Conan (Dark Horse Comics)

Conan
A double panel from issue #0 - The Legend
Publication information
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Number of issues	120 (including one-shots and mini-series)

Conan, the sword-and-sorcery character created by Robert E. Howard, is the protagonist of four major comic series published by Dark Horse Comics. The first series, entitled simply Conan ran for 50 issues from 2004 to 2008; the second, entitled Conan the Cimmerian, began publication in 2008 and lasted 25 issues until 2010; the third series, entitled Conan: Road of Kings, started publishing in December 2010 and will end in January 2012; a fourth series, entitled Conan the Barbarian, will launch in February 2012. Dark Horse has also published a few one-shots and more than half a dozen mini-series.

Dark Horse is also publishing ongoing series of collections of the original Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian, The Savage Sword of Conan [the Barbarian] and King Conan series in graphic novel format.

Overview

Dark Horse Comics began their take on Conan in 2003 with a one-shot prologue, Conan #0: Conan the Legend.^[1]

The Conan, Conan the Cimmerian and Conan: Road of Kings series present a fresh interpretation, incorporating both new material and adaptations of stories by Robert E. Howard, with no other connection to many Marvel Comics series or other post-Howard material. An ongoing dialogue between two characters, the Prince and the Wazir, living in an age centuries in Conan's future, is often used as a framing device for the stories.

Each issue also contains "The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob (True Stories from the Life of Robert E. Howard)" by Jim & Ruth Keegan.

Core appearances

• Conan #0: The Legend (2003), 1 issue.
• Conan (2004–2008), 50 issues.
• Conan And the Daughters of Midora (2004), 1 issue.
• Conan And the Jewels of Gwahlur (2005), 3 issues.
• Conan And the Demons of Khitai (2005–2006), 4 issues.
• Conan: Book of Thoth (2006), 4 issues.
• Conan: Free Comic Book Day Edition (2006), 1 issue.
• Conan And the Songs of the Dead (2006), 5 issues.
• Dark Horse 20 Years: Conan Pin-Up (2006), 1 page.
• Hyborian Adventures: SDCC Free Giveaway (2006), 1 issue.
• Conan And the Midnight God (2007), 5 issues.
• Conan the Cimmerian (2008-2010), 26 issues.
• Conan And the Mad King of Gaul (2009), 2 online eight-page issues.
• Conan: The Weight of the Crown (2010), 1 issue.
• Conan: Kiss of the Undead (2010), 1 online eight-page issue.
• Conan: Road of Kings (2010-2012), 12 issues.
• King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel (2011), 4 issues.
• Conan: Island of No Return (2011), 2 issues.
• King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword (2012), 4 issues.
• Conan the Barbarian (2012-), ongoing.

Ongoing series

The three main Dark Horse Conan series', Conan, Conan the Cimmerian and Conan: Road of Kings make up a larger ongoing series. This indicated by numbering on the inner cover of these books with the text, "Number [#] in a series".

Conan

Conan was Dark Horse Comics' first series about Conan the Cimmerian.

The comic's art consists of only color and pencilwork, with no inkwork, providing a painterly aesthetic.

The series follow Dale Rippke's "Darkstorm" chronology. The story "Helm" in Conan #18 addresses one of the major "faults" in that chronology.

Creative teams

Conan

Kurt Busiek (writer) and Cary Nord (artist) (2003–2006)

Tim Truman (writer) and Cary Nord (artist) (2007)

Tim Truman (writer) and Tomas Giorello (artist) (2008)

Born on the Battlefield filler issues: Kurt Busiek (writer) & Greg Ruth (artist)

Issues

Issue	Title	Writer	Penciller	Color	Cover	Notes
#0	"Conan the Legend"	Kurt Busiek	Cary Nord	Dave Stewart	Cary Nord	[2]
#1	"Out of the Darksome Hills"				Original cover by Joseph Michael Linsner, Variant covers by Cary Nord; J. Scott Campbell
#2	"The Frost Giant's Daughter"	Kurt Busiek, adapting Robert E. Howard's "The Frost Giant's Daughter"			Joseph Michael Linsner
#3	"At the Back of the North Wind"	Kurt Busiek
#4	"The Gates of Paradise"
#5	"Ashes And Dust"
#6	"Day of Farewell"
#7	"Blood For Blood"
#8	"Born On the Battlefield"		Greg Ruth			Born On the Battlefield, part 1
#9	"Two Nemedians Walk Into A Bar"		Cary Nord Thomas Yeates	Dave Stewart	Leinil Francis Yu
#10	"The Temple of Kallian Publico"	Kurt Busiek, adapting Robert E. Howard's "The God in the Bowl"
#11	"The God In the Bowl"
#12	"The Hanumar Road"	Kurt Busiek
#13	"The Devil Within"
#14	"The Ibis and the Serpent"		Cary Nord Tom Mandrake Thomas Yeates
#15	"Wolves In the Woods"		Greg Ruth			Born On the Battlefield, part 2
#16	"Horror On Uskuth Hill"		Cary Nord	Dave Stewart	Cary Nord Dave Stewart
#17	"The City of Thieves"
#18	"Helm"	Kurt Busiek Fabian Nicieza	John Severin	Michelle Madsen		[3]
	"Conan's Favorite Joke"	Kurt Busiek	Bruce Timm			[4]
#19	"The Thing In the Temple"		Cary Nord	Dave Stewart
#20	"The Tower of the Elephant"	Kurt Busiek, adapting Robert E. Howard's "The Tower of the Elephant"			Ladrönn
#21	"The Prince of Thieves"
#22	"The Heart of Yag-Kosha"
#23	"The Battle of Brita's Vale"	Kurt Busiek	Greg Ruth			Born On the Battlefield, part 3
#24	"The Magistrate's Wife"		Cary Nord	Dave Stewart	Cary Nord Dave Stewart
#25	"The Hand of the Mighty"				Tony Harris
#26	"Seeds of Empire (A Tale of Princes - and, perhaps, of Kings!)"		Tim Truman			[2][4]
#27	"The Blood-Stained Crown (A tale of those who tread The Path of Kings!)"
#28	"Storyteller"		Eric Powell			[4]
#29	"The Toad"	Mike Mignola, adapting Robert E. Howard's synopsis "The Hall of the Dead"	Cary Nord
#30	"The Serpent"
#31	"The Hall of the Dead"
#32	"Wild Cimmerian Bull"	Kurt Busiek	Greg Ruth			Born On the Battlefield, part 4
#33	"Dogs of the Hills"	Tim Truman	Cary Nord	Dave Stewart	Tony Harris
#34	"The Sons of Bel"
#35	"They Shall Be Lords Again"		Paul Lee			[4]
#36	"Silent To the Sea"
#37	"Rat's Den"		Cary Nord	Richard Isanove	Richard Isanove Cary Nord
#38	"The Maze"
#39	"In the Tower of Tara-Teth"	Kurt Busiek	Rafael Kayanan		Cary Nord	[4]
#40	"The Tale of the Head"	Tim Truman	Paul Lee	Dave Stewart	Paul Lee
#41	"Rogues At the Door"	Tim Truman, adapting Robert E. Howard's "Rogues In the House"	Cary Nord	Richard Isanove	Cary Nord
#42	"Red House, Red Priest"
#43	"The Pits of Refuge"		Tomas Giorello
#44	"Man vs Beast"		Cary Nord
#45	"Venarium"	Kurt Busiek	Greg Ruth			Born On the Battlefield, part 5
#46	"Over the Walls"					Born On the Battlefield, part 6
#47	"The Spawn of Nergal"	Tim Truman, adapting Robert E. Howard's "The Hand of Nergal"	Tomas Giorello	JD Mettler Tony Shasteen	Tomas Giorello	The cover title is "The Hand of Nergal"
#48	"Darkness Over Yaralet"			JD Mettler		The cover title is "Darkness Rising"
#49	"Flesh For the Gods of the Night"			José Villarrúbia
#50	"The Hand of Nergal"					There is no cover title

Collections

Main sequence:

• Volume 0: Born on the Battlefield (2008) — Collects #8, 15, 23, 32 and 45-46. Story: Kurt Busiek, Art: Greg Ruth.
• Volume 1: The Frost Giant's Daughter and other stories (2005) — Collects #0-6 and #7 (14 pages) of the comic series Conan. Also includes a 3 page, black and white, original Conan story written by Kurt Busiek, and penciled by Cary Nord, never to be concluded. Original cover by Cary Nord.
• Volume 2: The God In the Bowl and other stories (2005) — Collects #7 (remaining 8 pages) and #9-14. Original cover by Cary Nord.
• Volume 3: The Tower of the Elephant and other stories (2006) — Collects #16-17 and 19-22. Original cover by Cary Nord.
• Volume 4: The Hall of the Dead and other stories (2007) — Collects #24-25, 29-31 and 33-34. Original cover by Cary Nord.
• Volume 5: Rogues In the House and other stories (2008) — Collects #37-38 and 41-44.
• Volume 6: The Hand of Nergal (2008) — Collects #47-50. Original cover by Tomas Giorello.

Supplemental:

• The Blood-Stained Crown and other stories (2008) — Collects #18, 26-28 and 39.
• The Spear and other stories (2010) — Collects Conan Free Comic Book Day 2006, Conan #35-36, 40 and Conan the Cimmerian #15.

Dark Horse also published a short series of specials reprinting stories based on the works of Robert E. Howard:

• R. E. Howard's Conan: The Frost Giant's Daughter — Reprints Conan #2.
• R. E. Howard's Conan: The Frazetta Cover Series #2 — Reprints Conan #10-11.

Awards

• 4 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
• Best Single Issue or One-Shot: Conan #0: "The Legend "
• 4 Eagle Awards
• Favourite new comicbook: Conan

Controversies

Nude cover

Nude variant cover of Conan #24.

Starting at issue #24, Tony Harris became the permanent cover artist. One of the first pieces of art Harris submitted to Conan editor Scott Allie was a fully nude version of the cover of #24. Allie inserted the artwork in a blurb at the back of Conan And the Demons of Khitai #3. This displeased some comic store owners, and Conan And the Demons of Khitai #3 was reprinted with the real cover in the blurb. Even so, 4,000 copies of Conan #24 were printed with the nude cover, and distributed through the Diamond Dateline retail newsletter shrink-wrapped in black plastic.^[5][6]

Conan the Cimmerian

Conan the Cimmerian was Dark Horse Comics' second series about Conan.

A 99¢ issue #0 was published June 2008, followed by the first issue of the series in July (with the usual cover price of $2.99). The series ended with issue #25 in November 2010.

Creative teams

Tim Truman^[7] (writer), Tomás Giorello^[8] (artist), Richard Corben (artist) and José Villarrubia (colorist).

Issues

Issue	Title	Writer	Penciller	Color	Cover	Notes
#0	"Cimmeria"	Tim Truman	Tomás Giorello	José Villarrubia	Tomás Giorello	[9]
#1	"Hunter's Moon"		Tomás Giorello Richard Corben		Original cover by Frank Cho, Variant cover by Joe Kubert	[10]
#2	"Mark of the Wolf"				Frank Cho
#3	"Path of Mist"
#4	"The Skrae"
#5	"The Wolf's Promise"
#6	"Homecoming"
#7	"Darkness And the Night"
#8	"The Scorpion"	Tim Truman, adapting Robert E. Howard's "Black Colossus"	Tomás Giorello		Joseph Michael Linsner
#9	"The Mercenary"
#10	"The Commander"
#11	"The Face On the Coin"
#12	"The Battle of Shamla Pass"
#13	"Black Altar"
#14	"Home For the Hunt"	Tim Truman	Joe Kubert Tim Truman
#15	"The Sorrow of Akivasha"		Paul Lee
#16	"Free Companions, part 1"		Tomás Giorello	José Villarrubia
#17	"Free Companions, part 2"
#18	"Free Companions, part 3"
#19	"Kozaki, part 1"
#20	"Kozaki, part 2"				Cary Nord Dave Stewart
#21	"Kozaki, part 3"
#22	"Iron Shadows In the Moon, part 1"		Tomás Giorello Paul Lee
#23	"Iron Shadows In the Moon, part 2"		Tomás Giorello		Tomás Giorello
#24	"Iron Shadows In the Moon, part 3"
#25	"Iron Shadows In the Moon, part 4"

Conan the Cimmerian at the Comic Book DB

Collections

Main sequence:

• Volume 7: Cimmeria (2009) — Collects #0-7. Story: Timothy Truman, Art: Tomás Giorello, Richard Corben, José Villarrubia.
• Volume 8: Black Colossus (2010) — Collects #8-13. Story: Timothy Truman, Art: Tomás Giorello, José Villarrubia.
• Volume 9: Free Companions (2010) — Collects #14 and #16-21. Story: Timothy Truman, Art: Tomás Giorello, José Villarrubia.
• Volume 10: Iron Shadows In the Moon (2011) — Collects #22-25 and Weight of the Crown one-shot with its Conan And the Mad King of Gaul short-story prologue. Story: Timothy Truman, Art: Tomás Giorello, José Villarrubia.

Conan: Road of Kings

Conan: Road of Kings is Dark Horse Comics' third ongoing series about Conan.

Creative Teams

Roy Thomas (writer) Mike Hawthorne (artist)

Issues

Issue	Title	Writer	Penciller	Color	Cover	Notes
#1	Untitled	Roy Thomas	Mike Hawthorne	Dave Stewart	Original cover by Doug Wheatley, Variant cover by Dale Keown
#2	"Shadizar the Wicked"				Doug Wheatley
#3	Untitled
#4	Untitled
#5	Untitled
#6	Untitled
#7	"Of Princes And Plotters"			Dan Jackson	Aleksi Briclot
#8	"The Horrors Beneath the Stones"
#9	"When Death Takes Wing..."		Dan Panosian
#10	"Is Tarantia Burning?"
#11	Untitled		Mike Hawthorne
#12	Untitled

Collections

Main sequence:

• Volume 11: Road of Kings (2012) — Collects #1-6. Story: Roy Thomas, Art: Mike Hawthorne, John Lucas, Jason Gorder, Dave Stewart, Dan Jackson.

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian is going to be Dark Horse Comics' fourth ongoing series about Conan.

Mini-series and one shots

Conan And the Daughters of Midora

Conan And the Daughters of Midora was a one-shot published in 2004. It was written by Jimmy Palmiotti, with art (incl. cover) by Mark Texeira. The story was set years later than the events in the ongoing series.^[11]

Conan And the Jewels of Gwahlur

Conan And the Jewels of Gwahlur was a three-issue mini-series published in 2005. It was adapted from Robert E. Howard's "The Jewels of Gwahlur" by P. Craig Russell.

Conan And the Demons of Khitai

Conan And the Demons of Khitai was a four-issue mini-series by Akira Yoshida and Paul Lee published in 2005 - 2006.

Conan: The Book of Thoth

Conan: The Book of Thoth was a four-issue mini-series by Kurt Busiek, Len Wein and Kelley Jones, detailing the early life of the Conan villain.

Conan And the Songs of the Dead

Conan And the Songs of the Dead was a five-issue mini-series published in 2006.

Conan And the Midnight God

Conan And the Midnight God was a five-issue mini-series published in 2007.

A prelude to this series was published as the one-shot, Conan Funcom Special (2006), written by Joshua M. Dysart, with art by Tone Rodriguez, and cover by Cary Nord.

Conan: The Weight of the Crown

Conan: The Weight of the Crown was a one-shot published in 2010.

A prelude to this issue was published as two online eight-page issues titled Conan And the Mad King of Gaul (2009).

King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel

King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel is a four-issue mini-series published in 2011. It was adapted from Robert E. Howard's "The Scarlet Citadel".

Conan: Island of No Return

Conan: Island of No Return is a two-issue mini-series published in 2011.

A prelude to this series was published on the site of USA Today as the one-shot, Conan: Kiss of the Undead (2010), online eight-page issue.

King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword

King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword is a four-issue mini-series scheduled for 2012. It will be adapted from Robert E. Howard's "The Phoenix on the Sword".

Collections

• Conan And the Jewels of Gwahlur (2005) — Collects the mini-series of the same name. Original cover by P. Craig Russell.
• Conan And the Demons of Khitai (2006) — Collects the mini-series of the same name. Original cover by Pat Lee.
• Conan: Book of Thoth (2006) — Collects the mini-series of the same name. Original cover by Kelley Jones.
• Conan And the Songs of the Dead (2007) — Collects the mini-series of the same name. Original cover by Timothy Truman.
• Conan And the Midnight God (2007) — Collects the mini-series of the same name. Original cover by Jason Shaw Alexander.
• King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel (2012) — Collects the mini-series of the same name. Original cover by Gerald Parel.

Adaptations of Robert E. Howard's original stories

An interior panel of the Conan #2 (Collected in The Frost Giant's Daughter and Other Stories) comic adaptation by Kurt Busiek featuring art by Cary Nord and Thomas Yeates. The original short story was written by Robert E. Howard in 1932 and was not published during his brief lifetime.

Conan adapts these stories:

• "The Frost-Giant's Daughter": Issue 2.
• "The God in the Bowl": Issues 10 & 11.
• "The Tower of the Elephant": Issues 20-22.
• "The Hall of the Dead": Issues 29-31.
• "Rogues in the House": Issues 41-44.
• "The Hand of Nergal": Issues 47-50.

Conan the Cimmerian adapts these stories:

• "Black Colossus": Issues 8-13.
• "Iron Shadows in the Moon": Issues 22-25.

Conan the Barbarian adapts these stories:

• "Queen of the Black Coast": Issues 1-.

Conan And the Jewels of Gwahlur (mini-series and collection) adapts:

• "Jewels of Gwahlur" ("The Servants of Bit-Yakin")

King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel (mini-series and collection) adapts:

• "The Scarlet Citadel"

King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword (mini-series and collection) adapts:

• "The Phoenix on the Sword"

Collections of Marvel Comics comics

The Chronicles of Conan

This series collects Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian (unless noted), digitally re-coloured.

By Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith (unless noted):

• Volume 1: Tower of the Elephant and other stories (2003) — collects issues 1-8.
• Volume 2: Rogues In the House and other stories (2003) — collects issues 9-13, 16.
• Volume 3: The Monster of the Monoliths and other stories (2003) — collects issues 14-15, 17-21 (also by Gil Kane).
• Volume 4: The Song of Red Sonja and other stories (2004) — collects issues 23-26 and Red Nails, originally published in Savage Tales 2 & 3.

By Roy Thomas and John Buscema (unless noted):

• Volume 5: The Shadow In the Tomb and other stories (2004) — collects issues 27-34.
• Volume 6: The Curse of the Golden Skull and other stories (2004) — collects issues 35-42 (also by Neal Adams and Rich Buckler).
• Volume 7: The Dweller In the Pool and other stories (2005) — collects issues 43-51.
• Volume 8: The Tower of Blood and other stories (2006) — collects issues 52-59 (also by Mike Ploog).
• Volume 9: Riders of the River-Dragons and other stories (2005) — collects issues 60-63, 65, 69-71 (also by Val Mayerik).
• Volume 10: When Giants Walk the Earth and other stories (2006) — collects issues 72-77, 79-81 (also by Howard Chaykin).
• Volume 11: The Dance of the Skull and other stories (2007) — collects issues 82-86, 88-90 (also by Howard Chaykin).
• Volume 12: The Beast King of Abombi and other stories (2007)— collects issues 91, 93-100.
• Volume 13: Whispering Shadows and other stories (November 2007) — collects issues 92, 101-108 (also by Sal Buscema).
• Volume 14: Shadow of the Beast and other stories (2008) — collects issues 109-115.
• Volume 15: The Corridor of Mullah-Kajar and other stories (July 2008) — collects issues 116-121 and Conan Annual #2 (also by J.M. DeMatteis and Larry Hama).
• Volume 16: The Eternity War and other stories" (December 2008) — collects issues 122-126 and Conan Annual #4-5 (also by J.M. DeMatteis).

By Roy Thomas, J.M. DeMatteis, Bruce Jones and Gil Kane

• Volume 17: The Creation Quest and other stories" (February 2009) — collects issues 127-134 and Conan Annual #6.

By Bruce Jones and John Buscema and others

• Volume 18: The Isle of the Dead and other stories" (September 2009) — collects issues 135-142.
• Volume 19: Deathmark and other stories" (June 2010) — collects issues 143-150.

By Michael Fleisher and John Buscema and others

• Volume 20: Night of the Wolf and other stories" (December 2010) — collects issues 151-159.
• Volume 21: Blood of the Titan and other stories" (August 2011) — collects 160-167 and Conan Annual #7.

The Savage Sword of Conan

This series collects Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan:

• Volume 1 — Collects issues 1-10. Written by Roy Thomas, Art by Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Pablo Marcos and many more. (ISBN 1593078382)
• Volume 2 — Collects issues 11-24. Written by Roy Thomas, Art by Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema. (ISBN 1593078943)
• Volume 3 — Collects issues 25-36. Written by Roy Thomas, Art by John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Pablo Marcos and many more. (ISBN 1593079605)
• Volume 4 — Collects issues 37-48. Written by Roy Thomas, Art by John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Ernie Colon, Klaus Janson, Gil Kane, Tony DeZuniga and many more. (ISBN 159582149X)
• Volume 5 — Collects issues 49-60. Written by Roy Thomas, Art by John Buscema and many more. (ISBN 1595821759)
• Volume 6 — Collects issues 61-71. Written by Roy Thomas, Michael Fleisher and Bruce Jones. Art by John Buscema and many more. (ISBN 1595823751)
• Volume 7 — Collects issues 72-84. (ISBN 978-1595825100)
• Volume 8 — Collects issues 85-93. (ISBN 978-1595825827)
• Volume 9 — (ISBN 978-1595826480)
• Volume 10 — (ISBN 978-1595827999)

The Chronicles of King Conan

This series collects Marvel Comics' King Conan:

• Volume 1 - The Witch of the Mists and other stories — Collects issues 1-5. Written by Roy Thomas, Art by John Buscema, Ernie Chan and Danny Bulanadi. (ISBN 978-1593074777)
• Volume 2 - Vengeance From the Desert and other stories — Collects issues 6-10. Written by Roy Thomas and Doug Moench. Art by John Buscema and Ernie Chan. (ISBN 978-1595826701)

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ ^{a b} Story is about the Prince and the Wazir reading the stories rather than about Conan, some events in Conan's life may have been altered.
3. ^ This story follows on from Conan's lost helm on the final page of issue 3, and follows its journey.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} This story is out of sequence, showing future events in Conan's life.
5. ^ "Dark Horse Clears Up Conan's Naked Cover Issue". http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?threadid=53201. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 
6. ^ "CONAN #24". Mania Comics. http://www.mania.com/50504.html. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 
7. ^ Tim Truman on Conan the Cimmerian, Newsarama, May 21, 2008
8. ^ Tomas Giorello on Conan the Cimmerian, Newsarama, May 22, 2008
9. ^ Inspired by a poem by Robert E. Howard.
10. ^ Richard Corben's part as substories of the adventures of Connacht, grandfather of Conan.
11. ^ [2]

External links

• Tim Truman in a podcast interview on the "reboot" of Conan the Cimmerian at comiXology
• All Conan Dark Horse comic covers
• Covers for books