Man... I never even knew about Conan. And then I found Chronicles of Conan Vol. 1 at the library. The start of the legendary run by Roy Thomas, and his first collaborator (in his career-defining role) Barry Smith. And then I couldn't stop reading it. I went on and read the next two volumes. And then I got interested in the current Conan series by Kurt Busiek... damn that's some good comics.
Conan... the barbarian from the northland of Cimmeria who is destined to be king someday.
Dark Horse has taken all these original stories, remastered the color, and are now putting them out in trade for everyone to see.
The first few stories are rough in Vol. 1, but it gets so good. The concept of Conan travelling the world, stealing and pimping and fighting (always fighting), is just so great. These are some of the best Marvel stories I've ever read, and the redone color just does so much for it. Thomas' script is never too cheesey, and it always seems just "right" the way he writes all the characters.
And some great art by Smith, and later on with Gil Kane. But especially Smith. Like I said, earlier stuff is rough, but in Vol. 2 and 3 it's just incredible art.
Roy also contributes a fascinating afterword in each trade explaining how the series was created, how each story came about, the struggles going on with the artists and Stan, among others.
I highly recommend Chronicles Vol. 1 if you have any interest in Conan, or are nostalgic for older Marvel non-superhero stuff.
Next time: more Dark Horse stuff. The Goon and Chris Moeller's science fiction series.
