Conan: Serpent War #1 (of 4) - Full Script

Back in 2019, after writing a 3-part Savage Sword of Conan story called" The Gambler", I was offered the chance to develop a mini-series with multiple Robert E. Howard-created characters teaming up on an epic adventure.

Conan the Barbarian was a must, of course. Solomon Kane and Dark Agnes were recommended. I did some digging back into other REH stories and decided that James Allison, who only appeared in 3 published stories, could work well to link the heroes together given his memories of reincarnation across the ages.

My editor asked for me to include a Marvel character so Marvel superhero readers would be enticed to pick it up and, after some brainstorming, I settled on Moon Knight. Both Conan and Moon Knight had battled against Set, the Snake God, and it seemed a natural bridge to make things work.

In the original outline and script, the story was called "Kingdom of the Wyrm". Marvel's marketing department came up with the "Serpent War" title instead and I was fine with it, just as long as I could build this epic tale across the ages.

My only frustration with the production and release of Serpent War is that it was decided that the mini-series should ship extremely quickly - Two issues in December and two more in January, which meant five different artists would draw the four issues that made up the story. Any one of the artists would have done a wonderful job on the whole series, but the change in style from issue to issue made it more of a jarring visual experience than it could have been with a longer lead time.

In any case, this story raised my profile with the rights holders of Conan, which would lead to me being offered the monthly Conan the Barbarian series at Marvel and eventually the chance to relaunch the series under the new Heroic Signatures imprint in 2023.

Battle of the Black Stone, our upcoming 2024 Conan event, is a different take on a Robert E. Howard character crossover concept, but it would not be happening without the things I learned here on Serpent War. Enjoy!

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THE WRATH OF THE SERPENT GOD!

WARRIORS ACROSS TIME DEFY THE ELDER GODS!

JAMES ALLISON will soon die. But it’s not his first death. He’s lived many lives, in many places - lives he can recall in vivid detail. But when an Elder God called the WYRM reaches across time to James, an ages-spanning quest begins! The serpent god SET plans to usher in an eternity of darkness, and only the chosen warriors across time and space have a hope of stopping him: CONAN THE BARBARIAN, SOLOMON KANE, DARK AGNES, and the man known as MOON KNIGHT!

In an unprecedented comics event, Robert E. Howard’s characters join forces along with Marvel’s Moon Knight, in an all-new saga built on REH and Marvel lore from across the ages!