Conan the Barbarian #19 cover art by Rob De La Torre
2025 is the Year of the Snake and, according to the Chinese Zodiac, the Snake brings “wisdom, transformation, calmness and creativity”. I don’t know if I believe that “calm” thing given all that’s happening in the world, but here’s hoping for the rest of it.
Titan and Heroic Signatures are celebrating the Snake with a year of Stygian-themed stories and danger in the Hyborian Age. Our current storyline, Fangs & Foolish Thieves, tees up key plot points that will carry onward all the way to Scourge of the Serpent, which will rock your face starting on Free Comic Book Day – Do not miss this issue!
Above you can see the superlative cover by Rob De La Torre for the recently solicited Conan the Barbarian #19 arriving in March, a 2-part tale illustrated by Doug Braithwaite filled with surprises and dangers aplenty. After that will be a 4-part arc illustrated by the wonderful Fernando Dagnino, who made a big splash with his story in Savage Sword of Conan #4 last year. The artwork arriving in my inbox every week from these artists is mind-bendingly good. What an absolute rush.
The holidays wrapped up pretty strong. Stacy and I threw our traditional Zing (Zub + King) New Year’s Eve Party and there was a solid turnout, the best we’ve had since 2019.
I ended up tipping a pot of boiling water on my non-dominant hand early in the evening, so I’m currently nursing a lobster-colored limb and trying trying to keep it slathered with aloe and free from infection, which is annoying but it could have been way worse.
Party Time in the Hyborian Age
Rob De La Torre sketched this quick New Year’s Eve Conan and, as always, his work has a wonderful balance of gesture and form, energy and structure.
Over a decade ago I bought an indie video game called Papers Please during a Steam sale and played it for about an hour. You are an immigration officer in the fictional dystopian country of Arstotzka deciding whether people can cross the border or not in the midst of political unrest and an ever-increasingly obtuse bureacracy. The core premise and execution is dark, funny, sad, and awkward. It amused me a bit, but I put it away.
In that odd liminal space between Christmas and New Year’s I spontaneously reinstalled the game, finally finished a full playthrough (about 4 hours), and will probably do a few more in the coming weeks to see how the story can change in the twisted narrative it weaves. You wouldn’t think checking data and stamping papers could ever be so engaging and entertaining, but it really does build an impressive amount of tension and pathos in a tight little package. Highly recommended.
The Gothiest
Stacy’s birthday is on December 30th, and her gothy heart wanted to check out the new Nosferatu, so we went to the movies for the first time in quite a while.
Stacy loved it and I also thought it was really sharp. David Eggers’ directing was top notch, the entire cast went for broke, and the waves of revulsion at some of the awkward-horrifying parts felt like being part of a grand social experiment. The audience at our screening was uncomfortable as hell. At least four people left the theater because they couldn’t handle it, which was even more amusing as I glanced over at Stacy and saw a beaming smile on her face. My lady and her delightfully dark heart…I LOVE YOU!
Show announcements are starting to finally pop up – Orlando, Vancouver, and Lake Geneva are first out of the gate, with quite a few more to be announced soon. Spring is pretty much booked, Summer is starting to fill in, and there are already chats happening about the Fall. It is wild how much further in advance things are getting booked out nowadays.
• This video on Proko TV covers a fundamental drawing skill that my drawing students and many professionals can find quite challenging – Drawing cylinders and ellipses in perspective. Stan walks through the process in a really clear way here.
For the past 14 years I’ve been putting together a ‘Year In Review‘ post on my website as a way to summarize my thoughts and feelings on the year that was. It’s nice to measure highs and lows, and help jog my memory as things carry forward.
No pressure of course, but if you’re curious about what I was thinking in late December each year, here’s a complete link archive:
Stacy and I at Arthur’s Seat in Scotland, November 2024.
2024 was an adventurous year on almost every front, but also one of the more balanced years I’ve had in terms of the personal and the creative. I got a lot done, but didn’t run myself ragged like I have in the past. A big part of that balance came at the end of April when I finally took the teaching sabbatical I was originally supposed to take back in 2020 before the world spun off its axis, we were plunged into lockdown, and classes moved online. After two years of online teaching and two more of things lurching back toward in-person classes and events, I finally felt ready to take an extended break from teaching. Having one career instead of two felt really strange at first, but with more time for myself it was also a much-needed exhale.
I know Stacy was worried that my workaholic nature would kick in and I’d fill every schedule gap with writing work but, to her surprise, I didn’t write more this year. The pace I’m at now is right where I want to be – tackling projects I’m passionate about and giving each one the concentration it deserves while also leaving myself downtime so I don’t careen into burn out like I was rocketing toward by the end of 2019.
Don’t get me wrong, I still did a lot and traveled a lot – Seattle, Lake Geneva, Calgary, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Dallas, Cross Plains, San Diego, Chicago, Indianapolis, Madison, London, Nottingham, Newcastle, and Edinburgh – but having the Comic Sketch Art team handling most of the event prep and not having teaching responsibilities to juggle while I hopped time zones meant that I could lean into each trip more fully and actually enjoy the ride.
Our 2024 Japan travel crew: me, Stacy, Lindsay, and Kandrix.
There were setbacks, of course, but not being overloaded meant I could handle those challenges more effectively as well. Even when potential projects crumbled, the publishing industry shook, or Stacy and I caught Covid again as Gen Con was starting, we were able to pull together and persevere.
On the creative front, this was the first time in a decade that I didn’t have a new comic release from Marvel or DC, but that break from superheroes certainly didn’t keep me off the board – As almost all of you already know, the new Conan the Barbarian publishing plan is roaring along and the Hyborian Age was my focal point in 2024. Every single release I had this year was sword & sorcery-related and 21 out of the 26 books I released were Conan-centric. To say that I was ‘on-brand’ is an understatement.
Not to say that I don’t want to write superheroes anymore. I’m certainly interested in mixing things up in 2025 with different projects, but having a laser focus in ’24 was also nice, showing myself and everyone else that I could put out a strong monthly title and build an event in my wheelhouse. Note to Publishers – Give me a bit of room to cook and I might just surprise you.
Speaking of Conan, in July we announced that I signed a long term contract commitment to the Hyborian Age with at least two more years of monthly Conan comics and events, which is the kind of consistency that feels all-too fleeting in comics nowadays. It’s a non-exclusive deal, so I can do work for other companies, but also a promise to carry through on big mythic plans we have bubbling away.
In my previous Year in Review post I said “How do you catch second struck lightning in a bottle? I don’t know, but I’m holding this one as tight as I can and using its energy and inspiration like a lantern to light my way as we head into an uncertain future” – Thankfully, that lantern is still shining bright as we head into the great unknown that will be 2025.
This newsletter has been a crucial outlet for me. I’m so glad I kicked it off last year and kept it almost-weekly through 2024. It’s been a really useful way to jot down things as they happen, point people toward creators, articles, and recipes on my radar, and mark each milestone on the big journey. Social media platforms are less reliable than ever and every platform has shown that it can change for the worse or be wiped away very quickly, so I’m extra-thankful I have my own website online, literally 25 years worth of blogposts and tutorials that aren’t under someone else’s umbrella and can’t be shunted away by algorithms.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for your kind messages and support.
Here’s my writing output for 2024:
Wishing you and your loved ones an enjoyable new year filled with grand possibilities. Jim
I hope this CANDY CANE-O-MANCER finds you well and that your holidays look bright, with lots of downtime to visit loved ones – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Deadlines have been met. Emails are getting wrapped up. It’s a good time to relax and reflect.
Thank you for helping make 2024 so special, both creatively and personally. I’ll have more thoughts on the year that was in my annual Year In Review post next week.
We chat up a storm about iconic characters, sword & sorcery vs other fantasy, making Dungeons & Dragons stories accessible to non-gamers, role-playing characters in stories, my Conan the Barbarian journey, Samurai Jack, Avengers Tech-On, passion projects, and more!
My 2025 convention schedule is already starting to fill up, with lots of shows where I’m now signed on but guests haven’t been publicly announced yet. If you run a show or know anyone who does and want me to come to your spot on the map in 2025, reach out to Comic Sketch Art or drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch.
• One of my former students has opened a new bar & bistro in Toronto called The Wych and they have special Krampus promotion going right now around the holidays.
Ryan North and Chip Zdarsky give readers what they want – cheap signed comics!
The inaugural Comic Comps Con happened on Saturday at the RAID Studio in downtown Toronto and it was a blast. 10 Toronto comic creators sold off piles of extra comp copies they’d built up over the years at bargain basement prices and local comic fans came out in droves. The first few hours were absolutely slammed with people looking to get holiday gifts or fill in gaps in their collections.
It really felt like an old school comic collector show, the sort of event that would have happened in a small hotel ballroom thirty years ago. People excitedly talking about comics and, even if they were there to meet one or two specific creators, they were also excited to browse it all and discover something new.
I had a weird moment when things finally calmed down and I looked around and realized how many books we’ve all worked on over the years. Long boxes jam-packed with single issues and trades we’ve contributed to – hundreds and hundreds of stories. It’s the kind of thing I could never have imagined when I was a kid collecting my favorites, seeing the names in those credit boxes and assuming I’d never get to meet any of those people, let alone be one of them. Surreal.
Normally I’m pretty burned out on conventions by late October/early November so I don’t book any events around this time of year, but seeing industry pals and touching base with local readers one more time before the holidays (while also getting rid of old stock) was surprisingly fun.
Big thanks to Chip and the RAID crew, especially Ramon Perez, for setting this up.
Livestreaming on World At War
I recorded a livestream interview with Thomas Huls from World At War Comics all about Conan the Barbarian – We talked about cover artists, Conan’s legacy, big narrative plans, Solomon Kane, the Conan tabletop RPG, and lots of gratitude for where things are at in the here and now.
My 2025 convention schedule is already starting to fill up, with lots of shows where I’m now signed on but guests haven’t been publicly announced yet. If you run a show or know anyone who does and want me to come to your spot on the map in 2025, reach out to Comic Sketch Art or drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch.
• Has Matttt created a weak comic video yet? I don’t think he has and his latest, all about Jeff Smith’s BONE comics, a series which absolutely ignited my imagination when I discovered it, is just as compelling as any he’s done so far.
Guest artist Danica Brine steps in for this 2-part tale that rolls our timeline back to Conan’s pirate days with Bêlit, showing the Queen of the Black Coast and Amra at the height of their swashbuckling infamy, a fun caper that will have ramifications for the future. Following in Rob De La Torre and Doug Braitwaite‘s footsteps is a real challenge and I think she did a great job keeping the high quality of the series going strong. That said, Doug will be back illustrating another 2-part story in issues #19 and 20, and more issues are already in production beyond that, so there’s a steady flow of amazing artwork hitting my inbox almost every day. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Now that our first Conan event mini-series is in the rearview mirror, I spoke to Jared Bird at The Comics Beat all about planning it out, how writing Conan is different from other comics, and big plans for the future. We cover a lot of solid ground here, so check it out!
Lit’s Play – Baldur’s Gate 3
Watch me play Baldur’s Gate 3 while waxing nostalgic about growing up playing Dungeons & Dragons and how tabletop RPGs changed my life. Also watch me rip through the tutorial section of the game too fast to be remotely strategic.
According to the video description I am an “all-around cool guy” which, given that I’m playing a video game and discussing D&D, tells you how far we’ve come from the Satanic Panic. What a world!
Pierogi Production
I was at my childhood home for a couple days and, while I was there, my parents, Stacy, and I busted out a ridiculous amount of pierogis we’ll have on Christmas Eve and through the new year.
Comiccompscon24 is happening at the RAID Studio in Toronto on Dec 14th and I’ll be there! A bunch of local creators are purging the extra copies of comics they have and, from what I can tell, we’re all looking to move a bunch of books for cheap, so if you’re there you could get a ridiculously good deal and get other books signed as well. If you’re in Toronto or driving distance from the city, put it on your calendar.
• Mystic Arts DM has a theory about the 8 Types of Combat in Dungeons & Dragons, and I think it covers some nice tips in terms of varying up things at the table to keep players engaged.
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.
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Makeshift Miracle
