Robert E. Howard created fantastical worlds of sorcery and steel, blood and wine, heroic barbarians, beautiful warrior women, and monsters among civilized men. He had the remarkable talent of evoking human drama, energy, and passion in the most extraordinary of situations. That’s why Dark Horse has hired the finest artists and writers to capture Howard’s creative lightning in a bottle. The year 2010 promises to be our most prolific and exciting to date for Robert E. Howard adaptations and expansions. The weather is getting cooler, but our Robert E. Howard line is just heating up!
We begin our announcements with an ending. Conan the Cimmerian, written by Conan authority Tim Truman and drawn by the incomparable Tomás Giorello, only has one issue left. But we are sending the series off with a bang! Issue #25 wraps up our adaptation of “Iron Shadows in the Moon,” with Conan trapped on an island full of pirates who have been trying to put an end to him. But Conan finds that there are far more dangerous things on this particular island than pirates. He will need to break free of the brigands and face one of the most dangerous creatures in Hyboria if he and the beautiful Olivia have any chance of getting to the safety of the mainland! And, as a special thanks to the fans, editor Philip Simon may include some interesting goodies in his always-robust letters column!
Conan the Cimmerian is ending, but don’t worry! Our Conan monthly series is not going away! After Cimmerian ends, Conan: Road of Kings begins! Veteran Conan writer Roy Thomas teams with the Fear Agent art team of penciler Mike Hawthorne and inker John Lucas to bring you some of the most exciting and kinetic Conan stories yet! Road of Kings directly follows the events of Conan the Cimmerian #25, but it also provides a convenient jumping-on point for new readers.! If you haven’t picked up a Dark Horse Conan comic yet (shame on you), Conan: Road of Kings #1 is just the place to do it.! With Roy and Mike on board, beautiful painted covers by fan-favorite artist Doug Wheatley (Star Wars: Dark Times), and an alternate cover by comic-book all-star Dale Keown (Pitt), Conan: Road of Kings #1 is sure to be a knockout!
For those of you who can’t get enough of Tim Truman and Tomás Giorello’s Conan, they are going to be jumping ahead in Conan’s life to a time when Conan is king! Tim and Tomás are going to be doing a brand-new adaptation of “The Scarlet Citadel” in 2011!
If Tim and Tomás are jumping forward in time, then Eisner Award–winning writer David Lapham (Stray Bullet) and up-and-coming artist Gabriel Guzman (Predators) are going back in time—thousands of years before Conan. A time when another barbarian sat on the throne—King Kull! Set soon after the events of the miniseries The Shadow Kingdom, Kull: The Hate Witch begins with the mighty country of Valusia on the verge of collapse. If Kull hopes to restore order, he’ll have to deal with an ancient witch who claims that it is he who brings on the great cataclysm and destruction of civilization as he knows it!
If that weren’t enough, Dark Horse will also be launching Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword—a compilation book jam-packed with stories about all of your favorite Robert E. Howard characters! Look for it at the tail end of 2010!
Dark Horse is bringing you more Robert E. Howard action than ever before. And that’s not all! Stay tuned for more announcements at New York Comic Con. If you thought that 2010 was exciting, you won’t want to miss what we have in store for 2011!
--Patrick Thorpe