The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 Review

 

The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 Review

Writer: Roy Thomas

Artist: John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala & Walt Simonson

Colorist: GFB Group

Cover Artists: Bart Sears & Earl Norem

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $11.99 US

Release Date: October 14, 2026

 

As Conan stands in the burning sand, his companion collapses at his feet. Natala, racked by sobs, cannot go further. Only one jug of water remains. It's not enough to help them survive in this seemingly endless desert until they reach a town or village. Will Conan force the weeping woman to struggle on? Or will the Cimmerian put Natalia out of her misery? Let’s shout “Hail Crom,” leap into The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7, and see!

 

The Slithering Shadow: Story

Conan is no soothsayer. Yet as he stands in the vast desert, the Cimmerian envisions a dire future. Then, a shimmer on the horizon gives him hope. After giving Natala all the remaining water, her spirits rally. Still, Conan carries her across the dunes, unwilling to let Natala expend her remaining energy on a likely mirage.

 

In Roy Thomas' adaptation of Robert E. Howard's story, dreams can come true. Conan and Natala reach the city and gain entrance. As they explore its confines, they encounter mysteries, such as the dead returning to life. Natala's fright at each bewitching occurrence may play on the fatigued Cimmerian's nerves. Still, he insists that they regain strength before returning to the desert.

 

This story in The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 is divided into chapters. When fate separates the travelers, the story follows one character. Then, the clock rewinds to chronicle the other character's journey. Conan has a very different temperament from Professor John Kirowan. Yet each strange occurrence makes Conan yearn to understand it.

 

Along the way, Roy Thomas blends Conan and Natala's recent past into Robert E. Howard's supernatural mystery. Peril and battles may threaten them. Yet as Conan and Natala struggle to survive in this ancient city, their fierce loyalty binds them more securely than any shackles.

 

The Slithering Shadow: Art

As the sun beats down, Conan presses his hand to his forehead. When he glances down, Natala gazes up and clasps her throat. While Natala drinks, he looks away. Sweat rolls down his features. After the water jug lands in the sand, Conan carries Natala. Images of a battle on horseback and a silhouette of two people riding a camel merge with Conan and Natala’s journey toward a cloud hovering over a city.

 

As John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala fill The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 with detailed scenes, the GFB Group enlivens the art with color. The four-color recreation enhances the green city as towers rise above the walls. Inside, gray stone surrounds white columns and gold architectural features. As the adventurers explore rooms, lavish tapestries depict animals, and interior supports evoke plants. Silk cloths drape elegant furniture. Amid a preponderance of green, Natalia shines in her red clothes. Yet Conan’s gold bracers, arm rings, and sword handle link him with the city’s inhabitants.

 

As black uppercase letters fill white dialogue balloons, raised voices enlarge letters and distort the balloons. White and colored letters fill black boxes as the narrator guides readers through the story. Larger colored letters swim on unseen breezes, as screams echo through the ancient city.

 

The Hyborian Age Part IV: The Beginning of the End: Story

The Battle of Venarium set Conan’s sandaled feet upon a quest to explore the Hyborian world. Just as the Aquilonian fort in Cimmeria awakened Conan's dauntless spirit, the Aquilonians’ later desire to expand their empire drew the curtain on the Hyborian Age. Ironically, another of the ethnic populations they attempted to subjugate played a role in the empire's downfall. And once again, Conan forged a link between them by working as a scout and mercenary for the Aquilonians.

 

The Hyborian Age Part IV: The Beginning of the End: Art

As Roy Thomas charts the end of the Hyborian Age, Walt Simonson begins at the end, with broken stonework and fallen columns lining an empty street. Then, using two or three panels per page, armies and warrior bands clash. As civilization falls, the principal players in its collapse take the pages. A full-page collage closes this chapter of Robert E. Howard's essay.

 

Extras

Robert Yaple provides a three-page essay on some of the gods of the Hyborian Age. In-text citation numbers and a sidebar reveal his sources. A picture enlivens his description of one deity in The Elder Gods: Part III of “The Gods of the Hyborian Age.”

 

Instead of interspersing the story and essays in The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 with pin-ups, The Corben Conan provides three splash pages. Quotes from Robert E. Howard stories accompany each illustration, revealing Richard Corben's inspiration. Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Within the haunted rooms and corridors of Xuthal, Conan and Natala discover a city of untold riches. Yet despite its grand heritage, the inhabitants have lost the will to live. Conan may be exhausted. But while the residents of Xuthal accept their fate, Conan refuses to submit to their ruler. Still, the Cimmerian doesn't expect the inhabitants to thank him for trying to free them from tyranny in The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more collectible covers see The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 Cover Preview.

The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 Cover Preview

 

Cover A by Bart Sears

As Conan stands in the burning sand, his companion sprawls at his feet. Natalia, racked by sobs, cannot go further. Only one jug of water remains. And in this seemingly endless desert, it’s not enough to get them to a town or village. After Conan gives her a last drink, his hand reaches for his sword. Will the Cimmerian put Natalia out of her misery? Or can the couple miraculously reach a place of safety?"

 

Here’s all the info from Titan Comics:

 

 

The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 Cover Preview

Writer: Roy Thomas

Artists: John Buscema & Alfredo Alcala

Cover Artists: Bart Sears & Earl Norem

Publisher: Titan Comics

Issue Length: 64 Pages

Price: $11.99 US 

Release Date: October 14, 2026

 

 

Relive Conan’s Best Tales in Full Color!

 

 

A positively monstrous yarn from Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala based on the original tale by Robert E. Howard!

Also included: 

"The Hyborian Age Part IV: The Beginning of the End" adapted by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Walt Simonson. 

"The Elder Gods: Part III of Gods of the Hyborian Age," an essay by Robert L Yaple.

"The Corben Conan Collection:" Art collection by Richard V Corben.

 

Here are more covers to collect:

 

Cover B by Earl Norem

 

 

 

Cover C by Bart Sears (Virgin, Card Stock)

Cover D by Earl Norem (Virgin, Card Stock)

Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures for sharing this cover preview with us.

The Savage Sword Of Conan: Reforged #6 Cover Preview

 

Cover A: Tony Harris

The Cimmerian stole her away from her people to ransom his own. Their trail has been plagued by sorcery and bloodshed. After the death of her brother, Yasmina is the leader of Vendhya. Conan thought her a goddess when dressed in her finery. Yet when she traded clothes with a servant, the Cimmerian sees her a flesh-and-blood woman. Then dark sorcerers pull Yasmina into a crimson cloud, and carry her off to their stronghold. 

Will Conan follow the Black Seers? And will the war party from Vendhya storm the mountain of Yimsha when they learn where Yasmina is? Here's all the info from Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures. 

     

The Savage Sword Of Conan: Reforged #6 Cover Preview

Writer: Roy Thomas

Artist: John Buscema

Cover Artists: Tony Harris, Dan Adkins & Kenneth Morris

Publisher: Titan Comics

Issue Description: 80 Pages, Full Color

Price: $14.99

Release Date: August 12, 2026

  

 

Brace yourself for the riveting conclusion of one of Robert E. Howard's greatest Conan adventures ever!

 

Yasmina is gone, taken by the vicious acolytes of the Black Circle, and only Conan can save her. But the road to their inner sanctum is treacherous, and the horrors that await Conan inside are darker than the Cimmerian can possibly imagine. The epic "People of the Black Circle" concludes in this special super-sized issue of Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged.

 

 

Here are more cover options:

 

 

Cover B: Dan Adkins

 

 

Cover C: Kenneth Morris

Cover D: Tony Harris - Virgin Foil Variant ($19.99)

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this cover preview with us.

The Savage Sword of Conan Reforged #4 Cover Preview

 

COVER A: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE

 

A mighty city defies the surrounding wastes. The merchant caravans may no longer visit Kuthchemes. Yet the city's broken monuments and crumbling temples bespeak its former greatness. As the wind whistles through buildings and down the debris-filled streets, one man dares enter the abandoned city. Why has Shevatas traveled hundreds of miles to reach Kuthchemes? And what does the thief hope to find in a majestic dome among the ruins?

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

 

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN REFORGED #4

Format: Comic book

Writer: Roy Thomas

Artist: John Buscema

Publisher: Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures

FC, 48pp, $9.99, On sale: April 22 2026

 

When a princess who enlisted Conan's help to save her kingdom is kidnapped by a mad sorcerer, Conan must track her to a cursed city that has been sealed for thousands of years before the dark gods who reside there can claim her! Reprinting the adaptation of the original Robert E. Howard story from Savage Sword of Conan #2, presented here for the first time in stunning color.

 

 

Here are more cover options:

 

 

COVER B: NEAL ADAMS

 

 

COVER C: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE VIRGIN VARIANT

COVER D: NEAL ADAMS FOIL VARIANT ($19.99)

 

For more info from Titan Comics: 

https://titan-comics.com/c/2421-the-savage-sword-of-conan-reforged/

  

For what happened last time, see my preview of The Savage Sword of Conan Reforged #3. 

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this cover preview with us. 

The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #2 Preview

COVER A: PATRICK ZIRCHER

 

I remember the first time I saw an issue of Savage Sword in color. I was attending a science fiction convention, and a vendor had it at a table in the exhibit hall. Because it bore a #1, I assumed that Marvel Comics had originally colored the Black & White Magazine. As it turned out, it wasn't old or rare. Instead, the issue was an annual or special #1. Still, it was such a thrill to hold a color copy of Savage Sword in my hands, and read Roy Thomas' story about my favorite barbarian hero!

A lot of time may have passed since those halcyon days when a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was the talking point of every Conan fan. Still, thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures, Conan fans can experience the same thrill I did over four decades ago. 

Here's all the info:

 

 

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN: REFORGED #2 (OF 4)

Format: Comic book/magazine

(W) Roy Thomas

(A) John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala

Publisher: Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics

FC • 48pp • $9.99

On Sale December 17, 2025

 

THE CLASSIC SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN RETURNS – NOW IN FULL COLOR!

 

ART BY COMIC LEGEND JOHN BUSCEMA!

 

REFORGED revitalizes the legendary black-and-white magazine with vivid, all-new color restorations, bringing new depth and intensity to Conan’s celebrated adventures.

 

This titanic second issue continues with a true classic, “The Devil in Iron” – appearing in full color for the very first time! Written by the incomparable Roy Thomas and brought to life by the legendary duo of John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala, this tale bursts with new vibrancy as Conan battles through the dark mysteries and savage dangers of the Hyborian Age. 

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another cover option:

 

 

COVER B: BORIS VALLEJO

 

 

Not pictured:

 

COVER C: PATRICK ZIRCHER FOIL TRADE 

 

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us. 

 

 

Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #1

 

COVER B: BORIS VALEJO

Imagine your favorite Savage Sword tales in color. Your wish is granted! Hopefully, Savage Sword will continue publishing new tales, while bring back these classic retellings. In any case, this first issue has two of my Robert E Howard Conan stories. 

Here's all the info:

 

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN: REFORGED #1 (ONGOING)

(W) Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas

(A) Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala

Publisher: Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics

FC, 64pp, $9.99, On Sale October 22, 2025

 

REFORGED revitalizes the legendary black-and-white magazine with vivid, all-new color restorations, bringing new depth and intensity to Conan’s celebrated adventures.

 

This new series kicks off with two of Conan’s most iconic stories: Tower of the Elephant featuring art from the legendary John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala, and The Frost-Giant’s Daughter from the incomparable Barry Windsor-Smith, now recolored to fully capture the brutal majesty of Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age.

 

The sword is drawn, the battles rage, and the legend is reforged.

 

 

COVER A: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE

 Also available: COVER C: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE FOIL VIRGIN

 

 

Available to pre-order from your local comic shop and Forbidden Planet for UK & Europe.

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this announcement with us.

Discover Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower Of Shadows

 

Marvel has a long history of telling horror stories. Werewolf By Night is currently on shelves. Varnae, the first Vampire, cast our world into darkness during the recent Bloodhunt crossover event. Check out these earlier, previously uncollected horror tales from some of the iconic creators of Marvel Comics!

 

 Discover Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows

The First in a series of Hardcover Collections Featuring Never-Before Collected Comics by Neal Adams, John Buscema, Howard Chaykin, Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Barry Windsor-Smith, and other Silver Age masters.

Since its founding in 1939 as Timely Comics, Marvel has published some of the most iconic series in American comic book history, including The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and X-Men and built an unparalleled library of characters and stories that have shaped pop culture. For over 45 years, Fantagraphics has published the very best comics and graphic novels that the medium has to offer, including Love & Rockets, Eightball, and My Favorite Things Are Monsters.  Now these two publishing titans are teaming up for Lost Marvels, an ambitious series of hardcover releases featuring never-before collected comics by masters of the Silver Age, including Neal Adams, John Buscema, Howard Chaykin, Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Barry Windsor-Smith, and other masters of the Silver Age.

Fantagraphics will publish three hardcover volumes in the Lost Marvels series this year, all collaboratively produced with Marvel Comics, with more releases to follow in the coming years.

• In April, Fantagraphics will publish Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows, collecting all nine issues of the series. In 1969, with its revolutionary superhero line well established, Marvel took a chance on the kind of supernatural, EC-style anthology series that had been banned since the formation of the Comics Code in the 1950s. Tower of Shadows featured a staggering array of artists and writers, including Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Wally Wood, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Romita, Johnny Craig, Marie Severin, Gerry Conway, and Bernie Wrightson, to name a few. Freed from the conventions of the superhero adventure, these creators brought their storytelling skills to a more quietly sinister genre, producing atmospheric gems of twisted suspense and sardonic horror, including Roy Thomas and Tom Palmer’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s "Pickman's Model" 

• In July, Fantagraphics will publish Lost Marvels No. 2: Howard Chaykin Vol. 1: Dominic Fortune, Monark Starstalker, and Phantom Eagle. When Howard Chaykin broke into comics in the 1970s, there was nothing quite like him. His original characters Dominic Fortune and Monark Starstalker took classic pulp heroes and ran them through a postmodern blender. This new volume collects some of the most exciting, sought-after work by Chaykin from 1975 to 2008, including retro-science-fiction bounty hunter Monark Starstalker’s debut appearance and all the Dominic Fortune stories, including the character’s unexpurgated Max series, published a generation later. Completing the package is the collision between pulp heroism and the devastating, bloody realities of World War I in Chaykin’s 111-page collaboration with The Boys writer Garth Ennis on War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle. As the artist behind Marvel’s comic adaptation of the first Star Wars movie and the creator of iconic, influential series like the sci-fi satire American Flagg! and the adults only vampire saga Black Kiss, Howard Chaykin has earned his reputation as a prolific and essential cartoonist. 

• In November, Fantagraphics will publish Lost Marvels No. 3: Savage Tales. Best known for Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith’s Conan the Barbarian and the first appearance of Gerry Conway and Gray Morrow’s Man-Thing, 1971’s Savage Tales was a stunning comics magazine in the spirit of Creepy and Heavy Metal. This volume will collect all 11 issues of the series featuring work from Stan Lee, John Romita, Dennis O’Neil, Al Williamson, Jim Steranko, John Buscema, and a host of other legendary creators delivering a high-octane combination of fantasy, horror, and action.  

“Marvel published a surprising amount of work that fell outside its superhero purview in the '60s and '70s and '80s, most of it never before reprinted, much of it "lost" except in the fading memories of fans who bought it and read it for the first time back then when it was originally published,” said Fantagraphics Publisher Gary Groth. “Exceptional craftsmen and artists were often featured — Barry Windsor-Smith, Steranko, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, and others— and one of the goals of this project is to create a carefully curated record of this somewhat more obscure work that so many comics readers have forgotten or are unfamiliar with. Lost Marvels complements our Atlas reprints which features so many of the best craftsmen from the 1950s.”

The Lost Marvels series is dedicated to introducing these vital stories to a new generation of readers and restoring them to their rightful place in comics history. Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows will be available from Fantagraphics on April 29, 2025; Lost Marvels No. 2: Howard Chaykin Vol. 1 will be available on July 8, 2025; and Lost Marvels No. 3: Savage Tales will be published on November 18, 2025. For updates Fans can follow Fantagraphics on X, Instagram, Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube.

About Fantagraphics:

For over 45 years, Fantagraphics has published the very best comics and graphic novels that the medium has to offer. Our mission is to celebrate great cartooning in all of its incarnations, from the form’s early luminaries to contemporary artists currently forging the future of visual storytelling. Not content to rest on our laurels and extensive roster of talented artists, we constantly seek out fresh voices from across the globe. Thus, we honor the rich history of comics while providing a platform for bold new stories, styles, and perspectives that push the boundaries of the medium. Fantagraphics remains peerless in our commitment to be the publisher of the world's greatest cartoonists.

 

Thanks to Fantagraphics and Superfan Promotions for sharing this news about their latest release with us.

King Conan: Original Comics Omnibus Vol 3 Solicit

 

COVER (REGULAR): MIKE MANLEY & JUDITH HUNT (MAR250276)

I discovered Conan The King on the spinner racks. I think the first issue I found was Conan The King #6. It was a lighthearted series about Conan's relationship with his family and his kingdom. At least, that's how I remember it. 

Later, when Marvel renamed the series King Conan, the stories grew darker. Conan's young heart yearned for adventure. His older head struggled with sacrificing his needs for those he loved. But then, Conan had his mirth and his melancholy. It'd be interesting to reread these stories and compare them with the recollections of my old head and young heart.

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

 

KING CONAN: THE ORIGINAL COMICS OMNIBUS VOL. 3

Format: Omnibus

(W) Don Kraar, Christopher J. Priest (aka Jim Owsley)

(A) John Buscema, Mike Docherty, Geoff Isherwood, Tony DeZuniga, Judith Hunt and Mike Manley

Publisher: Titan Comics & Heroic Signatures

HC, 7.25" x 10.875", 896pp, $150, On Sale September 3, 2025

 

This mammoth volume includes one of the more rarely collected stories from the conclusion of John Buscema’s first long tenure on the Conan line of books as presented here and in the Conan of the Isles graphic novel. The rest of this collection includes the remaining run of issues of Conan the King as penned by Don Kraar and then Jim Owsley (aka Christopher Priest) with notable artistic runs by Mike Docherty and Geoff Isherwood.

 

Collecting: Conan the King (1984) #36-55 and Conan of the Isles graphic novel (1988) Marvel Graphic Novel #42

 

COVER (DIRECT MARKET): MIKE DOCHERTY (MAR250277)