For Into the Crucible, my first arc of Conan the Barbarian, I wanted to channel the sword & sorcery prose/comics that had a big influence on me but also give it a spin that, ideally, readers hadn’t quite seen before.

That piece ended up coming from building a new language.

Conan is traveling through Uttara Kuru, a distant land from his home of Cimmeria. In the classic comics, characters would all be speaking the same language or passages would automatically be translated to make the exchanges relatively frictionless for the reader.

I decided to give our team a challenge and put Conan in the deep end on this trip by not having him (or the reader) understand exactly what was being said. Assumptions and inferences abound. Body language and facial expressions have to sell intent that much more.

Sometimes Conan gets bits translated for him, other times the translator puts their own spin on things.

In the fourth part of the story we included a lexicon of key words so readers could go back and do their own rough translations if they want.

It was one of the most challenging things I’ve done so far as a writer, but also a ton of fun.

If you’re a sword & sorcery fan and like what you see here, you can read Into The Crucible now in single issues (Conan the Barbarian #13-16) or pick it up in trade paperback in March 2021.

Conan the Barbarian: Into the Crucible (issues #13-18) A new era for Conan! The barbarian has faced many foes since leaving Cimmeria, but the greatest challenge lies ahead! Conan finds himself in a city in the mystical Uttara Kuru, farther on the eastern border than he has ever traveled. And with a new city comes new dangers!

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• The Brown Bag: “…crammed full of treachery, numerous death-traps, passionate love-making and the adventurer’s unconquerable will to survive, many fans of Robert E. Howard’s work could arguably have believed that the incredibly atmospheric Into The Crucible was actually an adaption of some long-lost manuscript from the Thirties rather than a modern-day interpretation of the fictional sword and sorcery hero.”

• Comic Book.com: 8/10 “This arc could end up being a genuinely perfect one, if this issue is any indication.”

• Comic Book University: “I think you’ll actually see that this is really a fun book, all in all, from beginning to end.”

• Graphic Policy: “I thought Conan the Barbarian #15 was an easy issue to follow and I wasn’t confused much at all picking this one up in the middle of the storyline.”

• Kaboooom!: 8/10 “Roge Antonio’s art continues to impress, showing a unique sense of motion throughout the issue. Even when speaking in a static conversation the characters seem to be continually in motion, like wary predators circling their prey.”

• Pop Mythology: “Pick of the Week – a book that shows me the savage rage of everyone’s favourite Cimmerian is exactly what this year needs.”

• Weird Science Marvel Comics: 8.5/10 “I’m totally on board with the direction Zub’s and Antônio are taking…If you’re interested in Conan the Barbarian, now is the perfect time to give it a try.”

With the gap in publishing Conan the Barbarian during the pandemic, Roge Antonio has moved on as our primary penciler on the monthly series, but I think you’ll find our new artist CORY SMITH is more than up to the task as he begins with January’s issue #19 and, in my humble opinion, he is KILLING it.

Check out this interview with Cory on Comic Book Resources and you’ll see exclusive sample pages from issue #19, arriving in January!