He first appeared in Claw the Unconquered #1 (June 1975), in which he was created by writer David Michelinie and designed by artist Ernie Chan.

The entire series was written by Michelinie (though the never properly published #14 was credited to Tom DeFalco) and Chan remained on the title up to #7, with Keith Giffen taking over pencilling duties with #8.

With the addition of Giffen, the series began to incorporate some science fiction elements, moving away from its pure sword and sorcery beginnings.

The character was revived in 1981 for a two-part back up feature in Warlord #48-49 (August–September 1981) written by Jack C. Harris with art from Tom Yeates.

The sorcerer Occulas learns that a clawed man will eventually defeat him and kills Valcan's father in an attempt to save himself.

Following his self-titled series, Claw appears in Wonder Woman, Time Masters: Vanishing Point, and Dark Nights: Death Metal.

A new Wildstorm Claw the Unconquered regular monthly title by writer Chuck Dixon and penciller Andy Smith debuted in June 2006.

Strictly speaking, the crossover also means that this version of Claw co-exists with Conan (and indeed the Marvel Universe, as Sonja's original appearances did), though it is unlikely that those connections were ever intended or will ever be acknowledged.