Big news for fans of Conan and EC Comics! Titan Comics has published the first issue of a new SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN series that also includes a Solomon Kane reboot.
And additional news about the EC Comics reboot that was announced here last week: Oni Press is emphasizing that their new, multi-titled series will not be an outright homage of the originals, but instead will "continue the legacy." We'll see how that turns out.
Comic Review: Savage Sword of Conan #1 Continues a Proud Legacy
By Matt Morrison | February 23, 2024 | superherohype.com
Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures set sales records and won the hearts of fans and critics with their Conan the Barbarian revival. That revival continues with their publication of the first issue of Savage Sword of Conan. Indeed, this magazine may be the single greatest work produced with the Conan license in recent memory.
The introduction by Roy Thomas sets the stage for what is to come perfectly. Thomas details the history of how the original Savage Sword of Conan came into being. The magazine, which offered more mature adaptations of the writings of Robert E. Howard than the monthly comics, was a huge hit for Marvel. It ran for a respectable 235 issues, cementing its status in the annals of Sword and Sorcery literature. (Unsurprisingly, Thomas has been asked back to write more tales of Conan in future issues.)
The lion’s share of Savage Sword of Conan #1 is devoted to a sprawling Conan tale by writer John Arcudi and artist Max Von Fafner. Here we see an older Conan, now a general leading his own mercenary company. Only the promise of gold keeps Conan and his followers following a would-be king on the road to conquest. However, Conan also takes an interest in a comely engineer who is well-protected by his employer’s twin bodyguards.
Fans of the original Savage Sword of Conan will have no complaints about this revival. The stories and artwork are both as vivid and visceral as one would expect. Max Von Fafner does not shy away from showing bare bodies and the blood flows freely in the many action sequences.
However, while the book is largely devoted to Conan, there is more to recommend it. The backup story, written and drawn by Patch Zircher, sets up a new adventure for Solomon Kane. There is also a short Conan story, where current Conan the Barbarian author Jim Zub proves as skilled at writing pure prose as he is spinning comic stories.
In short, if you are a fan of fantasy, mature comics, and high adventure, you should quest to your comic book store and procure a copy of Savage Sword of Conan #1. This is sure to be the start of something special, and you will curse the gods should you miss out on this one.
EC Comics' return isn't "a nostalgia trip" for Oni Press, it's to push boundaries here in 2024
The classic renegade publisher will rise from the crypt in summer 2024 with new life and new passion
By Graeme McMillan | February 23, 2024 | thepopverse.com
The news that EC Comics was making a comeback almost 70 years after the legendary line folded was big news when the New York Times broke the story in mid-February — but fans familiar with the history of William Gaines’ controversial upstart comics publisher shouldn’t expect a retread of former glories in its new incarnation, according to one of the figures responsible for the revival.
Talking at comics industry event ComicsPro, Hunter Gorinson — president and publisher of Oni Press, which will be publishing the new line of EC Comics starting this summer, and who has been working with the Gaines estate to build the new line for years — told retailers that he considered the opportunity to continue the EC legacy “a sacred responsibility,” adding, “The very last thing we want to do is make it be a nostalgia trip.”
Some of that was apparent in the first two titles announced as part of the revived EC line: while both Epitaphs from the Abyss, launching in July, and Cruel Universe, launching in August, sound like classic EC titles along the lines of The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, or Weird Science, they’re actually all-new titles continuing the strong tradition of anthologies focusing on specific genres — Epitaphs is a horror title, and Cruel Universe a sci-fi book, both being genres well-covered by EC in its heyday.
Moving forward, Gorinson teased, the third EC title will be another anthology, but one rooted in a genre the original EC never dealt with, while another future series will depart from EC tradition entirely by abandoning the anthology format altogether.
Creators named as being involved in the new line include Jason Aaron, Christopher Cantwell, Rodney Barnes, Corinne Bechko, Cecil Castellucci, Leomacs, Malachi Ward, Dustin Weaver, Cullen Bunn, and many more. Lee Bermejo will provide covers for Epitaphs from the Abyss, while Greg Smallwood will offer covers for Cruel Universe. Rian Hughes is the designer for the line.
“I can’t tell you too much about what we’re going to do yet, but rest assured over the next four and five months, we’re going to keep our foot on the gas,” Gorinson promised retailers, adding, “we have a lot of stuff planned” for EC Comics moving forward
