My Rating
“The Coming Of Conan!”
Facsimile Edition
It was a time of wanderlust. Conan, the young son of a great Cimmerian tribesmen, had set forth to discover new lands and seek his fortunes in the north. To those familiar with the cold expanse of Vanaheim and Aesgaard would surely know this, the red haired Nords carried a visceral hate for Conan’s people; however, it paled in comparison to the utmost repulsion towards their own blood kin. Conan knew this to be true, so when a civil war broke out between the northern tribes of the Vanir and Aesir he chose the side ladened with the most coin.
Summer had come to the land with a blood-eyed sun. As the seasons changed so did the temperament for battle. Raids began to take place between brothers. Fathers and grandfathers gathered their weapons and prepared to march on their opposition. During this time, a brief skirmish erupted somewhere in a lower river valley, two leaders crossed swords with the intent of ending the other by any means necessary. It was Volff the Wily, of the Vanir tribe who the gods favored victory, but a son of Crom was about to change the odds.
Will Conan of Cimmeria be able to save Olav, leader of the Aesir warband from a fate worse than death. What winged deviltry has the shaman Sharkosh released upon the world of Hyboria? Has the Star-Stone of Stygia revealed too much of Conan’s future? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
Ugh, well this was certainly different. I read some of the later issues in this series and enjoyed them for what they were, however I have to admit Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #1 was certainly not to the caliber of Robert E. Howard’s writing. If you are a fan of some of the newer books released by Dark Horse or Titan you will find a better representation of Conan there. I know it was 1970 when this book was released, and Roy Thomas did the best he could, but the narrative and dialog sounded more like a copy of Thor than anything else to me.
Barry Smith was the artist here but it is clear he was trying to do a Jack Kirby style book. Some of the characters looked very wonky in parts which left me scratching my head. This first issue really makes one appreciate the work being done even five to ten years later. I hate to keep bringing up the new Titan produced series, but the art in there has some of the elements of Marvel’s later Conan books.
If you are a collector of Conan comics just know this book is not one of those “Oh my god, this is awesome!” type of reads. It is Stan Lee taking a property written for an adult market and watering it down for a much younger reader. I’m giving issue one of Conan the Barbarian three out of five stars.
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