Jason Aaron may have written the perfect Conan epic.

In his “The Life and Death of Conan” story arc, Aaron follows the barbarian’s career path in a way similar to Robert E. Howard, Conan’s creator. 

Howard did not write Conan stories in any sort of chronological order; he wrote the stories as they came to him with Conan at various ages, older, younger, older, etc., at various points in his many roles and adventures.

Aaron presents several episodic chapters: Conan the thief, Conan the pirate, Conan the mercenary, Conan the king, etc. 

However, Aaron frames all of these episodes within a larger epic – one that follows Conan across the Hyborean Age pursued by the vengeful children of the Crimson Witch.

Aaron introduces new readers to the sword-and-sorcery world of Conan and the barbarian’s wide-ranging adventures while creating a tale full of touchstones for long-time Conan fans. He rekindles the thrill of discovering Conan for both old and new readers.

Marvel has also revived “The Savage Sword of Conan” and brought Conan to the 21st century with the “Savage Avengers” title.

Aaron had a 12-issue run on Marvel’s return to “Conan the Barbarian.” The run is collected in two trade paperback editions. “Conan the Barbarian” continues, without Aaron, with issue 13. 

Hard to imagine anything beating or even coming close to Aaron’s “Conan” masterpiece but he made it a Marvel comic worth seeking again.