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Conan the King: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus
Conan The King: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (King Conan
Conan the barbarian…the thief…the mercenary…Conan the king! A new era of begins in adventures set after Conan has deposed the tyrant Numedides to become ruler of Aquilonia. But Conan on the throne is still Conan. The savage action that made him a comic book legend fills page after page while palace intrigue adds a new level of drama with Queen Zenobia and heir to the throne Prince Conn taking prominent roles. Old nemeses like Thoth-Amon return, while mystical prophecy ties Conan to the first king of the realm. Each issue is a double-sized extravaganza with scripts by the godfather of Conan comics Roy Thomas, Doug Moench and Alan Zelenetz and artwork by John Buscema and then-up-and-comer Marc Silvestri. All hail King Conan! Collecting KING CONAN (1980) #1-19.
764 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 16, 2022
10 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,521 books274 followersRoy 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 2, 2025
The Marvel Comics version of King Conan or Conan the King is first and foremost based on the character originally created by Robert E. Howard, imputed, transformed, and aged by the years of Marvel continuity in Savage Sword of Conan and the Conan the Barbarian titles. It is important to note that the character is essentially Howard's guy only experientially different. In fact, this book begins by adapting L. Sprague de Camp's Conan novel demonstrating both a faithfulness to the continuity and adapting to include a non-R. E. Howard vision of Conan.
Another argument for reading and enjoying the TPB is that the novel begins with Conan's major nemesis: Thoth-Amon which should demonstrate to all Conan fans that the creative team knows their stuff. The initial art is done by John Buscema who completely grooves on Conan and Ernie Chan who completely adores Buscema. Those first issues are gorgeous.
Each of those first few issues and most of the others has Conan adventuring with his son which adds an interesting dimension and dynamic viewing Conan through the prism of fatherhood, King, and even husband. There's an adventure where Conan travels alone with his queen. These ideas are relatively new in the mind of the Barbarian turned King. The book was fun, to see an imperfect Conan attempting to acclimate to a new milieu. The book reprints King Conan # 1 - 19. There are also wonderful pinup pages included in every issue.
Another argument for reading and enjoying the TPB is that the novel begins with Conan's major nemesis: Thoth-Amon which should demonstrate to all Conan fans that the creative team knows their stuff. The initial art is done by John Buscema who completely grooves on Conan and Ernie Chan who completely adores Buscema. Those first issues are gorgeous.
Each of those first few issues and most of the others has Conan adventuring with his son which adds an interesting dimension and dynamic viewing Conan through the prism of fatherhood, King, and even husband. There's an adventure where Conan travels alone with his queen. These ideas are relatively new in the mind of the Barbarian turned King. The book was fun, to see an imperfect Conan attempting to acclimate to a new milieu. The book reprints King Conan # 1 - 19. There are also wonderful pinup pages included in every issue.
June 5, 2025
El tomo no empieza mal. Pese a que en las primeras entregas se adaptan dos de las historias más flojas del Barbarianxploitation de de Camp y Carter están bien contadas por Thomas y Buscema, en la media de las colaboraciones de los dos autores. Pero con la marcha del primero (y luego del segundo) la serie decae rápidamente. Las tramas se vuelven formulaicas y repetitivas, con argumentos que podría transcurrir perfectamente en la juventud del personaje y un dibujo irregular.
Esta serie siempre fue la más floja de los años del personaje en Marvel y no se puede decir que el tiempo le haya favorecido.
Esta serie siempre fue la más floja de los años del personaje en Marvel y no se puede decir que el tiempo le haya favorecido.
August 5, 2023
Roy Thomas (#1-8). The first eight issues of King Conan are adaptation of Conan of Aquilonia and Conan the Avenger, Books #11 and #10 of the DeCamp & Carter version of the Conan Saga, published by Ace in the '70s. Unfortunately, they're told in that backward order, with the earlier story being a campfire story in the latter eight issues.
These are strong Conan the King stories (even if they originate as pastiches), but the extra length of the King Conan comic doesn't do them favors, as they tend to drag. Still, this is good stuff that nicely integrates with the Conan Annuals from years past and Conan of the Isles (too bad all of those weren't collected together!) [3+/5].
Doug Moench (#9-15). The follow-up stories are good sword & sorcery, with valiant warriors and horrific magic, but they're very monster-of-the-week. There's not only little continuity, but Moench increasingly ignores Conan's family. The result is just OK, not particularly deep [3/5].
Alan Zelenetz (#16-19). Zelenetz seems to have a better handle on writing stories about Conan as a *king*. At least it starts that way, before he sends him off to fight slavers and pirates. But, it really highlights that that was the problem with Moench's run: too much of it could have been about a much younger Conan. But, it gives me great hope for the new revamp of the comic starting with issue #20 ... but of course that's not in this volume, and who knows when that next volume will ever appear, with the Titan takeover seeming to set things back by years. [3+/5].
These are strong Conan the King stories (even if they originate as pastiches), but the extra length of the King Conan comic doesn't do them favors, as they tend to drag. Still, this is good stuff that nicely integrates with the Conan Annuals from years past and Conan of the Isles (too bad all of those weren't collected together!) [3+/5].
Doug Moench (#9-15). The follow-up stories are good sword & sorcery, with valiant warriors and horrific magic, but they're very monster-of-the-week. There's not only little continuity, but Moench increasingly ignores Conan's family. The result is just OK, not particularly deep [3/5].
Alan Zelenetz (#16-19). Zelenetz seems to have a better handle on writing stories about Conan as a *king*. At least it starts that way, before he sends him off to fight slavers and pirates. But, it really highlights that that was the problem with Moench's run: too much of it could have been about a much younger Conan. But, it gives me great hope for the new revamp of the comic starting with issue #20 ... but of course that's not in this volume, and who knows when that next volume will ever appear, with the Titan takeover seeming to set things back by years. [3+/5].
August 18, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 4.5
Something of a tough one this, as it in no way matches or exceeds the god tier opening four omnibus' of the Original Marvel Years, yet comfortably exceeds the increasingly average 6 OMY' omnibus' that follow. Conan's adventuring days of killing men and monsters and banging every buxom and bawdy tavern wench all across Hyperboria are over. Instead, we get an older, wiser and slightly more wistful Conan). We also get Conan the father, which was handled well for the most part. I can't imagine anyone was interested in the ongoing exploits of his son. But Conn's addition to this book is sporadic after the opening few arcs. Someone definitely knew what they were doing by keeping his appearances to a minimum. We also get Conan the husband. And though it's a crime to not have Conan putting dozens of smiles across dozens of ladie's dial's, I genuinely like Zenobia as a character, and if anything, would have liked to have seen a little more of her.
Half this book is Thomas and big John Buscema, which is about as close to a god damn guarantee of quality as you'll get in the comics world. Those two together (with an amazing inker) make the sweetest of sweet, sweet music together. And then we get Mark Silvestri coming in with some of his earliest work, and hot damn, comics used to be written and drawn by people with talent.
Despite a dud here or there, Conan the King is a must own for any self-respecting comics fan. There isn't a comic book character alive that has been as consistently good as Conan was. Read it, by Crom! 4.5/5
OmniBen.
Something of a tough one this, as it in no way matches or exceeds the god tier opening four omnibus' of the Original Marvel Years, yet comfortably exceeds the increasingly average 6 OMY' omnibus' that follow. Conan's adventuring days of killing men and monsters and banging every buxom and bawdy tavern wench all across Hyperboria are over. Instead, we get an older, wiser and slightly more wistful Conan). We also get Conan the father, which was handled well for the most part. I can't imagine anyone was interested in the ongoing exploits of his son. But Conn's addition to this book is sporadic after the opening few arcs. Someone definitely knew what they were doing by keeping his appearances to a minimum. We also get Conan the husband. And though it's a crime to not have Conan putting dozens of smiles across dozens of ladie's dial's, I genuinely like Zenobia as a character, and if anything, would have liked to have seen a little more of her.
Half this book is Thomas and big John Buscema, which is about as close to a god damn guarantee of quality as you'll get in the comics world. Those two together (with an amazing inker) make the sweetest of sweet, sweet music together. And then we get Mark Silvestri coming in with some of his earliest work, and hot damn, comics used to be written and drawn by people with talent.
Despite a dud here or there, Conan the King is a must own for any self-respecting comics fan. There isn't a comic book character alive that has been as consistently good as Conan was. Read it, by Crom! 4.5/5
OmniBen.
February 24, 2026
A ver, ya tiene que ser malo un cómic de Conan para que le dé menos de tres estrellas. No soy imparcial, lo reconozco. Pero si tuviera que dárselas, se las daría a prácticamente toda esta colección, a excepción de algunos honrosos números (no presentes en este tomo) firmados por Owlsley e Isherwood, con portadas de un inmenso Mike Kaluta. El resto, sobre todo los episodios finales, varían entre sosos y directamente absurdos. De estos, tenemos varios ejemplos en este ómnibus.
Los de Thomas-Buscema-Chan (más Chan que Buscema) son simplemente pasables. No he tenido el dudoso placer de leer las novelas que adaptan, pero sin duda son horribles, por lo que el equipo creativo hasta tiene mérito. Cuando Moench toma las riendas de los guiones, se ve que el hombre decide que no había suficiente brujería, y saca hechiceros y demonios hasta de debajo de las piedras. En sus manos, Conan es un tanque capaz de derrotar a lo que sea que le echen, sean cientos de matones o un diablo ancestral con una espada del tamaño de dos Conan. El dibujo cae en picado de una manera rapidísima: así, en un número tenemos a Chan sin Buscema (con resultados bastante tristes), y en el siguiente al inútil de Paul Kupperberg. En fin, una etapa breve y olvidable, pero excelente comparada con los aburridísimos números de Alan Zelenetz, guionista limitadísimo incapaz de escribir sobre algo más que intrigas palaciegas soporíferas y rebeliones inmediatamente sofocadas por un Conan que vuelve a parecer el doble de animal que en sus años mozos. En cuanto a Marc Silvestri... pues, qué decir salvo que siempre ha sido más bien malo, excepto cuando lo entintaba Dan Green en la Patrulla-X; las tintas de Green lo hacían soportable, que no bueno. Aquí, lo entinta Ricardo Villamonte, con resultados discretos.
En fin, un pufo notable de colección. Y porque no me pongo tiquis miquis con cosas como que la reina Zenobia pase de ser una guerrera como un pino en un número a una damisela en apuros en el siguiente, o que a Conan le salgan unas barbas imponentes de un día para otro, o que tenga preferencia por una espada en concreto (cuando siempre se ha caracterizado por partirse la cara con quien sea con lo que sea), que se mencione a sus varios hijos, pero que en 19 números solo salga Conn una y otra vez (qué chaval más soso, por Crom), que los pictos sean nativos americanos, que los dibujantes pinten bisontes y en el guion se mencionen uros (o leopardos por guepardos)... en fin, un montón de detalles ilógicos que menoscaban todavía más esta colección de tercera. Café para muy cafeteros, o para gente a la que le importe un bledo el canon conaniano, que es vulnerado una y otra vez por los diferentes guionistas. Para los demás, no merece la pena.
Los de Thomas-Buscema-Chan (más Chan que Buscema) son simplemente pasables. No he tenido el dudoso placer de leer las novelas que adaptan, pero sin duda son horribles, por lo que el equipo creativo hasta tiene mérito. Cuando Moench toma las riendas de los guiones, se ve que el hombre decide que no había suficiente brujería, y saca hechiceros y demonios hasta de debajo de las piedras. En sus manos, Conan es un tanque capaz de derrotar a lo que sea que le echen, sean cientos de matones o un diablo ancestral con una espada del tamaño de dos Conan. El dibujo cae en picado de una manera rapidísima: así, en un número tenemos a Chan sin Buscema (con resultados bastante tristes), y en el siguiente al inútil de Paul Kupperberg. En fin, una etapa breve y olvidable, pero excelente comparada con los aburridísimos números de Alan Zelenetz, guionista limitadísimo incapaz de escribir sobre algo más que intrigas palaciegas soporíferas y rebeliones inmediatamente sofocadas por un Conan que vuelve a parecer el doble de animal que en sus años mozos. En cuanto a Marc Silvestri... pues, qué decir salvo que siempre ha sido más bien malo, excepto cuando lo entintaba Dan Green en la Patrulla-X; las tintas de Green lo hacían soportable, que no bueno. Aquí, lo entinta Ricardo Villamonte, con resultados discretos.
En fin, un pufo notable de colección. Y porque no me pongo tiquis miquis con cosas como que la reina Zenobia pase de ser una guerrera como un pino en un número a una damisela en apuros en el siguiente, o que a Conan le salgan unas barbas imponentes de un día para otro, o que tenga preferencia por una espada en concreto (cuando siempre se ha caracterizado por partirse la cara con quien sea con lo que sea), que se mencione a sus varios hijos, pero que en 19 números solo salga Conn una y otra vez (qué chaval más soso, por Crom), que los pictos sean nativos americanos, que los dibujantes pinten bisontes y en el guion se mencionen uros (o leopardos por guepardos)... en fin, un montón de detalles ilógicos que menoscaban todavía más esta colección de tercera. Café para muy cafeteros, o para gente a la que le importe un bledo el canon conaniano, que es vulnerado una y otra vez por los diferentes guionistas. Para los demás, no merece la pena.
January 13, 2026
On that dark, dark day back in the 1980s when Roy Thomas left Marvel for the first time the magazines Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan suffered immediate and long lasting declines in quality. But fortunately King Conan did not. Doug Moench was a big part of that. He handled several different licensed properties for Marvel (Doc Savage, Godzilla, and of course Fu Manchu's son Shang-Chi) in a very entertaining manner and did the same for REH's most famous creation. As for Alan Zelenetz, I've never read anything else by him but here his work is excellent. John Buscema doesn't draw every issue in this compilation but the art is decent through out.
4 stars and recommended.
4 stars and recommended.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews