CROM Anthology 2 Update!

August 4th, 2026

Thank you to everyone who dropped into the livestream.

I’ve got some huge news regarding CROM Anthology 2, including the cover breakdown, page counts, and the official release window!

Watch it Here!

Cover Design: The Frank Frazetta Homage

For the cover of CROM Anthology 2, we are moving to the third element of Air (following Earth for CROM 2024 Collected and Fire for CROM Anthology 1).

The Inspiration: It is an unabashed homage to the legendary Frank Frazetta—specifically drawing from that classic sword-and-sorcery formula featuring a barbarian, a damsel, magic/wizards, and monstrous cosmic entities.

Key Visual Elements: Features CROM leaping into action from an open portal, pink magic, an alligator-man (inspired by a Frank Thorne Red Sonja cover), tentacled Cthulhu-style cosmic horror, and a classic female sacrifice motif.

The Process: Drawn at 17" x 22" using paint markers, brush pens, and colored pencils, with about four to five sittings left before sending it off for proofs.

Page Count, Curating & Pricing

Initially, open submissions yielded a massive 270 pages of content, which caused a bit of panic! To manage this, I initially thought that I would have to split the submissions across anthologies 2 & 3, following in the footsteps of Jamie Barrow's lead on the Brutal Blade of Crom.

Final Page Count: CROM Anthology 2 officially sits at 146 pages (expected to bump to 158–160 pages total to fit extra informational pages).

Affordable Pricing: Keeping the page count around 160 allows the book to remain financially doable at an accessible retail price under $25.

Anthology 3: Shelved stories (such as the 40-page illustrated prose, CROM Jr., and CROM Daring Part 2) and unfinished submissions will move into CROM Anthology 3.

Story & Creator Showcase

CROM Anthology 2 is packed with incredible contributions from the community:

Barbarians of the Pit (Lead Story): An 11-page opener written and penciled by Jamie Barrows (with lettering by Jamie and inks by myself).
Altar of the Serpent (Part 2): Adam Bennett brings his high-contrast black-and-white digital comic process back to the series.
Ali's CROM proses: with custom spot illustrations by me.
The God CROM (Part 2): Dexter Jones returns with a 7-page story incorporating physical alien character figurines.
CROM Courageous (Part 2): An 11-page entry written by Ram Parsons and inked/penciled by Drawn Sword.
Grimothy Ripper’s CROM Story: brings their distinct artistic style to the wild world of CROM.
Jake Quirk’s CROM Story: delivers a powerhouse contribution to the anthology's creator roster.
CROM & Social Media: A hilarious 5-page story by Jason Kuther to break up the doom and gloom.
CROM & the Serpent's Lair (Part 2): John Molina delivers a fantastic '80s "Amerimanga" style continuation.
CROM & Druvanis (Part 2): A 6-page entry from comic legend Ken Landgraf.
CROM the Barbarian and the Wheel of Time: Matt Boyd adapted one of the free scripts available on our website into a complete comic.
Photo Comic / Seer Story: Rick Frane returns with model Alyssa Vintage Pinky playing the Seer, deepening the lore around CROM's sword, Skull Biter.
Let Sleeping Dark Lords Lie: A silent, 7-page barbarian tale by Zach McCue.
Bludgeon / Lorelei Story: A prose short story with a full-color illustration of the fierce female barbarian Lorelei.
CRUD - Rainbow Serpent: Kaya brings his character to the pages of CROM anthology for the first time.
Dan Lanciani's ROGAN of the North Reprint: Redrawn classic strip originally created in high school, focusing on cinematic storytelling.
Xolak Stonewalker: Ryan Dirk’s soul-filled barbarian addition.
CROM and the Child Killer: Written by Steven Sonneveld and illustrated by Richard Waugh.

Release Dates & Convention Appearances

Print Proof Target: End of August.

Official Release: First week of September.

In-Person Cons:

SPX (Small Press Expo) in Baltimore: September 12–13.

IC3 in Providence, RI: September 26.

Mock-ups for CROM Anthology 2 will only be available until August 31st!

CROM Anthology #2: The Director’s Cut Mock-up (Limited Edition)

$25.00

!SHIP INTERNATIONALLY!

Own a piece of the creative process with the CROM Anthology #2 Mock-up. This massive, 252-page "beast" is a magazine-sized collection of black-and-white sword and sorcery goodness, capturing the project in its rawest, most expansive form.

This mock-up serves as the ultimate "Director’s Cut," featuring everything submitted by the February deadline. Because the final retail version of Anthology #2 will be curated down to approximately 200 pages for cost-effectiveness and vision, this mock-up contains exclusive "extra" material and behind-the-scenes insights that won't make the final cut.

What’s Inside:

The "Four Elements" Concept: See the early development of the "Air" themed cover, featuring a smoky, misty tomb with Cthulhian tentacles and a Frank Frazetta-inspired homage.
Raw Process Art: Dive into the "Manga Model" of storytelling with sketches, roughs, and layouts from creators like Adam Bennett, Drawn Sword, and Jamie Barrows.
Exclusive Stories & Prose: Includes early drafts and installments of Crom Altar of the Serpent, God Karram, Mountain of Death, and original sword and sorcery prose.
Educational Reprints: High-definition looks at the mastery of John Atkins Richardson and Pat Boyette.
Bonus Content: Featuring photo comics, tattoo flash art, and pinups from the Brutal Blade of CROM crew.

This is a strictly limited release. For Chrome Anthology #1, only 13 copies of the mock-up ever existed. Once the final version of Anthology #2 is released to the public, these mock-ups will no longer be available.

Grab your copy now to see the sketches and notes before they are inked and finalized. Keep creating and stay legendary!

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