Kull, the Conqueror #1

History

In late 1970, encouraged by strong early sales on Conan the Barbarian, Marvel—with Roy Thomas as a key creative driver—greenlit a solo Kull title. Kull had already appeared in a cameo in Conan the Barbarian #1 and in a seven-page Thomas/Wrightson adaptation in Creatures on the Loose #10, but by the time the ongoing series was approved, Bernie Wrightson had moved on, leading Thomas to partner instead with penciller Ross Andru and inker Wally Wood for this debut. Thomas wove the premiere issue's story, titled 'A King Comes Riding!', from elements of three Howard prose works—'The Shadow Kingdom,' 'By This Axe I Rule!,' and 'Exile of Atlantis'—as he himself explained in the issue's text page. The cover presented its own production story: originally drawn by Ross Andru and Sal Buscema, it was substantially revised by Marie Severin before going to press, a detail the comic's own back-matter acknowledged.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First full-length solo comic-book outing for King Kull; prior appearances were a cameo in Conan the Barbarian #1 and a 7-page story in Creatures on the Loose #10 (Thomas/Wrightson).
• Story titled 'A King Comes Riding!'; script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Wally Wood, letters by Sam Rosen; Stan Lee editor-in-chief.
• Cover is credited to Ross Andru and Sal Buscema (pencils) with Marie Severin substantially revising the final art; the issue's own text page confirmed all three contributors.
• Story is a composite adaptation of three Robert E. Howard prose works: 'The Shadow Kingdom,' 'By This Axe I Rule!,' and 'Exile of Atlantis.'
• First appearances (in comics) of: Brule the Spear-Slayer, Councilor Tu, Baron Kaanuub of Blaal, Ridondo, and Alecto; first appearances in flashback of Commander Enaros, Count Ducalon of Komahar, King Borna (who dies in flashback), Om-Ra, Khor-Nah, and Sareeta (who also dies in flashback). Kull's full origin is also revealed in flashback.
• Several characters were renamed from Howard's source text for the Marvel adaptation: Sareeta (called 'Ala' in the prose originals), Enaros (originally 'Gromel'), and Ducalon of Komahar (originally 'Volmana, count of Karaban').
• The story has been reprinted internationally in numerous forms, including: Kull and the Barbarians #1 (Marvel, May 1975); Savage Sword of Conan (Marvel UK) #1–2 (1975); The Chronicles of Kull #1 (Dark Horse, December 2009, recolored); The Savage Sword of Kull #1 (Dark Horse, November 2010, black-and-white); and the Kull the Savage: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus (Marvel, 2021).
• The series was later retitled Kull the Destroyer; the 1971 Volume 1 run by Thomas/Andru/Wood quickly transitioned to a new art team (Marie and John Severin) beginning with issue #2.

Cast · 12 characters

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