the Barbarian' #1
Titan Comics have announced a partnership with Conan the Barbarian owner Heroic Signatures to publish “comics, graphic novels and re-mastered archives” starring Robert E. Howard’s iconic character, with a new ongoing “Conan the Barbarian” series to launch under the partnership in May 2023. The launch will be part of the publisher’s tenth anniversary celebrations. Further details surrounding the new “Conan the Barbarian” series were not disclosed.
Titan also confirmed Robert E. Howard’s “rich tapestry of iconic heroes” will be showcased across “several mini-series.” Much like the flagship series, details are being kept under wraps, with the specific characters set to be star in the mini-series have yet to be announced; however, in the press release, Fredrik Malmberg, the President of Heroic Signatures, teased that “we couldn’t be more excited to launch a barbarian horde of titles like Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes, and many more [with Titan Comics].”
The license to publish comics with Conan and other Howard creations has been held by Marvel since 2019. This latest partnership sees Titan extend their association with the Robert E. Howard franchise, with their books division set to begin publishing Conan “novels, short stories, and illustrated art books” this Fall.
Conan the Barbarian debuted in 1932 and has since become the centerpiece of a franchise which traverses beyond printed mediums to include TV, film and video games.
The full press release is as follows.
CONAN THE BARBARIAN COMIC BOOKS
COMING TO TITAN COMICS IN MAY 2023!
(June 21, 2022) Global publisher Titan Comics and entertainment studio Heroic Signatures are excited to announce a new co-publishing venture for the Robert E. Howard publishing program of comics, graphic novels and re-mastered archives including the omnibus program previously published by Marvel Comics.
The new line of originated comic books kicks-off with Howard’s most famous character, Conan the Barbarian, in a brand-new ongoing series launching in May 2023 – and will be part of Titan Comics Tenth Anniversary celebrations. In addition, several mini-series’ are in development that will feature Robert E. Howard’s rich tapestry of iconic heroes.
This news follows last year’s announcement that Titan’s book division are continuing the legacy of Conan with Heroic Signatures in all-new novels, short stories, and illustrated art books – beginning this Fall 2022, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the character. Conan: Blood of the Serpent novel – the first in a series of new standalone adventures – hits bookstores from October 18, 2022, followed by Conan the Barbarian: The Official Story of the Film – a behind-the-scenes hardback retrospective book – on November 1, 2022.
In 1932, visionary pulp writer Robert E. Howard ushered in a new genre of sword-and-sorcery with Conan, in the pages of American pulp magazine, Weird Tales. In the fantastical Hyborian Age, the Cimmerian’s wandering adventures featured many thrilling, often vicious, battles with his fearsome enemies. In 2022, the character of Conan – now celebrating his 90th anniversary – continues to captivate audiences across all areas of popular culture including movies, video games, novels, comic books, TV, and soon the streaming world, as a new Netflix series is currently in development.
“We have been working with Titan for a year on the prose side and established a good foundation for expanding our business together. When it became clear that Heroic Signatures would publish our own comics it was natural to partner with a team that we have known for decades. Their expertise in publishing is stellar and we couldn’t be more excited to launch a barbarian horde of titles like Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes, and many more together.” said Fredrik Malmberg, President of Heroic Signatures.
“Following on from the Conan fiction and illustrated books Titan Books is publishing this year with Heroic Signatures, we are very excited to be extending our relationship with our longstanding colleagues, Fred and Jay and their incredible team, to include Comics, Graphic Novels and Archive Editions through Titan Comics, for all the Robert E Howard properties which we will be launching in 2023.” said Titan Comics and Titan Books co-Publishers Vivian Cheung and Nick Landau.
The comic publishing program will begin in May 2023 with the launch of Conan the Barbarian. This program will be supported by book distribution through Penguin Random House, in comic shops through Diamond Comic Distributors and day-and-date on all major digital platforms.
To keep up with the latest news and developments on the new comic book program, connect with Titan Comics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
