Conan the Barbarian is back, as Titan Comics is publishing a new series based on Robert E. Howard’s sword-and-sorcery fantasy hero. Issue #1 of the new series, written by Jim Zub (Dungeons and Dragons, Stranger Things) with art by Roberto De La Torre, hit comic book shops last week. Cherry the Geek TV spoke with Zub at San Diego Comic Con and got a peek at what readers can expect from this new version.
“We’re taking it old school,” said Zub. “We’re taking grand sword and sorcery adventure on a grand scale. It’s big. It’s violent. It’s brash. It’s everything I want out of a fantasy comic. It’s on steroids. We’re having an absolute blast with it.”
Zub acknowledges the character’s rich 90-year history. “It’s stuck around because there’s something intrinsic and powerful about these stories. You (as a writer) try to find that core ingredient of why people love that character so much. It is about that idea of survival against overwhelming odds. Even if I change things up in terms of villains or monsters he’s fighting or the magic that he’s up against, if you keep that core idea that Conan is on his feet fighting for his life and you make it exciting, then it still feels like a Conan story, even if it’s a different era.”
Zub says he is staying away from adapting the original stories. “That’s already been done in comics a lot. That’s great–they’re classics, but I’m not here to be a cover band. We’re going to do some new cool stuff.”
You can watch the full interview, where Zub also talks about his first exposure to Conan, and previews what’s happening with his other comics, by clicking on the link below:
Conan the Barbarian #1 is now out from Titan Comics.
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