Zub Tales

I flew home to Toronto on a red eye flight from San Diego and didn’t get much sleep, so there’s definitely a spacey quality to the universe as I unpack and then repack my luggage while following up on correspondence before heading off tomorrow to Indianapolis.

This might be the first San Diego Comic-Con I can remember where I didn’t actually have a “washout moment”, a crisis of faith or momentary stab of imposter syndrome about being at the show, meeting people, or talking about the work. From the moment I touched down Wednesday morning to the late night Sunday takeoff, there was a wonderful burst of uplifting energy, excitement, and engagement from friends and strangers. Despite how busy it all was, I felt weirdly comfortable and settled in, going with the flow and letting inconsequential stuff slide. It felt great. If I saw you there, thank you for making this year extra-special.

I’d love to be more elegant and verbose about this year’s SDCC, but unfortunately I don’t have enough time between two crazy cons, so bullet point anecdotes and info will have to do:

• The teams at Heroic Signatures and Titan were amazing. Their enthusiasm and organization kept everything cooking and I could not be more proud of where we’re at with it. Our signings throughout the show were packed and the panel on Sunday was energized.

• Speaking of which, I’m ecstatic to announce that I’ve signed a multi-year deal with Heroic Signatures to keep writing the Conan the Barbarian monthly title and related narrative development (event mini-series and Savage Sword in particular, but other stuff too) for the foreseeable future! Working on such an important character and building out this vibrant mythology over a longer span is both an honor and a privilege, one that I don’t take for granted.

The new contract I’ve signed is non-exclusive (so I will have work with other publishers), but it solidifies my commitment to the Hyborian Age going forward. Like I said at our Conan panel, none of this would have been possible without reader and retailer support, so thank you for helping make my dreams come true.

When I was a kid it would have been a dream to meet the people who made Conan the Barbarian or Dungeons & Dragons. Actually being one of those people is stratospherically beyond anything I could have imagined, even in those fantasy worlds.

• Savage Sword of Conan is getting a second year of magazine-sized black & white glory. We defied expectations with the classic format and year two is poised for even more. Roy Thomas is teaming up with Rob De La Torre for a B&W feature story and Jason Aaron and Geof Isherwood are set for a King Conan epic.

• Conan: Battle of the Black Stone action figures are in the works and first out of the gate is our savage Cimmerian, including armor and weaponry taken from our Free Comic Book Day 2024 story.

• Getting to meet and talk with Kenichi Sonoda (Bubblegum Crisis, Riding Bean) at the UDON Booth this year was a glorious experience. It was hard to express to him how much his work blew my mind when I first saw it in high school.

• Seeing Hitoshi Ariga was also an absolute thrill. We worked together on the Klonoa: Dream Traveler of Noctis Sol webcomic for Bandai-Namco way back in 2012 and I hadn’t seen him since then, so it was a rush getting to touch base again.

• My Artist Alley table was hopping thanks to the staff at Comic Sketch Art. They rolled with every schedule change and press request and it was always nice settling back in for signings there and focusing on readers instead of the hustle and bustle needed to keep the booth running.

• The Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary panel was unbelievable. The crowd packed a triple-sized panel room, the kind normally reserved for big movie-TV panels, and the energy was off the charts. The crew at Random House filmed the panel, though they did miss our intros, but you can watch the rest of it HERE:

So many great stories and aspirational thoughts on the magic of tabletop roleplaying games – where they’ve been, why they matter, and the needs of creative VS corporate desires. Watch it!

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Zub is Gen Con Bound

Like I said above, I’m mid-marathon with SDCC and Gen Con, two of the biggest conventions, back-to-back. I just posted up my Gen Con location, live play, panels and more right HERE. Just like with SDCC, I’ll be keeping that site post up to date in case things change.

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Getting Ready for the Big Show

I spoke to Gerald Ford at The Corner of Story and Game all about how special Gen Con is and advice for people heading to the big show:

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Hyborian Age Crash Course

The official Conan the Barbarian YouTube Channel has a great new video that acts as a crash course on The Hyborian Age. You can read Conan’s adventures without this knowledge, but this 15 minute introduction gives greater context to the fiction.

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Current + Upcoming Releases

Savage Sword of Conan #3 – released July 10th.

Conan the Barbarian Vol.2: Thrice Marked For Death – TPB released July 16th.

Conan the Barbarian #13 – released July 24th.

Conan the Barbarian #14 – releases August 21st.

Savage Sword of Conan #4 – releases August 28th.

Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #1 (of 4) – releases September 4th.

D&D Young Adventurer’s Collection Box Set 2 – releases September 24th.

Conan the Barbarian #15 – releases September 25th.

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Upcoming Appearances

Aug 1-4, 2024	Gen Con Indy	Indianapolis, IN, USA
Aug 16-18, 2024	Fan Expo Chicago	Chicago, IL, USA
Aug 22-25, 2024	Fan Expo Canada	Toronto, ONT, CANADA
Oct 17-20, 2024	Gamehole Con	Madison, WI, USA

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Links and Other Things

• My friend Mark Jones has a new book coming out next month about creative careers and the creative economy called The Starving Artist Myth. Mark helped guide Seneca’s award-winning Animation program when I was in charge there and his expertise and guidance helped us thrive, so I’m incredibly excited to give this a read.

• My friend Gail Simone announced that she’s written a new Red Sonja prose novel that arrives in stores in November. Can’t wait to read it!

• My friends Fred Kennedy and Adam Gorham produced a graphic novel for Blizzard called Diablo: Legends of the Necromancer- Rathma. Fantasy and a beloved video game series? I’m pumped to check it out.

• My friend Cary Nord is a guest for a special sword & sorcery-themed screening of Conan the Barbarian happening in Calgary on August 1st. He’ll be signing comics and prints of the poster he designed for the event.

• A mainstream news article all about the anime industry? ABC News covers the popularity of Japanese animation and the economics of studios and artists struggling to make a career of it.

• Arthur Brooks talks about 4 Key Concepts for a Happier Life over on Big Think and it’s engaging stuff.

Jim