Snake skin © http://www.iStock.com/gmnicholasConan while also doing the final issue
of Freaks, and a lot of Freaks bled into
Conan in a way that wasn’t working. Conan
needed to be crisper, Conan was action.
“When I look back at ‘Born on the
Battlefield’ I see it as a kind of crazy
experiment that somehow worked. It’s all
because of Kurt Busiek ’s mastery of the
story and the character. I learned more
about comics and storytelling working on
that book than any other time in my life.”
The success of the Conan title grew, and
Dark Horse has run several different Conan
series, each looking at a different era in
Conan’s life. They’ve all been kept close to
the original Robert E Howard stories, with
some bridging and improvisation here and
there. Tomás Giorello drew
Conan the Cimmerian,
about Conan’s military feats,
followed by King Conan, in
which he’s an older, bearded
leader. Brian Ching has recently finished
drawing Conan the Avenger after 25 issues.
His Conan looks angular and lithe.QUICK AND AGILE
“Howard describes him as being panther-
like,” says Brian. “He would need to be
quick and agile in his world. Yes, he’s strong
but not the type of massive musculature
that looks like he could tear the limbs off
his enemies. I drew Conan with a littleSONJA: THE
LADY IN RED
Despite many imitations, Red Sonja is Conan’s
closest living relative in the world of comics....
From Kull, Ka-Zar, Tarzan and Sláine, to He-Man and Bran
Mak Morn, there have been many fictional savages in comics.
However, Conan’s closest comic book relative must be Red
Sonja, also created by Robert E Howard. She has been
rendered by an array of artists, easily adapting from Conan
to drawing the redhead in bikini armour and vice versa.
“They live in the same period and they could even share
adventures,” says Sergio Davila. “I’ve had a great time
drawing her. She’s a warrior and not a typical girl who needs
help or needs to be rescued – she’s the one rescuing you.”Deep inside
all of us lives the
desire to be just
like Conan
smirk. My take was that he loves who he is.
That there’s a freedom to being so fearless.”
Like many other Conan artists, it’s the
character’s mirth rather than melancholy
that Brian identifies with most. “This has
been the best experience in my professional
life,” he says. “My artwork took a huge shift
when I began this book – I started inking
my own work, tried experimenting with
different materials and techniques. It’s
such a liberating feeling.”
Looking back across all the great Conan
artwork as we prepare to savour a new
chapter of the barbarian’s artistic story,
it’s a little easier to appreciate why the
character is so enduring. “Conan is such a
special character that his adventures will
never finish,” says Pablo. “Deep inside us
lives the desire to be like him.”THE AVENGER
It’s a lithe-looking Conan that Brian
Ching drew in Conan the Avenger,
with panther-like qualities.DOUBLE THE FUN
When a fan asked Pablo Marcos to illustrate two of his signature
characters together, he drew this for the commission.After discontinuing
Conan the Barbarian
and Savage Sword of
Conan, Marvel
experimented. The
short-lived Conan
had this cover by the
Brothers Hildebrandt
on issue 6.Eight years after
Conan’s Marvel run
ceased, Dark Horse
picked up the official
licence from Robert
E Howard’s estate and
Cary Nord pencilled
issue 0 of Conan,
which won an Eisner.With Tomás Giorello
drawing, Dark Horse
began Conan the
Cimmerian, which
would run for 26
issues. Next came
Conan the Barbarian,
Conan the Avenger
and King Conan.1996 2003 2008
Feature