| Conan the Barbarian | |
|---|---|
 The cover toConan the Barbarian #1 (October 1970), byBarry Smith andJohn Verpoorten. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | October 1970 – December 1993 |
| No. of issues | 275 and 12 Annuals |
| Main character | Conan |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | List
|
| Penciller | |
| Inker | |
| Editor(s) | Stan Lee Roy Thomas |
Conan the Barbarian is a comics book title starring thesword-and-sorcerycharacter created byRobert E. Howard, published by the American companyMarvel Comics. It debuted with a first issuecover-dated October 1970 and ran for 275 issues until 1993. A commercial success, the title launched a sword-and-sorcery vogue in American 1970s comics.[1] He was often partnered withRed Sonja.
Marvel Comics reacquired the publishing rights in 2018 and started a new run ofConan the Barbarian in January 2019,[2] at first with the creative team of writerJason Aaron and artistMahmud A. Asrar.[3] This run ended in November 2021 after 25 issues, whenTitan Comics acquired the license to publish Conan comic books in 2022.
Conan the Barbarian ran for 275 issues (cover dated October 1970–December 1993).[4] The book had a single writer,Roy Thomas, on issues #1–115 (October 1970–October 1980) and then #240–275 (January 1991–December 1993).[5] It was also the signature work of artistBarry Smith, whopencilled most issues between #1 and #24. ArtistJohn Buscema pencilled the vast bulk of issues #25–190. Interim writers includedJ. M. DeMatteis,Bruce Jones,Michael Fleisher,Doug Moench,Jim Owsley,Alan Zelenetz,Chuck Dixon, andDon Kraar.
Thomas, Marvel's associate editor at the time, had obtained thelicensed property from the estate of its creator,Robert E. Howard, after finding Conan chief among readers' requests for literary properties to be adapted to comics, which also included thepulp magazine characterDoc Savage,The Lord of the Rings oeuvre of writerJ. R. R. Tolkien, andEdgar Rice Burroughs' charactersTarzan andJohn Carter of Mars.[6] Elaborating in 2010, he said,
I put together a memo for publisherMartin Goodman saying why we should [license a character]. ... I hadn't read a lot of Howard, I bought a couple of the books for the Frazetta covers but I'd never really read them. When Goodman gave us permission to license a character, we figured we couldn't afford Conan..... By that time, there'd been about half-a-decade of Conan coming out in Lancer paperbacks, so we figured no sense going after that, there was no way we were going to get it. I knewLin Carter slightly, who had authored a character called Thongor, who was half Conan and half John Carter of Mars.... Lin was great, but his agent kept wanting us to offer more money than the $150 per issue that Martin Goodman had magnanimously said we could pay for rights.[6]
Thomas said another reason for pursuing Thongor was that Marvel editor-in-chiefStan Lee "liked thatname the most. . . . I soon got stalled by Lin Carter's agent on Thongor . . . and I got a sudden impulse to go after Conan. Later, following on the success of the Conan series, Lin Carter allowed Marvel to publish a Thongor comic, which appeared as a miniseries inCreatures on the Loose."[7]
After reading and enjoying the paperbackConan of Cimmeria, Thomas contactedGlen Lord, literary agent for the Howard estate, and "I said we can't offer much money but it might increase Conan's audience and so forth, what do you think? I didn't have much elasticity, but I was so embarrassed by the $150 that I upped it to $200 without thinking. So that when Glen agreed ... I decided I'd have to write the first issue or so, so that if Goodman objected I could knock a couple pages off my rate to even things out."[6]
The extra cost meant, however, that Marvel could not budget for Buscema, Thomas' first choice, serendipitously opening the door to Smith. Buscema, in a 1994 interview, recalled,
I was approached by Roy Thomas with the project to doConan. He mailed a couple of the paperbacks to me and I read 'em and I loved 'em. I told Roy, 'This is what I want, something that I can really sink my teeth into. . . .' [A]t the time, Marvel was owned byMartin Goodman, and he felt that my rate was too high to take a gamble [with] on some new kind of [project]. It wasn't asuperhero or anything that had been done before. The closest thing to that would beTarzan. Anyway, he had no confidence in spending too much money on the book, and that's where Barry Smith came in — [he was] very cheap. I know what he got paid, and I'd be embarrassed to tell you how much it was, because I'd be embarrassed for Marvel.[8]
Comics historianLes Daniels noted that "Conan the Barbarian was something of a gamble for Marvel. The series contained the usual elements of action and fantasy, to be sure, but it was set in a past that had no relation to the Marvel Universe, and it featured a hero who possessed no magical powers, little humor and comparatively few moral principles."[9]
Marvel initially publishedConan every two months. After sales of #1 were strong Marvel quickly made the title monthly, but sales dropped with each additional issue. Lee decided to cancel the comic with #7, not only because of the weak sales but to use Smith on more popular comics. Thomas argued against the decision and Lee relented, although the book became bimonthly again with #14. By #20Conan again became monthly because of rising sales, and the comic became one of Marvel's most popular in the 1970s.[10]
Elric of Melniboné first appeared in comics inConan the Barbarian issues #14–15 (March–May 1972). The comics were written by Thomas and illustrated by Windsor-Smith, based on a story plotted byMichael Moorcock andCawthorn, James.[11][12]Red Sonja was introduced in issue #23 (February 1973).[13]
In 2010,Comics Bulletin ranked Thomas' work onConan the Barbarian with Smith and Buscema seventh on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".[14]
Twelve issues ofConan Annual were published from 1973 to 1987.[15]Giant-Size Conan was a series of 68 page giants which ran for five issues from September 1974 to 1975.[16]
Academy of Comic Book ArtsShazam Awards[17]
1970
1971
1973
1974
Dark Horse Comics published theChronicles of Conan series, which comprises 34 volumes released between 2003 and 2017. The chronicles are a digitally-recolored collection of the complete original 275-issue run of the Marvel Comics' title.
By Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith (unless noted):
By Roy Thomas and John Buscema (unless noted):
By J. M. DeMatteis and John Buscema and Others
By J. M. DeMatteis, Bruce Jones, Gil Kane, and Others
By Bruce Jones and John Buscema and others
By Michael Fleisher and John Buscema and others
By Jim Owsley and John Buscema and others
By Charles Santino and Val Semeiks and others
By Gerry Conway and others
By Michael Higgins and others
By Roy Thomas, Gary Hartle, Michael Docherty, and others
Source:[21]
| Volume | Subtitle | Years covered | Issues collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years | |||||||
| 1 | The Coming of Conan | 1970-1972 | Conan the Barbarian (1970) #1-13 and material fromChamber of Darkness (1969) #4 | 352 | June 23, 2020 | 978-1302925550 | |
| 2 | Hawks from the Sea | 1972-1973 | Conan the Barbarian (1970) #14-26 | 290 | December 2020 | ||
| 3 | The Curse of the Golden Skull | 1973-1974 | Conan the Barbarian (1970) #27-42; material from Annual (1973) #1 | 336 | July 2021 | 978-1302929565 | |
| 4 | Queen of the Black Coast | 1974-1976 | Conan the Barbarian (1970) #43-59,Giant-Size Conan (1974) #5 (cover only), material fromSavage Sword of Conan (1974) #1 | 360 | December 2021 | 978-1302929558 | |
| 5 | Of Once and Future Kings | 1976-1977 | Conan the Barbarian (1970) #60-71, Conan Annual #2-3 And Power Records #31 - Conan The Barbarian: Crawler In The Mists. | 360 | March 29, 2022 | 978-1302933531[22] | |
| 6 | Vengeance in Asgalun | 1977-1978 | Conan the Barbarian (1970) #72-88 | 328 | September 27, 2022 | 978-1302933548 | |
| Conan Chronicles | |||||||
| 1 | Out of the Darksome Hills | 2004–2005 | Conan (2004) #0, #1–19 | 496 | February 6, 2019 | 978-1302915902 | |
| 2 | The Heart of Yag-Kosha | 2005–2007 | Conan (2004) #20–39 | 504 | April 3, 2019 | 978-1302915919 | |
| 3 | Return to Cimmeria | 2007–2009 | Conan (2004) #40–50;Conan the Cimmerian #0–7 | 504 | October 2, 2019 | 978-1302916022 | |
| 4 | The Battle of Shamla Pass | 2009-2010 | Conan the Cimmerian #8-25 | 472 | January 14, 2020 | 978-1302921910 | |
| 5 | The Horrors Beneath the Stones | 2010-2012 | Conan: Road of Kings #1-12;Conan the Barbarian #1-6 | 456 | June 16, 2020 | 978-1302923273 | |
| 6 | The Song of Bêlit | 2012-2014 | Conan the Barbarian #7-25 | 472 | January 26, 2021 | 978-1302923280 | |
| 7 | Shadows over Kush | 2014 - 2015 | Conan the Avenger #1-19 | 448 | December 28, 2021 | ||
| 8 | Blood In His Wake | 2015 - 2017 | Conan the Avenger 20–25,Conan the Slayer 1-12 | 432 | January 18, 2022 | 978-1302933708 | |
| King Conan Chronicles | |||||||
| 1 | Phantoms and Phoenixes | Conan and the Midnight God (2007) #1-5,King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel (2011) #1-4,King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword (2012) #1-4,Conan: The Phantoms of the Black Coast (2012) #1-5, material fromAge of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (2006) #1 | 464 | August 16, 2022 | 9781302945954[23] | ||
| 2 | Wolves and Dragons | King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon (2013) #1-6, King Conan: The Conqueror (2014) #1-6, Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border (2015) #1-4, and material from: Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword #5 | October 2022 | ||||
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