The post Conan gets drunk and goes dungeon-crawling in Barbarian #25 short from Dan Slott and Marcos Martin appeared first on Game News.
]]>Here’s a preview – pages from each of the four stories in the Conan the Barbarian #25 anthology, followed with details on each one:
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Conan the Barbarian #25 preview
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In this celebratory Conan the Barbarian #25, current series writer Jim Zub and artist Cory Smith transition from their recent sea adventures this summer into his storied time with the queen of the seas, Bêlit, with the story ‘Until Our Stories End.’ They are working with inker Roberto Poggi and colorist Israel Silva:
Former Conan editor-turned-writer Larry Hama returns in Conan the Barbarian #24 for a story about “a hotheaded young” Conan in a short story called ‘A Civilized Man.’ This will be drawn by Paul Davidson and colorist Neeraj Menon.
The third story, ‘Night of Oblivion,’ will be a reunion – the Amazing Spider-Man duo of Dan Slott and Marcos Martin are creating a story from Conan’s time as a thief. Muntsa Vicente is coloring this short.
Hama’s former assistant Conan editor Christopher Priest, who also wrote some Conan in the ’80s, returns for a King Conan story called ‘Black Orchid,’ pitting the aged barbarian against the returning Wraarl, Devourer of Souls. This short story is drawn by Roberto De La Torre, with colors by Java Tartaglia.
The covers to Conan the Barbarian #25 are a veritable artistic showcase. Geoff Shaw has drawn the primary cover, with variants by Daniel Acuna, Kevin Eastman, Peach Momoko, Dan Panosian, Mr. Garcin, and a blank variant. Take a look:
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Conan the Barbarian #25 preview
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Mr. Garcin’s collage cover is a connecting collage cover, with the first half being a Conan #25 variant, with the second half (shown here) to be a cover to a future, but as-yet-unannounced Conan comic.
Conan the Barbarian #25 goes on sale on September 8.
All of Marvel’s Conan comics are made available digitally the same day they do in print. For the best reading experience, check out our recommended best digital comics readers for Android and iOS devices.
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]]>The post Conan the Barbarian celebrates 300 Marvel issues with all-star special issue appeared first on Game News.
]]>According to the publisher’s math, the 25th issue of Conan the Barbarian’s current series coincides with the 300th issue Marvel has published over the two eras in which they’ve held the character’s license, and Marvel is marking the occasion with a 40-page celebratory issue in September.
Marvel’s math to 300 issues starts with 1970’s Conan the Barbarian #1 (opens in new tab) by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, based on Robert E. Howard’s character.
With a main cover by Geoff Shaw, September 8’s Conan the Barbarian #25 will feature several creative teams telling stories set in distinct Conan eras.
The issue will also feature several variant covers by notable artists, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s co-creator Kevin Eastman, Peach Momoko, and the late comic book legend Alex Toth in what Marvel calls a “Hidden Gem” variant, all seen below along with a full look at Daniel Acuña’s variant that pays homage to a certain famous Marvel cover.
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The main story which continues the current ongoing arc by writer Jim Zub and artist Corey Smith features Conan’s return to his sea-faring ways with the queen of the seas herself, Bêlit.
“But – past, present, and future will collide in ways unexpected and strange!” reads Marvel’s description.
“Conan on the high seas with Bêlit stands out as a golden run of the original series for me,” Zub told Newsarama a few months back, talking about what stands out for him as a highlight of the original Marvel series.
“She arrives in issue #58 and is a regular part of the cast until #100. That part of Conan’s life is a montage in the original Robert E. Howard story ‘Queen of the Black Coast,’ but Roy Thomas and co. made it a vibrant and engaging period of high adventure for readers every month.”
The special issue features three more stories, starting with an untold story from Conan’s thieving Hyborian days titled ‘Night of Oblivion’ from writer Dan Slott and artist Marcos Martin. Then there’s a story from writer Larry Hama about a “hot-headed young Barbarian,” and finally a bookend story from writer Christopher Priest set in the King Conan era, as the elder Conan “must defend his kingdom from the re-emergence of Wraarl, the Devourer Of Souls!”
“Like a lot of anniversary issues, it’s a way for us to celebrate and exemplify the character’s best qualities while surprising readers with a couple of big twists,” Zub told us in February about the special issue. “It’s the culmination of everything we’ve been building in the previous 12 issues and I’m pumped for readers to check it out.”
September features anniversary celebrations by one of Marvel’s youngest and oldest characters. In addition to Conan #25, Marvel will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of Miles Morales.
Did Conan make Newsarama’s list of the best new Marvel character to debut in 1970? Check out our Marvel Yearbook – the 70s to find out.
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]]>The post Conan the Barbarian caught in web of Spider-Man with Savage Avengers #20 variant cover appeared first on Game News.
]]>Marvel has commissioned Horley to draw a variant cover for Savage Avengers #20 (opens in new tab) featuring the two, who are members of the eclectic team.
“A marvelous Marvel team-up between Conan and the Rhino goes awry when Spider-Man threatens to ruin their good time,” reads the publisher’s description for the issue.
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Alex Horley – real name Alessandro Orlandelli – was born in a small town outside of Milan, Italy, and grew up on imported ’70s Marvel Comics and translated short stories of Robert E. Howard. It was actually the work of John Buscema and Frank Frazetta which led the young man to begin creating art himself.
The regular Savage Avengers team of writer Gerry Duggan and artist Patrick Zircher is working on this issue itself, but it’s great to see Horley draw two of his favorites – including Conan, who he has so much history with.
Although Conan comics have been published on-and-off at Marvel for decades, the barbarian didn’t actually join the Marvel universe proper until 2019 when the Scarlet Witch was accidentally transported to his universe in Avengers: No Road Home #5 (opens in new tab).
That one-off surprise quickly became the new status quo, with Conan acting as the face of a cutthroat version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with the launch of Savage Avengers in May 2019.
Savage Avengers #20 (and Alex Horley’s Savage Avengers #20 variant (opens in new tab)) goes on sale April 29.
Check out our rundown of all of Marvel’s April 2021 releases.
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]]>The post Marvel celebrates 50 years of Conan comic books with a Conan legend appeared first on Game News.
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Thomas is part of King-Size Conan #1, a 50th-anniversary special shipping from Marvel in December. Thomas writes and Steve McNiven draws one of five tales in the oversized issue. Kurt Busiek and Pete Woods, Chris Claremont and Roberto de la Torre, Daredevil writer/director/showrunner Steven S. DeKnight (writing his first Marvel story) and Jesús Saiz, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman (also writing and drawing his first Marvel story!) comprise the other creative teams. The cover is by Andrew C. Robinson.
Thomas was the writer on Marvel’s Conan The Barbarian #1 back in 1970 and hung around to write the title for a staggering 115 consecutive issues. His tale in King-Size Conan takes Conan all the way back and then some.
“What I wanted to do is get from the first battle Conan had to a time just a few months later when he met the Aesir, which is really about where Conan #1 starts,” Thomas says. “I thought it would be nice to show what happened just before Conan #1, at least in my mind, with some nice action along the way.”
Thomas thinks the art completes the motif.
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“There’s some really nice stuff from Steve McNiven,” Thomas says. “He’s not slavishly channeling [original series artist] Barry Smith, but there’s an approximation that really catches that spirit, and it’s really good.”
Thomas was a writer and editor at Marvel in 1970 and is often credited with being the guy who brought Conan into Marvel. Thomas shares that credit with Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee and fan mail.
“We started getting letters, dozens at least, suggesting things we should get the rights to,” Thomas says. “A lot of them were sword-and-sorcery characters, Conan, Kull, Thongor, Elric, one or two others. So Stan called me in one day and said, ‘We’re getting these letters, and I don’t know much about this sword-and-sorcery stuff. Let’s see what we can do.'”
Stan asked Thomas to send a memo to Marvel publisher Martin Goodman and see what Marvel might be able to dangle for licensing money.
“So I wrote this little memo of two or three pages to Goodman and he thought it was fine,” Thomas recalls. “He authorized up to a straight $150 an issue, no royalties.”
Armed with a $150 war chest, Thomas made his selection: Thongor of Lemuria.
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“I talked to [Thongor author] Lin Carter,” Thomas says. “He loved the idea and he loved comics. But his agent was looking for more money, about $500 an issue. He was waiting for us to up the offer, and that wasn’t going to happen.”
Soon after, Thomas was reading the introduction to the Conan of Cimmeria paperback and noticed that the literary agent for the Robert E. Howard estate was a man named Glenn Lord, reachable at a post office box in Pasadena, Texas.
“So I figured I’d give it a try, dropped Glenn a line, and I upped the ante to $200,” Thomas recalls. “We hadn’t gone after Conan initially, figuring it would be out of our league, and I was a little embarrassed by the $150 offer. Glenn accepted. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it wasn’t nothing. $200 was a lot more back in 1970 than it is now.”
Thomas overshot what he was authorized to offer, but he had a safety hatch: himself.
“That’s the way I backed into writing it,” he says. “If Goodman wanted his extra $50 back, I could just not voucher for a few pages. Without that, I don’t know if I ever would have written it. Maybe it would have been Gerry Conway or someone.”
Barry Windsor-Smith became a comic book legend on the original Conan as well, but his path to get there was twisted as well.
“Our choice of artist was John Buscema,” Thomas recalls. “I sent him a Conan paperback. He read it and he loved it and he said, ‘This is the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to do.’ So I worked out a plot. But Goodman said that we couldn’t have one of our top-paid artists like Buscema do it because he wanted to keep costs on the book low in case it didn’t take off.
“Our second choice was Gil Kane, but Gil was out of the price range, too. Stan suggested Dick Ayers, Don Heck, somebody like that. But I wanted someone who would have brought some singular qualities that I felt the book needed, and I didn’t think those guys were right. So it was up for me to find someone.
“So here was Barry Smith sitting there in England, just doing the occasional story here and there, and I offered it to him. The rest, as we say, is history.”
Now, 50 years’ worth of history.
The December oversized King-Size Conan #1 special features an all-new prelude to the original Marvel Conan story from 1970 by Thomas and McNiven; a tale of revenge by Eastman; a turning point in Conan’s career as a mercenary by Claremont and de la Torre; an early brush with sorcerous forces that will shape Conan’s destiny by Busiek and Woods; and Conan and Bêlit sail together again for the first time since the 2019 Marvel relaunch in a story by DeKnight and Saiz.
Check out a small preview gallery of images from the special.
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Look for Marvel’s December 2020 solicitations later this week. In the meantime, you check out the Marvel October 2020 solicitations (opens in new tab) and the Marvel November 2020 solicitations (opens in new tab).
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