As was reported last year, Marvel's rights to the Conan was returned to its original owners last year.
Today, Titan Comics has announced that Conan will be returning this summer in an all-new comic book series, with Conan the Barbarian #1 landing at retailers on July 26th, 2023.
The series will kick off with a brand new heroic story written by renowned and long-time Conan comic book scribe Jim Zub (Thunderbolts, Uncanny Avengers), along with artwork by Robert De La Torre (King-Size Conan, Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
The first issue will be available for pre-order in this month's issue of Diamond PREVIEWS as well as via Forbidden Planet in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. The digital edition is available for pre-order through Amazon.com. The cover price of the first issue will be $3.99.
In order to mark the occasion of the announcement, Titan Comics has made available a plethora of new content, such as a teaser, a number of the alternative covers, and even some of the interior pages.
According to the information provided in the press release, the new series takes place several years after the battle of Venarium. A weary Conan returns to his country to seek peace and seclusion, but his time there is cut short when a strange scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an incoming menace that is on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will Conan and his new buddy be able to stop the onslaught of invaders from reaching their destination?
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About Robert E. Howard's "Conan"
In the middle of the decade known as the Roaring Twenties, a writer of pulp fiction created a protagonist who would go on to become an important component of the fantasy genre. Conan the Barbarian, a character who would forever alter the landscape of sword-and-sorcery fiction, was first presented to the world by Robert E. Howard, a native of Texas who possessed a vivid imagination and a talent for creating stories. Howard was a natural storyteller.
Conan was born in the prehistoric and mythological world of the "Hyborian Age," and his adventures, which are documented in a series of short stories and books, are a spectacular mix of daring heroics, mystical aspects, and raw, unadulterated savagery. In this universe, Howard explained it best when he said that "the weak and the foolhardy perish quickly."
The life of Conan has been nothing short of an epic whirlwind. He starts off as a thief, then moves on to become a mercenary, evolves into a pirate, and ultimately ascends to the position of king. His ascent is evidence of his unbreakable will, unparalleled physical prowess, and astute mental acumen. Both on and off the field of war, the character is a formidable adversary because to the larger-than-life demeanor he exudes and the extraordinary physical abilities he possesses.
When Howard came up with the idea for Conan, he not only gave the world a new character, but he also laid the groundwork for an entire subgenre of fantasy fiction that is now known as "sword and sorcery." This subgenre of fantasy, which is distinguished by its emphasis on personal problems rather than epic, world-altering conflicts, exemplifies the gritty underbelly of the fantasy genre. It eschews the chivalrous knights and powerful magic of classic fantasy in favor of a more realistic and frequently morally gray point of view.
Conan had his debut in a short story published in 1932 within the pages of the pulp magazine Weird Tales under the title "The Phoenix on the Sword." The novella "The Tower of the Elephant," written by Howard in 1934, is widely regarded as one of the author's most accomplished works and was the catalyst for the character's great breakthrough. From that point on, Conan's popularity increased, and Howard wrote a total of 20 additional stories before passing away in 1936.
Even though Howard passed away at a young age, Conan's legend has lived on, and the character became even more well-known in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of a series of comic book adaptations that were published by Marvel Comics. Because of the success of these comics, there was a rebirth in interest in Howard's original stories, and before long, Conan had become a well-known character.
The influence that Conan has had on culture has been significant. In addition to the various adaptations that have been made into books, comics, and films, he has been the source of inspiration for innumerable other fantasy characters and has become a symbol of raw, primal force.
From his inauspicious beginnings in the pages of Weird Tales, Conan the Barbarian has risen to become a staple of the fantasy genre. He is a character who represents the spirit of adventure and the drive to power. The enduring appeal of Howard's vision, which he described as a world in which only the strong survive and in which the clash of swords and the thunder of combat are the melody of life, is demonstrated by the popularity that he has maintained throughout the years.