Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover – 26 Feb 2019

I can't say enough good things about this extraordinary omnibus. It is astoundingly comprehensive and satisfying.
In the 12-page introduction, we learn about Roy Thomas's first encounter with Conan in the Lancer paperbacks in the mid-1960s. We learn how he contacted Glenn Lord, the executor of the Robert E. Howard estate, and how the Conan series came about, and how Barry Smith became the original artist. We also learn how and when John Buscema and Gil Kane became involved, why the line work in Conan #12's "The Dweller in the Dark" looked so faded, and various other issues they had getting the book out, and much more. He goes point by point through all of the comics and magazines contained in the omnibus, talking about deadlines, issues with artwork, Martin Goodman's attitude about the character and paying for rights, etc. It's quite a ride. Roy makes the reader feel like he's right there.
Next up is a 2-page map of Hyboria during Conan's time.
We then proceed to Chamber of Darkness #11's "Sword and Sorcerers!", which features Starr the Slayer, Roy Thomas's original faux-Conan.
Then we're off and running into "Conan the Barbarian" #s 1-26. Thankfully, the Omnibus also contains Smith's b&w Conan stories from Savage Tales #1 and #4, "The Frost Giant's Daughter" and "The Dweller In the Dark".
The final pages (641-776!) are original artwork, rejected artwork, manuscripts, "Roy's Rostrums", in-house Conan advertisements, original art to Conan the Barbarian covers including 3 of my favorites, #5, #6 and #8, censored artwork before-and-after, introductions from previous Conan collections, cover reprints from the mid-1990s Conan #1-#11 reissues, and more.
One slight disappointment is that "Red Nails" (from "Savage Tales" #2 and #3) is not here. I've only had the Conan Omnibus for a day, and haven't read it thoroughly, so maybe this is explained somewhere. I know "Red Nails" is a long tale, but if space was an issue I would've rather relegated Buscema's Conan #25 and #26 to Omnibus #2 if "Red Nails" could've been included this time around.
(2/9/19 update- I see now that Marvel will be releasing a Savage Sword of Conan omnibus this spring, which will include Savage Tales #1-#5 which contain both chapters of "Red Nails", as well as "The Frost Giant's Daughter" and "The Dweller in the Dark".)
The artwork is reproduced beautifully. Marvel, Roy Thomas and Barry Smith give us major bang for the buck here.
As with most Marvel and D.C. omnibuses, for some reason new art is used for the dust jackets. I would prefer a repro of a vintage comic book cover myself, but maybe there are sales reasons for creating new covers.

My dad was a fantasy nut. I think he read most of the sword and sorcery paperbacks that were so popular in the 70's, and bought fantasy-themed comics too. I remember discovering his stacks of comics in the summer of 1975. It was like finding a gold chest. Conan, Kull, Claw, Red Sonja and the like, as well as more sci-fi themed stuff (my favorite of which was Atlas Comics 3-issue run of Planet of Vampires…but I digress). My parents divorced in 1976 and I began my own comic collection that Fall. I had been all through Dad’s stacks, but they were his and lived in the basement with a bunch of his stuff. After 2-3 years he gave them to me. A magic day that nearly tripled the size of my collection! He had long runs of many titles. But the most significant was Conan. Tragically, he had missed the first issue, but had #2-64 as well as some of the B&W Savage Sword mags…including the one with the classic Red Sonja cover. I have to admit I wasn’t a huge Conan fan in those days as my tastes trended towards sci-fi and superheroes. But Conan was the most complete series in my collection. I was very proud of it and dutifully extended my dad’s run for many years after.

Which brings us to this fine book. I still have my original comics stored away, but bought this because I’ve enjoyed other Marvel omnibuses and this one contained stuff I just never had, like the Chamber of Darkness material. The reproduction is excellent. Of course, the colors are different on these glossy pages than the old newstock of the comic, but it looks great….pop right off the page great. The reproductions alone are worth the price, but the extra material really puts this book into must-buy territory. There's a fantastic 12-page intro by Roy Thomas and a map of Hyborea, but the biggest treasure is the last 135 pages which feature a relentless barrage of behind the scenes material, rejected art, original uncolored art, vintage ads and the like. This section could be its own book!

If you’re a Conan fan, or just a fan of 70’s comics, you’ll want this. Highly recommended.

The recoloring is super harsh. It overwhelmed the art. The large format is nice, though. Roy Thomas has given us good insights on his history with Conan.

Great product!

A must have for any Conan fan. Complete Barry Smith run.