All posts by DrKronner

After years spent at various sites, Kronner finally found a home at Geek in 2012.

Conan Comes to Titan Comics

Marvel Comics’ publishing rights to Robert E. Howard’s classic Cimmerian Conan have once again expired, as announced back in June, finding a new home at Titan Comics.

The character, made famous in the pages of Weird Tales magazine back in the 1930s, has seen a storied journey as his rights have bounced from one publisher to another. Howard, the father of the “Sword & Sorcery” genre, only wrote Conan for a few short years, completing 21 stories (and starting another 17) beginning in 1932, up until his suicide in 1936 at the age of 30.

Conan 115
Conan the Barbarian #115 (1980), art by John Buscema

Many of his unfinished works were completed by other authors (Wheel of Time‘s Robert Jordan among them) and published after his death. In the decades since Howard’s death, the character has seen numerous iterations but endured his popularity. Perhaps no print version though is more recognized than the one put out by Marvel Comics starting in 1970, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith to start, and later by John Buscema. The look of Buscema’s Conan, which he drew on and off from 1980 till 1999, is, in my mind, the definitive version of the character.

Savage Avengers #5 (2019)

The comic license for Conan would stay at Marvel for over 30 years before Dark Horse picked it up and started publishing Conan books in 2003. After an extended run with the character, Marvel reacquired the rights in 2018, where they have integrated him into the main continuity pretty heavily, teaming him with a team of Savage Avengers and teaming him up with Dr. Doom and Kang the Conqueror to stop classic Conan villain Kulan Gath.

Upon releasing the rights, Marvel chose to send the character back to his Hyborian Age, giving him a fitting send-off as he sacrifices his place in the present to send the rest of the team home, thus leaving the door open for a possible reunion down the road. But for now, Titan Comics will take the reigns.

As announced by CBR back on Halloween;

CBR can exclusively reveal that Titan Comics, working alongside entertainment studio Heroic Signatures, will be co-publishing a new, ongoing Conan the Barbarian comic book series. Launching in July 2023, the series will see the return of longtime Conan scribe Jim Zub (Thunderbolts, Uncanny Avengers), and feature the artwork of illustrator Roberto De La Torre (King-Size Conan, Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and colorist José Villarrubia (Promethea, Sweet Tooth). Sharing a first look at De La Torre’s art for the title, Titan promises, “This will kick off a brand-new, exhilarating series of comics of characters from across the Conan and wider Robert E. Howard mythos!”

Those names should be familiar to Conan comic fans. Jim Zub wrote on Marvel’s recent run of Conan the Barbarian, as well as recent work on Red Sonja, Thunderbolts, Murder World, D&D-based stories with Rick & Morty and Stranger Things.

For the art side of things, Roberto De La Torre will pencil the series. I love the look of De La Torre’s Conan, and he seems like a great choice for Titan’s launch. He worked on a lot of the recent Conan stuff at Marvel, including with Zub on Barbarian.

And the colorist will be José Villarrubia, who previously worked on King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel for Dark Horse back in 2012, and more recently on Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher: A Grain of Truth. He also did the original run of Sweet Tooth for Vertigo.

Before the new series in July however, Titan will release the old Roy Thomas stories in Omnibus form, much like Marvel and Dark Horse have done before.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN: ORIGINAL COMICS OMNIBUS VOL.1 
Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith
Titan Comics, HC (776 pages) – $125.00
On Sale June: 14, 2023

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN: ORIGINAL COMICS OMNIBUS VOL.1
Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema
Titan Comics HC (968 pages) – $150.00
On Sale June 28, 2023

The Deadites Return in Evil Dead Rise

Few franchises have fostered my love for genre filmmaking more than Evil Dead. A series that doesn’t contain a bad entry, and spans almost 40 years is impressive enough, but the fact that the same group of people have stayed so involved in the whole process is inspiring. 

It seemed like we might have seen our last entry after STARZ canceled Ash vs. Evil Dead back in 2018, but the deadites are back and primed to terrorize a new cast of characters. This new entry, Evil Dead Rise will move the focus off of Ash (though Bruce Campbell is producing) and introduce a hero for a new generation. Continue reading The Deadites Return in Evil Dead Rise

The Best of the Genre (By Decade): Top 25 “80s Horror Flicks”

This is the latest of a whole series here at Grizzly Bomb. For each feature we will examine an individual genre and the quality of its films produced within a specific decade. These lists will be compiled from a point system determined by votes from each member of the staff. It’s very scientific, we used Excel. Continue reading The Best of the Genre (By Decade): Top 25 “80s Horror Flicks”

Legal Battle for Friday the 13th Film Rights Comes to an End

After years of legal dispute, Victor Miller, screenwriter on the original Friday the 13th film, has been awarded rights of authorship for his characters and story by the United States Court of Appeals For the Second Circuit. On the other side of the dispute, “HORROR INC., A MASSACHUSETTS CORPORATION, MANNY COMPANY, A CONNECTICUT LIMITED PARTNERSHIP” – aka Sean S. Cunningham, who both produced and directed the original film.

Continue reading Legal Battle for Friday the 13th Film Rights Comes to an End

Jolt Electrifies Kate Beckinsale in New Trailer

Amazon continues to pump out original material that would have been right at home in the movie theaters just a couple of years ago. Their latest is called Jolt, and it boasts an impressive cast headlined by Kate Beckinsale.

The film, which debuts on the streaming giant later this month, follows the story of Lindy, a bouncer with a homicidal tic. The film’s title comes from her attempt at self-control; electric shock. Once her friend is murdered, she sets out for revenge, while the cops target her as the prime suspect. Action ensues.

Continue reading Jolt Electrifies Kate Beckinsale in New Trailer

The Protégé – Maggie Q Finally Gets the Spotlight in New Trailer

This summer will see a flood of quiet movie releases as the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic starts to wind down a little here in the States, and among them will be The Protégé.

Originally slated for an April release, it seems the newest flick from director Martin Campbell has been pushed to August 20th for a national release in the US. The film is headlined by Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, and of course – the incomparable Maggie Q.

Continue reading The Protégé – Maggie Q Finally Gets the Spotlight in New Trailer

Return of the Super Assholes: Umbrella Academy and The Boys Drop New Trailers

The clihéd stereotypes about superheroes on screen, which were mostly established by the 1960’s Batman series and the Superman movies of the 1970s and 80s, are still often lampooned, but seldom actually used. The 2019 Warner Bros. film Shazam! was pretty wholesome, and both Spider-Man and Captain America have certainly had their moments, but for the most part, the genre has moved away from its roots. From the wisecracking Tony Stark to the brooding Dark Knight to the Netflix Defenders, we’ve gone decidedly darker and more layered than the stereotype should allow.  This was a natural progression, and then in 2016, they gave Deadpool his own movie, and suddenly, the whole genre seemed to shift a bit.

Continue reading Return of the Super Assholes: Umbrella Academy and The Boys Drop New Trailers

Is The Mandalorian Making A Mistake With Season 2?

We’ve seen all too often movie sequels take missteps after great starts. Be it too many villains – the ’90s Batman sequels, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, etc. – or too much reliance on bringing back past characters, which has been a big knock on much of the Disney-Era Star Wars Universe. Too much reliance on the Skywalkers makes a vast galaxy seem small.

Continue reading Is The Mandalorian Making A Mistake With Season 2?