ABLAZE’s The Cimmerian continues its run in April

You might not be familiar with The Cimmerian from ABLAZE, but if you’re a fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan, you’re going to want to check it out.

By Crom!

As everyone knows by now, the Conan the Barbarian property has had its right scooped up by Marvel Comics. The publishing giant grabbed them from Dark Horse, which had been home to Conan since Marvel first dropped the character way back in the 70s.

While the new Marvel books have gotten some decent response from fans, they’re not even close to the pure savagery that the original Howard stories contained. And while the Dark Horse stuff was better in that respect, those volumes really weren’t comparable either. And while we’re on the subject, neither company really had/has a taste for the more ‘adult’ elements of the Barbarian’s tales.

That though, is not the case with ABLAZE. A smaller independent publisher, ABLAZE has quietly been forging its own Conan universe with The Cimmerian. The series began just last year, and is now seeing its first issues bound together and printed in a series of graphic novels.

Out just this month is The Cimmerian vol.1, and volume 2 is inbound for a June 2021 launch. The hardcover book will feature a pair of complete Conan tales (The People of The Black Circle, and The Frost- Giant’s Daughter), as well as addition material. That extra content will be “including the original Robert E Howard prose stories”. The tome will clock in at 168 pages, and be priced at $24.99 USD.

Iron Shadows in the Moon

But the above is not all that’s coming up for Conan fans. Another series of stories is on the way too, with The Cimmerian: Iron Shadows in the Moon. The new series will be on the stands as of this coming April, with art from “Virginie Augustin, as well as Brian Level, Kajo Baldisimo, and Fritz Casas”.

A young woman in danger is pursued by her vile master. Conan, whose family has just been wiped out by this same master, puts an end to the beauty’s pursuer, and saves her with a blow of his sword. Bound by fate, the couple decide to hit the road together. Their journey takes them to an island where they discover strange ruins inhabited by dark magic. Their paradise-like refuge soon turns into a suffocating nightmare where shadows lurk. Who knows the extent of the dangers that lie there?   They will quickly learn that on an island, the biggest threat does not always come from the outside…

Iron Shadows in the Moon reveals the genius of its author in describing universes as singular as they are mysterious. With her line, both delicate and powerful, Virginie Augustin illustrates this oppressive and mystical atmosphere, and gives the story a new graphic breath.

ABLAZE