Conan the Barbarian #10
Conan the Barbarian #10 is a structurally pivotal issue in Marvel's early Bronze Age sword-and-sorcery output: it marked the series' expansion into a giant-size, 25-cent format and served as the direct narrative bridge into the celebrated 'Rogues in the House' adaptation in issue #11. More significantly, it delivered the first dedicated Kull the Conqueror backup strip to appear in the title — an editorial lifeline Roy Thomas devised after Marvel's standalone Kull the Conqueror series was cancelled after only two issues, keeping Robert E. Howard's pre-Conan king visible to readers. The issue also introduces several characters — Aron, Igon, and Sir Joshua Costain — whose debuts here feed directly into the next issue's dramatic payoffs, demonstrating Thomas and Windsor-Smith's deliberate serialized approach at a time when most Marvel action comics still operated largely as standalone stories.
In "Beware the Wrath of Anu," Conan joins forces with the thief Burgun in a dangerous heist, only to witness his companion’s brutal betrayal and execution. As vengeance drives Conan through a web of treachery and ancient prophecy, he confronts Aron and a sinister priest, while a mysterious star-born entity stirs in the night. Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated with striking detail by Barry Smith, with cover art by Smith and Marie Severin, this 1971 Marvel classic captures the raw intensity of the barbarian’s journey in a world where gods and men alike are bound by fate.
In "Beware the Wrath of Anu," Conan joins forces with the thief Burgun in a daring heist, only to witness his companion's brutal betrayal and execution. Seeking vengeance, Conan tracks down the traitor Aron and a sinister priest, plunging into a storm of blood and sorcery. As the sky ignites with the birth of new stars, Jenna departs for Igon, leaving Conan to face the aftermath—alone.
In "The King and the Oak," Conan the Barbarian encounters a dark forest where legend speaks of a sentient, ancient oak said to hold forgotten power. As he rides through the shadowed trees, the king—Kull—faces a living tree that is no mere plant, but a primordial force of malice and magic, seeking to reclaim its lost dominion. The tale unfolds with a haunting blend of myth and dread, where the line between dream and nightmare blurs in the heart of the wild.
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The expanded format was part of a mid-1971 Marvel experiment in raising the cover price to 25 cents while offering more pages of content. Roy Thomas, under heavy workload, could not complete a third original story in time, so a six-page reprint of the Black Knight tale 'Men of the Shadows' from Black Knight #5 (April 1956, art attributed to Syd Shores and Christopher Rule) was inserted despite the cover's 'All New Stories' promise — an error the issue's letters column candidly acknowledged. Thomas commissioned the Kull backup — 'The King and the Oak,' an adaptation of a Robert E. Howard poem — from Marie Severin (pencils) and John Severin (inks), calling it one of his favorite Marvel Kull pieces, partly as a consolation for Kull's cancelled solo title and partly as what was intended to be the launch of a recurring backup feature.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Cover-dated October 1971 (release date July 20, 1971); 52 pages at the new 25-cent giant-size price point — up from the previous 36-page, 15-cent format.
- Lead story: 'Beware the Wrath of Anu!' — written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Barry Windsor-Smith, inked by Sal Buscema; set in a Corinthian city-state and serving as the direct narrative prelude to the 'Rogues in the House' adaptation in issue #11.
- First appearances of Aron (Captain of the Guard, antagonist), Igon (young thief, supporting), and Sir Joshua Costain (antagonist) — all three named by Thomas; Igon and Aron are characters who appear unnamed in Howard's original 'Rogues in the House' prose story.
- Kull backup: 'The King and the Oak' — a 5-page adaptation of a Robert E. Howard poem, with breakdowns by Roy Thomas, pencils by Marie Severin, and inks by John Severin; introduced as a planned recurring backup feature after the cancellation of the standalone Kull the Conqueror title after only two issues.
- Reprint inclusion: 'Men of the Shadows' from Black Knight #5 (April 1956), scripted by Stan Lee with art attributed by the Grand Comics Database to Syd Shores (pencils) and Christopher Rule (inks); features Sir Percy of Scandia (the original Black Knight) and Sir Joshua Costain.
- Story developments: Jenna — introduced in issue #6 — abandons Conan for the thief Igon; Conan's ally Burgun is betrayed, captured, and hanged; Conan defeats the Bull of Anu by stealing the priest's protective amulet, causing the god to destroy the priest instead.
- The cover itself features a Barry Windsor-Smith main image plus a Kull vignette drawn by Marie Severin — an unusual dual-artist cover arrangement.
- The lead Conan story runs 23 pages, three pages longer than the prior standard 20-page installment, a direct benefit of the new giant-size format.
- The main Conan story and Kull backup have been reprinted in numerous collections including The Chronicles of Conan Vol. 2 (Dark Horse, 2003), The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Vol. 1 (Dark Horse, 2010), Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus (Marvel, 2018), and Conan the Barbarian: The Original Comics Omnibus (Titan, 2024).
Cast · 11 characters
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Black Knight #5 (1956)
Reprinted in El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #122 (1972), Serie-nytt [delas?] #3/1973 (1973), Thor the Mighty #[nn] (1975), Savage Sword of Conan #10 (1975), Savage Sword of Conan #13 (1975), Savage Sword of Conan Special #1 (1975), Eclipso #58 (1976), Conan #2 (1978), Conan #4 (11695) (1978), Conan #1 (1979), Conan de barbaar #1 (1979), Dracula le Vampire #2 (1980), Conan de barbaar #5 (1981), Superaventuras Marvel #5 (1982), Superaventuras Marvel #9 (1983), Conan el Bárbaro #72 (1985), Conan Saga #4 (1987), Conan #3/1990 (1990), Conan Le Barbare #30 (1992), Conan Saga #2 (1993), Conan Classic #10 (1995), Conan el bárbaro #10 (1998), Essential Conan #1 (2000), Pocketserien #27 (2001) + 12 more
Key issues in Conan the Barbarian
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