Zub Tales

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.

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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!

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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.)

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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!

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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!

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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.

Vote here on your favorites until October 14th.

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More Upcoming Books

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

Conan the Barbarian #15 – released September 25th.

Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 (of 4) – released October 2nd.

Conan the Barbarian #16 – releases October 23rd.

Savage Sword of Conan #5 – releases October 30th.

Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #3 (of 4) – releases November 6th.

Conan the Barbarian Vol. 3: The Age Unconquered TPB – releases November 19th.

Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 1 – releases November 19th.

Conan the Barbarian #17 – releases November 27th.

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

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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

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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