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.
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.
Have I mentioned that Edinburgh is freaking gorgeous?
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.
Current + Upcoming Releases
Upcoming Appearances
My signing with Doug Braithwaite on Wednesday here in Edinburgh will probably be my last signing of the year, so if you’re in the area, don’t miss it!
| Nov 13, 2024 | Forbidden Planet: International | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Links and Other Things
• 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.
• Speaking of social media, Big Think has a short piece on ‘How social media sabotages your brain’s friendship mechanism‘ that seems prescient right now.
Wishing all of you all the best in these interesting times…
Jim
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #3 Reviews
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #3 arrived in stores this week. What did critics think of our penultimate issue? Let’s find out-
• 9 Panel Grid: “It’s really cool. I really like what Jim Zub is doing here…It’s a worthwhile trip to be taking and a really fun book.”
• Comic Culture: “I love the pacing in this series. We have a lot of characters, we have very high stakes, and things just keep getting more stressful because the ranks get smaller and smaller…It’s everything you can want and more!”
• Comical Opinions: 8.8/10 “A super solid issue that starts at a leisurely pace, but picks up steam for a hammer-blow of an ending…Jonas Scharf brings the heat in an issue filled with lush jungle landscapes, striking figure work, fantastic use of dramatic shadows to present an air of dread in broad daylight, and gritty action.”
• Cool Thunder: 9.4/10 “The art by Jonas Scharf is nothing short of mesmerizing. Scharf’s detailed, atmospheric visuals perfectly capture the dark, tense atmosphere of the story, with each panel drawing you deeper into the narrative. His depiction of the black stone beast, lurking in the shadows and picking off Conan’s companions, is particularly haunting, making the stakes feel more visceral.”
• DC Patrol: “This comic is phenomenal. I really love the colors and the art style…This is is probably the best one yet.”
• Good Reads: 5/5 “Epic, jam-packed with action and swirling with weird mystery…Battle of the Black Stone is really building up steam. The fire is stoked and ready to burst in a fireball of kaleidoscopic miasma.”
• Mighty Thorngren: “This is such a good story – well written, beautifully illustrated, tons of action but still giving us moments of character build up and emotional drama and pathos. It’s wonderful!”
• Pop Culture Philosophers: “I was really surprised at how quick everything was moving in issue two and even more surprised how quick everything is moving in issue three! I’m just going to tell you this – ‘No One Is Safe’…Really cool stuff.”
• Stygian Dogs: “Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf, and Jao Canola continue to reward readers with something distinct from the monthly series, marked by its own unique style and panel flow. It’s not a Conan comic, it’s a Howard comic and that’s a great thing for fans and the author’s legacy.”
• Sword & Sorcery Book Club: “This issue is great…I think the writing is great, and Jonas Scharf’s artwork is awesome and Jao Canola does a really great job here.”
• Thinking Critical: “I highly recommend this one. It’s a fun read.”
Zubby Newsletter #87: Castle Days
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
| Nov 4-8, 2024 | D&D In a Castle | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 13, 2024 | Forbidden Planet: International | Edinburgh, Scotland |
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
Conan the Barbarian #16 Reviews
It’s the end of Frozen Faith, our fourth story arc. As young Conan struggles with where he’s meant to be and what he believes, what did the critics think? Read on and find out…
• 9 Panel Grid: “Doug Braithwaite’s artwork is just stunning. It is so good, especially for this part of the storyline…I love the way this opens up the doors to the mysteries and magic of the Hyborian Age.”
• Comic Culture: “This has been a spectacular read and the art has been really killer as well.”
• Comical Opinions: 9.5/10 “Brimming with fantastic art from Doug Braithwaite and deeply inspired ideas from Jim Zub, this series has yet to miss the mark.”
• Comics Unbagged: “Whatever kind of story you want to tell you can tell it with Conan in it. You can even, if you’re as brave as Jim Zub, tell a story about a man having a crisis of faith…If you’re a fan of Conan and haven’t been checking out this series, I highly recommend it.”
• Cool Thunder: 10/10 “Conan the Barbarian continues to stand out as one of the premier titles on the comic book shelves today. Zub’s compelling storytelling combined with breathtaking artistry makes this series an absolute must-read.”
• Doc Lail: “This is some of the best Conan stuff I’ve ever read…If you know who Conan is, you’re going to love this book.”
• Eternal Crusader: 9/10 “I found it fascinating to see how Zub skillfully wove various elements together in this adaptation while preserving the essence of Howard’s original story. More than just a mere retelling, it offers a deeper narrative that touches upon aspects of human existence and its significance, such as youthful rebellion against one’s parents and the search for meaning in life…It is undoubtably great and stands without fear of comparison to its predecessors.
• Father and Son Comics: “A really good read, fantastic art, and a book I look forward to each and every month…I can’t recommend it enough.”
• Good Reads: 5/5 “With this issue we have a poignant, reverent look into the Conan’s origin, his perception of powers beyond the natural world, and an emotionally stirring resolution to this chapter of his life, while bravely looking forward to the next.”
• League of Comic Geeks: 5/5 “We see young conan struggle and question the existence of god and by Crom this whole issue was beautifully structured. Doug did a great job this entire arc and I’m excited for this title’s future.”
• Mighty Thorngren: “What a way to finish the story. Just a beautiful message and a gorgeous illustration…a wonderful end I cannot wait to reread.”
• Old Nerd Reviews WY: “In other tellings of this story, you don’t get to see the fallout, you don’t get to see Conan having those moments of humanity and vulnerability like you do in this book and I think that adds so much to the character…I cannot suggest it enough.”
• Pop Culture Philosophers: “It really explores Conan’s thoughts on religion, on theology, on God, on faith, and it works! It’s so grounded, it’s so real and so unlike what we would typically associate with Conan but at the same time exactly what we would associate with Conan.”
• SciFi Pulse: 9.6/10 “Doug Braithwaite continues to do some great work on this book…A nicely done story that looks at what kind of things can make the strongest of us question our faith as well as our own minds. “
• Stygian Dogs: “In the end, Conan’s belief is fortified and we’re shown the importance of making one’s own way in life and what it means to believe in a god that cares not and does not intervene in the affairs of man. The bookends of this arc are a wonderful meditation on the nature of belief, with a final message to drink deep and live life to its fullest, without fear. It’s fantastic.”
• Super Hero Hype: 5/5 “Those who would dismiss Conan as dumb muscle would do well to give Conan the Barbarian #16 a try…It is sure to please fans of the character and may even make fans of some skeptics.”
• Sword & Sorcery Book Club: “This is an arc that will speak to the younger men who are picking up the series…It’s awesome. I really loved it. I thought it was a great, great issue.”
• Thinking Critical: “This issue does a great job establishing what Conan believes in and his struggle with faith growing up…one of the best issues of Conan and a strong recommend.”
Zubby Newsletter #86: Lots To Show
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.
A quick reminder that I’m in London all weekend for MCM Expo, set up at Artist Alley table A-04 and hosting a Conan panel on Sunday, then heading to Nottingham, Newcastle, and eventually Edinburgh.
The press release went out on Friday to Animation Magazine and is circulating elsewhere now-
Copernicus and Baboon Animation continue development on an animated SKULLKICKERS series, and have signed Man Of Action‘s JOE KELLY (Deadpool, Ben-10, Big Hero Six) to act as our showrunner!
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!
If you missed Part 1, here it is.
20 Influential Films
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.
Way back in my first newsletter I discussed commonalities in stories that appeal to me and many of the films above embody those key elements.
Perfect Sunday
Writer Cavan Scott asked me for the ingredients that would make up my ‘Perfect Sunday’, relaxing with great food and good company. Click on through to check it out.
Current + Upcoming Releases
Upcoming Appearances
| Oct 25-27, 2024 | MCM Expo: London | London, England, UK |
| Oct 29, 2024 | Forbidden Planet International | Nottingham, England, UK |
| Nov 1, 2024 | Forbidden Planet Superstore | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 4-8, 2024 | D&D In a Castle | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 13, 2024 | Forbidden Planet: International | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Links and Other Things
• 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.
• Goodman Games has a blogpost from a couple years ago discussing Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, two sword & sorcery characters who heavily influenced Skullkickers.
• Daniel Best has a newsletter that covers the strange legal cases around Robert Crumb’s infamous ‘Keep On Truckin” artwork. His posts about the legal side of comics are interesting if you want a peek behind the curtain of the business.
• Ethan Gilsdorf has a great little article about Dungeon & Dragons’ 50th anniversary, how the game is changing and how it’s stayed the same. I share many of his same sentiments.
Jim
Man of Action’s Joe Kelly Boards Copernicus Animation Studios’ ‘Skullkickers’
Canadian animation studio Copernicus announced today that it has attached acclaimed comic book writer and member of the Man of Action Entertainment’s writer’s collective Joe Kelly (I Kill Giants, Deadpool, Avengers Assemble) to its upcoming animated series Skullkickers. Kelly will collaborate with the Copernicus team to adapt the comic series into a new 2D adult animation, via Copernicus’s partnership with service writing company Baboon Animation.
Adapted from the comic series written by Jim Zub and illustrated by Edwin Huang and Chris Stevens, the show introduces Rex and Rolf, a pair of infamous monster-hunters operating out of the downtrodden village of Mudwich. When their latest job accidentally uncovers a necromancer’s nefarious plan to raise an unstoppable army of the dead, these two monster-mashing mercs become entangled in demonic deals way beyond their pay grade.
Kelly is a member of the renowned studio and writers collective Man of Action Entertainment and has created and written for numerous award-winning animation titles including Avengers Assemble and Sonic Prime. On the comic book side, he created I Kill Giants, which he also adapted as a feature film starring Zoe Saldana. His legendary Superman story, Action Comics #775: “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?” was adapted by Kelly into a hit DC Universe animated film, Superman vs. The Elite.
Kelly is also credited with crafting the origin story, supporting cast, and distinct fourth-wall breaking, comedic personality for Deadpool that captured audiences in the record breaking films Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Man of Action Entertainment is the bi-coastal writers’ collective behind comic’s largest franchise characters as well as original characters such as Ben 10. The group launched Disney XD’s Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel’s Avengers Assemble as EXP/writers, and also created characters for Big Hero 6, featured in Disney/Marvel’s Academy Award-winning feature film.
“Jim Zub is a madman who put his love for all things fantasy through a cosmic meat grinder and delivered unto us the divine sausage that is Skullkickers,” says Kelly. “It’s an epic as much about the power of stories as it is the hilarious fumblings of two fools hacking, shooting, and drinking their way through the fantasy genre. I fell in love with Rex, Rolf, and Kusia – their story is unique and Jim has a lot to say thematically in the book that sets Skullkickers apart from just another fantasy tale. I’m hoping to bring that heart, the side-splitting laughs, and buckets o’ gore to life with the Copernicus crew to provide a hell of a ride.”
Zubby Newsletter #85: Roll For Initiative
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.
Dreams VS Goals
I have a new tutorial post up on my website all about setting achievable goals for yourself.
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!
Your Hyborian Age Awaits
The Conan: The Hyborian Age tabletop roleplaying game crowdfunding campaign is underway and runs until November 6th. The campaign hit their funding goal in just over an hour, so keep an eye out for all kinds of spiffy stretch goals as it continues to surge.
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.
Current + Upcoming Releases
Upcoming Appearances
| Oct 17-20, 2024 | Gamehole Con | Madison, WI, USA |
| Oct 25-27, 2024 | MCM Expo: London | London, England, UK |
| Oct 29, 2024 | Forbidden Planet International | Nottingham, England, UK |
| Nov 1, 2024 | Forbidden Planet Superstore | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 4-8, 2024 | D&D In a Castle | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 13, 2024 | Forbidden Planet: International | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Links and Other Things
• 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 the official Conan the Barbarian Youtube channel, Shawn Curley discusses the “Howardverse”, interconnected threads between various characters created by Robert E. Howard, the same ingredients I’m using as part of the current Conan: Battle of the Black Stone mini-series. Lots of neat information here, well presented.
Jim
Uncontrollable Dreams VS Achievable Goals
With all of the new creator resources I have here on my website, I get quite a few people asking questions and looking for one-on-one advice, unfortunately more than I can usually respond to personally. That said, if a discussion does start up and I ask you what your goals are, if you don’t know at all or want me to tell you what they ‘should’ be, you need to reevaluate.
I can’t tell you what to strive for. Your goals shouldn’t be my goals.
What I can suggest is that you build goals around things you know you can do that can’t be stopped by the decisions of other people. Here’s what I mean:
🔸Finding collaborators
🔸Making a comic, start to finish
🔸Working with a publisher
Those are actionable/attainable goals.
🔸Making a living working for Marvel/DC
🔸Topping sales charts
🔸Winning an Eisner Award
Those goals include a minefield of factors outside your control, with a high chance of failure.
Looking toward successful people in the industry is natural and understandable, but there is also a ridiculous amount of Survivor Bias built in to anything we suggest. Even if I tell you what worked for me and my career, dozens of similar people who worked just as hard didn’t get to the same spot for reasons out of their control.
Setting goals is good. Making things and finishing them is key to improving yourself and growing. Putting out creative work will always lead to new experience and possibilities, just try not to hyper-focus on specific outcomes that are outside your control.
When I went to college for Classical Animation, my goal was to be a Disney animator living in Florida or California, working on a feature animated film. Midway through school, Disney stopped making hand drawn animation. Factors outside my control had completely upended my goal and that was that.
But look at the number of “fail-states” I’d inadvertently built into my goal:
🔸Working in the U.S.
🔸For Disney
🔸on a 2D animated feature
If I was good enough, and Disney was hiring, and I qualified for a green card, and I convinced every person on that path to make the right choice my dream might have been achieved. Any part of that chain breaks and the whole thing falls apart. Disney stopped making the kinds of films I trained to work on, so I didn’t even get the chance to apply in the first place. It was a frustrating but valuable lesson.
Learning early on that the dream I had in mind wasn’t possible taught me to dig deeper to understand the heart of those goals and achievements I was striving for.
Why did I want to work at Disney on feature 2D animation?
What were the core aspects of that dream I aspired to?
🔸I wanted to create things
🔸I wanted to tell stories
🔸I wanted to be part of a group building things together
🔸I wanted to be in an environment that felt exciting, collaborative, and creative
All those could be achieved and were under my control.
The other important part of these broader goals is that they were (and still are) things that could continue to grow and continue to be a priority for me instead of being checkbox one-time ‘achievements’.
(Looking at the original goal, even if I ran the Gauntlet and made it to Disney Feature Animation and worked on a film, what then?)
Working in comics and teaching wasn’t part of my original plan, and I stumbled into both careers, and yet they both check all my boxes:
✓ Storytelling
✓ Collaboration
✓ Constantly creating
✓ Exciting and inspiring
These broader goals are also not limited to doing something once – a hyper-specific credit, company, or project. I can keep doing them, keep learning, and keep growing. Some years will be less productive or less successful, but they’re always “active” goals worth pursuing, regardless of the industry or my success at any one point in time.
I can also look at future project possibilities and measure them against my ideal list to help me decide if I want to go in one direction or another.
In a video I put together a few years ago I talk about the rambling path of my comic career and you can see how varied and unexpected it is:
Thankfully, in each case, my revised list of creative goals still applies, helping keep me inspired and moving forward, project by project, and year by year.
If you found this post helpful, feel free to let me know here (or on BlueSky), share the post with your friends and consider buying some of my comics or donating to my Patreon to show your support for me writing this tutorial post instead of doing paying work. 😛
Zubby Newsletter #84: More Pages, More Everything
More Pages
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!
More Votes
It’s almost the voting deadline for the 2024 Tripwire Awards. Conan creators are nominated for 4 awards: Best Writer, Best Cover Artist, Best New Series, and Best New Talent and we’d appreciate your support.
More Upcoming Books
More Signing Dates
Another UK signing date has been added to the list, this one with artist Doug Braithwaite in Edinburgh on November 13th! So excited to meet our readers in Scotland and sign some books!
| Oct 15, 2024 | Kowabunga Comics | Oconomowoc, WI, USA |
| Oct 17-20, 2024 | Gamehole Con | Madison, WI, USA |
| Oct 25-27, 2024 | MCM Expo: London | London, England, UK |
| Oct 29, 2024 | Forbidden Planet International | Nottingham, England, UK |
| Nov 1, 2024 | Forbidden Planet Superstore | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 4-8, 2024 | D&D In a Castle | Newcastle, UK |
| Nov 13, 2024 | Forbidden Planet: International | Edinburgh, Scotland |
More Links and Other Things
• Over on Proko, Michael Hampton covers drawing more mature characters without relying on wrinkles. Some great head construction technique and thought process for high quality drawing.
• Tennessee Fats bought a page of original art by Roberto De La Torre from Conan the Barbarian, and his excitement for the reveal as he opens the package and discussion of where he thinks our story is going is quite entertaining.
• 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.
• A couple weeks ago I mentioned a crowdfunding campaign for Paragons, a new superhero tabletop roleplaying game. They just announced stretch goal contributors and, if the campaign hits $25k, I’ll add a new hero, villain, or evil organization to their world.
Jim
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 Reviews
The second part of our epic pulp adventure, Battle of the Black Stone, arrived in stores this week.
What did critics think? Let’s see…
• Comical Opinions: 10/10 “In a year over stuffed with soulless crossover events that make a lot of noise but do very little to get readers excited, Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 gets everything right for a pulp action adventure of the highest order…no comic available right now does it better.”
• Cool Thunder: 9/10 “We get to see all the characters pulled together to discern the mystery of the haunting and deadly Black Stone…issue 2 will leave you on the edge of your seat blending action, suspense, and mystery leaving you desirous for more!”
• DC Patrol: “This book is absolutely fantastic – great images. Jonas Scharf really, really doing a fantastic job and the colors by Canola are great!”
• Dragon’s Cache: 9.6/10 “Jonas Scharf packs the pages of Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 with panels to show our heroes interact with these supernatural forces…Jão Canola contrasts the yellow and green energy with orange and red, while brown and gray also ground scenes in the stately club.”
• Goodreads: 5/5 “This hews very closely to Howardian concepts and characters, the ideas behind the world and story, the Hyborian Age, and builds upon it by imagining pre and post yarns branching from well-known stories…Lots of payoff here. Do not miss it!”
• League of Comic Geeks: 5/5 “Wow… just wow. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but my jaw dropped not once but twice.”
• Mighty Thorngren: “This issue was a breath of fresh air and so fun, just non-stop awesome action and I’m just having a blast with it…These have just been on fire delivering lately.”
• Pop Culture Philosophers: “They pull it all together in issue #2 and it works, and it’s great…Really cool stuff!”
• Stygian Dogs: “With stakes brought into sharp focus and the sense of weird turned up to 11, Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf, and Jão Canola have succeeded in giving us a morbidly exciting second part to this ambitious 4-issue mini-series.”
• Sword & Sorcery Book Club: “This was a phenomenal addition to the story. I really, really loved it…I thought it was really fun. I really enjoyed the artwork and coloring.”
• Thinking Critical: “I love this mini-series, I love what Jim Zub is doing with Conan as a whole, and I love that Titan is giving this character the room and attention it deserves from people who love the character. The results are showing for themselves. A fantastic mini-series.”
• Void City Reviews: “I’m into it. There’s a long build up to get here, but I’m enjoying the execution.”
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Makeshift Miracle
