Zub Tales

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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Current + Upcoming Releases

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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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

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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