Jim is interviewed on the Panel Culture podcast and, naturally, the subject is Skullkickers and other comic projects Zub has on the go. Lots of good chatter about creator-owned comics, marketing and plans for the series.

Greg Hersom at the Fantasy Literature review site tries out our first trade paperback, \”1000 Opas and a Dead Body\”, and is pleased at the balance of sword & sorcery mixed with action-comedy.

The Skullkickers cleverly tackle every job with confidence and in their own unique style. However, not much can be said for their social skills, because they have none. There is no better way to put it: SKULLKICKERS is just ol’ fashioned fun.

RoughJustice at Geeks of Doom has a spoiler-free review of our game-changing Skullkickers #14 and is suitably impressed with our big reveal.

\”issue 14 provides satisfying reveals and brings up more than a few new mysteries involving Shorty and Baldy. Writer Jim Zub doesn’t throw out mysteries just for the sake of confounding readers either. Every plot twist feels natural to the stories progression in a way that promises huge things on the horizon.\”…

\”Skullkickers #14 does more than provide long awaited answers. It further proves that this is a creative team at the top of their game.\”

Peter Svensson at Bleeding Cool has an excited but spoiler-free rundown of Skullkickers #14 and the potential for it take the series to new heights.

\”Skullkickers 14 is one of those rare issues that make you go back and reread everything with a new understanding. There are precious few comics that can pull that sort of reveal off. I never would have thought that Skullkickers would be one of them.\”…\”It’s high-octane fantasy action-adventure with humor and gorgeous art.\”

Aaron Long at Comicosity has one of the first reviews of Skullkickers #14. He keeps it spoiler-free but lets everyone know how much he enjoyed the ride.

\”Skullkickers is what all adventure comics should be.\”…\”Great script, great art, great issue.\”

Nominations for the 2012 Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Awards are out and Skullkickers writer Jim Zub is nominated in the \’Outstanding Writer\’ category for his work on the Skullkickers second story arc.

Winners won\’t be announced until mid-September, so we\’ll hold off finger crossing until the end of the summer but we\’re excited to see how it goes!

Ever since Skullkickers began we\’ve heard from readers who have been wondering why Baldy carries around a gun. Some people thought it was a steampunk world (it\’s not) or that there would be other guns in this fantasy world (there aren\’t).

Tomorrow we pull back the veil and reveal one of the big Skullkickers secrets at the heart of our story. We\’re really excited about it. It sounds like comic readers are excited too. Here are a few previews from around the web:

Bleeding Cool: \”There is only one gun in the world of Skullkickers, but how did it get there, into this fantasy world?\”

The Freakin\’ Awesome Network: \”#14 definitely lives up to the hype of the solicitation, possibly even exceeding the hype as it retains the same goofy humor, hard-knox action SK is known for.\”

Newsarama: \”I’ll admit, I haven’t picked up Skullkickers before but having received these teaser images for next week’s #14, I think that’s about to change.\”

Comic Book Resources: \”One of the big mysteries of Skullkickers — besides the names of the two main characters, of course — is how a gun landed in a sword-and-sorcery comic.\”

iFanboy: \”These are the only images from the full issue that don’t spoil the story (which we’ve read and heartily enjoyed).\”

Multiversity Comics: \”It’s an issue that explains the secret of Baldy’s gun, but its also an issue that changes a lot with the reveal.\”

The gang at the Freakin\’ Awesome Network have a new contest centred around this week\’s release of Skullkickers #14. Click on through, give it a read and you could win a copy of the issue.

\”Skullkickers brings that grown-up Saturday Morning Cartoon brand of comic book-fantasy monster-smashing goodness that anyone not allergic to fun will enjoy.\”