[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I have more than once…ok a lot of times, expressed my fan boy admiration of John Bucema’s art and especially his work on “The Might Thor.” Another of his most impressive titles was his work on Conan the Barbarian. Conan was a Marvel mainstay until the year 2000 when they lost his rights. Fast forward to the present and Marvel has once again purchased the rights to Conan the Barbarian. With that in mind, Marvel has finally announced that a new series featuring the iconic character is on the way and is bringing in an exciting creative team to take take the reins.
Marvel has given the writing assignment to the highly acclaimed Jason Aaron (Thor, Doctor Strange). This seems like a perfect fit, given his history with the God of Thunder. He’ll be ably assisted by artist Mahmud Asrar (All-New X-Men), cover artist Esad Ribic (Thor), and colorist Matt Wilson (The Mighty Thor, Paper Girls).
Back in January, when Marvel announced that it had once again acquired the rights to Conan, who in his 18 year absence, has spent time with both Dynamite and Dark Horse Comics. However, with the new deal in place, Conan will once again appear in Marvel books.
Marvel isn’t waiting long to re-introduce Conan into the fold as Conan the Barbarian #1 is set to hit shelves in January 2019.
“I’ve literally been preparing for this job since I was 13 and discovered my first Robert E. Howard Conan paperback in a used bookstore in my little hometown of Jasper, Alabama,” Aaron said of his new project. “I devoured every Howard book I could find after that, and I’ve been making up Conan stories in my head ever since. Now I finally get to do that for real, alongside the amazing Mahmud Asrar. So this opportunity means an awful lot to me, and I’m cherishing every blood-splattered, spider-haunted second of it.”
Aaron also gave fans a hint of what’s to come with the first arc of his new Conan series.
“The big initial arc we’re doing in this new series is very much done in reverence to Robert E. Howard and those original stories,” he continued. “One of the things that initially pulled me into the character was the fact that with each story, Howard jumped to a different point in Conan’s life, where he was in a different setting, interacting with different characters and living a very different life. I loved the grand and epic scope of Conan’s overall journey, and so for this new series, instead of picking just one period from Conan’s life and doing stories set only within that, our opening 12-issue arc will thread together many different periods and aspects of Conan’s journey, from Cimmeria to Aquilonia and beyond. That’s why this story is called ‘The Life and Death of Conan.'”
Artist Mahmud Asrar sounded just as excited about the new project as Aaron, saying the Conan art of old was a major influence on his work.
“Epic tales of fantasy about one tough and mean warrior,” Asrar explains. “Conan is the epitome of an indomitable barbarian and that has fascinated me as a kid growing up reading his stories. What made me stay for the ride was the amazing art on the Conan books throughout the years. So many great artists to name but I can’t tell you how influential John Buscema and his Conan art was for me. It was the first artist I knew the name of as a kid and started intentionally seeking out,” says Asrar. “Now, years later, I get the chance to draw the book myself and do it with the amazing Jason Aaron. I couldn’t be happier to tell epic new tales of the Cimmerian—to continue the legacy that will hopefully make a mark on readers, just like the original comics did for me.”
Conan the Barbarian #1 will go on sale in January 2019.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”3864″ img_size=”800×1000″ alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.