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Barbarian Life: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian #1
Barbarian Life: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian
Know, O Reader...In thousands of four-color panels for Marvel Comics, Roy Thomas told the tale of Robert E. Howard’s greatest creation, Conan the Barbarian. Now, in this definitive biography and analysis, Roy chronicles Conan’s comic-book life, issue by issue, plot by plot, and artist by artist.
For ten years, from October 1970 when Roy and artist Barry Smith assembled the first issue of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian, to October 1980 when Roy and artist John Buscema completed their last issue together on the series, Thomas wrote of Conan's gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth—as well as the wars, the wenches, and the wizardry that bedeviled the Cimmerian from one issue to the next.
In this first of two volumes, Roy Thomas explains the creative process behind the first 51 issues of Conan the Barbarian. You'll look over his shoulder as he plots and scripts each issue, devises new adventures for Conan that expand Howard's original stories into a world-spanning epic, and works with such Conan artists as Barry Smith, Gil Kane, and John Buscema.
Whether you’re a Conan fan or a comics fan, you'll enjoy this in-depth look at a Marvel comic-book classic.
For ten years, from October 1970 when Roy and artist Barry Smith assembled the first issue of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian, to October 1980 when Roy and artist John Buscema completed their last issue together on the series, Thomas wrote of Conan's gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth—as well as the wars, the wenches, and the wizardry that bedeviled the Cimmerian from one issue to the next.
In this first of two volumes, Roy Thomas explains the creative process behind the first 51 issues of Conan the Barbarian. You'll look over his shoulder as he plots and scripts each issue, devises new adventures for Conan that expand Howard's original stories into a world-spanning epic, and works with such Conan artists as Barry Smith, Gil Kane, and John Buscema.
Whether you’re a Conan fan or a comics fan, you'll enjoy this in-depth look at a Marvel comic-book classic.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2018
17 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,521 books274 followersRoy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 24, 2022
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5/5
Roy Thomas remains one of the most important figures in comic book history and he brought about a lot of fantastic changes to the industry as a whole as well as helped in the creation of everything from Wolverine to Brother Voodoo to Captain Marvel herself. However, the thing I most know Roy Thomas for is his work on Conan the Barbarian. Specifically, the Marvel comic book series adaptation of the character that lasted twenty years of mighty thews, evil sorcerers, and harem girls.
The Marvel version of the character didn't exactly lift the character out of obscurity, being a well known figure among sword and sorcery fans even then due to the efforts of L Sprague De Camp. However, it certainly broadened his audience and introduced him to a new generation of readers. It also permanently changed the mythos of the character by introducing the chainmail bikini version of Red Sonja.
Roy Thomas was commissioned to do a bunch of articles for a Spanish magazine on his work creating Conan the Barbarian that somehow spiraled out of control into talking about every single issue of the 100+ issue saga. When asked to do an English language version, he just pulled out all his untranslated notes and spruced them up into a three volume book set. In this case, Roy talks about the first fifty-one issues of Conan the Barbarian as well as the fascinating story about how he managed to get the rights to the character for $200.
Honestly, this book needs to probably be read with the purchase of volumes 1-4 of CONAN THE BARBARIAN THE MARVEL YEARS EPIC COLLECTION. It basically reads like the annotations to those four volumes, especially for someone who didn't collect the original works. Now if that seems like a rather significant monetary investment for you, well, it is, but I have to say it's been an incredibly fun month of reading issue by issue then consulting Roy Thomas' notes on them.
Even without Roy's meticulous notes and eidetic memory about the process of creating Conan the Barbarian, you have a fantastic collection of stories from a man who manages to make the process of editing comic books seem like the funnest job in the world. Roy is an avuncular guy and seemingly has no end of stories regarding his struggles with the Comic Book Code Authority (that objected to the fact Conan is a womanizing thief and murderer for some reason) as well as his deep friendship with various artists.
Roy became a fan of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian only after he tried and failed to get Thongor the Barbarian's rights. He loved the character so much that he did a decent job of trying to adapt all of Robert E. Howard's stories in chronological order and maintain continuity with the L. Sprague De Camp literary timeline of the Barbarian's life. Something Roy notes that he disagreed with several elements of in the way only true competing nerds can.
Conan is the kind of character that worked very well in Marvel comics hands and Roy was used to working with other people's properties. His original content may not be Howardian but it was fun reading this guy talk about Wolverine and Stan Lee's dislike of fantasy before wandering off into discussion of the Trojan War as well as the ballad of Cu Chullain. We also get his insights into the creation of Red Sonja from Sonja of Rogatino as well as the mythological inspirations for her "no man shall bed me unless he bests me in battle." Which Roy, with no hesitation, admits he got literally decades of heat over from male and female fans alike.
In conclusion, this is one of my all time favorite nonfiction supplements to Marvel comics. It provides an endless amount of insights into the culture of that company in the Seventies, fantasy fiction at that time, as well as Conan the Cimmerian before he became quite the pop culture icon that he is today and was still mostly known by sword and sorcery die-hards. We even have the story of how Roy Thomas got Michael Moorcock to write a two-issue story about how Conan met Elric.
5/5
Roy Thomas remains one of the most important figures in comic book history and he brought about a lot of fantastic changes to the industry as a whole as well as helped in the creation of everything from Wolverine to Brother Voodoo to Captain Marvel herself. However, the thing I most know Roy Thomas for is his work on Conan the Barbarian. Specifically, the Marvel comic book series adaptation of the character that lasted twenty years of mighty thews, evil sorcerers, and harem girls.
The Marvel version of the character didn't exactly lift the character out of obscurity, being a well known figure among sword and sorcery fans even then due to the efforts of L Sprague De Camp. However, it certainly broadened his audience and introduced him to a new generation of readers. It also permanently changed the mythos of the character by introducing the chainmail bikini version of Red Sonja.
Roy Thomas was commissioned to do a bunch of articles for a Spanish magazine on his work creating Conan the Barbarian that somehow spiraled out of control into talking about every single issue of the 100+ issue saga. When asked to do an English language version, he just pulled out all his untranslated notes and spruced them up into a three volume book set. In this case, Roy talks about the first fifty-one issues of Conan the Barbarian as well as the fascinating story about how he managed to get the rights to the character for $200.
Honestly, this book needs to probably be read with the purchase of volumes 1-4 of CONAN THE BARBARIAN THE MARVEL YEARS EPIC COLLECTION. It basically reads like the annotations to those four volumes, especially for someone who didn't collect the original works. Now if that seems like a rather significant monetary investment for you, well, it is, but I have to say it's been an incredibly fun month of reading issue by issue then consulting Roy Thomas' notes on them.
Even without Roy's meticulous notes and eidetic memory about the process of creating Conan the Barbarian, you have a fantastic collection of stories from a man who manages to make the process of editing comic books seem like the funnest job in the world. Roy is an avuncular guy and seemingly has no end of stories regarding his struggles with the Comic Book Code Authority (that objected to the fact Conan is a womanizing thief and murderer for some reason) as well as his deep friendship with various artists.
Roy became a fan of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian only after he tried and failed to get Thongor the Barbarian's rights. He loved the character so much that he did a decent job of trying to adapt all of Robert E. Howard's stories in chronological order and maintain continuity with the L. Sprague De Camp literary timeline of the Barbarian's life. Something Roy notes that he disagreed with several elements of in the way only true competing nerds can.
Conan is the kind of character that worked very well in Marvel comics hands and Roy was used to working with other people's properties. His original content may not be Howardian but it was fun reading this guy talk about Wolverine and Stan Lee's dislike of fantasy before wandering off into discussion of the Trojan War as well as the ballad of Cu Chullain. We also get his insights into the creation of Red Sonja from Sonja of Rogatino as well as the mythological inspirations for her "no man shall bed me unless he bests me in battle." Which Roy, with no hesitation, admits he got literally decades of heat over from male and female fans alike.
In conclusion, this is one of my all time favorite nonfiction supplements to Marvel comics. It provides an endless amount of insights into the culture of that company in the Seventies, fantasy fiction at that time, as well as Conan the Cimmerian before he became quite the pop culture icon that he is today and was still mostly known by sword and sorcery die-hards. We even have the story of how Roy Thomas got Michael Moorcock to write a two-issue story about how Conan met Elric.
October 16, 2020
So yes, I spent 13 months reading a 300 page book. Why? Because I took the time to read each issue prior to reading Roy Thomas’s entry about each issue.
This book (only volume 1, with volume 2 published and rumors of a volume 3 in the works) has a short essay about each issue of Conan the Barbarian #’s 1-51, and a few bonus chapters of early issues of Savage Tales and the Savage Sword of Conan that tie into CtB.
Mr Thomas gives insider stories to each issue. Who drew it, who inked it, where the inspiration came from, responses to strange angry letters in the letters column, an in-depth look at how he kept the magazine alive because he believed in it. All sorts of great, goofy stories that comic book and Conan nerds like myself dig like my wife digs chocolate.
In short, if you love the early Marvel Conan books like I do, this book is for you; or, if you love Bronze Age comics, this book is for you.
If you wish to read the comics in conjunction like I did, I can not recommend enough that you spring for the new Omnibus books. They are spendy, but like _Barbarian Life_ they too are full of cool extras, such as the letters columns reprinted and full color restorations of the original covers.
Comics and Conan Fanatics rejoice!
I would move directly into volume 2, but I need to obtain volume 4 of the CtB omnibus first, so I don’t have the wait I had upon finishing volume 1 of the omnibus’s and then having to pause Barbarian’s Life until I got my hands on omnibus 2. If you are curious, to properly read along with the Barbarian’s Life, you will want omnibus 1 and 2.
This book (only volume 1, with volume 2 published and rumors of a volume 3 in the works) has a short essay about each issue of Conan the Barbarian #’s 1-51, and a few bonus chapters of early issues of Savage Tales and the Savage Sword of Conan that tie into CtB.
Mr Thomas gives insider stories to each issue. Who drew it, who inked it, where the inspiration came from, responses to strange angry letters in the letters column, an in-depth look at how he kept the magazine alive because he believed in it. All sorts of great, goofy stories that comic book and Conan nerds like myself dig like my wife digs chocolate.
In short, if you love the early Marvel Conan books like I do, this book is for you; or, if you love Bronze Age comics, this book is for you.
If you wish to read the comics in conjunction like I did, I can not recommend enough that you spring for the new Omnibus books. They are spendy, but like _Barbarian Life_ they too are full of cool extras, such as the letters columns reprinted and full color restorations of the original covers.
Comics and Conan Fanatics rejoice!
I would move directly into volume 2, but I need to obtain volume 4 of the CtB omnibus first, so I don’t have the wait I had upon finishing volume 1 of the omnibus’s and then having to pause Barbarian’s Life until I got my hands on omnibus 2. If you are curious, to properly read along with the Barbarian’s Life, you will want omnibus 1 and 2.
December 4, 2023
Having previously heard about Thomas’s comic writing and editing processes in various written and video interviews, and being an enthusiastic REH and Conan fan, I was very keen to pick up a copy of this book. The articles reprinted (and retranslated!) here show Roy’s professional understanding and commitment to visual storytelling, as he details both broad, ongoing issues with the Conan the Barbarian series, and reveals the fascinating background, development and production of each issue’s contents.
I’ve now learned a lot of new things about the comics business and the effort required to create a successful character and series, and gained a great insight into Conan’s published adventures in comic form that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access.
Roy spends quite a bit of time talking about, and praising, the numerous pencillers, inkers and colourists that graced Conan’s pages, providing analysis and personal opinion regarding style, technique and reliability. I particularly enjoyed reading these comments for their artistic and editorial value, and equally appreciated his highlighting of favourite or notable panels, providing a real ‘behind the scenes’ look at details I may have overlooked or simply passed by without considering their wider value and importance.
Other than a few typos and some repetitive details (due to the original nature of their conception), this is a neat and simple production from Pulp Hero Press. It features cover art from all of the first 51 issues, plus a small number of quality full-page illustrations from Benito Gallego, who also contributes the colourful cover art.
Volume One of Barbarian Life is an informative literary biography that provides chronological backstory, critique, commentary and much more. I hope to be able to read the promised second volume sometime soon.
I’ve now learned a lot of new things about the comics business and the effort required to create a successful character and series, and gained a great insight into Conan’s published adventures in comic form that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access.
Roy spends quite a bit of time talking about, and praising, the numerous pencillers, inkers and colourists that graced Conan’s pages, providing analysis and personal opinion regarding style, technique and reliability. I particularly enjoyed reading these comments for their artistic and editorial value, and equally appreciated his highlighting of favourite or notable panels, providing a real ‘behind the scenes’ look at details I may have overlooked or simply passed by without considering their wider value and importance.
Other than a few typos and some repetitive details (due to the original nature of their conception), this is a neat and simple production from Pulp Hero Press. It features cover art from all of the first 51 issues, plus a small number of quality full-page illustrations from Benito Gallego, who also contributes the colourful cover art.
Volume One of Barbarian Life is an informative literary biography that provides chronological backstory, critique, commentary and much more. I hope to be able to read the promised second volume sometime soon.
September 20, 2020
This is the first volume in a collection of short essays by Roy Thomas, creator and writer of a decent chunk of the original Marvel run of Conan the Barbarian, about the process of producing the series; this volume covers issues 1-51, and includes some extra content on some cross-series issues that help clarify timelines and story decisions. Each chapter covers a comic issue, delving into topics such as story inspirations or writings difficulties/incidents, situations with the artists, and just other reflections and experiences in general on each particular issue. It’s an extraordinarily insightful and interesting compilation, and one I’ve read chapter-by-issue alongside the comics, which is a great way to experience it.
Editorially there are more typos than I’d like to see in a finished product (and is why this isn’t a 5 star), but the overall quality is quite good otherwise. They include a black and white image of each issue cover which is a huge plus and I was surprised to see (they take up almost a full page each).
Editorially there are more typos than I’d like to see in a finished product (and is why this isn’t a 5 star), but the overall quality is quite good otherwise. They include a black and white image of each issue cover which is a huge plus and I was surprised to see (they take up almost a full page each).
July 30, 2019
I really enjoyed this. THis was an issue by issue retelling of making the Conan comics. They were very detailed and told the thought processes Thomas went into to make the books. This is very inside baseball and I thought it was great. The only issue I had was that I have never cared for Conan and am not familiar with the comics he is writing of. Oh well, still a fun book.
October 23, 2021
The tone of this collection of essays is very conversational, almost too much so -- the author frequently repeats himself and wanders off topic. If you want to know more about the behind-the-scenes workings of Marvel Comics in the 1970s, this might be of interest, but otherwise your time would probably be better spent reading the actual comics instead.
January 23, 2021
The author Roy Thomas describes the origin of the Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian issues #1 through #51. Barbarian Life: A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian (Volume 1) is a fun history of the sword and sorcery comics I love to read.
July 31, 2022
This was one of the most eye-opening books I've read.
I didn't read the "Conan the Barbarian" comic book in the Seventies. I was a snob and read the black-and-white "Savage Sword of Conan," but I knew Roy Thomas was one of the best writers Marvel Comics had in those days.
In "Barbarian Life," Thomas walks the reader through the first 50 issues of "Conan the Barbarian." He talks about all the work that goes into making a comic book month after month. This is something I never really thought about, and it was fascinating.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in comic books.
I didn't read the "Conan the Barbarian" comic book in the Seventies. I was a snob and read the black-and-white "Savage Sword of Conan," but I knew Roy Thomas was one of the best writers Marvel Comics had in those days.
In "Barbarian Life," Thomas walks the reader through the first 50 issues of "Conan the Barbarian." He talks about all the work that goes into making a comic book month after month. This is something I never really thought about, and it was fascinating.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in comic books.
September 16, 2025
Roy Thomas provides an incredibly detailed personal history of Conan the Barbarian #1-51. He offers his memories of working with the Robert E Howard estate and Stan Lee to get the licence. Each chapter of the book covers a specific issue, where Thomas breaks down every detail in his memory...which is quite detailed.
He explains in fascinating detail exactly how the Marvel Comics stories adapt and diverge from the original Conan stories. The information he provides about the pencil art, inks, color, and covers will delight comics historians.
This is part 1 of 3 books in the series.
He explains in fascinating detail exactly how the Marvel Comics stories adapt and diverge from the original Conan stories. The information he provides about the pencil art, inks, color, and covers will delight comics historians.
This is part 1 of 3 books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews