Barbarian Life: Volume Three: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian

Barbarian Life: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian #3

by Roy Thomas, Bob McLain (Editor), Benito Gallego (Illustrator)

In thousands of four-color panels for Marvel Comics, Roy Thomas told the tale of Robert E. Howard’s greatest creation, Conan the Barbarian. Now, in this definitive biography and analysis, Roy chronicles Conan’s comic-book life, issue by issue, plot by plot, and artist by artist. For ten years, from October 1970 when Roy and artist Barry Smith assembled the first issue of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian , to October 1980 when Roy and artist John Buscema completed their last issue together on the series, Thomas wrote of Conan's gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth—as well as the wars, the wenches, and the wizardry that bedeviled the Cimmerian from one issue to the next. In this final volume of the series, Roy Thomas explains the creative process behind his final few issues of Conan the Barbarian , his run on King Conan , and selected stories published in Savage Sword of Conan . Additional features include a full-length interview with Roy, a short history of sword-and-sorcery in the comics, and the tale of Conan’s battles with the Comics Code. Whether you’re a Conan fan or a comics fan, you'll enjoy this in-depth look at a Marvel comic-book classic.

228 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2021

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy Thomas returns with the third and final volume of Barbarian Life, however, this time the book only covers the final 15 issues of Conan the Barbarian created before he left Marvel during 1980.

Subsequently, this is a slimmer book, and quite a bit of the content here is not simply notes about comic issues – although there’s still plenty of that to enjoy. These extra features consist of Roy’s recollections regarding his time working on King Conan, and the stories written for The Savage Sword of Conan; a lengthy interview by Jim Amash that covers many interesting topics (taken from Roy’s Alter Ego magazine); plus history articles about Conan and other characters in comics, and a fascinating look at fitting the violence and nudity of Conan within the Comics Code’s requirements.

As with the previous two volumes, it’s a fine read full of interesting insights, providing an insider’s look at the making of several classic comic titles.

[Ben Duerksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with prior entries, one that could have used an extra couple of editorial run-throughs, but otherwise an informative collection of essays on the final issues of Thomas’s first stint as writer on Conan. Only about half the book covers the CTB original series; the other half is filled out by a couple of interview transcripts, as well as similar essays as the CTB ones, but following the early issues of King Conan, as well as some Savage Sword issues and other Conan-inclusions.

I will say there are numerous instances in this third volume where Thomas seems to feel the need to justify certain cultural/societal choices that were made in the writing having to do with race or sex. I don’t feel like there was need to do so, both as far as the target audience is going to be concerned, as well as the simple fact that the choices generally fit the model of the stories, and I don’t think anyone being level in their assessment of the comics can really take much issue with that. No one is reading Conan because of its progressive stance on feminist values in the 70s/80s, even if you support aspects of the movement. In a few cases it’s even just an admission that maybe in hindsight some extra attention would have been warranted in certain areas for certain issues. All well and good…maybe even appreciated, but again, I don’t think necessary especially to the degree of its inclusion, though I suppose it’s being included for posterity’s sake as part of Thomas’s commentary on his own legacy. I actually found it far more interesting to hear how he chose to buck the trend in a few cases, than to hear his justifications for maintaining the status quo in others.

Also, far more times than I’d like to see for Thomas to mention that a speculation or rememberance was tempting him to look something up, only to then…not. I get doing that if you’re in the middle of an interview or something, but this is an edited book…why would you not go and actually check your “dog-eared” copy of something to confirm the detail you just speculated on, telling readers the answer is there but then continuing on like you can’t be bothered?

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An issue by issue retelling of the behind the scenes struggles to get Conan published. This is the third one and it was more thrown together than the other two. There were inclusions of interviews and other essays so it didn't have as much cohesion as the other books.

[Dr NSCA-CPT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth reading.

[Rafał Chojnacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect closure of the story. But you would like to read more about Conan, maybe the memories of other screenwriters?