Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Epic Collection - The Coming of Conan (Conan the Barbarian Epic Collection) Paperback – 18 Aug. 2020

I have them originals so this allows me to Riefenstahl them again without getting them out of the bags. Apparently he was sacked because he was always late. I have several of his signed prints.This is of an age and may not appeal to some.

What's not to like. Robert e Howard, Barry Smith, Roy Thomas. You can't have too much conan

I grew up reading this back in the seventies and i think that is thanks to Conan that I got into reading novels at a young age. He also weaned me off the superhero men in tights nonsense and into the black and white superior Savage Sword Of Conan magazine and more adult and underground comics. Reading this after so many years is still great fun but for me it's now Conan lite.I've knocked two stars off thanks to marvels flimsy cheap rate quality control. It's a disgrace that they sell graphic novels that are barely stronger than toilet paper. If you're buying buy the omnibus edition which is fantastic quality and though more expensive it's worth every penny

So, so disappointed. Paper is wrong, glossy garbage, colours are all wrong. It looks like a pastiche made yesterday. Windsor-Smith is one of the greats, surely Marvel have some little professional pride left?..

Painfully thin, 2/3 of an Epic. Marvel ripping us off.

I thoroughly enjoyed this edition mainly because i caught up on some of the stories i didn't manage to get when i was younger.

Este volume prova que, desde o início de Conan em quadrinhos, Roy Thomas é o SUPREMO escriba das aventuras do Cimério, superando mesmo o criador Robert E. Howard e outros luminares como L. Sprague DeCamp ou Kurt Busiek! Mas não acho que a tão idolatrada arte de Barry Windsor-Smith esteja a altura do personagem...

Let me preface this first by saying that I will not be addressing the quality of the original writing or art involved in the stories contained in this collection. If you're a die-hard Conan fan like myself, you've likely already read most of these issues before and have likely bought another collection previously. The question here is whether you should make the choice of buying these stories AGAIN.The answer, I'm happy to say, is YES!I've been a fan of Marvel's "Epic" collections since they first hit the market and once again I'm pleased with what is offered here. In addition to the first 13 full issues of Conan The Barbarian, Marvel has also opted to include the short tale "The Sword and the Sorcerers" from Chamber of Darkness (1969) #4. The story, written by Roy Thomas and featuring art by Barry Smith, features a character called Starr the Slayer; an obvious template for their interpretation of Conan the following year, right down to the horned helmet. According to the description included, this story was used as a way to test the reading audiences interest in a sword/fantasy type tale. It's fascinating to see and to be quite frank, I wasn't even aware that this existed prior to opening this volume.Keeping with their tradition of including an appendix of additional related materials, Marvel has also included pages from their 1970's Fanzine "MarvelMania" that Roy Thomas used as a means to help promote Conan back in the day. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that this volume also includes excerpts of behind-the-scenes commentary by Roy Thomas from Conan Saga #75 (1993) and Conan Classic #11 (1994). Both feature really fascinating looks into the creative process of how these issues came about and it's nice to see them featured here. Hopefully Marvel will include more of the same in future volumes for posterity.NOW...onto the major issue at hand; the coloring.With the exception of individual issue reprints like those I mentioned above, I believe the first mass-market collection of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian (CTB) was a single volume of their Black & White "Essentials" line. Shortly after, the Conan license was acquired by Dark Horse Comics which gave them the right to reprint any Conan related material that had come before, including Marvel's CTB, Conan the King, and Savage Sword of Conan. Dark Horse eventually collected the entire original run of CTB in 34 volumes under the moniker of "The Chronicles of Conan."Unfortunately, the first several volumes featured completely re-done coloring for every issue; a trend that Dark Horse was unfortunately known for when it came to their reprints (a similar tactic was used for some of their Marvel Star Wars reprints). I don't personally think of myself as a "purist" in most cases, but the idea of recoloring the full run of a comic has always irked me a bit. I might be more inclined to look past it if it was the original colorist's decision; possibly due to having been limited to what was available at the time and wanting to have it reflect their original intentions. But even so, if I'm going to purchase a collected edition of a series I love, I want to see it as it originally went out.So I'm happy to say that Marvel have chosen to present these issues as they were originally published. They even boast on the inside front cover that this collection "faithfully restores the series to its original coloring." How faithfully you ask? Just see for yourself and I think you'll understand.I am fortunate enough to own an original copy of Conan The Barbarian issue #7 "TheLurker Within" as well as Dark Horse's Chronicles of Conan Vol. 1. For the sake of this review I've attempted to take pictures of the same three pages of this issue from all three sources for comparison. Assuming they uploaded in the proper order Picture #1 will be the original newsstand issue, Picture #2 will be the Epic Collection edition, and finally Picture #3 will be the re-colored Dark Horse edition.While it's all a matter of personal taste and preference, I think it's very clear that Marvel have done an excellent job reproducing these issues as close to the original coloring as possible and I applaud their efforts. This would have been reason alone for me to have purchased this volume.My only gripe (though a small one) would be with the size of this edition vs. the price point. At a retail price of $34.99, this volume only runs 352 pages while most of the other Epic Collections I've seen tend to run over 500 pages for a retail price of about $39.99. Considering that Marvel's run of CTB ran for 275 issues, I can't really understand why the decision was made not to include more. But again, this is a minor quibble. If you've been holding off on picking this up then I would highly recommend doing so. This is a great start and I can't wait for the next volume. Enjoy!

The Epic Collection, is just that.... a collection of the most epic stories of Conan the Barbarian ever told....This is it, the real deal.... the 1st and the best of the Conan series, nothing compares to the splendor of these original works of art, yes.... IMO these are works of art, the imagery is as fantastic as the story lines themselves...Yes, and the tales told in these pages from the past are intensely cool, seriously.....the "Tower of the Elephant" is one of the best stories EVER! mind blowing stuff!Yes, the Schwarzenegger Conan movie is based on this ..... loosely, in truth the movie just does not capture the artistic vision of the original, not even close.... I actually enjoy the original comic book version MUCH more!I read these comics many years ago when I was a kid, and they were my favorites.... lost track of them through the years though ,,,Which makes this blast from the past very special to me.... reading this again after all these years is amazing :)IMO This release of the early original Conan comics is truly a MUST HAVE for all Conan fans, as this is what started it all....The artwork/drawings in this compilation of original Conan must be seen to be believed... it is just that good!Man, this was the "golden age" of comics, where they reached a peak of artistic greatness that has never been replicated to this day.....This re-release is very well done, & actually looks just as good, if not BETTER than the originals!IMO this is a treasure trove of some of the best stories/artwork ever printed in comic book form....and is worth whatever price they ask.... By Crom! sell your car, your gold tooth or 1st born if you have to, just buy it already, you'll be glad you did....5 Stars - Highly Recommended :)

Roy Thomas is a good storyteller. As was R. E. Howard. The stories throughout this volume are excellent. A joy to read. Conan is characterized well. He's a noble character with flaws. He is fearless and headstrong, loyal and brave. I can't wait to read more.

I have always enjoyed reading Conan comics and books. They are a source of enjoyment and for me creativity. Robert E Howard really did create someone who is unforgettable.