they were more experienced than me in terms of the overall format and could compare my game to the one they’d previously done (and clearly enjoyed, since they came back for more). A big part of the first day was getting past my anxiety about it all, picking up on what each player seemed to enjoy, finding that table rhythm, and then leaning into it to see where it would go.
My amazing group of players: Mart, Nareesa, Zeshan, JJ, Madison, and Liam.
Four of the players sent me relatively detailed back stories for their characters, while two of them had very little for me to go on at the start. Thankfully, we had that 2-hour Prelude session to talk about expectations and brainstorm additional links between character back stories.
When I spoke to B. Dave Walters, a very experienced DM who has done this castle stuff at least a dozen times, I asked him about motivation – Was it hard to keep players focused for 8 hours of gaming per day? He laughed and told me these players would be some of the most motivated gamers I’d ever meet. They pay a premium to be at the castle playing D&D. It was at the core of their entire trip and they’d want as much playtime as I could handle. I was a bit skeptical at the time, but he was 100% correct. My players were incredibly focused. Out of 26 hours playing together I can barely remember any time that they checked their phones or were distracted beyond quickly grabbing a drink or snack.
(When one of the players let us know he’d be 15 minutes late for the start of one of the sessions, we assumed it was something family or work related and, instead, we discovered that he’d jumped on a Zoom call to NPC a character with his regular gaming group back home – That’s dedication!)
On the first day, the group felt a bit reserved, but it made perfect sense given that we were strangers thrust together. We needed time to warm up to each other. During those first few hours of play I was ‘presenting’ more, laying out the world and setting up expectations in terms of atmosphere, character, and story but, once everyone got comfortable, they really came out of their shells, playing their characters deeply and riffing on each other quite naturally.
We’re in England, so of course mid-afternoon there has to be tea service.
By day two of the campaign, there was a surprising shift. Even though we’d only been gaming together for a day, the amount of time at the table super charged our familiarity. We all knew exactly where we’d left off and it was incredibly easy to dive right back in with even more gusto. The in-jokes flew fast and furious and character quirks became a natural part of table talk in a way I’d normally associate with a group that had been playing together for dozens of sessions. We were a team all pushing in the same direction and it felt amazing.
Have you ever been traveling and realized you weren’t tethered to previous expectations? You’re at a coffee shop or bar somewhere far away and suddenly you can talk to a stranger about incredibly personal things with unexpected clarity because you’ve stepped outside your normal life? There were aspects of that at the castle. Conversations out of game were reflective. Conversations in game were dedicated and rich. It really took me aback.
By the end of day two, we’d covered a surprising amount of story and hit a few really dramatic moments. Again, I was surprised at how free we all felt to just go for it. The focused gaming environment, the setting, and a lack of distractions unlocked the kind of theatrical payoffs I rarely get to experience at any gaming table, let alone one with strangers.
On day three, all the pieces we’d built and difficult decisions I’d seeded drove things to a wild climax. Tensions ran high and somehow, right when I was convinced that one character was going to betray the others and bring it all to a tragic finish, things somehow swerved in a direction none of us could have anticipated and the end became impressively poignant.
What a surreal spot to play D&D.
I could try to explain the twisting plot and triumphant payoffs, combat strategies and in-jokes, but this ramble is already longer than I expected and if you’ve played TTRPGs and bonded with an adventuring party you know that so much of it only makes sense to your group. You literally had to be there. That’s what makes it special.
I’ve thought about “emergent storytelling” a lot – taking a bunch of disparate ideas and dramatic elements and, with focus, flexibility, and a deep dash of luck watching it stitch itself together into something both unexpected and satisfying. Maybe you thought you were spinning a heroic tale and instead it became a tragedy, but when you look at the winding path of moments along the way the hints of the destination were there all along. With this group I cast a bunch of symbols and ideas out into play and the players naturally gravitated toward them, finding ways to weave them into their stories and using them to motivate big decisions. At points it was wild how well it worked and it’s definitely something I need to experiment with more in future games.
Outside of game, I got to know a bunch of the other DMs and support staff as well. We chatted game technique and storytelling, and a lot of personal stuff too. At the start I felt like an outsider, the sword & sorcery comic guy amongst hardcore gamers and professional streamers, but by the end we were all the same – gamers who’d run the gauntlet and survived. 26 hours of game time absolutely buries you in terms of energy spent. Over those four days you are completely ‘on’ – trying to be the most charismatic version of yourself, moving the adventure forward, setting scenes, adjudicating combat and other rolls, picking up on social cues, playing NPCs and doing voices. You’re also checking your game notes, realizing most of your plan no longer applies, throwing it out, and just winging it. Until you’ve done it, it’s hard to explain the odd mix of satisfaction and exhaustion involved.
Sharing tales at the closing ceremonies.
For players at D&D in a Castle, is it worth the expense?
Clearly a lot of people there think so. I met a bunch of repeat gamers, people who have made this an annual pilgrimage, sometimes booking the exact same DM over and over again because they relished the experience and escape of it all. While we were there a couple got married on the castle grounds and Jason Carl, their DM, officiated the wedding.
If you think about it as paying for a game of D&D with your friends it seems ludicrously expensive, but if you compare it to other deluxe retreats in far off places with a specialized tour guide or bespoke performance from an entertainer, the cost-vs-value proposition starts to make more sense.
Some people assume that since the price tag is so high the Dungeon Masters are making a ton of money by doing this event. We’re paid pretty well, but the vast majority of that cost actually goes to renting the castle, staff at the hotel, the event crew on hand, equipment, meals and lodgings. There are a lot of moving parts to make this kind of event run properly.
From the outside it’s easy to look at D&D in a Castle and assume it’s a nerdy style-over-substance experience done for social media clout or just rich people blowing money on a game, but that’s not what I saw when I was there. What everyone there seemed to want, and in most cases received, was a feeling of belonging and a dedicated chance to unabashedly do something they enjoy without any intrusion from the outside world. That’s what a good vacation should be.
Zub and B. Dave. Two Dungeon Masters riding the exhaustion after a job well done.
Would I do it again?
At this moment, I’m honestly not sure.
It was a really special experience, but also all-encompassing in a way that eats up everything around it. After the campaign wrapped up, I spent two days recovering. No joke, I had over 9 hours of sleep on the first night after and 10 hours on the second. If I hadn’t, I would’ve been a zombie walking around Edinburgh for the final leg of our trip. This kind of intensely focused ‘performance’ took a LOT out of me, way more than almost any convention or gaming session I can remember…but I also foolishly scheduled it right after going to Gamehole Con and MCM London back-to-back, so that was on me.
In terms of creative energy and rewards – financial and personal – I’m always trying to figure out the right balance and it’s a constant moving target. Any writing project I take on or event I go to has to be balanced against hours and energy spent. The same goes with research, prep, writing, or promotion – How much is needed and how can I balance it out with my personal time?
Would D&D in a Castle be just as special if I did it 3-4 times per year? Would it be just as exhausting now that I know how it works? I don’t know. By the end of the event, I certainly felt like I belonged and brought something worthy to the experience, but it’s also a lot to dedicate in terms of time and focus, both with prep beforehand and effort spent on location.
Some trips you take, they change you and yet you never go back. Other trips become important because you return again and again. I don’t know which one this is yet.
I’m still wrestling with what shape 2025 is going to take and how things might change in and around the end of my teaching sabbatical next August. Personal desires and pragmatic decisions are swirling around each other and they’re not just mine to make. Stacy and I are constantly talking about the future and what we both need.
Look, Mom! All those years playing pretend somehow turned into a really fun job.
Huge thanks to the Castle team for all their support, especially Tara, Justin, and Hopper. You helped me tackle this wild and wonderful event and were always quick to offer a kind word with boundless enthusiasm.
If you have any questions about D&D in a Castle, feel free to ask me in the comments and I’ll answer as best I can.
For the first time in ages, my appearance calendar is clear. My adventures in the UK were the last of my commitments for 2024. Negotiations are already underway for next year, but I don’t have anything to announce just yet.
Edinburgh is jam-packed with stunning architecture.
D&D In A Castle wrapped up three days ago, but I still haven’t had time to parse it all. Once I’m home I want to really dig deep into the event, the people involved, and tabletop roleplaying as a whole. My time at the castle drilled deep into my psyche and has got me thinking all kinds of different stuff, but I don’t want to just skip along the top lightly, so that will have to wait.
That said, the castle week left me absolutely exhausted. Our extra day in Newcastle was nice, and I’m thrilled we had a chance to grab dinner with my Conan compatriot Doug Braithwaite and his wife Sue, but they could tell I was pretty wrung out. By the time Stacy and I arrived in Edinburgh (where we’re wrapping up our time here in the UK before heading home), I was too little butter spread over too much bread and crashed hard. Over ten hours sleep the first night and I’m looking at an early turn in tonight as well just to make sure I’m back on my feet and able to enjoy the amazing sights all around us.
Team Conan meets up in Newcastle!
Our first day wandering Edinburgh has been a huge success – Amazing weather, engaging historic places, jaw-dropping architecture, and quiet time to just chat and laugh. These are times I cherish with Stacy – The two of us as goofy adventurers, wandering places together and keeping ourselves entertained. Great conversation and fine food.
Stacy stands outside the walls of Edinburgh Castle, looking out over the city.
Have I mentioned that Edinburgh is freaking gorgeous?
This was the view out our hotel window this morning.
It’s almost ridiculous how picture-esque the cobblestone streets and old buildings are. Every corner reveals another stunning view. We expected cold and icy or rainy weather but so far it’s been mild and breezy. Pretty much perfect. Fingers crossed that it stays that way for the rest of the week while we’re here.
Buffer…What Buffer?
I busted my butt to make sure I was ahead on all my writing deadlines before we started this UK trip, a solid buffer to keep the work at bay for a while, but the end is in sight. Emails are beginning to creep in and I know I’ll only have a day or so to recover from jet lag before I need to really start cranking away on scripts and outlines again, knocking down new writing targets before U.S. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
I’m a bit shocked how quickly 2024 seems to be slipping away. I want to hold it even tighter, keeping the best parts close to my heart while banishing all the terrible things going on right now that I can’t control. At this moment I’m thankful for the distractions of the past few weeks (Gamehole Con, MCM Expo London, D&D In A Castle, Edinburgh) and am trying to brace myself for a rocky return to reality.
• After the U.S. election a lot of comic book professionals are migrating over to Bluesky as their Twitter substitute. I’m still tweeting for now, but am also set up on Bluesky, so feel free to add me there if you’re making the move.
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:
Halloween 2024 at Lumley Castle: Doctor Strange
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.)
Halloween at Lumley Castle: Doctor Strange and Elizabeth Bennet
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.
Halloween at Lumley Castle: Making a Bit of Magic
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 havereceived 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.
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!
Stacy and I arrived in London yesterday on our 14th wedding anniversary, and spent the day wandering the city before perusing the National Portrait Gallery. Even with a bit of jet lag slowing us down in the evening, we had a wonderful time and are excited for adventures ahead of us here in the UK.
This has been in the works for a while and I’m thrilled to finally make it public. Having Joe’s expertise as both a phenomenal comic writer and skilled animation developer gives us a big leg-up in a crowded market and it’s been such a pleasure chatting with him about the series and storytelling as a whole.
These media development deals are slow-moving, especially compared to the rapid fire release schedule of monthly comics, but things are progressing, bit by bit. Everyone involved is passionate about the material and ready to rumble when the time is right.
What Do You Believe?
On the official Conan the Barbarian YouTube channel, artist Doug Braithwaite and I discuss Frozen Faith with host Shawn Curley – How the story grew from our collaboration, what it means to the Conan canon, gods, mortals and more.
By Crom, check it out, and pick up Conan the Barbarian #16, the coda issue for this story arc, in stores now. I am incredibly proud of this issue.
Ideas Don’t Bleed – Part 2
Matt Rosenberg, Ethan Parker, and I had a wonderful discussion on the Ideas Don’t Bleed podcast and, I know this will shock some of you, but we barely talk about Conan the Barbarian at all.
Here in Part 2 we talk about why I’m not drawing my own graphic novels, talent VS skill, my making comics blogposts, emailing comic professionals, learning how comics are made, comic coloring, comic creative teams, strange editor interactions, giving critiques, and more!
Over on BlueSky there’s a fun meme where people are posting 20 movies that have greatly influenced you, one a day for 20 days, no explanations, no reviews, just posters.
Here are the films I put up, in no particular order: The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro (1979)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
The Thing (1982)
Akira (1988)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Army of Darkness (1992)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Dead Poet’s Society (1989)
Star Wars (1977)
The Muppet Movie (1979)
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
Labyrinth (1986)
Superman (1978)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
No surprise that the majority of them came out in the 1980’s as I was growing up, that magic and adventure plays a big part, and that almost half are animated or Muppet-y.
• Matttt posts another banger of a comic video, this one all about the development and legacy of Scott Pilgrim, and it includes a short interview with my friend, series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley. Everyone in the Toronto comics scene in that period remembers the meteoric rise of the series, and it’s neat seeing those moments again in a more historical context.
Sitting in the DM chair in Alex Kammer’s incredible gaming room at the Free House Tavern.
Stacy and I are in Madison, Wisconsin for Gamehole Con, gaming up a storm and celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons. We flew into Chicago, got our rental car, and made the drive over with a stop in Oconomowoc to sign at Kowabunga Comics, a really nice shop with amazing staff and customers.
The welcome party for Gamehole was amazing as well, with so many great people and a crackle of excited energy from both longtime industry folks and new gamers alike. As part of the discussion we had last night, I chatted with friends about the qualities that make gaming shows so enjoyable – Yes, some people get things autographed and buy rare collectibles, but those are a much lower priority compared to just spending time together playing games. The entire core of the hobby is about sharing time with old friends or new ones and having engaging experiences at the table, group by group and game by game.
Tabletop gaming is collaborative, interactive, egalitarian, and builds unique memories, and it’s these qualities that have helped the hobby successfully bring in a whole new generation of gamers, especially families and kids.
Anyways, back to the con – During the day I’ll be running The Crucible, my trap-laden 1st edition AD&D tournament adventure, and in the evenings I’m looking to jump into some spontaneous pick-up games with friends. If day zero is any indication, it’s going to be an incredible weekend.
The examples I use in the article are focused on comics and animation, but the advice applies to just about anything. Check it out and, if you find it helpful, please share far and wide.
Ideas Don’t Bleed
Matt Rosenberg, Ethan Parker, and I had a wonderful discussion on the Ideas Don’t Bleed podcast and, I know this will shock some of you, but we don’t talk about Conan the Barbarian. No, seriously. Right from the start we fall into a discussion around working in comics and starting out, rejection letters, why we create comics, the first books I collected as a kid, intense Marvel knowledge, working in animation, making a webcomic, meeting Scott McCloud, and more!
Back in June I ran a scenario as part of the playtest and our crew had a blast. The rules are straightforward and capture the bombast of pulp sword & sorcery storytelling well.
• My buddy and Samurai Jack collaborator Andy Suriano has a new crowdfunding campaign for Lost Company, an epic story about dwarves, elves and aliens told across multiple mediums: a hardcover graphic novel, an army of tabletop miniatures, and playable encounters. Andy has worked on a ton of amazing productions over the years (Rise of the TMNT, Samurai Jack, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Star War: Clone Wars and Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse) and I am pumped to see this creator-owned concept come together for him!
• The BaM Animation gents have a new drawing tutorial video that covers the basics incredibly well, including thought processes and warm up exercises that I haven’t seen in many places. If you want to get better at drawing, especially in an animated style, this channel is top notch.
On Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 we had a ton of story to cover in 22 pages and I really wanted to make sure the confrontation between Conan and Solomon Kane hit hard, so I asked Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics for 2 extra pages this issue and they agreed.
Jonas Scharf and Jão Canola rocked every panel.
No one has brought the extra page count up in their reviews or feedback online and I consider that a compliment. The story flowed and readers seem happy with this week’s issue. If someone is counting story pages to see if they got their money’s worth, that’s a bad sign.
Adding 2 pages may seem like no big deal, but it actually is:
• Creative budget (script, line art, colors, and lettering) increased
• Deadlines shifted
• Our pagination template adjusted
All because I felt it worked better for the story. Grateful we were able to make it happen.
More Chatter
Sometimes you do a bunch of interviews and, even though you did them days or weeks apart, they all get released the same week!
I spoke to Sasha at Casually Comics about, no surprise, Conan the Barbarian, but also swords & sorcery as a genre, other comic characters I’d love to write, finding the humanity in big stories, the key to working with icons, interacting with a deeply-rooted fanbase, building momentum, and more!
Over on the Comic Culture YouTube channel, I spoke to Nick (Comic Culture), Stu (Dr. Doom’s Fan Club), and Eric (9 Panel Grid) all about Conan the Barbarian – the new series, nostalgia, sword & sorcery storytelling, the path of my career, the big pitch, my favorite Wolverine story, pulp storytelling, poetry and narration, plot-style or full script writing in comics, and much more!
(I get it if you’re not up for a 2 hour Conanza, but if you only listen to one section, please check out this spot near the end where I tell all of you how amazing my collaborators are and how damn grateful I am.)
Chris Piers from Comic Tropes has always been a really kind guy and a booster on my books, so it was great to jump in on his latest Pros & Cons livestream to chat about what I’ve been up to. We cover some of my favorite new board games, working on Conan and the Hyborian Age, getting into character, and upcoming convention travel. Check it out!
Dan at the Conan Chronology website asked me a few questions about the Conan timeline and where stories sit within our current comic continuity. Check it out!
• If you’re looking for general artwork or photography to go with a blogpost or video, instead of AI-generated imagery or stock photos, consider browsing the Library of Congress Free To Use Image Archive. It’s vast and filled to the brim with interesting options.
• My friend Cavan Scott has a new comic series coming from Vault called Godfather Of Hell. I read the first issue and it kicks off strong. I’m looking forward to reading more. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, there’s still time to get it on your pull list.
As always, thank you for reading and sharing your enthusiasm with others. It really does make a difference.
Now that October is underway, I’m sprinting to hit my writing deadlines before Canadian Thanksgiving and then four weeks of convention travel. Lots to do but it’s a good sprint, especially when I know I’ll be seeing so many great people in the days ahead.
Difficult News
Speaking of great people, my friend Howard Andrew Jones, sword & sorcery author/editor extraordinaire, has been diagnosed with brain cancer (multifocal glioblastoma) and, since he’s in the U.S., that means his family’s health expenses are set to skyrocket.
In June – Howard, John C. Hocking, and I were in Texas for the Robert E. Howard Days Festival, laughing and celebrating. Howard had signed a multi-book deal for Hanuvar and I was in the final stages of signing on for at least 3 more years of work on Conan the Barbarian. We talked at length about how good it felt to know what we’d both be doing for the next 3 years.
I caught Covid and missed Gen Con, but Howard sent texts all weekend, telling me how much I was missed and that we’d need to celebrate twice as much next year to make up for it.
Getting the news about Howard’s diagnosis absolutely knocked the wind out of me-
Man plans. God laughs.
I cannot even fathom what he and his family are going through. Adding a crushing financial burden to that? It’s unbelievable.
Chatting With The Shrine of Comics
When I was at Robert E. Howard Days in June I spoke to Alfredo and Ludwig from The Shrine of Comics, but they had problems with the audio quality of the recording, so we decided to schedule another interview, this one online.
We talk about a lot of different subjects: the cast of Battle of the Black Stone, Civilization VS Savagery, long term story planning, working with the team, traveling to conventions, the legacy of Robert E. Howard, writing Conan at Marvel, writing Conan at Titan, the Conan fandom, and more!
I have no idea. Guess I’ll find out if I get invited to the premiere and/or get a Special Thanks callout in the credits.
Back to the Cimmerian Source, Part 5
I’m rereading all the original Robert E. Howard Conan prose stories and jotting down a few thoughts about each one. I don’t want to overwhelm this newsletter with text, so if you want to read what I think of more of the original Cimmerian stories, click on through to the posts linked below:
Unfortunately, I fell behind on my reading because writing deadlines had to take priority, obviously. There are still a few Conan stories I want to cover that were published after Robert E. Howard’s death, but those will have to wait, so I guess it’ll be in Cimmerian Sept-ober. 😉
The Eye of Argon is a sword & sorcery novella written in 1970 about a barbarian named Grignr, clearly inspired by Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, but it’s notorious for how poorly put together it is. In an age well before the internet, this thing went “viral”, was copied and shared amongst professional authors and eventually fandom at large. It has been called the “worst fantasy novel ever” and, at quite a few science fiction conventions of the era, there would be meet-ups where people would attempt to read The Eye of Argon aloud without cracking up. Right now, if you search YouTube for “The Eye of Argon” there are hundreds of videos with dramatizations, analysis, or group readings.
I’d heard passing mention of it before, but didn’t know any specifics and had never actually read the damn thing. It’s short and readily available online, so I finally checked it out.
As you’d expect, it’s bad. The story has spelling mistakes, grammatical problems, plot issues, and misuses words in spots that leave some sentences adrift in a sea of confusion. It leans into painfully overworn genre tropes and the pacing is terrible.
And yet…
…And yet, Jim Theis was only 16 years-old when he wrote this 11,000+ word story on a typewriter and submitted it to the Ozark Science Fiction Association’s fanzine. I sure as hell didn’t write stories that long at his age, and didn’t have nearly enough confidence to even try submitting work for publication. Maybe it was blind hubris on his part, but at least he made something, finished it, and could learn from it.
In this case, unfortunately, what he learned was that a group of successful authors and fervent fans were eager to endlessly mock the hell out of him for his literary shortcomings and ensured that he would never improve or write fiction again. Even worse, multiple small press publishers reprinted the story and sold it without ever paying him a dime. Even now, 22 years after his death, people are still making money on Jim Theis’ work, regardless of its quality.
What’s odd to me is that when I read The Eye of Argon I can see a writer struggling to understand the form and function of pulpy prose. He’s misfiring all over the place but, rather than just copying sentences word for word as a crutch, he keeps trying to grab bits of poetic thunder, make it his own, and put it on the page. He fails but, by God, he’s trying.
Yes, The Eye of Argon is bad, but I’m genuinely surprised that this particular badness took hold so intensely in the mind of fandom. I’ve read worse writing from some of my college students submitted for grading, and also much worse from obsessive fan fiction writers, hopeful game designers, and cocky first-time comic creators…and all those people had access to spellcheck and a ridiculous amount of online How-To resources that would have blown young Jim Theis’ mind.
Having all this knowledge at our fingertips hasn’t solved the Dunning-Kruger effect. If anything, non-stop internet access and the ability to ‘publish’ our words and ideas in an instant has created an endless factory of Argons, an ever-flowing torrent of naive stories and hurtful criticism. Even worse, the cringe-worthy creative output you put online when you were 16 now gets to sit dormant like a landmine until it’s ready to blow up in your face thanks to deep internet archives and the virality of social media.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve mocked terrible writing and had my mind vaporized by art portfolios so bad it was hard to believe they were sincerely trying to qualify for an art program or get a job as a professional. I snark about shitty movies and TV shows all the time and shake my head about the middling to poor quality of at least half the comics being professionally published each week. I understand the cathartic desire to filter and judge material that feels utterly incompetent, but watching nerds giddily eviscerate a hopeful teenage writer in the public square for decades is more sad than funny.
I hope the first story you ever wrote stays locked away in a drawer, so you never have to face the burning truth of its inadequacy.
Back to the Cimmerian Source, Part 4
Savage Sword of Conan #26-27, adapting Beyond the Black River.
As I mentioned above, I’m rereading all the original Robert E. Howard Conan prose stories and jot down a few thoughts about each one during September. I don’t want to overwhelm this newsletter with text, so if you want to read what I think of more of the original Cimmerian stories, click on through to the posts linked below:
I’m currently in the midst of reading The Hour of the Dragon, the only full-length Conan novel Howard ever wrote, and it’s 5-6 times as long as the other short stories, so my rundown on that is taking longer, especially while juggling writing deadlines.
Since I’m traveling through the UK in late October/early November, I’m adding some comic shop signings to my schedule. First out of the gate is a signing in Nottingham, at Forbidden Planet International.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
– Ira Glass
I definitely felt this frustration when I was starting out, and see it a lot in first-early comics from new creators. That nervous-awkward feeling because they finished a comic and are proud of it, but know it’s not clicking like the work that inspires them. They feel that gap.
Getting their first project done was incredibly hard and finishing it didn’t hit that high, so clearly they’re not cut out for this because creativity is supposed to feel good and inspiring and this doesn’t feel like that at all, so they quit.
The bad news is that it’s not destiny or the muses driving the work. You making this stuff is not inevitable or unstoppable. It’s messy and annoying and jam-packed with doubt because there are no guarantees on the other side of completion and there never will be.
And the people you know who aren’t in this field tell you you’re “brilliant” because they want to be supportive and don’t know any better, and that’s incredibly kind, but the compliment doesn’t fit how you feel or the quality you see, so you carry this dichotomy around with nowhere to put it.
When I was coordinating the Animation program at Seneca, there was an inevitable drop in student morale during second year (before it slooowly climbed back up). We’d warn students that drop was coming and they’d chuckle about it on the first day of class when I brought it up, but it always happened. Foundational learning was done (but not yet mastered) and we were moving into more advanced lessons, assignments where we wanted them to not just follow along and demonstrate the basics, but show us their creativity in storytelling and design. The vast majority of material handed in was poorly stitched-together monstrosities of current trends and obvious influences, surface level aesthetics at best, and when we called them on it they’d absolutely crumble. Maybe they weren’t cut out for this art thing after all. They wanted the work to be just as good as the stuff that inspired them and the gap was so damn obvious.
But, what they didn’t realize, was they were actually making important progress. They weren’t as good as they thought they were and were finally aware of it. They’d pushed through a crucial barrier – They could finally see the gap and work to close it!
The process hurts, but take comfort that you have a goal to achieve and see quality worth striving for. Being aware and chipping away at improving your craft is far better than producing utter trash and thinking you’re brilliant. Oh sure, you’d love to have that mind-melting level of confidence, but ignorance and hubris is so much worse in the long run. As frustrating as it can be, seeing quality and striving to reach it is a crucial aspect of the journey, wherever it leads.
Mind the gap and carry on.
Free Scripts
A new writer reached out with questions about how much detail they should have in their comic scripts. Every writer I know approaches it differently, and the amount of detail given when describing panels varies from project to project depending on the artist, specific reference required, and complexity of each scene. I have a lot of writing tutorials free on my website and, for more direct examples, browse these free full issue scripts available on my Patreon:
For the price of a coffee you can dig into my Patreon script archive – over 300 scripts produced for practically every major comic publisher in North America – and compare the script I wrote to the published version to see how it all came together.
Last Chance Bundle
Speaking of Skullkickers, you have only a few days left to take advantage of the Skullkickers digital Bundle of Holding deal! Over 1000 pages of comics and gaming goodness for $10? Ridiculous.
If you’ve never read my creator-owned action-comedy series, this is where my sword & sorcery writing career begins!
Back to the Cimmerian Source, Part 3
People of the Black Circle cover art by Margaret Brundage.
In previous newsletters I mentioned Cimmerian September, with bloggers and vloggers reading and chatting about Conan stories. I’m hoping to reread all the original Robert E. Howard Conan prose stories and jot down a few thoughts about each one. I don’t want to overwhelm this newsletter with text, so if you want to read what I think of more of the original Cimmerian stories, click on through to the posts linked below:
• The documentary Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters by my friend Jim Demonakos is now available on a slew of different platforms: Amazon, AppleTV, Google Play, Microsoft, Vimeo, YouTube.
• I made this pork tenderloin recipe last night for Stacy and friends and it turned out great. I don’t usually try out a new recipe with company coming over, but in this case it was a solid choice.
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Makeshift Miracle
