Savage Sword of Conan #7 - Full Script (Patreon)

The comic publishing rights to Conan are with Heroic Signatures and Titan, and that includes the reprint rights to all the older Conan comic stories as well. I asked the gents at Heroic if I could post my older Conan scripts here on my Patreon and, thankfully, they gave me permission so look for more frequent updates and new scripts added to the archive here in the weeks ahead!

This is the first part of a three part tale called Conan: The Gambler and it would end up being extremely important to my career, though I had no idea of that at the time.

Before this story I'd written Conan twice - once with Gail Simone on the Conan-Red Sonja crossover mini-series in 2015 and then with Mark Waid and Al Ewing as part of Avengers: No Road Home ensemble cast. Fun projects, but since they both involved co-writing I didn't have any solo Conan writing credits to my name.

Conan is one of my favorite characters and I really wanted at least one story written just by me. On top of that, I had a idea for a story set in gambling den where you could literally "bet your life" that had been tumbling around in my head for years, trying to get out.

When the publishing rights to Conan returned to Marvel, they made Savage Sword of Conan a full color anthology title with rotating creative teams, so I pitched editor Mark Basso my gambling hall concept and he passed that to the Conan rights holders for feedback. They really liked the pitch and so I dove into scripting.

I thought this would be my last chance to write Conan so I tried to pour everything I loved about classic Robert E. Howard stories into it - danger, betrayal, mystery, magic, and corrupt civilization in need of a barbarian's brutal judgement.

What I didn't know was that Jason Aaron would be leaving the monthly flagship Conan the Barbarian series #12 and Marvel was on the lookout for a new regular writer to take over. The Gambler wasn't my last chance - it would end up becoming my audition for many more tales in the Hyborian Age, an honor that continues now at Heroic Signatures.

Attached here is the full script for Conan the Gambler part 1 of 3.

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SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #7 (Legacy #242)

A chance violent encounter in Shadizar lands young CONAN a position as a bodyguard for a wealthy merchant. But a twist of fate will put Conan in the hot seat - and no choice but to play the hand he's dealt in a deadly game of SERPENT'S BLUFF! Conan will rely on his sword - and his wits - while navigating the seedy underworld of "civilized" gambling while making sure he stays clear of the deadly "Debtors Lounge"!

Magic, mystery and action abound when writer Jim Zub (CHAMPIONS, AVENGERS: NO ROAD HOME) joins forces with artist Patch Zircher (HULK; TERROR, INC.) for the first of a three-part epic - CONAN THE GAMBLER!