CONAN THE BARBARIAN Is Leaving The Marvel Universe As Original Owners Regain Publishing Rights

CONAN THE BARBARIAN Is Leaving The Marvel Universe As Original Owners Regain Publishing Rights

Well, it was fun while it lasted! Conan the Barbarian has starred in his own series and even joined The Avengers as part of the Marvel Universe, but the publisher will soon have to bid farewell to him...

News
By JoshWilding - May 17, 2022 11:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Comics
Source: SFFGazette.com

Marvel Comics has announced (via SFFGazette.com) that this July, Jason Aaron's King Conan #6 will mark the end of the character's time in the Marvel Universe. Since the publisher acquired the license to feature the iconic hero in its comic books (including Savage Avengers), they've explored the Hyborian Age in a big way, but this is where that ends. It's a shame, but we saw this coming.

Conan's original owners, Cabinet Entertainment, plan to publish its own comic book stories moving forward, but there are still some collected editions on the way before 2022 ultimately reaches its end. 

In September's Conan the Barbarian Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years - Vengeance in Asgalun, Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Howard Chaykin tell the story of Conan the Barbarian and the pirate queen Bêlit as they continue their quest to reclaim her rightful place on Asgalun's throne.

Then, to finish the year, this December, Marvel will release Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus by Roy Thomas, Sandy Plunkett, Bill Wray, Michael Docherty, Gary Hartle, Sandy Plunkett, Tony Dezuniga, Dave Hoover, E.R. Cruz, John Watkiss, Bill Wray, with covers by Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee. In this collection, Thomas charts a path for Conan that takes him from the shores of the Western Sea to the top of the Mount of Crom and includes fan favourites like Red Sonja.

Various omnibus collections and trade paperbacks are set to drop before then, but these are obviously reprints of old stories rather than new tales featuring the iconic Robert E. Howard creation. As noted, they will reach an end in July with Aaron's final issue of King Conan, and it will be interesting to see what Cabinet Entertainment chooses to do with the character in its own line of comic books moving forward.
 

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TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/17/2022, 11:02 PM
generictheeric
generictheeric - 5/17/2022, 11:35 PM
@TheUnworthyThor - *me, seeing a big daddy gif in the wild*
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 5/17/2022, 11:04 PM
Damn shame. Savage Avengers was a fun read.
Dannywest
Dannywest - 5/17/2022, 11:32 PM
@ModHaterSLADE - weird, the new savage Avengers volume starts tomorrow and it has a Nice roster, Guess is doa
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 5/17/2022, 11:36 PM
@Dannywest - Yeah, kinda hard to get invested when he's just gonna bounce now.
FearTheLiving
FearTheLiving - 5/18/2022, 1:57 AM
@ModHaterSLADE - I think I heard that they were okay with keeping him on Savage Avengers, but regarding his solo titles they want to write them in house.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 5/18/2022, 4:17 AM
@FearTheLiving - Good looking out.
TomK725
TomK725 - 5/17/2022, 11:06 PM
Just so they can ruin him....worth it 🤦
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 5/17/2022, 11:07 PM
Wasn't this article posted way earlier today?
xfactor
xfactor - 5/17/2022, 11:08 PM
Well that sucks
OmegaBlack13
OmegaBlack13 - 5/17/2022, 11:08 PM
Jeez what was that, like two years? What was the point?
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/17/2022, 11:17 PM
Call me crazy but Disney despite all their huge franchises doesn’t actually have a big fantasy franchise (I doubt Willow will turn into one) so why don’t they because of Marvel’s long history with the world just open up the purse strings and purchase the rights out right and then expand upon it?
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/17/2022, 11:23 PM
@TheUnworthyThor - A big fantasy franchise? Does the Marvel Cinematic Universe not exist? Does the Star Wars universe not exist? Pirates of the Caribbean?
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/17/2022, 11:29 PM
@SonOfAGif - Their superhero franchise? And despite Star Wars’s fantasy elements in definitely takes place in a sci fi setting. And yeah I guess it contains plenty of fantasy elements but Pirates isn’t high fantasy, it more or less takes place in our world a few hundred years ago (and it’s mostly just a film series).
Dannywest
Dannywest - 5/17/2022, 11:33 PM
@SonOfAGif - he means more sword and sorcery type of fantasy, something like lotr or xena
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/18/2022, 12:06 AM
@Dannywest - Doesn't Doctor Strange qualify? I just don't understand how Fantasy can be regulated to one type of category when it's all basically sci-fi but dressed differently.
Dannywest
Dannywest - 5/18/2022, 12:16 AM
@SonOfAGif - i don't think so, maybe of they set black knight in the medieval times but the term fantasy is used to refer to films and series set in a specific period of time, army of darkness could be another example
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/18/2022, 12:22 AM
@Dannywest - (Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds.)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe definitely fits the fantasy genre. Shang-Chi alone hit every sub-category in that definition I responded with.
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/18/2022, 12:24 AM
@SonOfAGif - Like that’s just how genres work. Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these genres overlap. Obviously all genres can borrow elements from any other. A writer is not bound by any laws that have to fit one exact genre. But when you go to the bookstore and go to the fantasy section you are going to find Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time not superhero stuff. Like I know several people who love fantasy, love LotR, love Game of Thrones, but can’t stand superhero stuff regardless of if it’s a completely science based superhero like Iron Man or a magic based superhero like Doctor Strange. They are different genres, they can appeal to different people. But regardless I’m clearly talking about swords and sorcery and goblins and pseudo-medieval settings, not a guy in modern day New York drinking martinis and saving children from buses.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/18/2022, 12:28 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - The thing is, Doctor Strange falls into the same genre as Harry Potter. Blade falls into the same genre as Twilight. But they then fall into their own little bubbles like Superhero, Young Adult, and Fantasy as you say. My point is more so that despite Doctor Strange, Thor, and Shang-Chi falling into the Superhero genre first. They still qualify as Fantasy because they all touch each requirement that makes a fantasy film.
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/18/2022, 12:46 AM
@SonOfAGif - But none of those are the franchise. Marvel is the franchise. And Marvel is a superhero franchise. Yes, many of us love superhero material so much because it borrows so much from science fiction, from horror, from action, from adventure, from crime, from fantasy to build these incredible worlds. But because it borrows from so many it can’t be just one. But when I say fantasy and when most people say fantasy as a genre we are referring to high fantasy. “High fantasy is set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world.” “The works of J. R. R. Tolkien—especially The Lord of the Rings—are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy”. But Marvel is set in the “real” world. I’m just saying Disney doesn’t have this. They don’t have their Lords of the Rings, their Game of Thrones, their Wheel of Time, their The Witcher and I wish they did. I would like to see what they would do with it. Marvel can keep having all the fantasy elements they want, but in addition give me a real exclusively high fantasy big budget franchise.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/18/2022, 1:16 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - Disney has access to a lot of "Medieval Fantasy" in the form of their Princess franchises. It's not all that far off from Tolkien in overall vibe (though I feel like we all compartmentalize the classic Disney stuff because it was more overtly aimed at girls and kids and the continuity is so loose).

It's not strictly-speaking sword and sorcery fantasy, but the Barsoom / Princess of Mars franchise deserves more love. Disney made an absolute hash out of it, but it does check a lot of those boxes.

While I assume you mean it as a standalone franchise, it might mesh okay with Marvel, too, if the intention is to also allow it to integrate into the comics like Conan did or maybe even the MCU. I guess you could have the events in Barsoom also taking place a million years in the past, with John Carter getting unknowingly time traveled, as well as transported. Have the Celestials involved with seeding an ancient Mars. It's all doable, I guess, if someone wanted to get ambitious (and retconny).
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/18/2022, 1:28 AM
@Spock0Clock - Yeah, I mean they do tick a lot of boxes, but they are also tend to be musicals primarily aimed at children, which is great but not exactly what I’m talking about.

I would absolutely love more Princess of Mars stuff. I would definitely live with that.

But yeah I mean Conan as separate from Marvel. And I mean to expand beyond just Conan. Like Marvel created Red Sonja. So do more of that. I would like to see if they just took the whole Hyborian Age stuff and made a franchise out of it. With new protagonists beyond Conan. Build the world. But I think I would keep John Carter out of Marvel. And hypothetically keep Conan out of Marvel except from the comic book crossovers.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/18/2022, 1:30 AM
Also, I'm on an Arthuriana kick lately after watching the Green Knight. Disney already has brand association with Sword in the Stone, (and they were dicking around with a live-action adaptation some years ago that I guess got canned).

That'd be my play if I was them. Take T. H. White, run it through a blender with a smart historian and someone like Michael Hirst (who already took a stab at Arthur some years ago, but that fell apart apparently because of logistics). Lean into the multicultural nature of the Round Table (Arthur's kingdom may have been British, but his knights were from all over), and emphasize courtly love, romance, and a modernized take on virtue. So many adaptations of King Arthur have focused on the manly-men clanging their swords against things, but you can do a lot of Game of Thrones-style courtly politics and intrigue that gives women a lot to do, too.

Maybe do an ongoing Camelot streaming series, and have one-off solo theatrical films focused on particular knights on particular quests. Though everyone may be too sick of the shared universe stuff to announce it like that.
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/18/2022, 2:26 AM
@Spock0Clock - I’m here for that. I’m a massive all things Arthurian fan. For a kind of funny aside. Several years ago I noticed a pattern in many of my favorite things. Obviously I’m a big Thor fan, my favorite fictional character bar none. And Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) is my favorite DC superhero. I got to thinking hey you know what those are both heroes whose powers mostly derive from some incredible weapon that they are uniquely worthy of for some reason or another and then lead an army of similar warriors as the greatest of all (more or less). And then I was like wait I love King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Le Morte D’Arthur is by far the book I’ve read the most times and it’s sharing a lot of those same aspects. Which made me think back to my very first pop culture love: He-man and the Masters of the Universe. It was like all this time I had been drawn back subconsciously to this archetypal story that I had fallen in love with before I could read. I just found fascinating how things like that can have these tentacles that reach out through the decades. Thank you for indulging my story.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 5/18/2022, 3:43 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - true that they don't have a high fantasy show, but I don't think they need one. They have Star Wars. It already has princesses, knights and magic. People just don't see it as fantasy because of the space setting, but I think it really does classify as Space Fantasy
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 5/18/2022, 5:26 AM
@bkmeijer1 - Obviously they don’t need one. They are already the biggest studio. They already have huge franchises but if they want to attract an even larger audience with this other crowd then they should get a high fantasy property. While I definitely agree that lots of Star Wars could fit as space fantasy (although something like The Mandalorian really doesn’t). But you stated the problem yourself: “ People just don't see it as fantasy…”. That ruins the point. Take my own mother for instance. Loves Game of Thrones. She’s watched the whole series multiple times. She is very very much looking forward to House of the Dragon. Loves the LotR movies. She’s very much looking forward to the Amazon series. Meanwhile she has watched exactly 0 minutes of any of the Disney+ Star Wars shows. She has little to no interest in Star Wars. These kind of people exist. And I think it’s kind of silly to ignore them just because you already have franchises that have some of the same elements. I think it’s a genre that is growing in popularity. I would get on it with some property if I were Disney. Diversify a little more.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 5/18/2022, 6:03 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - its very true the Mandalorian is different. Guess the setting makes the difference for Star Wars, both for why people don't see it as fantasy and for allowing stories like the Mandalorian to be told as well.

I wouldn't mind it if Disney goes into high fantasy though (and not low fantasy, because we already have enough fantasy stories set on Earth), but if they do I hope it's with an original story and world and characters. I know there are enough books or movies or games or even folklore to adapt, but going with something original allows them to really do whatever they want with it.
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/18/2022, 12:11 PM
@Spock0Clock - I'm on an Arthuriana kick lately

You might get a kick out of Boom! Studio's "Once & Future" by Kieron Gillan. It's a horror comic about how stories and myths can manifest if people believe them, and a couple of monster hunters who deal with it. What's really interesting about it is that it actually deals with how the same story might have several different interpretations, so there's a Romantic King Arthur and all the lovely honor, chivalry and such most are familiar with, and then there's the Genocidal Arthur who was hellbent on ridding the country of Anglo-Saxons.
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/18/2022, 12:14 AM
I mean, Conan'll be in the public domain in 2028. Should have been 2007 but people were too busy complaining about comic accuracy or some other nonsense to notice Disney lobbyist pushing those copyright laws to protect the mouse logo.
Fogs
Fogs - 5/18/2022, 3:24 AM
@Reeds2Much - holy cow, I was checking here and Steamboat Willie expires in 2024, and Mickey with it!
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 5/18/2022, 3:44 AM
@Fogs - damn. Could prepare ourselves for the weirdest parodies and takes on it then
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/18/2022, 4:21 AM
If you want to read a great Conan book,read The Cimmerian from Ablaze, they adapt the original Conan stories and the artwork is amazing.

Marvel books are not even on the same level of quality.
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