Next summer, Titan Books will unveil a brand-new Conan the Barbarian comic book series. Numerous publishers have held the rights to produce comics based on Conan and related properties, and after Marvel passed on renewing the rights, Titan snapped them up, joining a proud comic book tradition that dates back to the 1970s. The new series will debut in shops in June 2023.
Conan the Barbarian, created by pulp writer Robert E. Howard, is one of the most popular characters in fantasy literature. After appearing in numerous short stories and novels (not all by Howard), Conan leaped into comics in the early 1970s when Marvel debuted its own Conan comic. The book lasted into the mid-1990s, before the rights went to Dark Horse Comics. After two decades of producing Conan comics, the rights to the character went back to Marvel in 2018. Once back at Marvel, Conan starred in three different titles: Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan as well as Savage Avengers, which was created largely to be a vehicle for Conan to interact with the larger Marvel Universe. In the pages of Savage Avengers, Conan fought the evil sorcerer Kulan Gath, and at the end of the arc, was allowed to return to his own time. This was done because Marvel opted not to renew its license with Heroic Signatures, the company that owns Conan’s rights. Now, Titan is ready to unveil its own take on Conan, bringing in top talent that already have an association with the character.
In an exclusive first look provided to CBR Titan revealed the book’s creative team, as well as a first look at art, shared below. Launching next summer, Titan’s Conan the Barbarian book will reunite the Hyborean with writer Jim Zub, who previously chronicled the character’s adventures at Marvel; artist Roberto De La Torre, who also worked on Marvel’s Conan books, will illustrate the book. Zub and De La Torre will be joined by colorist Jose Villarrubia. Titan did not provide details on the book’s story, but promised readers a “brand-new exhilarating series of comics of characters from across the Conan and wider Robert E. Howard mythos!” The publisher also revealed a new Conan the Barbarian omnibus is coming as well.
Titan Has Conan-Sized Boots to Fill
Titan Comics has some big shoes to fill. Marvel’s original Conan comic series is credited with introducing generations of fans to the Cimmerian, perhaps even more than Howard’s original stories. Dark Horse’s Conan titles were far more intense and brutal than their Marvel predecessors, and truly captured the spirit of the original Conan stories. After Dark Horse raised the bar, Conan returned to Marvel and immediately found himself in the thick of its universe thanks to Savage Avengers. Now, Titan is taking on Conan, and by bringing back Zub and De La Torre, the publisher is showing its commitment to telling high-quality Conan stories that both honor the spirit of Howard’s work, and stand on their own.
Conan the Barbarian is an enduring figure in popular culture, growing from a series of short stories published in the 1920s to the center of a multimedia franchise, one that stretches across films and comics. Now, Titan Books is giving Conan the Barbarian a new beginning in a new title launching next summer.
Source: Comic Book Resources