Ablaze Publishing have announced plans to adapt Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian stories, with the first series announced called “The Cimmerian: Queen of the Black Coast.” The creative team for this initial series is made up of writer Jean-David Morvan, artist Pierre Alary and colorist Sedyas. There will be multiple variant covers for the first issue of the series, with Jason Metcalf, Mirka Andolfo, and Ed Benes all contributing a cover, in addition to the main cover by Alary.
Ablaze has detailed that their series will be adaptations of the original Conan stories by Howard that were published in Weird Tales during the 1930s. “The Cimmerian: Queen of the Black Coast” is an adaptation of a story released in 1934, and sees Conan being pursued for killing a judge and finding refuge on a merchant ship, only to find himself facing a new threat: Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast. In the solicitation for the series, Ablaze write that “Robert E. Howard’s Conan is brought to life uncensored! Discover the true Conan, unrestrained, violent, and sexual.”
Marvel Comics relaunched “Conan the Barbarian” last year after they acquired the rights to publish Conan the Barbarian comics from Conan Properties International, and while this series may seem to be infringing on their rights, Ablaze are only set to adapt the Conan stories that are within the public domain in the US. The Ablaze comics themselves appear to be repacked graphic albums from French publisher, Glénat, who started publishing their take last year.
“The Cimmerian: Queen of the Black Coast” #1 is scheduled for release on October 9.
