King Conan #1 Comic Book Review
Before he was a movie star, Conan was merely king of Aquilonia.
Published March 1980 by Marvel Comics
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas
Illustrator: John Buscema
Embellisher: Ernie Chan
Colorist: G. Roussos
Letters: Joe Rosen
Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter
"The Witch of the Mists"
Conan was big business in 1980! Just a few years before the fabulous movie, but roughly 50 years after Conan emerged from Robert E. Howard's mind, Conan seemed to be enjoying his golden age at the dawn of the greatest decade.
Not only could Conan fans enjoy his books and eagerly await the film, but Marvel Comics also published three Conan comic book series: Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, and King Conan!
The early issues of King Conan are tremendous, and if you can find an affordable copy (mine was $9.00), I suggest starting at the beginning and reading your way through Conan's senior years when he hasn't slowed down a bit, but supposedly has more responsibilities and a few extra mouths to feed.
Overview
King Conan issue #1 starts off with Conan, Prospero, and his scouts riding through the mist in search of his teenage son, Conn, who rode ahead in search of a "snow-white stag" and got lost. They camp for the night, Conan gets drunk, yells and shouts about things, and then continues his search into the wee hours of the evening.
Meanwhile, Conn rides through the woods seemingly unaware of the stress he's giving his father (these are the days before Conan could simply track him on an iPhone, after all). Conn encounters the stag, but before he can bring it down, it transforms into an old woman! Then, as if that isn't bad enough, Conn finds himself surrounded by faceless ghouls who hit him on the head and bring him down.
Conan discovers Conn's spear in the woods with a note tied to it, directing him to Pohiola, and to go alone or else! Now, we know that Conan will stop at nothing to save his son, and that's where this issue gets to be a lot of fun. John Buscema brings his A game and pencils page after page of epic battles, swordplay, high adventure, and scenes of terror inside a mysterious castle!
Does Conan save his son? Nobody thinks that Marvel is going to kill Conn off in the first issue. Of course he does. But the ride to get there is 46 pages of awesome!
The Writing
While the regular Conan the Barbarian series was strong at this point, Roy Thomas gives fans of sword and sorcery a reason to cheer in King Conan #1. This double-sized issue delivers everything that we love about Conan comics, except maybe the boozing and wenching (he's supposedly more mature now, after all).
Conn finds himself trapped in a terrible situation, surrounded by madness and lunacy as his mysterious assailants torture prisoners by killing them in a strange ritual performed by the crazed witch from the woods. Out of thin air, or at least, out of a pot of stew, she concocts the evil Thoth Amon using simple ingredients and a bit of human sacrifice.
My favorite scene is the panel where Conan knocks a bird out of the sky with a rock and eats it while slaughtering his way through the woods on his way to Conn.
Thomas assembles a whos-who of bad guys from Conan's past as the "Wizard's Guild" who command their minions to kill Conn and Conan, but of course, Conan literally picks them up and throws them into the fire after Conn smashes them in the face with stools and tableware.
Conn shows his inexperience, but also bravery, as he helps his father in the battle of all battles against vile, corrupted sorcery. Thoth Amon escapes, more people burn to death while screaming, and Prospero admits to drinking all the wine. Good times in the Hyborian Age.
The Artwork
While the cover is far from my favorite, and the first few pages start off a bit slow, the Buscema and Chan team just kill it in this issue. The scene where Conn gets ambushed in the woods flows so nicely from panel to panel, and I love the way that he draws the faceless ghouls and makes them actually frightening.
The scenes where Conan slogs his way through the unforgiving wilderness are dramatic and masterfully drawn. And then, the book erupts as Conan takes out his fury on enemies, gets tossed in jail, is released, and then goes berserk. Conn watches prisoners as they're burned and bled to bring back Thoth-Amon. King Conan #1 is just a joy to look at, shame about the cover though. Is it too late to get Gil Kane to go back and do one of his sweet cover jobs? I'm not sure what they were thinking, except to make sure to get Thoth-Amon in there, but it seems cluttered and looks cheap compared to the art inside the book.
You can always tell when Buscema puts a bit of extra polish on his work by looking at the backgrounds, which are packed with detail in this double-sized issue. The scenes of the woods and prison walls in the background are intricate and fun to admire.
The colors are well done in this issue, too. Especially, near the end, when Conan tosses enemies into the fire, kicks fire onto bad guys, and then tears the Wizard's Guild to pieces.
Conclusion
A good-condition copy of King Conan #1 might set you back a few bucks more than most of the series, because it is the first issue. But what a first issue it is!
On one hand, it seems a little bit pointless to make another Conan series where he is older because, to be honest, it doesn't make much difference. He hasn't softened at all. But, more Conan is always a good thing, especially when the Thomas / Buscema / Chan team is firing on all cylinders. This issue is highly recommended!
Review written by Mark Bussler, November 25, 2025
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