Conan the Barbarian first appeared in Marvel Comics back in 1970 when writer Roy Thomas scripted Conan the Barbarian #1 and now Marvel Comics is celebrating that 50-year milestone with the upcoming King-Size Conan #1 in December, which sees Thomas paired with the artist Steve McNiven in the oversized anniversary issue for an all-new tale featuring the conquering Cimmerian.
Also slated to work on King-Size Conan #1 in the remaining four stories are Kurt Busiek and Pete Woods, Chris Claremont and Roberto de la Torre, Steven S. DeKnight and Jesús Saiz, and Kevin Eastman, who will take up both writing and art duties for one of the tales.
King Size Conan #1, with a cover by Andrew C. Robinson, marks the first Marvel Comics story for both DeKnight (Marvel’s Daredevil writer/director/showrunner) and Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator).
“What I wanted to do is get from the first battle Conan had to a time just a few months later when he met the Aesir, which is really about where CONAN #1 starts,” Thomas said in a statement with Newsarama. “I thought it would be nice to show what happened just before CONAN #1, at least in my mind, with some nice action along the way.”
“There’s some really nice stuff from Steve McNiven,” continued Thomas. “He’s not slavishly channeling Barry Smith, but there’s an approximation that really catches that spirit, and it’s really good.”
The oversized 50th anniversary special King-Size Conan #1 will feature:
- An all-new prelude to the original Marvel CONAN (1970) story by Roy Thomas and Steve McNiven
- A tale of revenge by Kevin Eastman
- A turning point in Conan’s career as a mercenary by Chris Claremont and Roberto de la Torre
- An early brush with sorcerous forces that will shape Conan’s destiny by Kurt Busiek and Pete Woods
- Conan and Bêlit sail together again for the first time since the 2019 Marvel relaunch in a story by Steve DeKnight and Jesús Saiz
King-Size Conan #1 hits stands and digital formats this December.
