Conan (comics)

AUTHOR: Busiek, Kurt; Mignola, Mike; Nicieza, Fabian; Truman, Benjamin; Truman, Timothy

ARTIST: Tomás Giorello (illustrator); M. W. Kaluta (illustrator); Rafael Kayanan (illustrator); Joe Kubert (illustrator); Paul Lee (illustrator); Tom Mandrake (illustrator); Cary Nord (illustrator); Eric Powell (illustrator); Greg Ruth (illustrator); Timothy Truman (illustrator); Thomas Yeates (illustrator); John Severin (penciller); Bruce Timm (penciller); Richard Corben (penciller and inker); JD Mettler (colorist); Tony Shasteen (colorist); José Villarrubia (colorist); Richard Isanove (colorist and cover artist); Dave Stewart (colorist and cover artist); Albert Deschesne (letterer); Richard Starkings (letterer); J. Scott Campbell (cover artist); Frank Cho (cover artist); Geof Darrow (cover artist); Tony Harris (cover artist); José Ladrönn (cover artist); Joseph Michael Linsner (cover artist); Mike Mignola (cover artist); Justin Sweet (cover artist); Leinil Francis Yu (cover artist)

PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION:Conan (2003-2008); Conan the Cimmerian (2008-2010)

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2005-2011

Publication History

The works of pulp writer Robert E. Howard have received considerable treatment since his untimely death in 1936, notably since Lancer Books reprinted the Conan prose series in 1966, which was followed by adaptation of the work in comic books, cinema, painting, sculpture, video games, and audio books, among other media. While Howard created a number of iconic figures, including Kull of Atlantis and Puritan swordsman Solomon Kane, none has reached the pinnacle of fame as Conan the Barbarian has. Beginning in 1970, Marvel Comics adapted Conan into a long-running series, Conan the Barbarian (1970-1994), and featured him in Savage Tales (1971-1975), the mature-content magazine Savage Sword of Conan (1974-1995), King Conan/Conan the King (1980-1989), and numerous graphic novels, miniseries, and one-shots. For a nonsuperhero title, Conan the Barbarian became a signature series for Marvel Comics, written for a major portion of its run by Roy Thomas. Thomas, and other writers on the series, drew from Howard’s stories about Conan and reworked stories about other Howard characters as well as creating their own original tales. This became a source of constant debate among Conan fans and scholars not only while the comics were in publication but also long after Marvel Comics had ceased printing all Conan titles.

Dark Horse Comics’ involvement, beginning with its adaptation in 2003, was grounded in the desire to create a Conan series that used only material by Howard and to arrange the stories in chronological order according to Conan’s life, which is not how Howard originally published them. Dark Horse hired Kurt Busiek, who had worked on a variety of comic titles (including his own successful Astro City, 1995-2011), to essentially adapt Howard’s works and stay “true” to Howard’s spirit. With Cary Nord and Dave Stewart, he set about this goal. Fans and scholars of Howard and Conan debated the success of the team’s objective, as the group had to create interstitial tales to bridge the Howard stories and provide narrative continuity.

After Busiek’s departure a little more than halfway through the fifty-issue run, made necessary by an exclusivity contract he signed with DC Comics, Mike Mignola wrote a short story arc before Timothy Truman became the full-time writer. Truman finished the remainder of the Conan series, chronicling the origin and early years of Conan’s life, at which point the series continued in a new title, Conan the Cimmerian, documenting the adventures of Conan in midlife. Artist Tomás Giorello, arriving near the end of the Conan run, replaced Nord, while colorist José Villarrubia replaced Stewart. Completing this phase of Conan’s stories, the creative team on Conan the Cimmerian was to return for the third and final installment of Conan and his reign as king of Aquilonia.

Plot

In a specially numbered zero issue, subtitled Conan the Legend, readers of Conan, both in prose and in comics, were introduced to the character through a framing technique. Long after the cataclysm that befell Conan’s Hyborian Age, but still far before contemporary society, a young prince is surveying newly conquered lands for his father when his retinue discovers a chamber containing a statue of Conan. Intrigued by the Cimmerian’s visage, the prince demands to know more about Conan and instructs his wazir (minister) to consult the records for tales of Conan. The wazir is actually the evil sorcerer Thoth-Amon, who appeared in the first Conan story, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” and is a longtime foe of Conan. As the various tales unfold over the Conan series, the prince and wazir occasionally reappear to provide some context for the stories and make them seem as if they are actually records of a lost age of humanity, as Howard himself had envisioned.

Starting with events that would lead into “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter,” Conan is introduced in the cold environs of the north, involved in a battle between the Vanir and Aesir people. Falling in with the Aesir while rescuing one of their women, Conan explains that his presence away from his homeland is borne of his desire to travel and see the world, an unusual trait for a Cimmerian, but one likely inherited from his wandering grandfather. Following another battle with the Vanir, Conan pursues a mysterious woman named Atali across the frozen wasteland, besting her “frost giant” brothers before she magically escapes with the help of her father, the god Ymir. Conan’s prowess often helps him through many conflicts where he was seemingly outmatched by more physically powerful or magically enabled enemies.

Eventually Conan is betrayed by some jealous Aesir and enslaved by Hyperboreans, who bring him to their city to fight as a gladiator. Their civilization has fallen into decay through an overreliance on magic. The Hyperboreans are bored and ritualistically kill themselves and all their servants on what is known as a Day of Farewell, by jumping into a seemingly bottomless pit. Conan attempts to organize a slave revolt but is stopped; he flees by climbing down the cliffs, escaping to human civilization and murdering the men who sold him into slavery.

Next, Conan travels farther south, going through the Border Kingdoms to Nemedia, where he becomes a thief and is entangled in a conflict between Kalanthes, priest of Ibis, and Thoth-Amon, who worships the dark god Set. Conan then joins forces with the warrior woman Janissa, who serves a mystical witch known as the Bone Woman, to protect Kalanthes.

Parting ways with Janissa, Conan journeys through Corinthia to Zamora and the City of Thieves to continue his career as a thief, encountering strange magic along the way, before trying to assault the Tower of the Elephant with the “prince of thieves,” Taurus of Nemedia. Inside the tower, Conan discovers mechanical and magical traps protecting Yogah of Yag, an elephant-headed, otherworldly alien enslaved by the sorcerer Yara. Rejecting Yogah’s plea for a mercy killing, Conan frees the poor creature from his torture and then watches briefly as Yogah takes revenge on Yara. Conan barely escapes the tower as it collapses around him.

Conan returns to a life of spending his stolen money in taverns, on ale and on wenches, and his exploits rile the other thieves. He joins up with Nestor, who is captured, at which point Nestor bargains his freedom in exchange for delivering Conan to the authorities. Unbeknownst to Nestor, he has spells placed upon him to ensure his success in life or in death. Nestor pursues Conan to a ruined city, where Conan is attempting to steal an ancient treasure guarded by a giant amphibian. Following that encounter, Conan and Nestor join forces against reanimated corpses, as they steal treasure and flee the city; Conan thinks Nestor has been killed, as the city consumes itself and disappears. Nestor follows Conan west, and they again join forces to defeat a group of worshipers of Grak’ka, the son of Bel, god of thieves.

Putting aside their differences, Conan and Nestor adventure together. Nestor seems to have forgotten his quest to capture Conan until a wizard informs Nestor of the curse placed upon him should he fail to live up to the bargain. Nestor is subsequently captured and hanged, prompting Conan to take revenge on the priests of Anu for Nestor’s death, after which Conan is captured and imprisoned. Prince Murilo offers the chance for freedom in exchange for killing the Red Priest Nabonidus, religious councilor to the king of Zamora. Conan’s assault on Nabonidus is disrupted because Thak, a subhuman apelike servant of Nabonidus, has taken over the priest’s house. Conan and Nabonidus, along with Murilo, must work together to defeat Thak. Conan is then able to kill the treacherous Nabonidus.

Fleeing to the city of Yaralet, Conan becomes involved in a plot by the wizard Atalis to possess the body of Prince Than. Deriving his power from the dark god Nergal, Atalis feeds the god’s earthly scion, Ela D’snal, a steady diet of corpses. One of these is the body of Nestor, who is reanimated by the curse that had been placed on him. Conan rescues the Princess Ereshka, who informs Than of Atalis’s treachery, but Atalis still manages to kill Than and possess him; this possession is short-lived, as Conan intercedes to destroy Atalis. Finally, Conan is confronted by Nestor’s corpse, and Conan defeats him, laying his soul to rest.

The next cycle of stories in Conan’s life begins in Conan the Cimmerian, in which Conan, sickened by what he sees as the corruption of civilization and haunted by the death of Nestor, returns to Cimmeria. Conan encounters a strange hermit, who is actually a werewolf and who tells Conan a story about Connacht, Conan’s grandfather. Conan continues on and encounters Caollan, his first love, as she is being pursued by the Aesir. Conan helps Caollan flee the Aesir and the demonic Skrae, summoned by an Aesirean witch. Rescued by the werewolf and his wolf brothers, Conan escorts Caollan home, learning that she is pregnant with the child of Brecan, a northern Cimmerian war chief, who had intended on using her to pay a blood debt to the Aesir. Conan’s reunification with his mother is cut short as Brecan murders Caollan, prompting Conan to kill Brecan, which restores the truce between the Aesir and the Cimmerians. Motivated once more by wanderlust, Conan bids farewell to his mother and rides away.

Heading back to Corinthia, Conan finds the country at war with Khoraja, and he enlists in the mercenary army of Khoraja under the command of Amalric the Lion. Being promoted through the ranks, Conan is noticed by both the men and Princess Yasmela, who is being stalked by the mysterious magician Natohk, really a centuries-old magus awoken by the thief Shevatas. Prompted by the god Mitra, Yasmela makes Conan the commander of her armies, and a brutal war is waged with enormous casualties. Eventually, Conan defeats Natohk, much to the chagrin of Thoth-Amon, who had been secretly watching the entire conflict.

Yasmela, initially smitten with Conan, finds herself losing interest in him, as Conan himself begins to chafe at a courtly life. Replaced romantically, Conan decides to rescue Khossus, the king of Khoraja, angering Yasmela, who replaces Conan with her lover, Prince Julion. Conan invites the mercenary army to leave with him and travel the world as a roving band of plunderers; thus, he sets off with five thousand men under his command. Their prowess in battle and success at looting leads them to be hunted down by Shah Amurath, who is protecting the interests of the kingdom of Turan. Only Conan survives an ambush at the Ilbars River; he stays alive in the swampland until he encounters Amurath pursuing Olivia, an Ophirean princess and his former slave. Conan splits Amurath in two and takes Olivia with him.

Still hunted by Turanian soldiers, Conan and Olivia are chased to the Vilayet Sea, disappearing into the isles there. Arriving on a seemingly deserted island, Olivia is haunted by dreams about the lifelike statues spread among some ancient ruins. Conan meanwhile is more concerned with the arrival of a group of pirates and also has to contend with a giant ape-man stalking the jungle. The statues awaken at night and massacre most of the pirates, giving Conan time to commandeer their ship. Conan is acknowledged as the ship’s new captain and sails away with Olivia to more adventure.

Volumes

•Conan, Volume 1: The Frost-Giant’s Daughter, and Other Stories (2005). Collects Conan, issues 0-6 and part of issue 7. Beginning with an adaptation of Howard’s story “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter,” this volume moves forward in chronological order, relating Conan’s earliest adventures, including a journey to the decaying realm of Hyperborea.

•Conan, Volume 2: The God in the Bowl, and Other Stories (2005). Collects part of Conan, issues 7 and 9-14. Features the adaptation of Howard’s “God in the Bowl,” with a more thoughtful and less impulsive Conan, and, in an original story, introduces the controversial character Janissa the Widowmaker.

•Conan, Volume 3: The Tower of the Elephant, and Other Stories (2006). Collects part of Conan, issue 0, as well as issues 16-17 and 19-22. Features the adaptation of Howard’s “The Tower of the Elephant” in the City of Thieves, as a young Conan dares to invade a sorcerer’s tower and discovers a treasure different from the gold and jewels he sought.

•Conan, Volume 4: The Hall of the Dead, and Other Stories (2006). Collects part of Conan, issue 0, as well as issues 24, 25, 29-31, 33, and 34. Concludes Busiek’s run on the Conan series. Mignola takes over by adapting the two-page outline Howard left for “The Hall of the Dead.” The fragment showcases Conan in a strange situation involving a frog god and cursed treasure in a ghostly city. Truman follows Mignola’s story with an interstitial tale involving Conan on the run but moving toward the direction of Tarantia and the next major Howard tale.

•Conan: The Blood-Stained Crown, and Other Stories (2008). Collects Conan, issues 18, 26-28, and 39. This collection of stories, all originally written by Busiek, rounds out Conan as a character. For example, it explains the origins of his iconic horned helmet and shows a bit of Conan’s gigantic mirth as well as offering a few stories that are commentaries on the nature of storytelling itself.

•Conan: Born on the Battlefield (2008). Collects Conan, issues 0, 8, 15, 23, 32, 45, and 46. Provides the story of Conan’s early childhood, from his birth on a battlefield to learning to hunt, to love, and, to fight, the latter of which occurs at the Battle of Venarium.

•Conan, Volume 5: Rogues in the House, and Other Stories (2008). Collects part of Conan, issue 0, as well as issues 37, 38, and 41-44. Features the adaptation of Howard’s Edgar Allan Poe-like “Rogues in the House,” wherein Conan must survive a priest’s house of antitheft contraptions and a rebellious simian servant.

•Conan, Volume 6: The Hand of Nergal (2008). Collects Conan, issues 0 and 47-50. Features the adaptation of Howard’s “The Hand of Nergal,” including an original prelude, begun by him but finished after his death by Lin Carter. Conan must confront the necromancer Atalis to free the city of Yaralet.

•Conan, Volume 7: Cimmeria (2009). Collects Conan the Cimmerian, issues 0-7. Following his adventures in other lands, Conan returns to Cimmeria, weary of the machinations of civilization. The story interweaves flashbacks of Conan’s grandfather, Connacht, as Conan reunites with his first love, Caollan.

•Conan, Volume 8: Black Colossus (2010). Collects Conan the Cimmerian, issues 8-13. Features the adaptation of Howard’s “Black Colossus,” as Conan must confront the seemingly unstoppable wizard Natohk in defense of Princess Yasmela and her kingdom of Khoraja.

•Conan, Volume 9: Free Companions (2010). Collects Conan the Cimmerian, issues 14 and 16-21. Courtly intrigue prompts Conan to choose life back on the road as leader of a large army of mercenary swordsmen; eventually, their fame becomes their downfall, and Conan must avenge his murdered compatriots.

•Conan: The Spear, and Other Stories (2010). Collects Conan, issues 35, 36, and 40; Conan the Cimmerian, issue 15; and the Conan: Free Comic Book Day 2006 special issue. This collection of stories, all originally written by Truman, includes assorted vignettes from Conan’s reign as king of Aquilonia. Conan must variously contend with a variety of magicians and the vampiric queen Akivasha.

•Conan, Volume 10: Iron Shadows in the Moon (2011). Collects Conan the Cimmerian, issues 22-25, as well as the Weight of the Crown one-shot and its prologue from MySpace Dark Horse Presents. Features the adaptation of Howard’s “Iron Shadows in the Moon” and the conclusion of the Conan the Cimmerian series. Hunted by soldiers from Turan, Conan flees to the Vilayet Sea and seeks refuge on an island only to be trapped among the pirates of the Red Brotherhood, foreboding statues waiting within haunted ruins, and an ape stalking him through the jungle.

Characters

•Conan, born on a Cimmerian battlefield, became a thief and a slayer before becoming a king by his own hand. Distrustful of magic and wary of the rules of “civilized” men, Conan becomes one of the greatest warriors of the Hyborian Age through his prowess, iron will, and quick wits.

•Nestor, a mercenary from Gunderland, began as Conan’s rival, hunted him as an enemy, and eventually became a compatriot. After many adventures, Nestor is captured and is tortured to death instead of betraying Conan. His reanimated corpse had been cursed with a spell that compels him to try to kill Conan.

•Thoth-Amon is a major Stygian wizard who serves the serpent god Set. He fights with Conan repeatedly over their lives, and despite being armed with the Serpent Ring of Set, he is usually defeated or at least partially thwarted in his evil plans.

•Atali, the beautiful daughter of the frost giant god Ymir, lures wounded warriors away from battle and into the arms of her giant brothers. Conan escapes her trap and is left with only her veil as proof of his tale.

•Kalanthes, a priest of Ibis, is a force of good in the Hyborian lands, although his ways are often mysterious. His path occasionally crosses with that of Conan. Conan typically aides him and does not get much in return for his trouble.

•Janissa, known as the Widowmaker, abandoned a courtly life of pleasure, desiring to become a great warrior. She asks for the assistance of the witch known as the Bone Woman, who forces Janissa to fight against an ever-increasing horde of demons. Those that Janissa does not kill rape her. The Bone Woman heals Janissa each day, the magic strengthening her as her “training” continues. Her backstory makes her into an extremely controversial character.

•Yogah is an elephant-headed alien from the planet Yag. His cosmic wings are burned away by Earth’s atmosphere, and so he and others from his home world remain on Earth to watch the dawn of humanity. After millennia of existence, Yogah is the last of his race and is eventually imprisoned and tortured by the wizard Yara, who uses Yogah’s powers for nefarious tasks.

•Nabonidus, a.k.a. the Red Priest, is a master manipulator and high official in the Zamoran court. Dabbling in sciences such as botany and optics, which appear like magic to most people, Nabonidus makes his home into a series of traps for thieves and assassins, which are tended to by his apelike manservant, Thak.

•Iniri, a street waif and minor illusionist with some precognitive power, is saved by Conan and feels indebted to him, especially after she has a vision of doom for the Cimmerian. Attempting to follow Conan to warn him, she encounters Princess Ereshka and takes her place as kidnappers come to capture her. She eventually uses her power to help defeat the sorcerer Atalis.

•Blind Jerim, a spy who was blinded for a past offense, occasionally gives Conan intelligence and also looks out for Iniri as she searches for Conan. He imparts wisdom to those around him.

•Atalis, a wizard in the service of the malevolent god Nergal, hopes to transfer his essence from his dying body to that of Prince Than.

•Connacht, Conan’s grandfather, originally came from one of the southern Cimmerian tribes. Wandering the world, he has many adventures and eventually tires of the mercenary life (and the rules of civilized behavior), returning to Cimmeria, where he is wounded and then falls in love with the woman who helped heal him.

•Caollan, Conan’s first love, has grown in the years that Conan was away from Cimmeria. Upon his return, they realize they still have feelings for each other even though their lives have put them on different paths.

•Fialla, Conan’s mother, is a strong Cimmerian woman but recognizes the wanderlust in her son and encourages him to spend time with his grandfather.

•Amalric the Lion, leader of the mercenary army serving the nobility of Khoraja, provides Conan with serious military training in formal combat, honing Conan’s natural fighting skills.

•Yasmela, as the princess of Khoraja, trusts the fate of her nation to the hands of Conan while her brother, the crown prince, lies imprisoned. Attracted to Conan, they become lovers, but only for a brief time, as she realizes that he is not fit for courtly life.

•Natohk, originally the sorcerer king Thugra Khotan, ruler of the city of Kuthchemes, is centuries old when his city is overrun. Instead of perishing, he locks himself away, protected by magic, and sleeps for hundreds of years before awakening as Natohk. Driven by a desire to serve Set, he is compromised by his desire to possess Princess Yasmela.

•Shah Amurath, a nobleman charged with protecting Turanian trade routes, organizes an army to obliterate Conan and his Free Companions. Amurath’s sadism is expressed in his brutality not only on the battlefield but also in the bedchamber, particularly as he abuses Olivia, the daughter of the king of Ophir.

•Olivia, sold into bondage by her own father, inadvertently delivers Amurath to Conan’s vengeance, and she stays with Conan, who becomes her protector and lover.

Artistic Style

Conan is an iconic character that has received considerable visual treatment. Starting with the Weird Tales illustrations of the 1930’s, Conan attracted artists working in illustration, but Frank Frazetta, during the 1960’s, provided a new visual interpretation in a series of paintings done for paperback reprints of Conan stories that attracted a whole new generation of readers and redefined sword and sorcery as a genre. Frazetta’s work was so galvanizing that he is often cited as the artist who most captured the spirit of Conan and the standard by which other interpretations are measured. This is not to dismiss notable contributions by major talents such as Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Ernie Chan, Nord, or Giorello, but is pointed out to underscore just how powerful the imagery of Conan is for many readers.

The book is intended for mature audiences; thus, the nature of the visual adaptation of this incarnation of Conan at Dark Horse Comics, from the depictions of nudity to the graphic quality of violence, had to conform to the promise made by the company to stay true to Howard’s stories. At the same time, it had to be commercially viable, particularly given the First Amendment challenges some comics retailers face. This was certainly the case for cover artist Tony Harris, whose work on issue 24 was initially censored for publication since it depicted a fully nude woman. The original cover illustration was subsequently printed as a limited variant edition. Harris is just one cover artist, however, among many notable contributors, including Mignola, Frank Cho, Geof Darrow, Joseph Michael Linsner, and Joe Kubert, who have added their interpretation of Conan to the vast repository of imagery.

The issue of artistic continuity within a title is an interesting one to consider. As the two primary illustrators on Conan and Conan the Cimmerian, Nord and Giorello each brought their visual styles to the character while matching a general aesthetic already associated with Conan. Nord cites Frazetta and the Kubert brothers as influences on his own art, while Giorello also has a similarly strong background in fantasy art, citing Buscema, Neal Adams, and Alfredo Alcala as significant figures. With this set of progenitors, Nord and Giorello brought a controlled chaos to their lines, giving Conan a hardness that mirrored the desire for a more mature treatment through an increased level of realization with regard to violence. Howard himself appears in the prologue to Conan the Cimmerian, writing the poem “Cimmeria,” with images from the comic illustrating the words of his famous verse.

One final issue of note concerns the format of the captions used for narration within the issues, specifically the typewriter-style font used within that is strikingly different from that used within the speech balloons by letterer Richard Starkings. The appearance of the typewritten lines was selected as a means to suggest that the reader is somehow viewing the words as Howard might have written them; however, this caused some controversy as it created a tension between the suspension of disbelief necessary for the story and recognizing at a metanarrative level that this is in fact a story. Howard’s presence is actually underscored in each issue of Conan in the presence of The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob, by Jim and Ruth Keegan, found on each issue’s letter page. Through the illustration of excerpts from Howard’s letters and biographies in a comic-strip format, Howard himself has become a comic book creation.

Themes

One of the major themes in Conan is the tension between civilization and barbarism. Conan may have repeatedly been called a barbarian—although Dark Horse Comics chose to avoid this designation, likely because of the Marvel Comics series—but his actions often make him more honorable than those people from “civilized” lands that he encounters, who often covet money or power. Howard often wrote of his feelings about the trappings of civilization in his letters to fellow fantasy writer H. P. Lovecraft and also commented on this topic within his stories. Perhaps the most famous declaration came in the 1935 short story “Beyond the Black River.”

“Barbarism is the natural state of mankind,” the borderer said, still staring somberly at the Cimmerian. “Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph.”

While Conan is often motivated by personal gain or basic survival, it is problematic to see him as an antihero, as he has a sense of ethics when it comes to protecting those under his care. This begins with friends and family but extends to his kingdom after he becomes ruler of Aquilonia. Conan’s sense that the machinations of politics are far more underhanded than those of armed conflict are expressed in 1933’s “Tower of the Elephant,” when he states, “Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing”. It is expressed again in 1935’s “Rogues in the House,” when he tells Nabonidus, “Someday, when all your civilization and science are likewise swept away, your kind will pray for a man with a sword.” Eventually this displayed disgust toward the convenient excuses that allows civilized men to do heinous acts prompts Conan to return to Cimmeria after the early part of his life. Although his wanderlust eventually overcomes his distaste, and he leaves his homeland again, Conan continues to find the rules of polite society to be a minor irritant at best and the ultimate source of villainy at worst.

Another theme is the function of free will in shaping one’s own destiny. Conan is destined to become a king, but by his own hand, meaning the time and method will be his choosing. He is self-reliant, espousing a sort of rugged individualism that Howard himself espoused in the frontier of Texas hill country. In this regard, Conan is reflective of the time of his creation, with the United States struggling under the Great Depression and Howard struggling to sustain himself as a writer, an occupation quite in opposition to the manly physical activities of most men around him. By contrast, Conan’s physical prowess is often at the forefront of his successes, yet his intellectual component should not be overlooked; his ability to think is particularly highlighted in Howard’s prose. The thoughtful nature of Conan is often overlooked in the comic books because of the action component, or in Conan’s preference for a solid broadsword over some magician’s parlor tricks, but discerning readers will note a great deal of complexity beneath the Cimmerian’s brooding visage.

Impact

The excitement over the release of a Conan title was palpable both in the comics community and in Howard fandom, particularly since Dark Horse Comics had made the commitment to execute the adaptations in a manner faithful to the original source material. The final product became an immediate source of debate. Was the art style in line with Howard’s vision? How much interstitial narrative material could the creators inject to link the Howard stories together, giving them continuity, and still remain thematically and perhaps prosaically consistent with Howard’s original texts? An incident in which Conan slapped a young boy became a major debate about the nature of Conan’s personality and whether or not the incident was consistent with his persona. Interestingly, this debate not only appeared in the letter column in the individual issues but also was argued quite strenuously on the Internet, which allowed Busiek and other contributors to respond directly to their detractors and supporters.

Another firestorm of controversy ignited over the backstory of Janissa. While linking the rape of a woman with warrior skills had already occurred in the pages of Conan the Barbarian, with the character of Red Sonja, many readers felt that the writing should have had a more contemporary, and sensitive, attitude toward gender issues, while others contended that it was permissible for the writing to reflect a hard, less civilized edge. Ultimately, when it came to “faithfully” adapting the source material, Dark Horse Comics and its contributors seemed to make an effort to balance their versions of the Howard stories with their interest in contributing to the legend of Conan. This resulted in the creation of original material, some worked into the Conan canon and other published as stand-alone titles. The overall nature of this debate highlights some important issues when it comes to adapting work, including moving from one medium to another and defining the nature of authorial intent.

Conan is likely a creation far beyond anything that Howard had originally conceived, however powerful his original vision of Conan may have been. The centenary celebration of Howard’s birth in 2006 helped to increase attention on Howard’s works and created solid sales for Dark Horse Comics, which also began reprinting the older Marvel Comics Conan titles, thus linking the two primary sets of adaptations. The new Conan comic books also helped foster an interest in Conan in other areas, including the Conan (2007) and Age of Conan (2008) video games, a line of action figures from McFarlane Toys in 2004 and 2005, and a few video projects, including a live-action film and an animated adaptation of the novella Red Nails.

Films

Conan the Barbarian. Directed by Marcus Nispel. Lionsgate (2011). Starring Jason Momoa as Conan, the film offers a fresh interpretation of the Conan legend, with the warrior traversing a harsh land, battling witches, monsters, and the warlord responsible for destroying his village.

Conan the Barbarian. Directed by John Milius. De Laurentiis/Universal Pictures (1982). Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, the film is essentially a revenge story, in which Conan, sold in to slavery, hunts for the warlord responsible for killing his people.

Conan the Destroyer. Directed by Richard Fleischer. De Laurentiis/Universal Pictures, 1984. Starring Schwarzenegger as Conan and Grace Jones as Zula, the film finds Conan seeking a magic crystal that, if he possesses it, will resurrect his dead love.

Further Reading

Allie, Scott. Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil (2009).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Solomon Kane: Death’s Black Riders (2010).

Busiek, Kurt, and Len Wein. Conan: Book of Thoth (2006).

Landsdale, Joe. Pigeons from Hell (2009).

Landsdale, Joe, and Timothy Truman. Conan and the Songs of the Dead (2007).

Nelson, Arvid. Kull: The Shadow Kingdom (2009).

Russell, P. Craig. Conan and the Jewels of Gwalhur (2005).

Thomas, Roy. Almuric (1991).

Thomas, Roy, et al. The Chronicles of Kull, Volume 1: A King Comes Riding, and Other Stories (2009).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Chronicles of Kull, Volume 2: The Hell Beneath Atlantis, and Other Stories (2009).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Chronicles of Kull, Volume 3: Screams in the Dark, and Other Stories (2009).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Chronicles of Kull, Volume 4: The Blood of Kings and Other Stories (2011).

Thomas, Roy, et al. Conan the Barbarian (1970-1994). Reprinted in The Chronicles of Conan (2003- ).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Saga of Solomon Kane (2009).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Savage Sword of Conan. Reprint. (2008- ).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Savage Sword of Kull (2010).

Thomas, Roy, and Ralph Macchio. The Chronicles of Solomon Kane (2009).

Thomas, Roy, and Dann Thomas. Cormac Mac Art (1989).

Yoshida, Akira. Conan and the Demons of Khitai (2006).

Bibliography

Finn, Mark. Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard. Austin, Tex.: MonkeyBrain Books, 2006.

Herman, Paul. The Neverending Hunt: A Bibliography of Robert E. Howard. Rockville, Md.: Wildside Press, 2007.

Nielsen, Leon. Robert E. Howard: A Collector’s Descriptive Bibliography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006.

Sammon, Paul. Conan the Phenomenon: The Legacy of Robert E. Howard’s Fantasy Icon. Milwaukie, Ore.: Dark Horse Books, 2007.

Szumskyj, Benjamin. Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard. New York: Hippocampus Press, 2006.

Thomas, Roy. Conan: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Most Savage Barbarian. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2006.