The Mass of Conan Comics

[Lucius]

To be brutally honest, I stopped reading comic books a good few years ago. I was an avid reader of Top Cow (if that means anything to anyone), especially the Tomb Raider line. After spending large amount of coin, they now sit sealed somewhere beneath my bed.

But I must admit, these Conan comics do intrigue me. For no other reason except a large amount of them seem to be original tales, with a very Hyborian feel. In my RPG Campaign, Howard’s tales are Canon, whilst the pastiches remain merely the works of other heroes; adventures that Conan was later credited for in the Nemedian Chronicles.

I'd like to collect the comics, to do the same with. However, here's the problem. There seem to be so many ranges at the moment. There are the Dark Horse Conan lines, as well as "Songs of the Dead". I've also seen a line involving Demons of Khitai.

Therefore, inform a Conan Comic virgin. Are all of these lines done by Dark Horse? Are some merely a short range? Is it possible to collect the first few in one tome (I'm sure my brother mentioned something along those lines)?

Any and All information is welcome.

Thanks

 

[Strom]

Welcome Lucius.

Yes all the comics you mentioned are published by Dark Horse. The Conan comic is monthly and all the others are mini-series usually around 4- 5 issues each. "Songs of the Dead" is the current mini-series - only two issues have come out so far.

I highly recommend the monthly series - Tim Truman is the new writer starting with issue #33, so it's a great time to jump on. The mini-series range from very good to just ok.

There have been 3 collected trade paper backs of the Conan monthly, each containing at least one Howard story. Here's a link to all things Dark Horse Conan:

http://www.darkhorse.com/zones/conan/index.php

 

[quigs]

I'm kinda in the same boat as you Lucius. I recently got hooked on Conan and purchased the Dark Horse trade paper back issues. Volumes 1 to 3, and I have not been disappointed. There is something to be said for reading the original REH tales, and then seeing those very same stories spring to life in vivid colour. The artwork is exceptional in these volumes and I am even considering running a campaign based off of them. The Dark Horse stories included in these volumes are obvious, but they do a good job of sticking to the Conan flavour and are quite violent and gory.

 

[Lucius]

Thanks for the quick replies, Guys. Looks like I'll need to pick these three paper backs up then.

How many mini series have there been so far? "Songs of the Dead" and "Demons of Khitai", I know about. I read something about a Thoth Amon series too. Is it just these three?

And what of the Red Sonja comics I've read about? I've gathered that she has her own series too. Is this by Dark Horse? And are there any mini series there?

As I'm sure you can both guess, I've that typical Gamer gene of needing to collect everything about a certain something.

Again, cheers for the info!

 

[Strom]

I suffer from the same complete-ist disease Lucius! :lol: 8)

Here's a list of all the mini-series (or 1 shot) comics from DH:

1. Conan and the Daughters of Midora - 1 issue
2. Conan and the Jewels of Gwahlur - 3 issues (collected in trade)
3. Conan and the Demons of Khitai - 4 issues (trade coming)
4. Conan: Book of Thoth - 4 issues (Conan is not in this - this is an origin story for the sorcerer Thoth Amon) - trade coming
5. Conan and the Songs of the Dead - going to be 5 issues - sure it will be collected

Coming Soon

1. Conan and the Midnight God

San Diego Comic Con Giveaway:

1. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Variant Covers for the Conan Monthly:

1. 3 different covers for Conan #0 (the Eisner award winner issue)
2. Conan #1 second printing
2. Conan #24 (nude variant)
3. Conan #29, #30 and #31 - covers done by Mike Mignola (Hellboy) who is also the writer of those issues. The adaptation of the Howard fragment Hall of the Dead)
4. Coming soon - Born on the Battlefield - collected trade of all the individual issues from the Conan monthly that tell the tale of Conan's youth - the last part is this month's Conan #32)


I maybe missing some variants - this is all just from memory.

Good luck - the Conan comic delivers every month

 

[bloodshadows]

If you want all the back issues for $1 a comic, go to www.tfaw.com I got them all from there. They're having an backissue sale so all backissues are only $1. A great way to pick them all up!

Now I must get back to reading...... :twisted:

 

[thulsa]

I've also seen a line involving Demons of Khitai.

My advice: Stay away from this stinker.

See why here: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19727

- thulsa

 

[Thamilon]

And what of the Red Sonja comics I've read about? I've gathered that she has her own series too. Is this by Dark Horse? And are there any mini series there?

Yes, Red Sonja is back in regular comic publication as well. Issue #13 just came out last week and the series is, if you can stand a character who is NOT purely Howard's, quite good.

However, her comic is published by Dynamite Entertainment, not Dark Horse. However, they have hit it big for such a small independent company. Red Sonja #0 was the highest selling indy book last year and it usually sells as well as the Conan monthly IIRC.

And yes, there are mini-series as well, but IMHO, only one of the mini-series stories has come even close to approaching the quality of the monthly.

Red Sonja Goes East (1 issue)
Red Sonja vs. Thulsa Doom (4 issues, TPB coming)
Red Sonja/Claw (4 issues, published by Wildstorm - maybe a TP coming)
Savage Red Sonja: Queen of the Frozen Wastes (3 issues, Probably will be a TPB)
Red Sonja: Monster Isle (1 issue - Written by Roy Thomas! - coming soon)

For what its worth, my opinions of the minis are as follows. I've reviewed most of them for comicsnexus.com

Goes East - passible. The art is a little too mangaesque for my taste, but Ron Marz' story is a good one.

Vs. Thulsa Doom - even ignoring that this flies in the face of Howard AND Sonja canon and that Sonja is reduced to a background character (the writer is currently working on a Thulsa Doom movie based off the first Conan movie), the story is conveluted and the artwork the worst type of over-inked mess. Sonja spends most of Chapter two naked and soaking wet if that gives you any idea.

Claw - At least this one we know is a "what if?" since it is an intracompany crossover. The action is passible and it is a fun story, if nothing else - even if the main purpose is to re-establish Wildstorm Comics' cursed barbarian hero.

Queen of the Frozen Wastes- based on the first issue, it's your typical Frank Cho book - good if you can deal with Sonja sounding like a valley girl when she does speak and chainmail bikinis in icy caves. Say what you will about the current comic and her costume, at least they've shown Sonja dressing appropriate to the desert lands she's been in...

Monster Isle- Roy Thomas is writing it. Nuff Said.

 

[René]

Look at the CONAN-issue "Crown of Tiamat" (the one before Tower of the Elephant): Conan is not involved in any battle and kills no one, but it is nonetheless a very exciting story - from this "pacifistic" point of view the most unusual...

 

[René]

Will there be a TPB for the regular Red Sonja series?

 

[quigs]

Check Amazon, they have a few Red Sonja TPB's listed, the first of which is being released in September. This is the new series I'm speaking of, not the old Marvel TPB's, which you can also buy now if you want.

 

[Strom]

IMO, the Red Sonja series is just awful and not worth the cover price. Plus, you would need a second mortgage to buy all the variant covers.

Also, the monthly sales on Red Sonja are reflecting my opinion as they are falling like a rock down Mt. Ben Morgh. The art is good, but the writing is as shallow as any comic I have ever read.

But, I do know guys who buy the comic just for the half naked red head in the metal bikini - just don't expect the level of quality from the Conan comic in the Red Sonja monthly.

 

[Lucius]

How strange. I can't seem to find anywhere to buy the TPB of any of these comics on Amazon.co.uk.

Does anyone know of a UK based company I could order them from?

 

[terryallenuk]

Forbidden Planet have the two collections of the Marvel stories

http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=red+sonja

Terry

 

[Faraer]

Amazon.co.uk does have the Dark Horse tpbs.

 

[DaveNC]

My thoughts:

The new Dark Horse Conan Regular series is fantastic. Hopefully the new writer will keep up the high standards. They are my favorite Conan comics ever! And I've read pretty much all of them, including Conan the Barbarian from Marvel (275 issues), Savage Sword from Marvel (235 issues), King Conan from Marvel (55 issues), and all the Marvel Miniseries of the 1990s.

The new Dark Horse Conan Miniseries (Daughters of..., Demons of..., Book of Thoth, Songs of...) have been okay, but not great. I did enjoy the Jewels of Gwalhur though.

The new Red Sonja Regular series from Dynamite is actually pretty good. Not as good as the Conan series, but still a fun read.

The Red Sonja Miniseries from Dynamite haven't been good at all.

 

[Lucius]

Amazon.co.uk does have the Dark Horse tpbs.

Bah! I've a reputation for not being able to find anything, even when it's plainly in front of me. I must look harder!

Anychance you can provide a link?

 

[Faraer]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conan-Frost-Giants-Daughter-Stories/dp/1593073011/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conan-God-Bowl-Other-Stories/dp/1593074034/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conan-Tower-Elephant-Other-Stories/dp/1593075472/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conan-Jewels-Gwahlur-P-Craig-Russell/dp/1593074913/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conan-Demons-Khitai-Akira-Yoshida/dp/159307543X/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conan-Book-Thoth-Kurt-Busiek/dp/1593076487/

 

[Thamilon]

IMO, the Red Sonja series is just awful and not worth the cover price.

Let's agree to disagree on that point, Strom. I happen to like the monthly Sonja title. So does my girlfriend, who is a rather devout fan and very particular about her Sonja stories.

Plus, you would need a second mortgage to buy all the variant covers.

How very fortunate then that most of us choose NOT to buy all the variant covers.

I dislike the gimmick as do most of us who actually READ our comics. But if it helps them to make more money off the gullible and peverse, who am I to say no?

Also, the monthly sales on Red Sonja are reflecting my opinion as they are falling like a rock down Mt. Ben Morgh.

Actually, the sales have been holding steadily for the past six issues.

They dropped down a bit after the first four issues, true, but I suspect that was more to do with them loosing readers due to the delays caused by the "big name" artists running late on their alternate cover deadlines. On issues #6-12, according to ICV2, there have been some minor fluctations of 2,000 issues here and there, but that is fairly typical market fluctuation.

And sadly, while I like Conan better than Sonja as a book, I must confess Sonja still outsells Conan by a narrow margin.

The art is good, but the writing is as shallow as any comic I have ever read.

Another agree to disagree point.

Suffice it to say, I doubt Carey and Omeing would be working at both Marvel (on Uncanny X-men and a Thor mini-series respectively) Vertigo (Carey was the author of Lucifer and a number of Sandman mini-series as well as Hellblazedr) or for the Dubai Brothers (Omeing is overseeing the graphic novel adaptation of Raymond Feist's Magician) if their dialogue was as inversely flat as Sonja is rounded.

But, I do know guys who buy the comic just for the half naked red head in the metal bikini - just don't expect the level of quality from the Conan comic in the Red Sonja monthly.

There are a lot of guys who buy a lot of comics for the half naked or the tight-costumed women of all hair colors? Just because they are buying Sonja for the art does not make the title automatically without merit.

 

[Strom]

Yes, we disagree on the quality of the stories and the writers.

But on the sales of Red Sonja:

6 months: -20.6%
1 year : -58.8%
A new arc featuring Marvel Comics villain Kulan Gath and a cover drawing by Jim Lee result in a sales bump. The year-on-year comparison still looks pretty dire.

Looks like the gimmick covers are working pretty good.

Compared to Conan:

6 months: - 2.6%
1 year : -14.4%

I stand by the dropping like a rock comment. I predict that Conan will rise to the top again very soon. :lol: