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 both 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 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
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 (of 4) – released October 2nd.
Conan the Barbarian #16 – released October 23rd.
Savage Sword of Conan #5 – released 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.
Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #4 (of 4) – releases December 4th.
Conan the Barbarian #17 – releases December 11th.
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
The Conan books are some of the best comics out these days! Congrats Jim!
PS: Excited to hear Roy Thomas is returning to Savage Sword !