Conan the Barbarian #1
Conan the Barbarian #1 (Titan/Heroic Signatures, 2023) marks the first time Heroic Signatures — the intellectual-property steward of the Robert E. Howard estate — co-published Conan comics directly rather than licensing the character outright to a third party, ending a decades-long tradition of external licensees (Marvel, Dark Horse, Marvel again) controlling the Cimmerian's comic-book fate. It launched a deliberate 'Howardverse,' a shared universe built around Howard characters that grew to include Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes, El Borak, and others through crossover events — the most ambitious structural expansion of Howard's comic-book universe since Roy Thomas's Marvel run of the 1970s. The debut issue became the highest-selling single issue in Titan Comics' publishing history up to that point, demonstrating that Robert E. Howard's barbarian could headline a commercially successful ongoing series outside the Big Two. The Eisner nomination the series subsequently earned confirmed its critical standing alongside its commercial reach.
Conan the Barbarian #1 (2024) kicks off with "Looking for Lands Beyond," a gripping tale that plunges readers into a world of peril and ancient dread. Written by Jim Zub and brought to life by Roberto de la Torre’s dynamic art and José Villarrubia’s vivid colors, the issue follows Conan as he and the fierce Brissa narrowly escape a cursed army descending on the village of Hauler’s Roam. Dan Panosian’s striking cover captures the moment’s intensity, setting the tone for an adventure rooted in myth and survival.
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The Titan/Heroic Signatures co-publishing deal was announced in June 2022, shortly after Marvel Comics chose not to renew its five-year Conan license, and was positioned partly as a tenth-anniversary launch title for Titan Comics. Heroic Signatures president Fredrik Malmberg explicitly stated the company's desire to publish in-house — 'We don't want to be bound by any comics code or anything like that' — which informed the series' Mature Readers rating and unflinching sword-and-sorcery tone. Editor Matt Murray recruited Jim Zub as writer, and Zub in turn placed Roberto De La Torre at the top of his artist wish-list; De La Torre's Buscema-influenced linework was conceived as a visual bridge between the classic Marvel era and a new generation of readers. A Free Comic Book Day 2023 prologue issue served as an 'issue zero,' establishing Conan's post-Venarium wandering before the ongoing series launched on August 2, 2023.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published August 2, 2023 by Titan Comics in co-publication with Heroic Signatures; the first issue Titan's catalog designates under the 2023 series (some international collected editions, including German Panini and French Panini reprints, carried 2024 cover dates).
- Written by Jim Zub with interior art by Roberto De La Torre and colors by José Villarrubia — the core creative team for the opening 'Bound in Black Stone' arc (issues #1–4).
- Cover A was by Dan Panosian; additional cover variants for issue #1 included art by Roberto De La Torre, Artgerm, Patch Zircher, Mike Mignola, E.M. Gist, a wraparound Hyborian Age map cover, a foil Conan movie novel variant, and a colored blank sketch cover — among the widest variant slates in the series.
- The story picks up years after the battle of Venarium: a weary Conan returns to Cimmeria seeking rest, only to be drawn into conflict when a mysterious Pictish scout named Brissa warns of a cursed army advancing on the settlement of Hauler's Roam.
- Brissa, the Pictish scout who allies with Conan in issue #1, is a new original character introduced in this debut and carries through the opening arc.
- Titan and Heroic Signatures announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 that confirmed pre-release orders for issue #1 had already exceeded 80,000 copies, making it the highest-selling single issue in Titan Comics' history at that time; multiple additional print runs were ordered.
- The series earned an Eisner Award nomination, as referenced in Titan's own promotional materials for later issues.
- Issue #1 is collected in the trade paperback 'Conan the Barbarian Vol. 1: Bound in Black Stone' (also available as a hardcover), which bundles it with the Free Comic Book Day 2023 prologue issue.
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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Brissa rides in to warn the villagers at Hauler's Roam of the cursed army that is heading their way. However the army reaches them and only Conan and Brissa are able to escape.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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