Got in the door after a 9 and a half hour drive home from Indianapolis, so forgive me if this is brief.

In short, Gen Con 2012 was everything I hoped it would be. Tons of amazing people, fun gaming and record sales at the Tracy Hickman / Schlock Mercenary / Skullkickers booth. We had an absolute blast.

Thank you to Howard Tayler and Tracy Hickman for giving me a space to exhibit at. Your friendship and encouragement made this all possible.

Thank you to the Kokomo Irregulars, Tracy\’s incredible staff, for running the booth and creating the most organized and welcoming con space imaginable.

Thank you to Andrew Hackard, Monica Valentinelli and everyone else at Steve Jackson Games for rocking out Munchkin-Skullkickers and promoting it so well at the show.

Thank you to Andrew Huerta, Erik Mona, Lisa Stevens, James Sutter and everyone else at Paizo for making the Pathfinder #1 launch so successful.

And, last but never least, thank you to the many, many Skullkickers, Munchkin and Pathfinder fans who came by to visit, buy books and get stuff signed. The response to all the hard work that\’s gone into the new Pathfinder series was overwhelmingly positive. Seeing return customers from last year who were back for another volume of Skullkickers was also a real joy.

The Gen Con crowd is truly our bedrock and I\’m incredibly grateful for all the support. Click on the pic below for more photos from the show:

Click here for Gen Con photos

This year’s Gen Con Indy (August 16-19) is going to be epic.

Skullkickers will be set up again. Look for Jim Zub at Booth #745 along with with Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance, XDM, Wayne of Gotham) and Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary).

For sale at our booth:

Skullkickers Vol. 1 and 2 (soft cover)
Skullkickers Treasure Trove (hard cover)
The Skullkickers Convention-Exclusive World Map

along with rare variant covers, sketches and more!

Last year Gen Con was one of our best shows and this year should prove no exception. If you’re headed to Indianapolis, make sure you come by and see us!

BOOTH:

Edwin Huang and Jim Zub are set up at the Image Comics Booth (#2729).

MERCH:

Our exclusive for the show this year is our Kitten variant cover for Skullkickers #15, which will be available in limited quantities.They’ll be selling for $5 personalized, or $10 signed/raw as an incentive for fans to keep their copy rather than flipping it.

We\’ll also have copies of the Skullkickers Map poster, Skullkickers Treasure Trove, sketch variant covers and, of course, regular trade paperbacks on hand for sale.

SK #15 (kitten variant – personalized) = $5
SK #15 (kitten variant – signed) = $10
Skullkickers Map poster = $10 ($5 with purchase of Treasure Trove)
SK #13 sketch variant (blank) = $10
SK #13 sketch variant (w/ original drawing) = $30
Skullkickers Vol. 1: 1000 Opas and a Dead Body = $10
Skullkickers Vol. 2: Five Funerals and a Bucket of Blood = $15
Skullkickers Treasure Trove (vol 1&2 combined hardcover) = $35

PANELS:
Jim Zub will be appearing on 5 panels this year at the show.

FRIDAY
4:30-5:30 UDON 2012— Catch up on the latest releases and get the scoop on upcoming projects from the UDON crew, including comic and art book announcements you won\’t want to miss! Included will be sneak peek artwork, insight into the recruiting process for new artists, and a chance to win some of the company\’s hottest new books. Moderated by Chris Butcher (Toronto Comic Arts Festival, UDON\’s director of marketing), with participants Erik Ko (UDON CEO), Jim Zubkavich (UDON Project Manager), Matt Moylan (UDON Managing Editor), and UDON artists Joe Ng (Street Fighter IV) and Omar Dogan (Street Fighter Legends). Room 26AB

SATURDAY
11:00-12:00 Shifty Look— Namco Bandai Games has excavated the darkest corners of its vaults, and now the decrepit husks of games you\’ve always loved (or never knew you did) have been brought back to life! Find out what\’s next for ShiftyLook from Rob Pereyda (editor-in-chief), then join a spotlight on hit webcomic Bravoman from writer Matt Moylan (Lilformers) and artist Dax \”D-Gee\” Gordine (Mega Man Tribute). Next, webcomic superstars and Dig Dug 30th Anniversary contributors Scott Kurtz (PvP Online) and Kris Straub (chainsawsuit) make a big announcement fans with any sense of anything won\’t want to miss! Finally, legendary voice actor Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs) makes a special appearance with an amazing ShiftyLook announcement that will blow everyone away. This will be the most fun you\’ve ever had with ‘80s video games! Room 25ABC

12:00-1:00 Comic-Con How-To: Supercharge Your deviantART Profile Like the Masters— This superstar lineup of comic, manga, and animators all have something in common besides ridiculous amounts of talent: they are all part of the deviantART community. Over the years they have learned a thing or two about getting the most out of the website, and in this panel they will share their tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your deviantART experience. The panelists are Adam Warren (The Dirty Pair, Empowered), Chris Sanders (creator of Lilo & Stitch and How To Train Your Dragon), Dave Elliott (Comic Industry Veteran), Jim Zubkavich (UDON Project Manager), Kevin Eastman (co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Mark Brooks (Marvel Comics), Yuumei Yan (digital artist, cyber-activist) and panel moderator Angelo Sotira (deviantART CEO). Room 2

7:00-8:00 Writers Unite! Pitching Your Creator-Owned Comics— Creator-owned comics have grabbed the imagination of the comic-reading community all over again and publishers are looking for fresh ideas from a new generation of talent. Listen closely as creators Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun), Ray Fawkes (One Soul), Charles Soule (27), and moderator Jim Zub (Skullkickers) discuss pitching their hit comic series to publishers and offer advice on how to climb to the top of the treacherous submission mountain, along with comic writing techniques and amusing anecdotes. Room 23ABC

SUNDAY
2:00-3:00 Kickstarting Your Webcomics Career: Keenspot 2012— Pioneering webcomics publisher Keenspot returns for their insane 12th annual Comic-Con panel to drop some knowledge! Get words of wisdom from the man behind the second most-funded Kickstarter comics project of all time! Learn how a popular Image Comics creator doubled his book sales at cons by giving his comic away for free online! Hear an amazing major announcement about the future of comic books! Creators scheduled to appear include Thomas Fischbach (Twokinds), Jim Zub (Skullkickers), Benny Powell (Wayward Sons), Brion Foulke (Flipside), Jennifer Brazas (Mystic Revolution), David Campiti (Exposure), R. C. Monroe (Out There), Chris Daily (Punch an\’ Pie), Charles Soule (27), and Bobby Crosby (Last Blood). Room 4

On Sunday June 10th Jim will be a guest at the Albany Comic Con in Albany, New York. If you live in upstate New York, you should definitely come down to check out this wonderful one day comic-centric show! He\’ll have copies of Skullkickers trades and issues on hand for purchase, along with sketches and autographs.

This Saturday, on May 12th, Jim Zub will be appearing at the award-winning Strange Adventures comic shop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a signing.

If you live in the area you should swing by to get your copies of Skullkickers, Makeshift Miracle or Street Fighter signed.

This weekend is the wonderful annual Toronto Comic Arts Festival and Skullkickers will be there. Writer Jim Zub and Color/Ink Assistant Mike Luckas are set up at the show right beside each other. How convenient!

TABLE 213

Come by to grab a copy of Skullkickers Treasure Trove, browse our books, get stuff signed and, while you\’re at it, snag a copy of Jim\’s new non-SK graphic novel Makeshift Miracle: The Girl From Nowhere which is debuting at the show!

On Sunday, you can also attend a spiffy panel on comic writing:

Sunday, May 6, 2012
Ristorante Fortuna – Google Map
12 Cumberland St
Toronto, ON M4W 1J5

2:00 – 3:00 – Writing Pictures with Words: Comic Writer’s Craft
Brainstorming ideas, describing scenes, building plot and creating dialogue. Learn comic writing techniques and tips from prolific comic pros Becky Cloonan (Conan, Wolves), Ray Fawkes (One Soul, Possessions), Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics, Adventure Time) and Jim Zub (Makeshift Miracle, Skullkickers).

This weekend Jim Zub will be exhibiting at the Calgary Expo, one of the biggest shows in Canada!

Bring your copies of Skullkickers or buy trades and issues directly from Jim at Table X-17. He\’ll have copies of Skullkickers Treasure Trove, our soft cover trades, rare variant covers and the Skullkickers World Map for sale, along with sketches and more.

He\’ll also be on two panels at the show:

Saturday April 28th
Writers Unite: Pitching Your Creator Owned Comics
Room: Palomino C
Time: 3:00pm – 4:00pm

Jim Zub will relay funny anecdotal stories of his own creative journey as he illustrates how to write comics, set goals, create pitches, and ultimately get your own work out to the masses. Be sure to come prepared with any questions you want answered.

Sunday April 29th
Convention Horror Stories
Room: Palomino C
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm

And you thought horror movies were scary! Jim Zub will regale you with bone chilling and hair raising real life stories of some of the conventions he\’s attended.

Over the weekend at Emerald City Comicon we met Vanessa Knight, our very first Skullkickers cosplayer! YAY! She makes a fetching Kusia and we\’re thrilled to start of the convention season on such a sharp note.

Thanks, Vanessa!

We had a special sketch cover variant of Skullkickers #13 at Emerald City Comicon over the weekend. In addition to Zub sketching up a slew of SK characters, we asked some of our artist pals to contribute sketches. Check out these beauties:

Jeff \’Chamba\’ Cruz (Street Fighter, RandomVeus)

Joe Eisma (Morning Glories)

Ray Fawkes (Possessions, One Soul)

This coming weekend is one of our favorite shows, Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, Washington!

Last year we premiered the first trade paperback at the show and this year we\’re following up with even more goodies.

Emerald City is the first show you\’ll be able to purchase Skullkickers Treasure Trove, our oversized hardcover collection of volume 1 & 2 of Skullkickers, packed with bonus material from the issues and never before published extras.

We\’ll also have a limited number of CLLDF Skullkickers #13 Sketch Cover Variants, almost a week before the regular issue shows up in comic shops. Buy a copy of this limited run variant and get it sketched on by your favorite artist at the show!

Last, but not least, we\’ll have copies of our convention-exclusive Skullkickers World Map! This 18\’ x 24\’ beauty shows the full depth and breadth of the Skullkickers fantasy world for the first time.

In addition, Jim will be on two panels over the weekend:

Writers Unite! Pitching Your Creator-Owned Comics
Room: 201
Saturday 3:00pm

Creator-owned comics have grabbed the imagination of the comic-reading community all over again and publishers are looking for fresh ideas from a new generation of talent. Listen closely as independent comic creators discuss pitching their hit comic series and offer advice on how to climb to the top of the treacherous submission mountain.

Featuring Jim Zub (Skullkickers), Ray Fawkes (Possessions, Mnemovore, One Soul), Joe Keatinge (Glory, Hell Yeah!), Charles Soule (27, Strongman) and Kurtis Wiebe (Peter Panzerfaust, The Intrepids, Green Wake)

Behind The Table: Con Horror Stories
Room: 3AB
Sunday 11:00am

Join Katie Cook, Jim Zub and friends as they tell tales about what it can be like behind the convention table. Stories like that of a man in California that introduced a fox puppet as his son, to a man in a tiger costume that talked about his removable loincloth… sometimes the folks that go to conventions really are \”those weirdoes\”. Some stories will make you laugh out loud, some will make you cringe! (May not be appropriate for all ages)

ECCC is going to be great! We can\’t wait to see you there!