King-Size Conan #1

[Col_Fury]

Celebrating 50 years of Conan comics!

KING-SIZE CONAN #1 (February 2021)
By Roy Thomas & Steve McNiven

APPEARANCES:
Conan, Cimmerians, Aesir (inc Olav, Yorn, Ferga), Vanir (inc Gondur), Aquilonian army

SYNOPSIS:
The battle of Venarium is over. Conan surveys the burning fort while other Cimmerians celebrate with wine. Conan grabs a cloak. Later, while exploring past Cimmeria, Conan meets some Aesir who hires him to help them fight the Vanir. They travel to meet their boss Olav, but see they’re already under attack (new). Conan kills Gondur (repeats COB 1) before finding Olav on the other side of a hill. Conan prepares to leap into the battle (new).

NOTE:
Both Olav and Gondur previously appeared in COB 1, and the conversation between Conan and Gondur here is repeated from there.

It’s revealed that Conan’s horned helmet was his “far-wandering” grandfather’s.

2nd Story:
By Kurt Busiek & Pete Woods

APPEARANCES:
Conan, Eleutreus (a wizard), Redilos, Artra (both wizardry students), Zamorans

FLASHBACK:
Recap of COB 7, no new information.
SYNOPSIS:
In Arenjun, two wizardry students try and fail to hire Conan to bodyguard them as they conjure a demon. That night Conan goes to where the wizards said they’d be to find them dead and dying. Conan takes an amulet from them and leaves to sell it for drinking money.

NOTE:
COB 7 was not that long ago, and Conan hopes to never meet another Son of Set, so before CO:SWAR 1-4. Frustratingly, Conan notices the Tower of the Elephant here, which was destroyed in COB 4. As noted, there’s a recap flashback to COB 7, so we can’t be before COB 4. I’ll just assume Conan noticed a different landmark.

3rd Story:
By Chris Claremont & Roberto de la Torre

APPEARANCES:
Conan, Turanian army, Hyrkanian nomads

SYNOPSIS:
Conan is a mercenary working for the Turanian army. They fight some Hyrkanian nomads and win, and Conan chats with a girl as she dies.

NOTE:
Conan joins the Turanian army as a mercenary in COB 19, and start fighting with them regularly by COB 25. It ooks like between COB 31 & 32-FB is the best spot for this.

4th Story:
By Kevin Eastman

APPEARANCES:
Conan, raiders, villagers, merchants

SYNOPSIS:
In Corinthia, Conan is injured by raiders and falls down a waterfall. He’s found by villagers who nurse him back to health. Later, Conan leaves to find a deer so the villagers can feast, but when he returns everyone has been killed. He hunts the raiders that did it, eventually killing them all.

NOTE:
At a time when Conan is in or near Corinthia, obviously. He’s also described as young, but that’s objective; we don’t know how old the raider leader is. Right before COB 52 looks good, because he’s in the area.

5th Story:
By Steven S. DeKnight & Jesus Saiz

APPEARANCES:
Conan, Bêlit & her Black Corsairs (inc N’Yaga, M’Gora), an ancient wood being

SYNOPSIS:
Conan, Bêlit and the Black Corsairs sail upon a massive ship. They board it and find strange, terrifying carvings. They go deeper into the ship and find mountains of treasure, but are attacked by the animated carvings. As they fight an ancient wood creature greets them, claiming to know Conan. Conan attacks and sets the thing on fire. As it dies it thanks Conan for killing it, having already lived for far too long. IN a gesture of gratitude it shows Conan the future. Later, Bêlit asks Conan what he saw; he says many adventures with her at his side. After she falls asleep he thinks it’s best he not tell her the rest and to focus on the present.

NOTE:
Conan thinks to himself that he doesn’t like the sea, so this is likely early-ish in his time with Bêlit. Also, the art is fantastic.

Chronologies!

BELIT/BÊLIT
……
COB 71
SAVSCO 86/2
*KSCO /5
COB 72
……

CONAN
……
SAVSCO 6/2
*KSCO (1 - 4)
COA 1 (22)
COB 235 (23)
COB 236-FB
COB 236
COB 237
COB 238-FB
COB 238
COB 239
COB 240 (1 - 16)-FB
COB 201-FB
SAVSCO 83/2
SAVSCO 219/2-FB
COA 2 (1 - 3:2)
SAVT 4 (4:5 - 4:7)-FB
COB 211-FB
COA 2 (3:3 - 23)
COB:EXODUS (1 - 3)
COB 31-FB
SAVSCO 182/2
*KSCO (5 - 9:1)
*COB 1 (1 - 2)
*KSCO (9:4 - 10)
*COB 1 (3 - 20)
COB 2
……
COB 7
*KSCO /2
CO:SWAR 1-FB
……
COB 31
*KSCO /3
COB 32-FB
……
SAVSCO 227/3
*KSCO /4
COB 52
……
COB 71
SAVSCO 86/2
*KSCO /5
COB 72
…..

GONDUR
KSCO-OP
{COB 1}

M'GORA
……
COB 71
*KSCO /5
COB 73
……

N'YAGA
……
COB 70
*KSCO /5
COB 72
……

OLAV
KSCO
{COB 1}

[wolverine7230]

I must say I disagree with the placement of the second story, though admittedly it entirely comes down to which of the two references you favour. The reference to COB 7 is very cleverly worded in that the only actual reference to the story is in the reference to Numalia, the only other link being (of course) the flashback image. The Tower of the Elephant reference, however, is very clear cut in that he has heard it talked about and will have to learn more. This is difficult to reconcile, although if we assume the flashback art and mention of Numalia to be an error, there are certainly options as to what "one of these horrors" that Conan encountered could be, chief candidates namely being the Thing in the Crypt (COB 92), Jaggta-Noga (the demon from COB 5), or Tolometh and co. (COA). Any one of these would be enough to give Conan the distaste for magic and demons he clearly has during this story. I'd place it between SAVSCO 180 (which ends with Conan riding for Arenjun), and SAVSCO 174 (which leads straight into COB 4).

P.S. I'm still digging into Conan and looking to find any issues with the current chronology, so you'll be hearing from me more I promise!

[Col_Fury]

We could assume the flashback isn't a reminder, but maybe a previously untold adventure involving a Son of Set...

CONAN
……
COA 14
SAVSCO 180
*KSCO /2-FB
*KSCO /2
SAVSCO 174-FB
SAVSCO 174
COB 4
……

I mean, the story is written by Kurt Busiek, who normally doesn't make continuity mistakes. Right?

Thanks!

[wolverine7230]

I'm pretty sure it's said somewhere that COB 7 is his first encounter with a Son of Set (I may be wrong though). Perhaps there's a way for COB 7 to be placed before COB 4? Though admittedly this seems unlikely to be a clean process!

[Midnighter]

This is a statement from Busiek at the time of the release:

"I kind of tried to write a story that would fit into Marvel’s Conan continuity, but would also fit in among the Conan stories I did at Dark Horse… and I wanted to build it off of something in a Robert E. Howard story," he tells SYFY WIRE. "I think I managed all three, so I’m eager to see what readers think."

Trying to merge both Dark Horse and Marvel continuity, not everything works great, but I'd say wolverine7230's placement is the best guess.

[Midnighter]

And here's the answer of Kurt Busiek to the question:

https://twitter.com/KurtBusiek/status/1 ... 26592?s=20

If there’s a way issue 7 can happen before issue 4, as it should, since “The God in the Bowl” pretty much has to take place before “The Tower of the Elephant,” that’s your answer.

[wolverine7230]

I guess it's time to get the back issues out!

[wolverine7230]

Looking at the chronology between COB 3 and COB 4:
COB 3 - Brythunia
COA 3 - Charnina, Brythunia
COA 4 - Charnina, Brythunia
COA 5 - Potrebia, Brythunia
COA 6 - Brythunia/Zamora border
COA 7 - Brythunia/Zamora border
COA 8 - Kalandor, Zamora
COA 9 - Sakyara, Zamora
COA 10 - Sakyara, Zamora
COA 11 - Ong, Zamora
COA 12 - Desert of Yondo, Zamora
COA 13 - Desert of Yondo, Zamora
COA 14 - Desert of Yondo, Zamora
SAVSCO 180 - Ramaraj, ends with Conan heading for Arenjun
KSCO /2-FB - Arenjun, Zamora
KSCO /2 - Arenjun, Zamora
SAVSCO 174-FB - Arenjun, Zamora
SAVSCO 174 - Arenjun, Zamora
COB 4 - Arenjun, Zamora

Between COA 5 and COA 6 seems like a good spot to me - COA 5’s Potrebia is shown on maps as being close to the Numalian border, so its not a huge stretch to imagine Conan making a quick detour to check Numalia out, before quickly getting out after causing a ruckus! At this point, heading towards Zamora even by a direct route through Corinthia would take him directly through the Karpash Mountains seen in COA 6 and 7.

CONAN
…
COA 5
*COB 7
COA 6
…

From what I can tell, the issues around COB 7’s old placement can stay as they are, and as for why soldiers are still after Conan after so long in COB 8, we find out in that issue that he’s believed to be responsible for killing the niece of the governor of Numalia - a high profile case indeed! I don’t see any issues moving COB 7 to here but if anyone else sees something please point it out!

EDIT: COB 7 cannot take place before COB 4, as 7 references 4 quite directly. In this case, this reference should take precedence over KSCO /2, and we should assume that flashback is instead to one of Conan's other early encounters with the supernatural (perhaps COA 12-14).

[Col_Fury]

Oh, wow. So it's not a mistake by Busiek, but rather a conscious decision to take COB 7 out of publication order.

hmn.

[Leoparis]

Was Kurt following his Dark Horse chronology?

Anyway, here's my no-prize explanation for the Marvel chronology: in COB 1 Conan sees glimpses of his past and then his future. So, let's figure he did see the upcoming events of COB 7 during COB 1 (between Venarium and being crowned as king, respectively panels 5 & 6 page 14 if you count the story as having 19 pages) and was left with the impression he lived through them. Or at least when he stayed in the city of Numalia he had first seen in the flashforward, he got that déjà vu impression. (Too many drunken bouts to remember what was real and what was not, in KSCO /2 he says he spent the night in taverns). In COB 4 Yag-Kosha fixes Conan's mind in order to make him forget his future so he does not get a déjà vu feeling. (This Roy Thomas addition of Conan seeing himself as a future king departs from Howard's characterization and is not referred to again.)

So you can put KSCO /2--as Col Fury and wolverine7230 suggested and as Midnighter endorsed--between SAVSCO 180 and 174 but without the flashback.

COB 1 (glimpses of his future life, including COB 7) > ... (heavy drinking) > KSCO /2 ("remembers" son of Set) > COB 4 (helps free Yag-Kosha, who fixes his memory, removing knowledge of the future) > ... > COB 7 (first meets a son of Set)

Suggested correction:
CONAN
……
COA 14
SAVSCO 180
*KSCO /2
SAVSCO 174-FB
SAVSCO 174
COB 4