Lumley Castle at night.

Stacy and I are south of Newcastle (1) at Lumley Castle (2) in the midst of D&D in a Castle (3)! As I type this, I’m setting up my Dungeon Master area for my second campaign and guests will be arriving at Lumley in about ninety minutes, so it’s a bit of a scramble, but exciting as well.

The amazing staff are all zipping around, dropping off terrain, miniatures, or handouts we’ve requested, setting up mood lighting and testing speakers for music while I double check my adventure notes and get dressed up for opening ceremonies. Round one went really well so I’m feeling weirdly relaxed despite the chaos.

I’ll have a lot more to cover once the event is done, but if you want a sense of how it goes, check out my extensive newsletter rundown about it from last year.

Opening ceremonies at D&D in a Castle.

The Conquering Crown Begins Artwork from Conan the Barbarian #26 by Fernando Dagnino. Colors by Diego Rodriguez.

This week sees the release of CONAN THE BARBARIAN #26, part 1 of a 3-part epic we call The Conquering Crown, showing how Conan earns the crown of Aquilonia amongst political machinations, armed conflict, and rebellion. I’m excited for readers to dive into this War of the Roses-esque Hyborian tale.

Heroes Journey

On the CBR Heroes Journey Podcast, I spoke to Sean O’Connell and Sierra Nutkevitch all about breaking into comics, writing stories for iconic characters, research, theme, and Conan the Barbarian in prose, comics and movies. It’s a really fun chat, so check it out!

Rebel Rebel Anecdotes

I had such a wonderful chat with my old friend Mike Dargie on the RebelRebel podcast. We talk extensively about creativity and building a body of work.

“If we spent more time telling stories and listening to other people’s stories, the world would be a much better place. Because storytelling is knowledge and empathy. It’s joy and emotion. It’s how we understand the world, translate it and give it to other people.”

Current + Upcoming Releases

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1  – released Sept 24. Predator: Black, White & Blood #3  – released Sept 24. Conan the Barbarian vol.1-3 Slipcase Set  – released Oct 7. Conan the Barbarian #25  – released Oct 8. Conan the Barbarian vol. 1: Bound in Black Stone Deluxe HC  – released Oct 21. Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #2  – released Oct 29. D&D Young Adventurer’s: The Warriors & Wizards Compendium – released Nov 4. Stranger Things-Dungeons & Dragons: Tales from the Table – released Nov 4. Conan the Barbarian #26  – released Nov 12. Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #3  – releases Nov 26. Conan the Barbarian #27  – releases Dec 10. Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4  – releases Dec 31.Upcoming Appearances

My event schedule is finally slowing down as we move closer to the end of 2025.

Nov 3-14, 2025 D&D in a Castle Newcastle, UKNov 15-16, 2025 Thought Bubble Harrogate, UK

Other Links

No time for other links on this one – it’s almost time to play D&D!
Jim