Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard was first adapted into comics in 1952 in Mexico. Marvel Comics began publishing Conan comics with the series Conan the Barbarian in 1970. Dark Horse Comics published Conan from 2003 to 2018, when the rights were reacquired by Marvel Comics.[1] Marvel published Conan comics until 2022, when Titan Comics took over the license (through Heroic Signatures) to begin publishing its own series.[2]
The first comic book adaptation of a Howard Conan story was the feature La reina de la Costa Negra (taken from the original Conan story, "Queen of the Black Coast") in the miniature-size Mexican anthology title Cuentos de Abuelito #8 (1952) published by Corporacion Editorial Mexicana, SA.[3] The series features the main characters, Conan and Bêlit, though Conan is depicted as blond rather than black-haired.[4] Issues 8 through 12 adapted the original Howard story, while subsequent issues featured original material. The feature ran in nearly every issue of Cuentos de Abuelito up through number 61.[5] A digest-sized standalone series, La reina de la Costa Negra, was published by Ediciones Mexicanas Asocidas in 1958–1959 which lasted for at least eleven issues. In 1965–66 Ediciones Joma published a standard-size La reina de la Costa Negra comic that ran for at least 53 issues.[3]
Marvel Comics introduced a version of Conan in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas with art initially by Barry Windsor-Smith, then John Buscema and Ernie Chan (aka Ernie Chua). The successful Conan the Barbarian series spawned the more adult, black-and-white Savage Sword of Conan in 1974, by Thomas, Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala. Savage Sword of Conan soon became one of the most popular comic series in the 1970s.[citation needed]
The Marvel Conan stories were also adapted as a newspaper comic strip which appeared daily and Sunday from September 4, 1978, to April 12, 1981. Originally written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by John Buscema, the strip was continued by several different Marvel artists and writers.[6]
Other Marvel Conan titles over the years include Savage Tales (1971–1975, issues 1–5 only), Giant-Size Conan (1974–1975), King Conan/Conan the King (1980–1989), Conan the Adventurer (1994–1995), Conan (1995–1996), and Conan the Savage (1995–1996).
After the 2019 return of Conan to Marvel titles included Conan: Serpent War (2019–2020 miniseries), Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown (2020 miniseries), alongside the reappearance of Conan the Barbarian (2019–present) and Savage Sword of Conan (2019), which both received new #1s but retained the original "Legacy Numbering" continuing where their original Marvel series left off.
Conan later appeared in the pages of Savage Avengers.
King Conan caused controversy when it included a character named Matoaka, the real name of Pocahontas, and with a sexualized design and a backstory similar to that of the actual Native American woman. There was backlash at what was perceived a disrespectful portrayal, so Marvel announced that name would be changed in later issues, reprints and digital editions. Writer Jason Aaron issued an apology, and pointed that "This new character is a supernatural, thousand-year-old princess of a cursed island within a world of pastiche and dark fantasy and was never intended to be based on anyone from history".[7]
Academy of Comic Book Arts Shazam Awards:
1970
1971
1973
1974
Dark Horse Comics began their take on Conan in 2003, which ended in 2018 when the rights were repurchased by Marvel.[citation needed]
The first comic series published was written by Kurt Busiek and Tim Truman and pencilled by Cary Nord and Tomas Giorello. This was followed by Conan the Cimmerian, written by Tim Truman and pencilled by Tomas Giorello, Richard Corben and José Villarrubia. This series was a fresh interpretation, based solely on the works of Robert E. Howard and on the Dale Rippke chronology, with no connection to the large Marvel run.
Dark Horse Comics also published digitally re-coloured compilations of the 1970s Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian series in graphic-novel format, by Roy Thomas (writer), Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Ernie Chan (artists), and others.
After Marvel did not extend the Conan license in 2022, Titan Comics took over the license (through Heroic Signatures) to begin publishing new Conan comic series, as well as continuing publication of omnibus collections of the Marvel Conan comics. The first ongoing series Conan the Barbarian, written by Jim Zub, started in May 2023.[10] A limited Savage Sword of Conan series in black and white and magazine-sized format started in 2024.[11]
In France, the character is under public domain, and on the Franco-Belgian market, the publisher Glénat has, since 2018, published a series of albums with the character, "Conan le Cimmérien", written and drawn by local talent.[12]
In Italy, the collective Leviathan Labs publishes a version by the publisher Weird Book.[13]
In 2021, the Spanish publisher DQómics Conan de Cimmeria, written by Ángel G. Nieto with drawings by Julio Rod and colors by Esteban Navarro.[14]
‡ Conan and the Demons of Khitai #3 featured a spoof nude advert for Conan #24–after complaints a second printing was issued replacing the spoof nude advert with the actual (non-nude) advert for Conan #24, with retailers offering the option to swap copies. (See Recalled comics for more pulped, recalled and erroneous comics.)