The Summer of Conan

Conan movie poster

It seems like, every few decades, someone decides that it’s time for another look at Robert E. Howard’s barbarian warrior Conan. Although he first appeared in 1930s pulp stories, I became aware of the character in the early 80s, when the aptly-cast Arnold Schwarzenegger headlined the movie and its sequel. That film also comes to Blu-ray for the first time next week on August 2.

This summer, Conan returns in three formats:

The Movie

Conan movie poster

Conan the Barbarian opens August 19. Since it’s being promoted as “the bloodiest action epic in years”, I’m pretty sure I won’t be seeing it. I’m sure there’s an audience for it, though. Here’s the quick description:

CONAN THE BARBARIAN IN 3D, starring Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman, Stephen Lang, and Rose McGowan, follows Conan’s quest across the continent of Hyboria as he fights to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village.

The red-band trailer (age-restricted) has been posted if you want to check out the gore.

The Animated Series

Conan the Adventurer cover

Shout! Factory has just released the first season of Conan the Adventurer on DVD. This animated series started in 1992, and this two-disc set contains the first 13 episodes. (Another 51 episodes completed the series.) Conan and his similarly oddly-named buddies — Jezmine, Snagg, Greywolf, Needle, and Zula — are on a quest to rescue Conan’s family from an evil wizard’s spell and battle the Serpent Men. Here’s a clip that sets up the premise:

And this is the credit song, which is highly entertaining:

The Comics, Online

Dark Horse Conan digital comic sale

Dark Horse Comics, which currently has the license for Conan in comics, is making some digital specials available. The movie adaptation The Mask of Acheron is now online for $3.99 for 59 pages, available on the web or via Apple’s App Store. Also, this weekend, classic Conan (originally published by Marvel) will be on sale for 99 cents each.



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