Savage Sword of Conan
Cover ofThe Savage Sword of Conan #1 (Aug. 1974). Art byBoris Vallejo
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Publication date	August1974 – July1995
No. of issues	235
Main character	List Conan Red Sonja King Kull Solomon Kane
Creative team
Written by	List Roy Thomas Michael Fleisher Don Kraar Larry Yakata Chuck Dixon
Penciller	List John Buscema Esteban Maroto Gil Kane Neal Adams Dick Giordano Ernie Chan Frank Brunner Carmine Infantino Mike Vosburg Val Mayerik Gary Kwapisz Rudy Nebres Mike Docherty
Inker	List Alfredo Alcala Sonny Trinidad Pablo Marcos Tony DeZuniga Danny Bulanadi
Editor	Roy Thomas

The Savage Sword of Conan is a black-and-white magazine-formatcomic book series published beginning in 1974 byCurtis Magazines, an imprint of American companyMarvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself.^[1]Savage Sword of Conan starredRobert E. Howard's most famous creation,Conan the Barbarian, and has the distinction of being the longest-surviving title of the short-lived Curtis imprint.

As a "magazine",Savage Sword of Conan did not have to conform to theComics Code Authority, making it a publication of choice for many illustrators. It soon became one of the most popular comic series of the 1970s and is now considered a cult classic.Roy Thomas was the editor and primary writer for the series' first few years (until issue 60), which featured art by illustrators such asNeal Adams,Dick Giordano,Barry Windsor-Smith,John Buscema,Alfredo Alcala,Jim Starlin,Al Milgrom,Pablo Marcos, andWalter Simonson. Painted covers were provided by such artists asEarl Norem,Bob Larkin,Joe Jusko, andBoris Vallejo.

Savage Sword of Conan was published under the Curtis imprint until issue 60, when it became part of theMarvel Magazine Group. Stories from the comic were reprinted in theMarvel UK title of the same name.^[2] The original run ofSavage Sword of Conan ran until issue #235 (July 1995).

Marvel Comics reacquired the publishing rights in 2018, and started a new run ofSavage Sword of Conan collected editions beginning in February 2019. In 2022, Titan Comics acquired the license to reprint the magazine in new collected editions.

In April 2019, Marvel also started a new run of Savage Sword of Conan with new material. This title ran for 12 issues until February 2020.

The adventures inSavage Sword of Conan are not always consecutive (as they are in the color Marvel titleConan the Barbarian), and they cover different eras of Conan's life. TheSavage Sword stories mostly feature an older Conan, and adapt Robert E. Howard stories and pastiches starting from "Black Colossus" (according to theMiller/Clark chronology), thus following theRoy Thomas stories inConan the Barbarian.

The first issue leads off with Thomas andBarry Windsor-Smith's adaptation of one of Howard's shortest but most well-known Conan tales, "The Frost Giant's Daughter". This is one of Conan’s earliest tales chronologically. Still a teenager, he encounters a beautiful woman in the frozen north who leads him into an ambush by her giant brothers. Issue #2 featured another Howard adaptation, "Black Colossus", in which Conan faces off against a three-thousand-year-old sorcerer. This story teams long timeConan penciler John Buscema with his frequent partner Alcala. The cover of issue #5 sports aBoris Vallejo painting of Conan being crucified, from the story "A Witch Shall Be Born". This story features Conan at his most resilient, surviving a desert crucifixion to get revenge on the man who put him there.

Issues #6-10 included "People of the Dark", a 30-page tale scripted by Thomas and drawn byAlex Niño; the continued adaptation of Howard’s only full-length Conan novel,The Hour of the Dragon (the first parts having been printed inGiant-Size Conan #1-4); and the adaptation of "Iron Shadows in the Moon", by Buscema and Alcala, where Conan goes from chief of the Zuagirs to pirate captain of the Red Brotherhood.

The next three years of the title featured numerous adaptations of Howard stories (many by the art team of Buscema and Alcala), including "Shadows in Zamboula", "The Devil in Iron", "The People of the Black Circle", "The Slithering Shadow", "The Pool of the Black One", "The Tower of the Elephant", "Jewels of Gwahlur", "Beyond the Black River", "The Scarlet Citadel", "The Flame Knife", "Hawks Over Shem", "The Treasure of Tranicos", and "Wolves Beyond the Border".

In 2007, Dark Horse Comics began issuing a series of trade paperbacks, collecting and reprinting early issues of the title, as well as stories which originally appeared inSavage Tales. By 2016, the complete series had been reprinted in 22 volumes.^[3] In 2018 when Marvel resumed the rights it began publishing its own collected editions of original Marvel material. In 2022,Titan Comics acquired the license to reprint the magazine in new collected editions.^[4]

The comic won the "Comic"British Fantasy Award in 1975 and 1976.^[5]

• Conan (comics)
• Conan (Marvel Comics)

• Marvel Comics titles
• Conan the Barbarian comics
• Dark Horse Comics titles
• Marvel UK titles
• 1974 comics debuts
• 1995 comics endings
• Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics)
• Comics by Doug Moench
• Comics by Gerry Conway
• Comics by J. M. DeMatteis
• Comics by Michael Fleisher
• Comics by Neal Adams
• Comics by Roy Thomas

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