SDCC 2023: CONAN THE BARBARIAN

By Crom! Popular belief contends that Saturday in Hall H tends to be the hottest place to be during SDCC, but a second floor room of the Convention Center on Sunday morning at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 held a slew of surprises in store for hardcore Conan fans. Finally back where he belongs, Titan Comics talked about their new ongoing Conan the Barbarian comic series from writer Jim Zub and artist Roberto de la Torre, but then swung the ax with an unexpected announcement certain to please longtime fans of Robert E. Howard’s enduring pulp figure.

First things first. With his renewed run at Marvel now concluded, Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are ecstatic to bring back Conan with an all-new tale of bravery and heroism that kicks off what will hopefully begin another long run of sword & sorcery stories. Conan the Barbarian #1 goes on sale August 2nd and there are a whole host of cover options to choose from, with artists including Patch Zircher, Jae Lee, and Hellboy legend Mike Mignola, among many others. The first issue is summarized as:

Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

Keep scrolling throughout this coverage for a lush look at the debut issue’s first few pages of interior art.

Heroic Signatures president Fred Malmberg, editor Matt Murray, Forbidden Planet TV’s Andrew Sumner, writer Jim Zub, letterer Richard Starkings, and several other personalities dropped in for Sunday’s lively panel, which started with panelists leading the audience in a loud recitation of Conan’s signature answer to the question, “What is best in life?” If you know, you know, and everyone in the room certainly knew. Naturally, one of the perks of Comic-Con is free swag, and they gave away a lot of it. Everyone who attended the panel received a free comic, several stickers, and a quartet of Conan miniatures from the board game. A raffle even sent one lucky guest home with a behemoth prize pack fit for the King of Aquilonia!

But by far the highlight of the hour was the surprise announcement that in addition to Conan the Barbarian, The Savage Sword of Conan is also making a comeback, in all its oversized black & white glory! Launching in comic shops in 2024 during the 50th anniversary celebration, the brand-new Savage Sword of Conan magazine will be written and drawn in its original throwback style by a “murderers row” of writers and artists including John Arcudi, Frank Tieri, Patch Zircher, Howard Chaykin, Rafael Kayanan, Cary Nord, Rebeca Puebla, Dan Panosian, Richard Pace, Gerardo Zaffino and many more! Here’s what Matt Murray had to say about keeping the secret while hinting at what’s to come:

"Ever since we announced the launch of this new comic book line, fans and creators alike have been clamoring for the return of this iconic title - ONLY if it was in its original B&W anthology magazine format. It's been a really tough secret to keep that we at Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics have actually been planning on that all along, but it can be a tough skull to crack on a few levels. We hope that we can live up to the expectations, as well as the legacy of the classic book, and think that with the writers and artists we already have on board (and those we're still talking to) we can forge a new and exciting chapter in CONAN's savage story."

Originally published in 1974, The Savage Sword of Conan featured Robert E. Howard’s iconic Conan the Barbarian untethered from the bounds of the restrictive Comics Code Authority. A darker and more mature title than the flagship Conan the Barbarian comics, The Savage Sword of Conan delved into more gritty and bloody storylines and art, quickly becoming a cult classic publication. The Savage Sword of Conan featured writing and art from legendary creators such as Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Walter Simonson and many more.

The crew onstage was additionally excited to reveal that the first issue of the upcoming Conan #1 comic exceeded its initial print run of 80,000 copies to become Titan’s biggest selling issue in the publisher’s history. That’s a strong indication that Conan’s popularity is enjoying a new peak, and the year to come is destined to be one to remember as the barbarian blazes ahead with not one, but two savage series!