Conan (Titan Comics)
Comics featuring Conan the Barbarian and other characters by Robert E. Howard are currently published by Titan Comics, together with entertainment studio Heroic Signatures. Their collaboration to publish comics, graphic novels, and omnibus collections of older Conan comics started in 2023, after Marvel lost the license in 2022. The first ongoing series is Conan the Barbarian which started in August 2023.[1] With crossover events and spin-off mini-series featuring other Robert E. Howard characters, such as Kull of Atlantis or Solomon Kane, they created a shared universe which is sometimes called the Howardverse.[2]
Publications
[edit]Conan the Barbarian
[edit]The first ongoing series Conan the Barbarian was introduced during Free Comic Book Day 2023 with an in issue that served as a prologue, followed by an ongoing series that started in August 2023. The series is written by Jim Zub, and started with Rob De La Torre and Doug Braithwaite as artists alternating between story arcs.[3] Danica Brine served as guest artist for two issues during the fifth story arc,[4] and Fernando Dagnino joined the artist rotation for the sixth arc, starting with issue #21.[5] For the milestone issue #25, Alex Horley will draw and paint an oversized King Conan story.[6]
The Savage Sword of Conan
[edit]The Savage Sword of Conan was announced in July 2023 as a limited series, to be published in black-and-white and magazine-sized format. The first issue was released in February 2024 with issues published every two months. Each issue features comics, prose stories, poems, and art pages, starring Conan as well as other characters by Robert E. Howard.[7] Titan Comics initially committed to six issues,[8] but announced at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con that the series would be extended to a second year,[9] and in 2025 it was further extended to a third year.[6]
Howardverse crossovers
[edit]Conan: Battle of the Black Stone was a crossover event with Conan and other Robert E. Howard characters, namely Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes, James Allison, El Borak and Conrad and Kirowan. It started with a Free Comic Book Day issue in May 2024, written by Jim Zub and art by Jonas Scharf.[10][11] This was followed by a collection of short stories in The Savage Sword of Conan #4 and a mini-series titled Conan: Battle of the Black Stone published from September to December 2024.[12]
A second crossover event titled Conan: Scourge of the Serpent, written by Jim Zub with art by Ivan Gil, has been announced for 2025. The event started with a Free Comic Book Day issue in May 2025 and is followed by a mini-series series starting in September 2025.[13] The story features various Howardian characters and takes place in three different times that are "metaphysically linked": the Thurian age with Kull, the Hyborian age with Conan and the twentieth century with John Kirowan.[14]
Solomon Kane
[edit]After positive responses to a serialized Solomon Kane back-up story by Patrick Zircher in the first three issues of The Savage Sword of Conan, Heroic Signatures greenlit a four-issue mini series titled Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring, written and drawn by Zircher and published in 2025.[15] The story takes place in the 16th century in southern Europe and Africa and features the ancient "Serpent Ring" from Thoth-Amon (which is also featured in the Robert E: Howard stories The Phoenix on the Sword and The Haunter of the Ring which take place during the Hyborian age and in the 1930s, respectively).[16]
Due to the success of the first Solomon Kane comic series, a second series has been announced at the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con.[6]
Kull of Atlantis
[edit]A comic series centering on Kull of Atlantis has been announced at the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con, and is expected to be published in 2027.[6]
Ongoing series
[edit]| Title | Issues | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Colourist(s) | Debut date | Conclusion date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conan the Barbarian[3] | 1– | Jim Zub | Rob De La Torre Doug Braithwaite Danica Brine Fernando Dagnino Alex Horley |
Dean White Diego Rodriguez José Villarrubia Jão Canola |
August 2, 2023 | TBA |
Limited series
[edit]| Title | Issues | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Colourist(s) | Debut date | Conclusion date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Savage Sword of Conan[7] | 1–18 | various (anthology format) | various | n/a (black and white) | February 28, 2024 | TBA |
| Conan: Battle of the Black Stone[10] | 1–4 | Jim Zub | Jonas Scharf | Jão Canola | September 4, 2024 | December 4, 2024 |
| Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring[15] | 1–4 | Patrick Zircher | March 26, 2025 | July 9, 2025 | ||
| Conan: Scourge of the Serpent | 1–4 | Jim Zub | Ivan Gil | Jão Canola | September 24, 2025 | December 31, 2025 |
One-shots
[edit]| Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Colourist(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Comic Book Day 2023: Conan the Barbarian[3] | Jim Zub | Rob De La Torre | José Villarrubia | May 6, 2023 |
| Free Comic Book Day 2024: Conan: Battle of the Black Stone[10] | Jonas Scharf | Jão Canola | May 4, 2024 | |
| Free Comic Book Day 2025: Conan: Scourge of the Serpent[17] | Ivan Gil | Jão Canola | May 3, 2025 | |
| Conan the Barbarian: Eastern Horizons[18] | Walt Simonson | Jerry Ma | May 21, 2025 (digital only) | |
Collected editions
[edit]Trade paperbacks
[edit]| Volume | Title | Collects | Pages | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conan the Barbarian | |||||
| 1 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 1: Bound in Black Stone | Free Comic Book Day 2023: Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian #1–4 |
128 | February 13, 2024 | ISBN 978-1-78774-014-3 |
| 2 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 2: Thrice Marked for Death | Conan the Barbarian #5–8 | 112 | July 16, 2024 | ISBN 978-1-78774-015-0 |
| 3 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 3: The Age Unconquered | Conan the Barbarian #9–12 | 112 | November 19, 2024 | ISBN 978-1-78774-016-7 |
| 4 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 4: Frozen Faith | Conan the Barbarian #13–16 | 112 | March 11, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-325-0 |
| 5 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 5: Twisting Loyalties | Conan the Barbarian #17–20 | 112 | August 12, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-326-7 |
| 6 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 6: A Nest of Serpents | Conan the Barbarian #21–24 | 112 | January 6, 2026 | ISBN 978-1-78774-327-4 |
| 7 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 7: The Conquering Crown | Conan the Barbarian #25–28 | 112 | May 19, 2026 | ISBN 978-1-78774-608-4 |
| The Savage Sword of Conan | |||||
| 1 | The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume 1 | The Savage Sword of Conan #1–3 | 208 | January 21, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-431-8 |
| 2 | The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume 2 | The Savage Sword of Conan #4–6 | 208 | June 17, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-433-2 |
| 3 | The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume 3 | The Savage Sword of Conan #7–9 | 192 | November 4, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-493-6 |
| 4 | The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume 4 | The Savage Sword of Conan #10–12 | 208 | May 26, 2026 | ISBN 978-1-78774-495-0 |
| Howardverse crossovers | |||||
| – | Conan: Battle of the Black Stone | Free Comic Book Day 2024: Conan: Battle of the Black Stone Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #1–4 |
128 | April 1, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-328-1 |
| – | Conan: Scourge of the Serpent | Free Comic Book Day 2025: Conan: Scourge of the Serpent Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1–4 |
112 | May 5, 2026 | ISBN 978-1-78774-643-5 |
| Solomon Kane | |||||
| – | Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring | Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring #1–4 | 112 | November 4, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-642-8 |
Hardcover
[edit]| Volume | Title | Collects | Pages | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conan the Barbarian, Volume 1: Bound in Black Stone Deluxe Edition | Free Comic Book Day 2023: Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian #1–4 |
144 | October 21, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-78774-837-8 |
Reception
[edit]Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Comic(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Eisner Awards | Best Coloring | Dean White | Conan the Barbarian | Nominated | [19] |
| Best Lettering | Richard Starkings | Nominated | ||||
| Tripwire Awards | Best New Series | — | Won | [20] | ||
| Best Writer | Jim Zub | Won | ||||
| Best Cover Artist | Dan Panosian | Won | ||||
| 2025 | Ringo Awards | Best Anthology | — | The Savage Sword of Conan | Pending | [21] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "'Conan the Barbarian' comics heading to Titan May 2023". aiptcomics.com. 2022-06-21.
- ^ "Robert E Howard's Howardverse Launches For Conan Free Comic Book Day". bleedingcool.com. 2024-04-30.
- ^ a b c "SDCC 2023: Jim Zub on giving 'Conan The Barbarian' back its edge". aiptcomics.com. 2023-07-24.
- ^ "Zubby Newsletter #92: A Decadent Dance". jimzub.substack.com. 2024-12-09.
- ^ "FIRST LOOK: Conan the Barbarian #21". majorspoilers.com. 2025-05-01.
- ^ a b c d "Heroic Signatures at SDCC 2025: Major Announcements from the Age of High Adventure Panel". conan.com. 2025-07-26.
- ^ a b "The Savage Sword of Conan Announced: "Gritty and Gruesome"". comicbook.com. 2023-07-23.
- ^ "Zubby Newsletter #47: Savage Stirrings". jimzub.com. 2024-01-29.
- ^ "Zub Newsletter #73: Mid-Marathon". jimzub.com. 2024-07-29.
- ^ a b c "Zubby Newsletter #35: A Brutal Battle Looms". jimzub.substack.com. 2023-11-11.
- ^ "Conan's Black Stone Event Crosses Over With All Of Robert E Howard". bleedingcool.com. 2024-04-21.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Conan the Barbarian Steals the Show in New Series Preview". cbr.com. 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Zubby Newsletter #90: A Scourge in the Works". jimzub.com. 2024-11-23.
- ^ "Free Comic Book Day 2025: Everything to Know About Scourge of the Serpent". conan.com. 2025-04-24.
- ^ a b "Solomon Kane Returns To Comics In 'Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring' From Titan Comics". comicon.com. 2024-11-20.
- ^ "A Talk with Patch Zircher on Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring". heroicsignatures.com. 2025-04-24.
- ^ "FCBD 2025 CONAN THE BARBARIAN (MR)". freecomicbookday.com.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE SCOOP: Walt Simonson is returning to Conan the Barbarian". aiptcomics.com. 2025-03-13.
- ^ "Nightwing, Transformers and More: 2024 Eisner Award Nominees Revealed". ign.com. 2024-05-16.
- ^ "Tripwire Awards 2024: All The Nominees And All The Winners". comicon.com. 2024-10-25.
- ^ "The Nominees For the 2025 Ringo Awards Announced". comic-watch.com. 2025-08-22.