April 20, 2013
Before we begin, I want to point out that during my research, I found a claim that Barack Obama is a big fan and collector of Conan. Somehow I just can’t believe that.
Anyway, who doesn’t know Conan?
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films (including Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer), television programs (cartoon and live-action), video games, role-playing games and other media. The character was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine.
Conan the Barbarian has appeared in comics nearly non-stop since 1970. The comics are arguably, apart from the books, the vehicle that had the greatest influence on the longevity and popularity of the character. Aside from an earlier and unofficial Conan comic published in Mexico, the two main publishers of Conan comics have been Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Marvel Comics launched Conan the Barbarian (1970–1993) and the classic Savage Sword of Conan (1974–1995).
Conan was also a newspaper strip which ran from 1978 to 1981. It was written by comics veteran Roy Thomas and illustrated by several creators, including John Buscema and Ernie Chan.
I remember it distinctly from the NY Daily News, but is was hard to find online. Here is a selection of, unfortunately, non-consecutive Conan strips.
Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride 
Interesting. I had a book of illustrations by Joe Jusko, who did art for re – issues of Conan, the John Carter of Mars / Dejah Thoris & similar books, & I’m interested in this kind of thing.
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I started reading Howard as a result of discovering Lovecraft and I think I’ve read all of the Conan stories/books Howard wrote. I haven’t seen the comics but as a fan of the books I originally hated the Schwartzenegger movie but it’s grown on me, especially the final battle.
My favorite line from the books: Conan is surrounded by about 20 armed bad asses who are closing in for the kill. He hefts his sword in both hands and says “Who dies first?”
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