Monday 21 January 2019

CONAN THE TRUE BELIEVER...


Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CONAN PROPERTIES, Int.  2019 reprint of CTB #1

At long last!  CONAN The BARBARIAN is back where he belongs - at MARVEL COMICS.  I saw the TRUE BELIEVERS reprint of #1 on RIP JAGGER's blog on Friday and promptly bought a few copies from various mail order dealers.  The first of them arrived today (that's it above) and is a joy to behold.  Around a year or two ago, I purchased the original 1970 issue, but had the TB edition been available, I might not have bothered.  (But, then again, might have.)

If you're not lucky enough to own the original, then the new reprint is the next best thing, the main difference being that the height of Conan's name in the logo has been compressed to allow for the True Believers banner.  The story has, of course, been reprinted quite a few times over the years, so I thought I'd present the ones which featured the original cover (in some form or other) from my own collection.  So here they are, starting in reverse order from the one above.

The name was amended to 'Conan The Adventurer', but that aside, this UK
weekly featured the original Barry Smith tale.  The mag lasted 3 issues
 

This 11 issue run preceded the UK weekly title by just a few
months.  (Despite the cover date, it went on sale in March)

This b&w UK Pocket Book hit the shops in 1980, and lasted for 13 issues

Savage Sword Of Conan #1 hit newsagents in 1975, lasting 18 weekly issues

The original 1970 issue that started it all

The first and the latest - side-by-side

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marvel UK's Savage Sword weekly No.2 ("Lair Of The Beast-Men") was my first ever Conan comic so I missed No.1 but I read the story eventually in the first issue of Conan Pocket Book.

Kid said...

The first issue I read (on a pal's back doorstep) was #1, and the second was a reprint of #5 in Marvel Annual 1973, CJ. Great to see Marvel has the rights again.

Dave S said...

Really enjoying the Conan reprints- there's one with some lovely black and white Jim Starlin art.

Also, there's a facsimile edition of Silver Surfer 14 out too, in which the letters page features missives from future comics writers Doug Moench and Alan Brennert as well as a Barry Pearl whom I assume is the same gentleman who sometimes comments on Crivens.

Kid said...

Yeah, I've got a few, going to get a few more. Think I'll get the Omnibus edition as well.

And Barry is indeed the very same guy as you assume.



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