The shift from the eighties to the nineties is in the ninth omnibus of Conan the Barbarian, which Panini Comics collects in a deluxe edition.
It’s been three decades since the infamous Cimmerian began publishing comics and the crazy nineties have seen major American comic publishers move around. It was time to renew, it was time to change, but at the same time it was time to bring old talents to bring back the classic taste of Barbaria. All this and much more is what we find in the deluxe edition of Panini Comics Marvel Omnibus. Conan the Savage: The Original Marvel Level 9.
Conan changes with the times.
If Cone’s stories have anything in their classics, it’s not diversity. This is not necessarily a bad thing. ACDC is still a fantastic band, even if it’s impossible to pin one of their songs to the exact decade based on sound alone. But when sales are down, negative feedback is received from the public, or an editor believes it’s business as usual and is no longer popular, the search for change is usually the solution.
Perhaps the story of the barbarian seeking wealth for his own glory, confronting a lover, confronting Lovecraftian pretensions and rescuing a damsel in distress while battling demonic creatures and soldiers born as cannon fodder may be true. A unique sidekick in the 1990s, it may have reached its limits. Or maybe not, as people like Kurt Busiek insist they’ll have to prove years later. But be that as it may, evolution is also a natural phenomenon that goes back many years.
However, no one should think that what we see in this volume represents a revolution and a complete break with what was previously established, because it is not like that at all. The changes we’re looking at here are subtle, more relevant to the authors behind the forms and stories. And, for better or worse, regardless of who he is, Conan is still Conan here…
Cycle change
When you are a group [inserte aquí su deporte favorito] It has had moments of triumph and inevitably less satisfactory moments, it seems the time has come to renew many of the team or technical staff. In this volume we find a mix of new and veteran authors, all working together to bring something new to the series without sacrificing the original content.
Christopher Priest has been a reference man in recent years, but after his departure, the series became a bit orphaned in search of a new Roy Thomas and an already new Sal Buscema. He didn’t get any, but it’s fun to watch the series’ journey below…
Val Semeyx first gained strength as a full-time writer, working with Charles Santino on the screenplay, with the legendary Alfredo Alcala directing the colors. For a few episodes this group gives some more European tone to the usual Cimmerian stories, as well as graphically showing a never-before-seen expressiveness of faces (especially our main character).
A true legend like Larry Hama, most of all for Jijo readers and former co-host of the famous Wolverine and the series, arrives at his side to break it all down and record an excellent rhyme with his drumming. Dialogue consists only of text boxes and the art of Gary Kwapis, known for his work on Conan the Savage Sword, does a good but understated job here.
As far as unusual stories go, we’ve got a western script by Don Perlin titled The Mask of Vengeance, which doesn’t have many notable features beyond the interesting nature of the plot.
But perhaps the most famous writer to stop here, courtesy of Michael Fleischer, is comics legend Gerry Conway, who has touched practically every Marvel Comics and DC Comics character throughout his career. The screenwriter takes Barbarian in a series of adventures that are a little more crazy and extravagant than usual, among which we find what can be seen from a certain point of view as a fight against a drug gang…
Finally, Michael Higgins (a man who has been in every position at the Idea House, though always relatively secondary) is responsible for absolutely breaking the wheel and returning Conan to his youth, with a super-effective and hot Ron. Lim, tell the stories set in Cimmeria where we ponder the creation of this warrior.
A deluxe edition
As for the Marvelous Edition, the Deluxe Size Marvel Omnibus. Conan the Barbarian: Marvel’s Original Volume 9 is published by Panini Comics in hardcover with dust jacket, 672 color pages, 18.3 x 27.7 cm wide. and includes a translation of issues #214 through #240 of the American regular series Conan the Barbarian.
Additionally, this deluxe edition includes an introduction by Val Semeyx and another by Michael Higgins, as well as the final chapter with additional material that will delight fans of the Cimmerian Warriors. The translation was done by Joan Josep Musara, the recommended retail price for this volume is €56 and it goes on sale in November 2023.
Fantastic Omnibus. Conan the Barbarian: The First Marvel Level 9
From the 1980s to the early 1990s, Conan the Barbarian underwent a transition, with creative innovations from veteran writers and the arrival of new talent.
Conan discovers the joys and pains of a magical desert city, steals the Sword of Z from a mad priest, and fights fantastic beasts in the Shadow City, among other stories. We also explore Conan’s years of Cimmerian training and more.
Authors: Gary Kwapiz, Frank Sprigger, Michael Higgins, Charles Santino, Jeff Senior, Justin Arthur, Ron Lim, Gary Conway, Alfredo Alcala, Gary Hartl, Jose Delbo, Val Semix, Rodney Ramos, Michael Fleischer, Dwayne Turner, Larry Hama and Don Perlin