Comic Book Day: Getting Barbaric with Brian Wood

An interview for the Hyborian Ages

Comic book scribe Brian Wood has is tackling the Herculean task of penning the upcoming Conan the Barbarian for Dark Horse. We sat down with him to discuss setting sail on the pirate-infested waters of the Black Coast.

GeekChicDaily: You’re basing the 25-issue run off of Robert E. Howard’s classic “Queen of the Black Coast” story. Why did you choose this particular story?

Brian Wood: It was chosen for me, it was the gig that Dark Horse offered me. And it was a no brainer. As you said, its a fan-favorite. Its also a major piece of American pulp literature and I was beyond flattered to have a shot at it. 

GCD: The “Queen of the Black Coast” is a very short story. Did you find this made it more difficult to plan out a 25-issue run or did it provide you with unexpected creative freedom?

BW: Well, there is a middle section to the original story that is undefined, but spans years. That will be the bulk of the 25 issues and allows me to create adventures for Conan and Belit entirely from scratch.

Conan the Barbarian is on sale February 8, 2012 from Dark Horse. Click through for the full interview with Brian Wood about the difficulties of genre pieces, his approach to storytelling and how he’s tackling the most famous barbarian of all time.

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