Marvel Entertainment has announced the creative team for its new Conan the Barbarian comic book series and that a new series featuring the iconic character is on the way. Conan the Barbarian #1 is set to hit shelves in January 2019. After the success of Star Wars, Marvel has decided to get on-board the same writers who wrote for the current Star Wars series.
Jason Aaron (Thor, Doctor Strange) who is handling the Thor and Avengers comic books series for Marvel will be helming this new comic. The art will be created by Mahmud Asrar (All-New X-Men) and colorist Matt Wilson (The Mighty Thor, Paper Girls). Aaron’s former Thor artist Esad Ribic will provide covers for the series.
In a statement, Aaron said, “I’ve literally been preparing for this job since I was 13 and discovered my first Robert E. Howard Conan paperback in a used bookstore in my little hometown of Jasper, Alabama. I devoured every Howard book I could find after that, and I’ve been making up Conan stories in my head ever since. Now I finally get to do that for real, alongside the amazing Mahmud Asrar. So this opportunity means an awful lot to me, and I’m cherishing every blood-splattered, spider-haunted second of it.”
Artist Mahmud Asrar sounds equally excited about the new project as Aaron, he adds, “Epic tales of fantasy about one tough and mean warrior. Conan is the epitome of an indomitable barbarian and that has fascinated me as a kid growing up reading his stories. What made me stay for the ride was the amazing art on the Conan books throughout the years. So many great artists to name but I can’t tell you how influential John Buscema and his Conan art was for me. It was the first artist I knew the name of as a kid and started intentionally seeking out. Now, years later, I get the chance to draw the book myself and do it with the amazing Jason Aaron. I couldn’t be happier to tell epic new tales of the Cimmerian—to continue the legacy that will hopefully make a mark on readers, just like the original comics did for me.”