Blood, Bêlit, more in King-Size Conan #1 preview from Marvel

Conan made his comic book debut 50 years ago, and now Marvel Comics is celebrating that anniversary with an over-sized one-shot anthology called King-Size Conan #1.

"By Crom, you've never seen a celebration like this - marking 50 years of Conan the Barbarian in comics!" Marvel's solicitation for this anthology boldly claims. "Now get ready to celebrate 50 years of Conan with an oversize special spanning the breadth of Conan's life and times by the most dazzling array of creative talent ever assembled in one book to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth!"

Former Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight will make his comic book debut with this anthology, and calls it "a dream come true."

“My love affair with Marvel Comics began before I could read. I used to look at the incredible art and make up my own stories," DeKnight says. "Now, quite a few lifetimes later, I have the honor of actually writing my own story for the House of Ideas. And not just any story! Conan! Barbarian! Destroyer! King! To say this is a dream come true would be a criminal understatement. I couldn’t think of a more satisfying character to make my debut with between the pages of Marvel Comics. I hope you enjoy this adventure as much as I did!”

DeKnight and artist Jesús Saiz
Writer Roy Thomas and artist Steve McNiven
Writer Kurt Busiek and artist Pete Woods
Writer Chris Claremont and artist Robert de la Torre
Writer/artist Kevin Eastman

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King-Size Conan #1 preview

King-Size Conan #1's primary cover is painted by Andrew Robinson, with variant covers by Saiz, Jen Bartel, Joe Jusko, Carlos Pacheco, Todd Nauck, John Buscema (a 'Hidden gem'), and Eastman. Here they are:

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King-Size Conan #1 covers

King-Size Conan #1 goes on sale on December 23.

This issue will be available simultaneously in print and digitally. Check out our recommendations for the best comic readers for Android and iOS devices.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)