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Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus
Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus, Vol. 5
Conan the Barbarian enters a new creative phase as J.M. DeMatteis ("Kraven's Last Stand") debuts as series writer. He will take Conan to the magical city in the clouds, Mreead-Zza; return fan-favorites Jenna and Murilo to the supporting cast; and team with John Buscema on a set of stories pitting Conan against Eilaynia, Princess of Mist. Then, Marvel legend Gil Kane takes the artistic reins for an extended run featuring "The Creation Quest" saga, while writer Bruce Jones (Incredible Hulk) mixes a blend of humor and horror. Plus: A story illustrated by titans John Buscema and Neal Adams, a pair of Annuals by Roy Thomas and Thomas and Buscema's Conan of the Isles graphic novel, reprinted for the fi rst time! COLLECTING: CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1970) 116-149, CONAN THE BARBARIAN ANNUAL (1973) 6-9, CONAN OF THE ISLES (1988), WHAT IF? (1977) 39
1048 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 1983
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68 people want to read
About the author
J.M. DeMatteis
1,908 books230 followersAlso Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally
Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.
Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.
Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally
Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.
Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.
Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 17, 2024
Conan 116-149, Annual #6-9
I read these as the original comics. The coloring is a bit better in my opinion although the ink line can bleed a bit more on the newspaper print. I'm interested in seeing what Titan does for their new remastered Omnibuses, I believe they said they're going to try and get the color closer to the original intent.
A mixed bag for sure. Lots of different writers and artists. The best is still John Buscema especially when he's inking himself or has Ernie Chan embellishing. The Chan inks are a little too complex for these comics. I'd love to have an artisan edition of his work!
It's a shame because I think a best-of collection of these comics would be really good. There's just far too many wizards, magical worlds, teleportation, and then next week it's a brand new adventure each time. There's some continuation with Conan's female companions coming back in. The best single comics were the annuals, they're a bit longer so allow for a bit more complex storytelling. I am missing the long-form stories of the early years in Conan (and what the modern Conan comics do too).
116
4/5 Crawler in the Mist - Len Wein / John Buscema & Neal Adams
Great artwork. Adams and Buscema are a great combination. Adams adds some photorealism to Buscema. Conan and a would-be enslaver meet giant intelligent slugs.
117
4/5 The Corridor of Mullah-Kaja
Larry Hama / John Buscema with Ernie Chan
A stygian pyramid in Zamboula. Lots of wizarding madness.
118
Valley of Forever Night
J.M. DeMatteis / John Buscema with Ernie Chan
119-126
The Voice of One Long Gone
J.M. DeMatteis / John Buscema with McLeod
A longer continuous sort-of story. Conan meets back up with Jenna, a woman who uses her sexuality to manipulate men (seen first way back in issue 6!). We also meet Murilo again.
127-130
The Snow Haired Woman of the Wastes
J.M. DeMatteis / Gil Kane
Kane steps in as artist for a brief run. It's not bad actually.
131
The Rings of Rhax
Bruce Jones / Gil Kane with Ernie Chan
It's wild how different Gil Kane's art looks with Chan's finishing. Kane must have just been doing the layouts.
132-133
Bruce Jones / Gil Kane with Danny Bulanadi
134
Bruce Jones / Gil Kane with Ernie Chan
135
Steven Grant / Mark Silvestri with Danny Bulanadi
bad fill-in
136
The River of Death
Bruce Jones / John Buscema with Danny Bulanadi
137
Titan's Gambit
Bruce Jones / Alfredo Alcala
Cool to see a solo Alcala comic
138-139
Bruce Jones / Val Mayerik
140-144
Spider Isle
Bruce Jones / John Buscema
Buscema inks here too for the first issue. More simple than Chan, but its really nice. Conan is a slave on a galley. Eventually he gets another man Fhrank to help him overthrow the captain.
145
Alan Zelentz / Richard Howell + Bob Camp
very odd art. I don't hate it, looks a bit indie comics to me.
146
Mary Jo Duffy + John Buscmea with Camp
147-149
Bruce Jones / John Buscema with Ernie Chan
Good artwork to finish out the book with but the stories are just a bit dull and repetitive. There's really no character development or stakes.
Annual 6
Roy Thomas + Gil Kane
King of the Forgotten People
A dessert tale. Conan is ambushed but finds a den of giant spiders who kill his attackers. He finds a tower in a valley. Pretty typical wizarding stuff.
Annual 7
Roy Thomas / John Buscema + Co
King Conan - adapation of Conan of the Isles by de Camp. Was supposed to be continued each year but it wasn't. Cool to see an old Conan with a 20 year old son. This is the kind of tale I think would make for a good King Conan movie with an old Arnold (maybe 10 years ago). Later republished and finished as Marvel Graphic Novel #42 which I'll have to check out.
Annual 8
Jim Owsley / Val Mayerik
Dark Night of the White Queen
Start with King Kull trying to kill two babies who 10000 years later give Conan some trouble. Fun magical tale.
Annual 9
Michael Fleisher / Ernie Chan
Cool to see Chan do a solo comic. This was actually the best single comic in the collection! It needed a few more pages to breath but it has Conan as a pirate. They get lost in the North, saved by some ancient tribe there. The pirates want to take the place over, Conan disagrees and gets caught in a mutiny. Karma catches up with the pirates as Conan tries to survive in the north.
I read these as the original comics. The coloring is a bit better in my opinion although the ink line can bleed a bit more on the newspaper print. I'm interested in seeing what Titan does for their new remastered Omnibuses, I believe they said they're going to try and get the color closer to the original intent.
A mixed bag for sure. Lots of different writers and artists. The best is still John Buscema especially when he's inking himself or has Ernie Chan embellishing. The Chan inks are a little too complex for these comics. I'd love to have an artisan edition of his work!
It's a shame because I think a best-of collection of these comics would be really good. There's just far too many wizards, magical worlds, teleportation, and then next week it's a brand new adventure each time. There's some continuation with Conan's female companions coming back in. The best single comics were the annuals, they're a bit longer so allow for a bit more complex storytelling. I am missing the long-form stories of the early years in Conan (and what the modern Conan comics do too).
116
4/5 Crawler in the Mist - Len Wein / John Buscema & Neal Adams
Great artwork. Adams and Buscema are a great combination. Adams adds some photorealism to Buscema. Conan and a would-be enslaver meet giant intelligent slugs.
117
4/5 The Corridor of Mullah-Kaja
Larry Hama / John Buscema with Ernie Chan
A stygian pyramid in Zamboula. Lots of wizarding madness.
118
Valley of Forever Night
J.M. DeMatteis / John Buscema with Ernie Chan
119-126
The Voice of One Long Gone
J.M. DeMatteis / John Buscema with McLeod
A longer continuous sort-of story. Conan meets back up with Jenna, a woman who uses her sexuality to manipulate men (seen first way back in issue 6!). We also meet Murilo again.
127-130
The Snow Haired Woman of the Wastes
J.M. DeMatteis / Gil Kane
Kane steps in as artist for a brief run. It's not bad actually.
131
The Rings of Rhax
Bruce Jones / Gil Kane with Ernie Chan
It's wild how different Gil Kane's art looks with Chan's finishing. Kane must have just been doing the layouts.
132-133
Bruce Jones / Gil Kane with Danny Bulanadi
134
Bruce Jones / Gil Kane with Ernie Chan
135
Steven Grant / Mark Silvestri with Danny Bulanadi
bad fill-in
136
The River of Death
Bruce Jones / John Buscema with Danny Bulanadi
137
Titan's Gambit
Bruce Jones / Alfredo Alcala
Cool to see a solo Alcala comic
138-139
Bruce Jones / Val Mayerik
140-144
Spider Isle
Bruce Jones / John Buscema
Buscema inks here too for the first issue. More simple than Chan, but its really nice. Conan is a slave on a galley. Eventually he gets another man Fhrank to help him overthrow the captain.
145
Alan Zelentz / Richard Howell + Bob Camp
very odd art. I don't hate it, looks a bit indie comics to me.
146
Mary Jo Duffy + John Buscmea with Camp
147-149
Bruce Jones / John Buscema with Ernie Chan
Good artwork to finish out the book with but the stories are just a bit dull and repetitive. There's really no character development or stakes.
Annual 6
Roy Thomas + Gil Kane
King of the Forgotten People
A dessert tale. Conan is ambushed but finds a den of giant spiders who kill his attackers. He finds a tower in a valley. Pretty typical wizarding stuff.
Annual 7
Roy Thomas / John Buscema + Co
King Conan - adapation of Conan of the Isles by de Camp. Was supposed to be continued each year but it wasn't. Cool to see an old Conan with a 20 year old son. This is the kind of tale I think would make for a good King Conan movie with an old Arnold (maybe 10 years ago). Later republished and finished as Marvel Graphic Novel #42 which I'll have to check out.
Annual 8
Jim Owsley / Val Mayerik
Dark Night of the White Queen
Start with King Kull trying to kill two babies who 10000 years later give Conan some trouble. Fun magical tale.
Annual 9
Michael Fleisher / Ernie Chan
Cool to see Chan do a solo comic. This was actually the best single comic in the collection! It needed a few more pages to breath but it has Conan as a pirate. They get lost in the North, saved by some ancient tribe there. The pirates want to take the place over, Conan disagrees and gets caught in a mutiny. Karma catches up with the pirates as Conan tries to survive in the north.
June 11, 2022
(Zero spoiler review) 4.5/5
Oh my goodness. Currently a 3.67 on this site! What foul, contemptuous plot has surfaced, seeing fit to bestow such an ungodly, unworthy score upon the great shoulders of Conan of Cimmeria. To be the first actual review here is an honour I am unworthy of, though I will do my best to redress such injustice. Ok, all jokes aside, this was the weaker of the five so far, but for fucks sake, this still curb stomps a significant portion of the entire Marvel back catalogue, and unflinchingly curbstomp's just about anything from this century. When you've had well over a hundred issues with the great Roy Thomas and the Brilliant John Buscema, any slight deviation from such excellence is going to seem a little jarring. J.M Demattias started things off, and I must admit, I think I convinced myself I liked it a little more than I actually did. Following Thomas is no mean feat, and the guy acquitted himself well, but the stories themselves were easily the weakest so far. Whether Thomas got to adapt all of Howards best work, and Demattias got the scraps, I don't know, but there were some pretty average narratives here, not to mention, a few changes in artist as well, with John Buscema coming and going from the title. No one ever covered themselves in glory, but nor did they embarrass themselves either (though Gil Kane inking his own pencils was pretty awful, I must admit). As soon as Ernie Chan or another inker came onto his stories, the art improved immeasurably. Once Bruce Jones came on board, the book really got back into top gear. Every writer on here did well enough, although Jones is clearly the spiritual successor to Thomas. I don't know how many more issues he writes into the next omnibus, but I hope its quite a few. Roy even reared his head for the final couple of annuals collected at the end. Despite Jones kicking goals, it was wonderful to have the GOAT back on board. over the last 900 or so pages, I'd almost forgotten how good the man really was/is.
So yes, this doesn't quite hit the high's of the previous four omnibus', but over 3000 brilliant pages, mostly from the same creative team, it surely had to dip a little somewhere. I may not be rushing to reread this as quickly as the preceding volumes, but this still dominantly and defiantly shits on most everything else out there. Read it, or by Crom, Conan won't be best pleased with you. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
Oh my goodness. Currently a 3.67 on this site! What foul, contemptuous plot has surfaced, seeing fit to bestow such an ungodly, unworthy score upon the great shoulders of Conan of Cimmeria. To be the first actual review here is an honour I am unworthy of, though I will do my best to redress such injustice. Ok, all jokes aside, this was the weaker of the five so far, but for fucks sake, this still curb stomps a significant portion of the entire Marvel back catalogue, and unflinchingly curbstomp's just about anything from this century. When you've had well over a hundred issues with the great Roy Thomas and the Brilliant John Buscema, any slight deviation from such excellence is going to seem a little jarring. J.M Demattias started things off, and I must admit, I think I convinced myself I liked it a little more than I actually did. Following Thomas is no mean feat, and the guy acquitted himself well, but the stories themselves were easily the weakest so far. Whether Thomas got to adapt all of Howards best work, and Demattias got the scraps, I don't know, but there were some pretty average narratives here, not to mention, a few changes in artist as well, with John Buscema coming and going from the title. No one ever covered themselves in glory, but nor did they embarrass themselves either (though Gil Kane inking his own pencils was pretty awful, I must admit). As soon as Ernie Chan or another inker came onto his stories, the art improved immeasurably. Once Bruce Jones came on board, the book really got back into top gear. Every writer on here did well enough, although Jones is clearly the spiritual successor to Thomas. I don't know how many more issues he writes into the next omnibus, but I hope its quite a few. Roy even reared his head for the final couple of annuals collected at the end. Despite Jones kicking goals, it was wonderful to have the GOAT back on board. over the last 900 or so pages, I'd almost forgotten how good the man really was/is.
So yes, this doesn't quite hit the high's of the previous four omnibus', but over 3000 brilliant pages, mostly from the same creative team, it surely had to dip a little somewhere. I may not be rushing to reread this as quickly as the preceding volumes, but this still dominantly and defiantly shits on most everything else out there. Read it, or by Crom, Conan won't be best pleased with you. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
October 9, 2022
Following in the footsteps of Roy Thomas' Conan would have been hard for anyone, but part of the problem of his immediate successors is that they didn't even try. Where Thomas tried to chronicle the ongoing life of Conan, brilliantly threading it through short stories by Howard and others, his successors just told random tales.
J.M. DeMatteis (#118-130) took on Conan as his first major job at Marvel, and unfortunately it shows. The stories are fair, with an occasional emotional twist, such as the fate of Conan's two young friends (I don't even know their names). DeMatteis also makes the good decision to revisit a few characters from old comics. But as a whole, the stories are much too magical and the way that Conan quite literally teleports all around Hyboria means that we lose any sense of place. Some of the stories verge on sword & sorcery, but otherwise this era is quite mediocre [3/5].
The Bruce Jones run (#131-149) is better, primarily because the writing is better — but then Jones was a more experienced writer. In fact, his experience with the Warren horror comic shows, as some of these stories feel like Creepy and Eerie stories. Jones also attempts to locate his stories in a place by focusing them all on Cimmeria and the Border Kingdoms ... but only occasionally does the setting come through, and we still have lost Conan being the story of Conan's life, and not just random adventures. Nonetheless, these are enjoyable reads that will definitely be worth rereading and some point [3+/5].
It's good to have Thomas back for "King of the Forgotten People" in AnnuaL #6, and nice to have a new adaptation of a Howard original. You can certainly see his common tropes, such as reincarnation, but otherwise this story feels over-stretched, and that keeps it from shining [3/5].
"Conan of the Isles" in Annual #7 (and later its own graphic novel) is a much better piece because it has a strong place in the Conan chronology: as his last story. The eldritch horrors of the story are fun, even if it's a bit more Cthulhu-y than Howard himself would have written. A fine story and great to have it adapted by Thomas [4+/5].
The What If? that we end on is largely boring [2/5].
J.M. DeMatteis (#118-130) took on Conan as his first major job at Marvel, and unfortunately it shows. The stories are fair, with an occasional emotional twist, such as the fate of Conan's two young friends (I don't even know their names). DeMatteis also makes the good decision to revisit a few characters from old comics. But as a whole, the stories are much too magical and the way that Conan quite literally teleports all around Hyboria means that we lose any sense of place. Some of the stories verge on sword & sorcery, but otherwise this era is quite mediocre [3/5].
The Bruce Jones run (#131-149) is better, primarily because the writing is better — but then Jones was a more experienced writer. In fact, his experience with the Warren horror comic shows, as some of these stories feel like Creepy and Eerie stories. Jones also attempts to locate his stories in a place by focusing them all on Cimmeria and the Border Kingdoms ... but only occasionally does the setting come through, and we still have lost Conan being the story of Conan's life, and not just random adventures. Nonetheless, these are enjoyable reads that will definitely be worth rereading and some point [3+/5].
It's good to have Thomas back for "King of the Forgotten People" in AnnuaL #6, and nice to have a new adaptation of a Howard original. You can certainly see his common tropes, such as reincarnation, but otherwise this story feels over-stretched, and that keeps it from shining [3/5].
"Conan of the Isles" in Annual #7 (and later its own graphic novel) is a much better piece because it has a strong place in the Conan chronology: as his last story. The eldritch horrors of the story are fun, even if it's a bit more Cthulhu-y than Howard himself would have written. A fine story and great to have it adapted by Thomas [4+/5].
The What If? that we end on is largely boring [2/5].
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews