Titan Comics has taken over the publishing rights for Conan the Barbarian.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Titan Comics has nabbed the publishing rights to Conan the Barbarian. The rights previously belonged to Marvel Comics, who acquired the rights in 2018 and then started a new Conan the Barbarian run in 2019. In May, Marvel decided not to renew the rights to the property with Conan Properties International, which is owned by Heroic Signatures.
Titan Comics’ deal with Heroic Signatures covers graphic novels and re-mastered archives. The publisher will begin putting out a new Conan the Barbarian ongoing series in May 2023, followed by a handful of miniseries starring other recognizable characters, including Solomon Kane and Dark Agnes.
“We have been working with Titan for a year on the prose side and established a good foundation for expanding our business together,” Heroic Signatures President Fredrik Malmberg said. “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.”
Initially created by Robert E. Howard, Conan the Barbarian has starred in comics since the 1970s. The earliest licensed comics were published by Marvel up until 2003, which included runs such as a 275-issue run of Conan the Barbarian, 1974’s Savage Sword of Conan and more. The initial run also introduced the popular character of Red Sonja, created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, in 1973’s Conan the Barbarian #23.
Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to Conan in 2003 and launched a new Conan series by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nor. Several other Conan-related series followed from Dark Horse in the coming years before the rights when back to Marvel in 2018. Along with new solo comics, Conan also stars in Marvel’s Savage Avengers series that launched in 2019. The series is currently releasing its second volume, with Savage Avengers #3 scheduled to release July 13.
Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar’s King Conan #6, which releases July 6, marks Marvel’s final entry in the Hyborian Age. “We enjoy a great relationship with Marvel and hope to do crossovers and that Conan will appear now and then in Savage Avengers but nothing is planned as of this moment,” Malmberg previously said.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter