Zub Tales

The past week has been simultaneously slow and fast – Slow to recover from jet lag and a head cold I picked up after traveling halfway around the world, and fast in terms of work still needing to get done, deadlines we had to meet before Stacy and I jump on a plane tomorrow to Calgary for the annual Comic & Entertainment Expo happening this weekend. Thankfully, those deadlines have been met and luggage is laid out behind me in a state of ‘mostly packed’ that will become ‘fully packed’ once the last load of laundry is done.

Even though my Seneca staff account shut down on Monday, quietly marking the end of an era, it certainly doesn’t feel like life has slowed in any way, shape, or form. If anything, things are busier than they have been in quite a while. Stacy has a couple new projects she’s excitedly diving into, which means both of us have been clickety-clacking away on keyboards here at home, touching base for morning tea, lunch, and dinner but otherwise focused on deadlines and deliverables.

I’d like to say that things will slow down in May but, when you scroll down to upcoming appearances you’ll see that isn’t true either…Right now, June looks reasonable, so we’ll go with that.

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The Tale of Four: Zula in Conan the Barbarian

The official Conan the Barbarian website has a new article all about Zula’s return and how I’m weaving together multiple narrative sources to create a new version of a fan favorite character. Read on, adventurers, and make sure you snag issue #20, which came out last week!

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Interviewed In India

While at Mumbai Comic Con, I spoke to PTI, India’s largest news agency. They used sound bites on TV and just posted the full interview on their YouTube channel. We talk about the entertainment industry, conventions, creating fictional characters, teaching, and AI.

I also spoke to Arindam at a YouTube channel called Indian Nerve and had a text interview all about the use of AI and creativity printed in India’s Economic Times.

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Current + Upcoming Releases

Thunderbolts: Winter Soldiers – released March 4th.

Conan the Barbarian #19 – released March 19th.

Conan: Battle of the Black Stone TPB – released April 1st.

Rick and Morty VS Cthulhu – Deluxe Edition – released April 1st.

Conan the Barbarian #20 – released April 16th.

FCBD Conan: Scourge of the Serpent – Prelude – releases May 3rd.

Conan the Barbarian #21 – releases June 11th.

Street Fighter Masters: Elena one-shot – releases June 25th.

Conan the Barbarian #22 – releases July 9th.

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Upcoming Appearances

Thrilled to announce that I’m back at MCM Comic Con London on May 23-25, 2025 – Bring your Conan the Barbarian and other Zub books to get ’em signed in jolly ol’ England!

Apr 24-27, 2025	Calgary Expo	Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
May 3, 2025	Third Eye Comics – Signing 9am-Noon	Annapolis, MD, USA
May 23-25, 2025	London MCM Comic Con	London, UK
May 26, 2025	Forbidden Planet – Signing 2-3pm	London, UK
Oct 16-19, 2025	Gamehole Con XII	Madison, WI, USA
Nov 3-14, 2025	D&D in a Castle	Castle Lumley, Newcastle, UK

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Other Links

• Over on the Proko channel, painter Erik Gist talks about how to illustrate covers – composition, clarity, and storytelling. A good look at important skills that help sell books.

• Matt Levin continues posting wonderful comic book content. This time he talks about the origin of Blacksad, one of the finest comics ever produced with animation-influenced art that is second to none. Just watching this video makes me want to go back and reread them all.

• LEEP Gaming has a solid video explaining how Bloodborne learns from and improves upon the core gameplay from Dark Souls to create a satisfying game experience. Bloodborne’s 10th anniversary was a few weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about jumping in for a replay. Check out my ramblings about why I like Souls games way back in Zubby Newsletter #8.

• Dan at the Conan Chronology has a well-sourced long form article all about the legacy of Savage Sword of Conan magazine.

Jim