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Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus
Conan The Barbarian: The Original Comics Omnibus Vol.2
The adventure continues, in this collection of classic Conan stories, perfect for fans and collectors alike!
The legend of Conan continues! Tired of the thieving life, Conan signs on as a mercenary for the warring kingdom of Turan. The enemy will tell of Conan’s legendary skill in battle — if any of them live to tell the tale — but palace intrigue may prove more dangerous to the barbarian. After all, it’s never wise to bed a wizard’s woman. Then, Conan joins with Red Sonja for a multipart adventure. Last, but far from least, we present Roy Thomas and Gil Kane’s complete adaptation of “The Hour of the Dragon,” the iconic story of how Conan became king and conqueror and met the woman who would become his wife.
The legend of Conan continues! Tired of the thieving life, Conan signs on as a mercenary for the warring kingdom of Turan. The enemy will tell of Conan’s legendary skill in battle — if any of them live to tell the tale — but palace intrigue may prove more dangerous to the barbarian. After all, it’s never wise to bed a wizard’s woman. Then, Conan joins with Red Sonja for a multipart adventure. Last, but far from least, we present Roy Thomas and Gil Kane’s complete adaptation of “The Hour of the Dragon,” the iconic story of how Conan became king and conqueror and met the woman who would become his wife.
856 pages, Hardcover
First published March 18, 1975
5 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,480 books272 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 31, 2020
The second volume of the Marvel Omnibus collection of Conan The Barbarian (the main series and not Savage Sword, which is collected in other Omnibusesieszes) covers a couple of years of the series in a really stupendous edition. Going from issues 27 to 51 and collecting for the first time in one place the Hour of the Dragon adaptations which was spread between the Giant-Size Conan series and a couple of issues of Savage Sword, this is a true ultimate edition.
Of course the comics are good, although this period is very Buscema centric (with contributions by Neal Adams and the Hour of the Dragon by Gil Kane), and Buscema in color isn't as interesting as Barry Windsor-Smith who dominates the first volume, or as the Buscema work for Savage Sword with the excellent ink work by people like Alcala, these are unmissable volumes.
The volumes are unmissable particularly because of the truly amazing editing work done here, if you are a fan of the series you want this, it includes every letter page, every introduction to every edition of the comics that ever existed and a long Roy Thomas intro to the whole thing, you get extra pages with pencil work, inks, pretty much everything that exists related to the issues and even more. Roy Thomas must have kept exhaustive diaries because he is able to recall every single detail of every delay, discussion or decision. You can tell that this was really his baby, he cared so much about Conan and he is so proud of his work here, that it is a joy to read his commentary. If you own any previous editions of this, as I actually do, it's a really worthy upgrade, there's so much care and love here, you feel really well taken care of as a fan.
Of course the comics are good, although this period is very Buscema centric (with contributions by Neal Adams and the Hour of the Dragon by Gil Kane), and Buscema in color isn't as interesting as Barry Windsor-Smith who dominates the first volume, or as the Buscema work for Savage Sword with the excellent ink work by people like Alcala, these are unmissable volumes.
The volumes are unmissable particularly because of the truly amazing editing work done here, if you are a fan of the series you want this, it includes every letter page, every introduction to every edition of the comics that ever existed and a long Roy Thomas intro to the whole thing, you get extra pages with pencil work, inks, pretty much everything that exists related to the issues and even more. Roy Thomas must have kept exhaustive diaries because he is able to recall every single detail of every delay, discussion or decision. You can tell that this was really his baby, he cared so much about Conan and he is so proud of his work here, that it is a joy to read his commentary. If you own any previous editions of this, as I actually do, it's a really worthy upgrade, there's so much care and love here, you feel really well taken care of as a fan.
October 15, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) 4.75/5
So here we are again. Basking in the radiant crimson glow of one of the greatest characters of all time, from one of the greatest creative teams of all time. Thomas and Buscema on Conan the Barbarian is what dreams are made of. At least when compared to the puerile slop the modern comics fan is forced to subsist on anyway. I've never been big into superheroes, although give me some sword and sorcery, some hulking muscled men, bronze skin gleaming in the sunlight as they hack and slash through a few thousand men and monsters, with a scantily clad wench at the ready and you'll get me every time. This is the medium at its pinnacle. Amazing storytelling accompanied by some breath taking art and colours. There isn't a dud issue to be seen throughout its near 8oo pages. Thomas is truly a genius, and with Buscema at his side (and a commendable run by Gil Kane closing out the book with Conan the Conqueror, and you have yourself a veritable feast for the senses. This volume is getting pretty thin on the ground before you need to delve into the secondary market, in all of it shameful ludicrosity, so grab a copy of this while you can. No self respecting comics fan of discerning taste and vintage could withstand its charms, it's whiles. I certainly couldn't. Read this and for once, you won't feel dirty or ashamed to be a comics' fan in 2021. It really is that bloody good. 4.75/5
OmniBen.
So here we are again. Basking in the radiant crimson glow of one of the greatest characters of all time, from one of the greatest creative teams of all time. Thomas and Buscema on Conan the Barbarian is what dreams are made of. At least when compared to the puerile slop the modern comics fan is forced to subsist on anyway. I've never been big into superheroes, although give me some sword and sorcery, some hulking muscled men, bronze skin gleaming in the sunlight as they hack and slash through a few thousand men and monsters, with a scantily clad wench at the ready and you'll get me every time. This is the medium at its pinnacle. Amazing storytelling accompanied by some breath taking art and colours. There isn't a dud issue to be seen throughout its near 8oo pages. Thomas is truly a genius, and with Buscema at his side (and a commendable run by Gil Kane closing out the book with Conan the Conqueror, and you have yourself a veritable feast for the senses. This volume is getting pretty thin on the ground before you need to delve into the secondary market, in all of it shameful ludicrosity, so grab a copy of this while you can. No self respecting comics fan of discerning taste and vintage could withstand its charms, it's whiles. I certainly couldn't. Read this and for once, you won't feel dirty or ashamed to be a comics' fan in 2021. It really is that bloody good. 4.75/5
OmniBen.
April 10, 2020
The next volume in the collected series is not quite up the level that we saw in volume one, but it's still really great. John Buscema shows off just how great he is. And this may sound like sacrilege, but I think I like him more than Windsor-Smith as the regular artist. Yeah Barry has a much higher level of detail. But he just did so much that he couldn't really do a monthly book. And when he had to rush the art really suffered. Anyway, every Buscema issue is great, but the Gil Kane issues are really not so great. Kane is a great artist, but you wouldn't know it from the Giant Size issues he did here. They look rough and the story feels a bit padded as well. All in all, a really top-notch collection.
December 10, 2020
I took my time with this. I read it in conjunction with Roy Thomas’s Barbarian Life, which is a fantastic pairing.
Why get these omnibus editions? Because they not only reprint the comics, but also reproduce the covers, house ads and letter pages. These are time capsules with great comics to boot!
Roy Thomas is the scribe of each issue in this book. Art includes the talents of Barry Windsor-Smith, Gil Kane, Neal Adams and John Buscema. It includes the introduction of Red Sonja into Marvel’s Hyborian age, adaptions of REH stories, some of which did not begin as Conan tales, and an adaptation of Gardner Fox’s Kothar, with Conan in for Kothar, of course. It ends with a six part adaptation of _Hour of the Dragon_. The appendix reprints “behind the scene” articles from Saga of Conan, a 90’s era book that reprinted the original 70’s/80’s Marvel Conan books.
Well worth your time and money if you’re a fan of Marvel’s original Conan comics, or classic comics in general, or both. I am a solid fan of both.
Why get these omnibus editions? Because they not only reprint the comics, but also reproduce the covers, house ads and letter pages. These are time capsules with great comics to boot!
Roy Thomas is the scribe of each issue in this book. Art includes the talents of Barry Windsor-Smith, Gil Kane, Neal Adams and John Buscema. It includes the introduction of Red Sonja into Marvel’s Hyborian age, adaptions of REH stories, some of which did not begin as Conan tales, and an adaptation of Gardner Fox’s Kothar, with Conan in for Kothar, of course. It ends with a six part adaptation of _Hour of the Dragon_. The appendix reprints “behind the scene” articles from Saga of Conan, a 90’s era book that reprinted the original 70’s/80’s Marvel Conan books.
Well worth your time and money if you’re a fan of Marvel’s original Conan comics, or classic comics in general, or both. I am a solid fan of both.
July 17, 2020
If first volume was good this second volume surely surpasses it.
You will get iconic conan stories such as the epic " the hour of the dragon", and you will have art by the master John Buscema!
This is a must have for new readers and hyborian experts alike.
You will get iconic conan stories such as the epic " the hour of the dragon", and you will have art by the master John Buscema!
This is a must have for new readers and hyborian experts alike.
March 10, 2021
Another giant tome of Marvel Conan goodness. I suspect I rated this one lower as the strength of the monthly magazine format fades when I read these stories one after another. There's less variety between the tales, with several gems that shine of course.
Two comic renditions of novels appear here, one that ran in the regular Conan series, another that began in Giant Sized Conan for four issues and ended in The Savage Sword of Conan. In fact, I find the Savage stories that appear in this tome better than the regular series, but perhaps because those were released in a different format and in black and white - showing greater detail in the artwork and also they were less "toned down" for general audiences. The second story as well was based on a Howard novel, which I find tend to make the strongest stories -- even though several people have plied their hands at writing Conan tales, not the least which is this comic series.
Conan still has a horrible weakness for being knocked out from blows from behind. You'd think at this point he'd learn but no. I suppose it comes from needing the hero to have moments of weakness, but needing him to also stay alive. Thus he can be captured and/or left to some terrible fate which he will of course escape from. Conan still has a bad habit of killing ancient beast-gods and ancient sorcerers who let their guards down too long figuring a barbarian is just too simple to worry about. Hah! Joke's on you, evil sorcerers.
It's all very entertaining in the end, but I find that the nature of the stories means I really need a break from his adventures.
Two comic renditions of novels appear here, one that ran in the regular Conan series, another that began in Giant Sized Conan for four issues and ended in The Savage Sword of Conan. In fact, I find the Savage stories that appear in this tome better than the regular series, but perhaps because those were released in a different format and in black and white - showing greater detail in the artwork and also they were less "toned down" for general audiences. The second story as well was based on a Howard novel, which I find tend to make the strongest stories -- even though several people have plied their hands at writing Conan tales, not the least which is this comic series.
Conan still has a horrible weakness for being knocked out from blows from behind. You'd think at this point he'd learn but no. I suppose it comes from needing the hero to have moments of weakness, but needing him to also stay alive. Thus he can be captured and/or left to some terrible fate which he will of course escape from. Conan still has a bad habit of killing ancient beast-gods and ancient sorcerers who let their guards down too long figuring a barbarian is just too simple to worry about. Hah! Joke's on you, evil sorcerers.
It's all very entertaining in the end, but I find that the nature of the stories means I really need a break from his adventures.
June 9, 2021
Thomas' second volume of Conan is increasingly masterful, as he effortlessly combines together stories of Conan, other Howard stories, a story by Carter, adaptations of other S&S heroes, and even stories of his own, to create a singular natives that follows along the biographies of Conan's life. It's great that we have all of Thomas' writing about his Conan writing, so we can really follow this amazing journey.
Overall, these stories are also quite good, showing that Thomas was becoming very comfortable writing about the barbarian. Unsurprisingly, the best stories tend to be the longer ones, such as the new Red Sonja trilogy, the trip east for Page's Flame Winds, and the lengthy adaptation of Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse, originally by Gardener Fox.
Of course, the real treat of this volume is the even longer adaptation of The Hour of the Dragon. Oh, I would have preferred to see it with the King Conan material, but it's great to see a more mature Conan, written contemporarily with these younger adventures.
A step up from the strong previous volume, this is Marvel's Conan at its height.
Overall, these stories are also quite good, showing that Thomas was becoming very comfortable writing about the barbarian. Unsurprisingly, the best stories tend to be the longer ones, such as the new Red Sonja trilogy, the trip east for Page's Flame Winds, and the lengthy adaptation of Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse, originally by Gardener Fox.
Of course, the real treat of this volume is the even longer adaptation of The Hour of the Dragon. Oh, I would have preferred to see it with the King Conan material, but it's great to see a more mature Conan, written contemporarily with these younger adventures.
A step up from the strong previous volume, this is Marvel's Conan at its height.
March 26, 2021
Great breathtaking book with totally entertaining stories again. Conan grows bigger and deeper throw these stories. And in this book John Buscema earns his place as a penciler after lyrical Windsor-Smith - and John really creates a new more realistic and maybe more barbarian Conan character. And of course Roy Thomas is as great as earlier - a splendid storyteller. And in the end of book there are six issues long story "The Hour of The Dragon" (REH Conan the Conqueror)" and the last panel page made me cry of joy.
September 26, 2020
Same as the first volume- a nice oversized collection of the original marcel comics Conan the Barbarian series. Includes issues 27-51, plus giant size 1-4, as well as two issues of the black and white mag Savage Sword of Conan which cap off the Hour of the Dragon story in the giant size issues.
As before, new colorization is a bit garish and stark.
Highly recommend reading alongside Roy Thomas’s Barbarian Life series.
As before, new colorization is a bit garish and stark.
Highly recommend reading alongside Roy Thomas’s Barbarian Life series.
May 24, 2024
Such a great compilation! Amazing extras!
December 23, 2025
The art in this version is a lot more Conan-esque than in Volume 1, but reading a bunch of Conan all at once puts a spotlight on the sameness of all the storylines.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews