Conan the Barbarian/Savage Sword

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Anybody collecting these? I seem to have great ease in picking up anything #'d 30-160, and after that, it gets a little tricky, especially toward the end of the run (225-275).

I own about 400 Conan comics, including the Dark Horse stuff, Conan the King, Savage Sword and the 90's reboots.

Who are you favorite Conan interior & cover artists?

I'd have to go with the classic John Buscema/Ernie Chan team in CtB, but my one true love is the Buscema/Alfredo Alcala stuff in Savage Sword. In my opinion, Conan never got anybetter than that.

For cover artists, I gotta go with Mike Kaluta, Neal Adams and the few that Andy Kubert did for CtB.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm a huge Conan fan and CANNOT stand Gil Kane's artwork. Ick.

[B. Kuwanger]

I'm pretty new to the character myself. My friend has been into the novels for a few years now, so when the latest Conan #0 came out, I picked it up. I really started getting into it, and so far I have the four current issues, 0-10 of the Busiek series, and the first two Savage Sword collections. Serious stuff.

I absolutely love Tomas Giorello, Frank Cho (on covers), and John Buscema, but everyone else of course does a great job from what I've seen. Not wild about Windsor-Smith's Conan, though.

[benday-dot]

Anybody collecting these? I seem to have great ease in picking up anything #'d 30-160, and after that, it gets a little tricky, especially toward the end of the run (225-275).

I own about 400 Conan comics, including the Dark Horse stuff, Conan the King, Savage Sword and the 90's reboots.

Who are you favorite Conan interior & cover artists?

I'd have to go with the classic John Buscema/Ernie Chan team in CtB, but my one true love is the Buscema/Alfredo Alcala stuff in Savage Sword. In my opinion, Conan never got anybetter than that.

For cover artists, I gotta go with Mike Kaluta, Neal Adams and the few that Andy Kubert did for CtB.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm a huge Conan fan and CANNOT stand Gil Kane's artwork. Ick.

I don't mind Gil Kane on Conan at all, but here would be my order of picks for best creative teams on our favourite barbarian...

1.) Barry Smith pencils w/Barry Smith inks (but Dan Adkins and Sal Buscema were decent embellishers as well on Smith's work). To me Smith (Windsor-Smith since) is still the best. My Conan looks best lean and scrappy. And a mercenary and a thief; not a king.
2.) John Buscema pencils w/ Alfredo Alcala inks (yes, hard to argue your praise for this combo... it has all the grandeur and exquisiteness of traditional engraving illustration. Gorgeous!)
3) John Buscema pencils w/Tony DeZuniga inks ( a long running SSC artistic pairing that is a real pleasure to look at)
4) John Buscema pencils w/ Ernie Chan inks (I have a lot of fondness too for that long stretch of stories from Conan the Barbarian with its nice, clean-cut renderings)

Other great Conan artists I enjoyed from the early years... Tim Conrad, Mike Zeck, Mike Kaluta and in more hallucinatory moods... Alex Nino.

[Roquefort Raider]

Anybody collecting these? I seem to have great ease in picking up anything #'d 30-160, and after that, it gets a little tricky, especially toward the end of the run (225-275).

That's because the print run got increasingly lower and lower towards the end. The final issue usually goes for pretty hefty sums on ebay (which is ironical considering that nobody wanted to buy it when it came out).

Who are you favorite Conan interior & cover artists?

Barry Windsor-Smith will always remain my favorite Conan artist. I also grew to like Buscema's version, even if for many years he was just providing breakdowns (with the expected variation in final quality after inking).

Alfredo Alcala was a stupendous inker, but I didn't like his full artwork as much as his collaborations. Inking Buscema, though, he was a god.

Mike Docherty produced quite a few good issues; he was a good replacement for Buscema. The brief Docherty/Villagran collaboration at the end of CtB was, I think, as good as the Buscema/Chan classic team. Docherty/Isherwood were also a great pair.

I also miss the intricate backgrounds drawn by Gary Kwapisz. Even despite that incredible speed of his, he always drew lovely forests with intricate vines growing on elaborate tree stumps. Few other artists put so much detail on a page.

In the few Conan the Savage issues, the brilliant Enrique Alcatena produced many frame-worthy images. The stories themselves read more like generic fantasy than actual Conan stories, but they sure looked purty.

For cover artists, I gotta go with Mike Kaluta, Neal Adams and the few that Andy Kubert did for CtB.

I agree with Kaluta, but Adams? Did he do more than a handful? I recall Savage Tales #4, SSoC #2 and CtB #37, but little more. As for Andy Kubert, no; just no. His art was suited for the tastes of someone else than this humble reader.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm a huge Conan fan and CANNOT stand Gil Kane's artwork. Ick.

I didn't mention Kane above, because he's one of my favorites, especially on covers. His run on Giant-Size Conan (the adaptation of "The hour of the dragon" looked very good.

Always good to have other Conan fans around, Bicorn!

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Always good to have other Conan fans around, Bicorn!

I didn't see any Conan threads on this forum, so I thought I'd take a shot in the dark. I've spent most of the last decade pretty much ignoring comics, and about a year ago developed an extreme fascination with everything Robert E. Howard. The Dark Horse Conan series reignited my interest in comics, and here I am. I've amassed a decent Conan collection in the last year and a half... it's a bit of a problem =)

I do have to mention my intense dislike for Frank Cho's Conan the Cimmerian covers. He's fine for other titles, but I just don't feel like he lends an appropriate look or atmosphere to the book. Thank jeebus he's not doing the interiors.

I also really like the Docherty/Isherwood run. Geof Isherwood's solo run on Conan the King is great too. I know you said you weren't a fan of the kingly Conan, but the lineups including Silvestri, Isherwood, Semeiks, and Docherty on that book were amazing.

I recently had the pleasure of having both Howard Chaykin and Ernie Chan both sign a copy of CtB #79 at FallCon here in Minneapolis. It was a great pleasure meeting them both and having them sign the same book on the same day. Both great chaps.

[Roquefort Raider]

I also really like the Docherty/Isherwood run. Geof Isherwood's solo run on Conan the King is great too. I know you said you weren't a fan of the kingly Conan, but the lineups including Silvestri, Isherwood, Semeiks, and Docherty on that book were amazing.

I recently had the pleasure of having both Howard Chaykin and Ernie Chan both sign a copy of CtB #79 at FallCon here in Minneapolis. It was a great pleasure meeting them both and having them sign the same book on the same day. Both great chaps.

Good for you! I'd love to meet these guys.

Oh, and I loved most of the King Conan run; I'm usually not a fan of Silvestri, but I considered Conan the king #28 (Silvetsri's final issue, inked by Isherwood), one of the most beautifully-drawn comics ever!

In the list above I forgot to credit the amazing Cary Nord. Cary did something very bold : he moved away from the Frazetta/Buscema look that had become standard for the character (even though he claims to have been inspired by Frazetta!), and introduced a lot of quasi-historical designs in his work (many buildings or clothes had a Babylonian and Sumerian look), which I believe made the first Dark Horse Conan series very close to the vision that Robert E. Howard must have had.

Sadly I don't much like the art I've seen on the new Conan the Cimmerian title; it looks pretty, but it's pretty standard fantasy art... impossibly big weapons, impractical armor, exaggerated anatomy... It's a stark departure from the realistic look imparted by Nord and by Ruth (on the "born on the battlefield" fill-ins).

If you want more discussions about Conan, you might visit the conan.com website; it has a small but very active community.

[MichikoS]

It's great to see newer fans of the mighty-thewed Cimmerian speaking out about their likes and dislikes.

Although in general an admirer or Gil Kane, I'm with you, Bicorn, when it comes to Kane's version of Conan, which was much too generic for my taste in barbarians.

I've been reading Conan in the comics since Marvel's #1, in 1970, and discovered REH via the Lancer paperbacks with the Frazetta covers in the 1960s. Honestly, BWS's Conan had little to do with my mental picture of REH's Conan, but over the 20 or so issues BWS drew early on, I came to appreciate his interpretation of the stripling Conan, and still believe it to an extraordinary accomplishment that holds up very, very well.

John Buscema's work has already been praised by several posters, so I would like to put the word in for Val Semeiks' underrated work on Conan in the late '80s. Semeiks + Alcala's inks was a potent art combination!

Mike Docherty's work in the dozen or so issues leading up to cancellation with #275 were occasionally inspired, if largely predictable.

Under the Dark Horse imprint, my favorite Conan penciller is by far the remarkable GREG RUTH. Wow! He is spectacular, and his version of Conan just bursts with life and originality. That's REH's genuine vision of Conan, in my opinion.

I loved Dan Brereton's painted covers for Conan the Savage magazine #5 and #10. Full of Conan's personality.

Michi

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Are the old Marvel Kull series worth checking out? Are those written by Roy Thomas as well?

I just placed an order for the 80s Solomon Kane series, and I should be receiving those shortly.

[benday-dot]

Are the old Marvel Kull series worth checking out? Are those written by Roy Thomas as well?

I just placed an order for the 80s Solomon Kane series, and I should be receiving those shortly.

Definitely Kull is worth checking out. It might only be lesser name recognition that prevented Kull from taking off from the increasingly crowded barbarian market.

The 10 issues from the original 1971 series by John and Marie Severin, and yes Roy Thomas, have pretty much earned the status as legendary among many fans of the sword of sorcery genre. True classics at any rate.

[benday-dot]

I also recall a couple of nice John Bolton penciled issues of Kull. There was a great issue of Bizarre Adventures featuring Kull the Barbarian. I have a copy, but haven't looked at it for some time, but I remember thinking it looked fine indeed. Bolton again does a Kull issue in a 2 part Kull the Conqueror micro series from 1982. If you are a fan of lush and detailed panel work then you might like this issue as well.

I haven't seen any of the Mike Ploog material from Marvel's second Kull series. But Ploog is a great artist with line work that I could see as a good fit for the swords and sorcery genre, so I wouldn't be surprised if this looks great as well.

[terryallenuk]

With the new Solomon Kane and Kull comics coming from Dark Horse they have also said they will be reprinting the old Marvel stories of the characters as well.

Also check out the Del Rey books of Robert E Howard original stories.

Terry
The Robert E Howard Comics Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheREHcomicsgroup/

[T GUy]

Definitely Kull is worth checking out...

The 10 issues from the original 1971 series by John and Marie Severin, and yes Roy Thomas, have pretty much earned the status as legendary among many fans of the sword of sorcery genre. True classics at any rate.

Roy the Boy handed the writing reins over to Gerry Conway at some point, certainly before the title changed to Kull the Destroyer with No 11, the first issue drawn by Mike Ploog.


Oh, while I'm quibbling, the first issue is Andru/Wood, if memory serves.

[Deathstroke]

I loved the original Marvel series and I love the new Conan series from Dark Horse. I have the whole Marvel run, but I'm replacing the single issues with the Dark Horse Chronicles of Conan collections.

I'm also picking up the Savage Sword of Conan trades as well.

[Roquefort Raider]

Roy the Boy handed the writing reins over to Gerry Conway at some point, certainly before the title changed to Kull the Destroyer with No 11, the first issue drawn by Mike Ploog.


Oh, while I'm quibbling, the first issue is Andru/Wood, if memory serves.

Memory does serve, and a great job it was too! That issue cemented the look for the entire Kull series and made it look different from the Conan books. It also put the scar on Kull's face, something that wasn't in Howard's original stories and has apparently been dropped by Dark Horse; more's the pity).

Kull has had a pretty good run at Marvel. The first 11 issues were pure magic. Volume 2 was only two issues long, but both times presented good stories; Marie Severin's colors on the first issue recalled the glory days of the first volume, and issue #2, as mentioned in a post above, had that gorgeous John Bolton art.

Volume 3 benefited from very good scripts from Alan Zelenetz, who really went for the "thinking barbarian" approach to distinguish Conan from Kull. The covers, by Michael Golden, Barry Smith and Bill Sienkiewicz, were also amazing.

Even when the plot wasn't that interesting (as in the B&W mag Kull and the barbarians three issues run), there was something great to look for. In that case, a splendid Solomon Kane feature by Alan Weiss and Neal Adams as well as covers by Michael Whelan.

[benday-dot]

Roy the Boy handed the writing reins over to Gerry Conway at some point, certainly before the title changed to Kull the Destroyer with No 11, the first issue drawn by Mike Ploog.


Oh, while I'm quibbling, the first issue is Andru/Wood, if memory serves.

Thanks for quibbling T GUy. The facts need not stand in the way of a good story, but it sure is nice to have them.

I must dust off the "K" box pull and reaquaint myself with Mr. Kull.

Conway picked up the tale with issue #4.

[earl]

Conan was one of the first comics I followed as a kid back in the early 80s. I used to be able to get away with getting those Savage Sword of Conan comics knowing if my Mom actually looked at one, she wouldn't want me reading them, which was a cool thing about them.

I was probably more of a fan of the Savage Sword than the regular book, partially as the early Conan's used to be real expensive as back issues, where you could get the Savage Sword's for like a quarter an issue at any used book store. What is funny now it is about the other way around, as the Savage Swords seem to be worth a bunch of cash while big swaths of the regular Conan comics are not worth much.

I got hooked into reading the newer Dark Horse Conan around the time they started reprinting the Savage Sword of Conan. Since then I lucked into a bunch of pre issue 100 Conan the Barbarian and have started picking up the reprints of the early issues. It is a kick being able to read these in the order they came out.

I'm read up on the original Conan the Barbarian series up to issue #26 and #27 of the newer Dark Horse series. I'm also working through the second trade reprint of Savage Sword of Conan.

[berk]

Favourite Conan artists: yeah, Barry Windsor Smith, for sure, even if his Conan perhaps didn't fit REH's description as well as Buscema's. The Buscema/Alcala team would certainly be a close #2.

Possibly my favourite artwork in any REH related comic was the Worms of the Earth adaptation in SSoC, which was begun by Windsor-Smith and seamlessly carried on by Tim Conrad. One of the most powerfully iconic comics stories in my own personal reading history.

Gil Kane's artwork I love when he does his own inks. Otherwise it's hit and miss, depending on the inker. usually his Conan work didn't get the inks right for me, especially for that kind of story.

Kull is probably my favourite REH character. Love the first 10 or 12 issues of Kull the Conqueror/Destroyer, up to when the Severins left. As has been pointed out, they gave Kull and his world a unique look and aura, which somehow appealed strongly to me as a kid. Mike Ploog, one of my favourite artists, took over the colour book, but again, the inks just weren't right, and failed to sustain the atmosphere of the Severins or the Andru/Wood #1. But Ploog later showed what he could have done, with a B&W Kull adaptation in SSoC, The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune.

Kull and the Destroyer #3 should be sought out for the incredible B&W artwork by Vicente Alcazar. Another of the all-time greatest REH comics stories, at least for the art; the story by Doug Moench is fine, but not up to the same level of greatness as Alcazar's work.

[Rob Allen]

Don't forget Kull's other early appearances:

Creatures on the Loose #10: Kull cover by Trimpe/Severin, story by Roy Thomas & Berni Wrightson. Only a seven-page story, but a good one. Backup is a Kirby/Ayers monster story from 1961.

Monsters on the Prowl #16 (chronologically between Kull the Conqueror #2 and #3): Kull cover by John Severin, ten-page story by Roy Thomas and the Severin siblings, backed by a Kirby/Ayers story and a Ditko story from the early 60s.

[berk]

Monsters on the Prowl #16 (chronologically between Kull the Conqueror #2 and #3): Kull cover by John Severin, ten-page story by Roy Thomas and the Severin siblings, backed by a Kirby/Ayers story and a Ditko story from the early 60s.I don't think I knew about this one for some reason. Thanks for the info.

[dan bailey]

I've noted before that I prefer Kull to Conan -- not just the comics (hardly a surprise, considering my absolute love of the Severins) but even as written by REH -- but I happily bought & read SSOC (starting with #2) & Conan the Barbarian (beginning around #40) for years.

As it happens, while trawling through a new $1 box yesterday at the nearest LCS, I snagged Conan Annual #8 from '83 because I noticed that Val Mayerik did the art. I'm looking forward to reading this one -- he was one of my favorite artists in the '70s, & he showed on the Thongor strip in Creatures on the Loose that he could handle swords & sorcery.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Mayerik also did the interiors for CtB 69, 138 & 139. Kane did the cover for 69, and Big John did 138 & 139.

Just read CtB #44 today and was curious about The Crusty Bunkers, listed as the artists along with Buscema. Is this a pseudonym for The Tribe? I've seen the CB's listed a couple times as embellishers, inkers, etc and never knew the backstory. Anybody?

Also, since dan bailey brought up Thongor... what are y'all's opinions on the other barbarian comics? Just today I came across a slew of Arak, and was a little curious, but not enough to pick them up. Ka-Zar was always a little too tongue in cheek for me. I've also seen Thongor, Warlord, etc... are any of these worth picking up? If so, I'll start tracking them down as soon as my Conan runs are taken care of.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Just read CtB #44 today and was curious about The Crusty Bunkers, listed as the artists along with Buscema. Is this a pseudonym for The Tribe? I've seen the CB's listed a couple times as embellishers, inkers, etc and never knew the backstory. Anybody?

The Crusty Bunkers were Neal Adams's assistants. Can someone else who knows more about them explain this in more detail?

Also, since dan bailey brought up Thongor... what are y'all's opinions on the other barbarian comics? Just today I came across a slew of Arak, and was a little curious, but not enough to pick them up. Ka-Zar was always a little too tongue in cheek for me. I've also seen Thongor, Warlord, etc... are any of these worth picking up? If so, I'll start tracking them down as soon as my Conan runs are taken care of.

I've read a couple issues of Arak, and they're okay, but not great. Warlord is fairly interesting because of the Mike Grell writing and artwork. If you're looking for a completely different type of barbarian comic, Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones's Groo the Wanderer is very, very entertaining.

If you're collecting Conan anyway, then you might as well collect Red Sonja too. I would recommend Ghita of Alizarr, which was drawn by Red Sonja artist Frank Thorne, but be warned that Ghita has explicit sexual content.

Barry Windsor-Smith's The Freebooters is a barbarian-themed story which was just published in a hardcover edition. It's unfinished, which is a real pity, because the part that BWS completed is just fantastic, and features some of the best art as well as the best writing of his career.

A somewhat more obscure barbarian comic is Wulf the Barbarian, published by Atlas/Seaboard in 1974-75. This series is only mildly interesting at best, but there were only four issues, so it's an easy run to collect.

DC published a bunch of other barbarian/sword-and-sorcery comics in the '70s, including Beowulf, Claw the Unconquered, Stalker, and a series that was actually called Sword & Sorcery, which featured adaptations of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. Come to think of it, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser also guest-starred in Wonder Woman #202 and #203, although the quality of those issues is somewhat uneven.

The '80s Ka-Zar series by Jones and Anderson, and the '90s Ka-Zar series by Waid and Andy Kubert, are both worth reading. But Ka-Zar is not really a barbarian, he's a jungle hero, which is a separate archetype. (Which reminds me that the story in which Conan fights Amra -- somewhere in the #60s of Conan the Barbarian, I think -- was intended by Roy Thomas as a de facto Conan-Tarzan crossover.)

[MDG]

The Crusty Bunkers were Neal Adams's assistants. Can someone else who knows more about them explain this in more detail?
Basically, they were people who worked formally for Continuity or "hung out" there trying to break in. Some may also have been pros who used the space to work.

Wikipedia lists these people in their entry:

Neal Adams
Dick Giordano
Jack Abel
Vicente Alcazar
Sal Amendola
Terry Austin
Joe Barney
Pat Broderick
Frank Brunner
Rich Buckler
Howard Chaykin
Frank Cirocco
Dave Cockrum
Denys Cowan
Joe D'Esposito
Steve Englehart
Dan Green
Larry Hama
Russ Heath
Klaus Janson
Jeffrey Catherine Jones
Michael William Kaluta
Paul Kirchner
Alan Kupperberg
Carl Lundgren
Bob McLeod
Al Milgrom
Steve Mitchell
Gray Morrow
Mike Nasser
Bruce Patterson
Carl Potts
Ralph Reese
Marshall Rogers
Josef Rubinstein
James Sherman
Walt Simonson
Bob Smith
Jim Starlin
Greg Theakston
Trevor Von Eeden
Alan Weiss
Bob Wiacek
Berni Wrightson

[MWGallaher]

Also, since dan bailey brought up Thongor... what are y'all's opinions on the other barbarian comics? Just today I came across a slew of Arak, and was a little curious, but not enough to pick them up. Ka-Zar was always a little too tongue in cheek for me. I've also seen Thongor, Warlord, etc... are any of these worth picking up?

I've never seen favorable comments on Thongor, which I found to be nearly unreadable.
I wasn't a huge fan of the genre, but I particularly enjoyed the early Marvel Red Sonja and DC's Sword of Sorcery. Both seemed to have a lot more diversity than Conan--it didn't feel like I was reading the same comic over and over again. The cancellation of SofS was a real heartbreaker for me.

[dan bailey]

I've never seen favorable comments on Thongor, which I found to be nearly unreadable.

Haven't actually read an issue since I was buying it off the spinner racks way back when, but the ishes that Mayerik drew sure look nice. I even like the impact Vince Colletta's inks had on Val's style at the time, which certainly isn't always true of Vinnie's work. (After Colletta, Wayne Howard inked Mayerik one issue & Vincente Alcazar handled the brushes the next before taking on all the art chores for the final 2 issues.)

[dan bailey]

A somewhat more obscure barbarian comic is Wulf the Barbarian, published by Atlas/Seaboard in 1974-75. This series is only mildly interesting at best, but there were only four issues, so it's an easy run to collect.

The same company also had Ironjaw, which also lasted 4 ishes & also headlined the only issue of the would-be anthology title The Barbarians.

I remember liking Wulf OK, mainly because of Larry Hama's art (he also scripted) the first 2 issues.

[prince hal]

Like Michi, I go back to the Lancer paperbacks, which I ate up when they started to hit the stands in about 1966 or '67.

Despite the obvious love that Roy had for Conan, and his typical attempt to not only adapt every Conan story, but every other Howard tale that he could turn into a Conan story, I bought the monthly and Savagae Sword mainly out of habit for several years, finally stopping when the four-color comic hit #100.

However, those first couple of years were so much fun, with BWS's vision of Conan's world becoming increasingly more interesting, culminating in his pre-Raphaelite period just before he left the book during the saga of the war over the Tarim, which ran from about # 18- #23. As good as they were (on both Smith's and Roy's parts), they were also among the most disappointing books ever, because of what I think were Smith's deadline problems. In one issue, Marvel made it seem like printing the pages from Smith's very rough pencils was a special event, not hte fiasco it must have been in their offices. Eventually the story was taken over by John Buscema and Gil Kane in different capacities. (Someone please feel free to correct that memory as needed.)

But there were some real gems among the first 20 issues; actually nearly all of them were. And nothing surpassed the treasury Edition of "Red Nails," Howard's long short story that melded elements of a haunted house story, zombies, Mayan temples and dinosaurs in a hidden jungle with the gloomy Cimmerian. Smith outdid himself on that baby. I probably should have included this in my unfinished list of all-time favorite comics a couple of years ago, now that I think of it!

[Bicorn Halfelven]

John Buscema didn't start until #25, and Gil Kane & Dan Adkins did #18. The rest of that run was BWS.

[terryallenuk]

You might be interested in picking up Alter Ego #80 which contains the first part of Roy's Sword and Sorcery in the Comics history.

Terry

The Robert E Howard Comics Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheREHcomicsgroup/

[Rob Allen]

You might be interested in picking up Alter Ego #80 which contains the first part of Roy's Sword and Sorcery in the Comics history.

I'm in that issue! Well, my scan of the hidden message in the last Thongor story, which I posted here several years ago, is in that issue.

Even without that, it's a really interesting issue. I didn't realize that Roy had not actually been a huge Conan fan from way back - he first concluded that sword & sorcery was a good genre for Marvel, and only then did he get heavily into it.

[InfoBroker]

John Buscema didn't start until #25, and Gil Kane & Dan Adkins did #18. The rest of that run was BWS.

Minor 'actually for factually":

Issue #12 has a filler story by Gil, Roy and Tom Palmer
Gil also drew 17, inked by Ralph Reese.
Issue #21 has P. Craig Russell and Val Mayerick doing finish pencils on several pages from Barry Smith's layouts/sketches.
Issue 23 is a mix of lots of inkers coming in to assit, and I kinda felt Dan Adkins, Sal Buscema and Chic Stone might have done some pencil finishing on a few of the pages they inked.

Besides the regular Conan tale by Barry and Roy, Marie and John Severin did a Kull filler for issue #10.

Issue #11 is a first printing of a Barry Smith story originally intended for Savage Tales #2 (had it been published in the fall of 1971) not to be confused with the actual Savage Tales #2 that was published in 1973. The filler tale was a reprint of the Conan tryout tale originally published in Tower of Shadows.

Issue #16 reprints Barry's version of Frost Giants Daughter from Savage Tales #1.

Issue 22 reprints issue #1

-jb the sleep deprived ib -

[InfoBroker]

Oops forgot to mention a very nifty Marie and John Severin Kull filler in issue #10. Short 3 or 4 page illustrated sequence set to a poem by REH.

-jb the "Dan is probably tsk-tsking me" ib -

[Roquefort Raider]

Also, since dan bailey brought up Thongor... what are y'all's opinions on the other barbarian comics? Just today I came across a slew of Arak, and was a little curious, but not enough to pick them up.

The first two years are pretty good; they're very close to the first two years of CtB in terms of pace and mood. The artwork (mostly by Ernie Colon) is a bit cartoony, especially when he and the inker don't mesh too well, but things get more "mainstream" when Gonzales and Alcala come aboard.

Those first two years are heavily tied to the Charlemagne legends and the historical letter of Prester John; they make for good historical fiction. Later on, the series would lose its way by trying to reinvent itself (Arak turned from a stranger in a strange land, an American Indian in the dark ages of Europe, to some kind of new age shaman with ill-defined powers).

Considering they're probably dirt cheap, I'd really go for the first 25 issues or so.

[dan bailey]

Oops forgot to mention a very nifty Marie and John Severin Kull filler in issue #10. Short 3 or 4 page illustrated sequence set to a poem by REH.

-jb the "Dan is probably tsk-tsking me" ib -

Actually, Dan is updating his want list. This one somehow escaped my attention.

[Roquefort Raider]

Actually, Dan is updating his want list. This one somehow escaped my attention.

Do you know about the Kull flashback from CtB#25, which was astutely inked by John Severin? It somehow gave great credibility to that single page... as if it were an actual historical document!

[dan bailey]

Updating want list again.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Minor 'actually for factually":

Issue #12 has a filler story by Gil, Roy and Tom Palmer
Gil also drew 17, inked by Ralph Reese.
Issue #21 has P. Craig Russell and Val Mayerick doing finish pencils on several pages from Barry Smith's layouts/sketches.
Issue 23 is a mix of lots of inkers coming in to assit, and I kinda felt Dan Adkins, Sal Buscema and Chic Stone might have done some pencil finishing on a few of the pages they inked.

Besides the regular Conan tale by Barry and Roy, Marie and John Severin did a Kull filler for issue #10.

Issue #11 is a first printing of a Barry Smith story originally intended for Savage Tales #2 (had it been published in the fall of 1971) not to be confused with the actual Savage Tales #2 that was published in 1973. The filler tale was a reprint of the Conan tryout tale originally published in Tower of Shadows.

Issue #16 reprints Barry's version of Frost Giants Daughter from Savage Tales #1.

Issue 22 reprints issue #1

-jb the sleep deprived ib -


Thanks for catching that... I went off of my own comic database which is missing a couple issues here and there, instead of checking a master list. Whoops.

Smallish bone for picking - is the Tower of Shadows tryout story you're referring to the one from Chamber of Darkness #4?

[Leocomix]

I discovered Conan with the black and white magazines. Conan was the character of choice because it wasn't boung by the Comics Code so it had all the best artists. Kane inked by Adams, Starlin, Brunner but best of all Buscema and Alcala produced fine art. If there is original artwork I'd love to have, that's that one. I'm reading the Dark Horse trades and I love every minute but the cherry are the Buscema/Alcala stories. I can't think of other artwork (well, maybe Totleben's work on Swamp Thing and Miracleman) that is like fine art to me.

[InfoBroker]

Smallish bone for picking - is the Tower of Shadows tryout story you're referring to the one from Chamber of Darkness #4?

That would be correct.

My comical book spider-senses were faintly tingling when I posted that. Should have paid closer attention to it, but the late hour had the memory banks behaving a bit slush-a-lee.

Sorry about that.

-jb the now rested ib -

[InfoBroker]

Looks like I'm gonna be a very small minority here when it comes to artistic highs for Conan. I think greatly of both Barry and John's work, but when it comes to story telling and pacing and character definition I think Barry's work is more interesting, broader in scope and overall, more original. Highlights of special interest include Conan #1, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 19, 20 and 24. My cherry of delight would be Savage Tales #2 and 3.

When it comes to the best of best inking on big John's work, I think he did it the best. No excess, no noise, clean and direct. Second best would be brother Sal.

I understand the commercial reasons that Marvel editorial used the fancy line work of Alcala, which is definitely fine material. I just prefer big John.

As for Gil Kane, I loved his two bridge issues (17 and 18), and the early issues of Giant Size Conan that adapted Hour of the Dragon. Shine-knee-es-tea of them and my fave was issue 17.

-jb the 'odd man out' ib -

[Bicorn Halfelven]

I think I found a Kane Conan I can get down with.

The cover of CtB #50 is great... The Dweller in the Pool story is Buscema/Giordano, but the cover is excellent. easilly my favorite Kane rendering of Conan. Probably because of the Janson inks. Cool stuff.

[Roquefort Raider]

Looks like I'm gonna be a very small minority here when it comes to artistic highs for Conan. I think greatly of both Barry and John's work, but when it comes to story telling and pacing and character definition I think Barry's work is more interesting, broader in scope and overall, more original.

We can form a minority of at least two, then, for I agree completely!

My own absolute favorites are #19 (even though half the pages are uninked) and #24.

When it comes to the best of best inking on big John's work, I think he did it the best.

John's fully inked art has a great Hal Foster feel to it. It's too bad we didn't get to see more of his inks because he really knew how to use a brush.

I understand the commercial reasons that Marvel editorial used the fancy line work of Alcala, which is definitely fine material. I just prefer big John.

I love Alcala's art when he goes nuts with his intricate linework and hatching (not so much when he goes for a charcoal approach). The only drawback (and a small one at that) I see in any Buscema-Alcala collaboration is that Alfredo's inks overpower John's pencils; all that's left of John's contribution is basically the composition. (This may actually be normal as I understand John often went for breakdowns rather than full pencils).

[earl]

I'm read up through issue #41 and it is interesting how John Buscema's artwork has a different feel when he inked himself. With his own inks, his artwork reminds me a bit more of Joe Kubert.

It is wild to comprehend in a day when the best artists of the period have problems putting out a monthly book, some even working slower, that a guy like John Buscema could be doing Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan and Thor nearly each month for a long stretch of the early 70s. That dude was a work horse and his artwork, no matter who was the inker was always really good.

[schwamp]

I loved the Savage Sword series for the same reasons others posting here did. Being 15 or 16 and getting to buy these books was a real charge back then. Personally, Buscema will always be the defining artist. He seemed to create the look that was most like my image of the character in my mind as I read the stories. There was power, rage, intelligence, and the occasional berserker in his art. Many good artists, but JB was great.
There was a chromium card set with the Savage Sword covers about 13 years ago. I couldn't help myself. I had to buy it, even though the art really should be in bigger format, not smaller. Jusko was also a favorite of mine back then. Great cover artist.

[celticwarlord]

Ahhh, Savage Sword. I have many fond memories of hours spent reading Savage Sword issues with the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack on repeat (think I had to replace the tape twice it got so worn out). The regular Marvel comic was good, and both Dark Horse series are very enjoyable, but I really can't see anything topping Savage Sword for me. Something about the B&W format just seemed so fitting for the grim Cimmerian.

And the Conan tattoo I got on my 19th birthday came from one of the pin-ups in the back of a Savage Sword!

[berk]

I stopped following the magazine once it went into #40s or so, IIRC - how was it after that? From what I remember, I quit because the quality of the art began to deteriorate around then - a subjective impression, obviously. Did it ever pick up again and enjoy another consistently strong run?

[dupont2005]

I stopped following the magazine once it went into #40s or so, IIRC - how was it after that? From what I remember, I quit because the quality of the art began to deteriorate around then - a subjective impression, obviously. Did it ever pick up again and enjoy another consistently strong run of quality?

my first issue of savage sword was #110, i thought it was great. so much better than the small sized color conans. i have not read any older ones to compare though, i hope to get the trades soon. i would rather get the mags but its too damn expensive

[Roquefort Raider]

I stopped following the magazine once it went into #40s or so, IIRC - how was it after that? From what I remember, I quit because the quality of the art began to deteriorate around then - a subjective impression, obviously. Did it ever pick up again and enjoy another consistently strong run of quality?

The major change around that time was Roy Thomas' departure. I believe his last issue was #59 or so. Michael Fleisher replaced him for a while, and his work there was far, far below his usual standards.

The thing is that Roy was a Robert E. Howard scholar; he wrote his Conan stories as extensions of the Howard tales (and of the deCamp and Carter pastiches) so as to maintain the illusion that the Hyborian age had relly happened, and that the character's life was meticulously chronicled.

When he left, a succession of writers just handled the franchise as "Savage sword of some loinclothed generic barbarian guy". Almost no connection was made to the Howard stories, and when it was it was usually in a way that clashed with them. Continuity went out the window, and for a book like SSoC (which featured stories set at different times in Conan's lifetime), this made for a very chaotic experience.

Conan started facing things like giant robotic turtles containing entire cities, which I'm sure you'll agree is a pretty terrible idea. We learned Conan had trained as a ninja. We learned he had a long-lost wizard brother. We learned that Valeria was a slut, despite Howard's depiction of her as the complete opposite.

Later on, around #105 or so, the mood changed a little. There was still no attempt to fit the stories into any kind of Howardian continuity, but at least many of the plots were good. (Don Kraar and Chuck Dixon are mostly responsible for that).

With #190 on, Roy Thomas came back to the book; the stories from then till the end of the series harkened back to past glories, even if they sometimes fell short. But at least we had something that felt like "real" Conan stories.

Artwise, there were many excellent issues during the entire period. John Buscema provided a lot of the art, but there were also many, many issues beautifully drawn by Gary Kwapisz, Mike Docherty, Dale Eaglesham, Rudy Nebres, and Ernie Chan.

My advice would be to skip issues 61 to 104. (60 has a blah plot but beautiful Buscema full art).

[berk]

The major change around that time was Roy Thomas' departure. I believe his last issue was #59 or so. Michael Fleisher replaced him for a while, and his work there was far, far below his usual standards.

The thing is that Roy was a Robert E. Howard scholar; he wrote his Conan stories as extensions of the Howard tales (and of the deCamp and Carter pastiches) so as to maintain the illusion that the Hyborian age had relly happened, and that the character's life was meticulously chronicled.

When he left, a succession of writers just handled the franchise as "Savage sword of some loinclothed generic barbarian guy". Almost no connection was made to the Howard stories, and when it was it was usually in a way that clashed with them. Continuity went out the window, and for a book like SSoC (which featured stories set at different times in Conan's lifetime), this made for a very chaotic experience.

Conan started facing things like giant robotic turtles containing entire cities, which I'm sure you'll agree is a pretty terrible idea. We learned Conan had trained as a ninja. We learned he had a long-lost wizard brother. We learned that Valeria was a slut, despite Howard's depiction of her as the complete opposite.
...This is such a common problem with continuing series, isn't it. Eventually, people run out of ideas for the character, or just stop caring, so they just start making up arbitrary stories without any regard for the basic concept of who the character is, the nature of the world in which he/she exists, etc, etc. It's one of the most maddening things when you see it happening, even though it's often hard to get other people to acknowledge it while it's unfolding. Then, years later, with hindsight, everyone laments the wrong turn taken 20 years in the past, while still refusing to see the same thing being done right now with some other idea.

[Roquefort Raider]

It's one of the most maddening things when you see it happening, even though it's often hard to get other people to acknowledge it while it's unfolding.

Back in the SSoC days, there were only two ways to judge the book's success: the letters page and the sales figures. Obviously, the editor was not going to print letters by upset fans who demanded a return to the Thomas approach. So all we could read were enthusiastic letters essentially saying "I pump iron to look like Conan! I want more blood in the stories! Can you bring the Punisher to the Hyborian age? What about a Conan vs Wolverine team-up? Conan rulz! Hey, where is the sword from the movie?" and so on. Quite a departure from the scholarly articles by Jim Neal or the letters from REH scholar Steven Tompkins.

Saleswise things seemed pretty stable and my guess is that the Robert E. Howard readers who left the mag in disgust were replaced by Conan Movie fans.

The sad part is that it didn't have to happen that way. Dark Horse is currently publishing a pretty good Conan series respectful of the Howard works, despite the character having been around in comics for many decades. All that's needed is an editor who's willing to show respect for the material. Since Conan's life is already known from his youth to his middle age, it's hard to really screw up continuity with stunts like deals with Mephisto, Conan clones or scrambled memories. All that's needed is to refrain from introducing robot turtles !

[Bicorn Halfelven]

it's hard to really screw up continuity with stunts like deals with Mephisto, Conan clones

This really happened?

Oh.

my.

god.

[Greg Hatcher]

Not with Conan. That was a Spider-Man reference.

I admit I was one of those that huffed off in a huff when Roy left, all those years ago. But in a fit of nostalgia I started re-assembling a collection of Savage Sword and Conan Saga for (super) cheap off eBay and other secondhand dealers, and what I have found is that the Kraar-Dixon stuff is better than I originally thought. It only suffers in comparison to what came before. On its own, if you've never read Howard or even Roy Thomas, it's fun stuff, moderately entertaining. There's certainly a hierarchy of the good Conan comics. But once you're done with the Roy Thomas work and the Dark Horse revival books, the post-Roy Savage Sword from Dixon and Kraar is okay as long as you remember it's definitely B-list. (I kept getting those issues thrown in with eBay lots of the Roy Thomas books I was after, and I found that I enjoyed them enough to hang on to them.)

My inner OCD nerd is exhorting me to go after the Fleisher Conans too, so as to have a COMPLETE RUN, but so far I have held him in check. Because it's a stupid idea. Fleisher's stories you should just skip.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

I'm a completist, so I'll end up getting everything... but thanks for the heads up. I've read the first two SSoC trades, and have the third and fourth sitting on my nightstand. I've got about twenty random issues of SSoC, but my main focus right now is completing my run of CtB.

I think y'all might be going a little hard on Fleisher, but he's definitely near the bottom of my list. I think he was still able to put out stories that were entertaining, but yes, not close to being on the same plane as Thomas... forget REH.

[earl]

Was there ever any Marvel full-color magazines featuring Conan? I swear I remember having one, but I cannot find record of any.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Not that I know of.

Even Conan the Savage was still B&W.

[benday-dot]

Was there ever any Marvel full-color magazines featuring Conan? I swear I remember having one, but I cannot find record of any.

Perhaps you had a copy of Marvel Super Special.

There were four Marvel Super Special issues featuring Conan, all in full colour magazine format.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/2401/400/2401_4_02.jpg

I have the above. Roy Thomas wrote the script. J. Buscema and Alcala did the artwork. Marie Severin does the colours on both issues I have displayed.

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/2401/400/2401_4_09.jpg

Again with Roy Thomas (and apparently Chaykin too) on script. But J. Buscema and DeZuniga do the pencils and inks on this one.

The other two were adaptations of the two Conan movies, as was the custom in the Marvel Super Special series.

[berk]

I had that bottom one, though I can't remember the story now. Don't know what happned to it. I've managed to hold on to all my SSoCs and to a couple Marvel Treasury Edition Conans, but have somehow lost all the colour Conan comics, of which I had a pretty good collection. Were the Super Specials reprints of material that had appeared earlier or new stories? I don't think I ever saw that top one before.

[benday-dot]

I had that bottom one, though I can't remember the story now. Don't know what happned to it. I've managed to hold on to all my SSoCs and to a couple Marvel Treasury Edition Conans, but have somehow lost all the colour Conan comics, of which I had a pretty good collection. Were the Super Specials reprints of material that had appeared earlier or new stories? I don't think I ever saw that top one before.

New material, I think, Berk. I just dug out my MCSS #2 and it would appear to be a non-reprint. It's not bad looking, but I think I like the black and white stories better.

GCD places the story between SSOC #21 and 22.

One feature I like in this issue is the full page biographies, complete with colour photos, devoted to each of the creators responsible for the issue: Thomas, Buscema, Alcala and Severin. Very nice.

[berk]

New material, I think, Berk. I just dug out my MCSS #2 and it would appear to be a non-reprint. It's not bad looking, but I think I like the black and white stories better.

GCD places the story between SSOC #21 and 22.

One feature I like in this issue is the full page biographies, complete with colour photos, devoted to each of the creators responsible for the issue: Thomas, Buscema, Alcala and Severin. Very nice.Now I look at the cover again i see it says right on there "All New!" Thanks for the info, I definitely want to get the top one, the one with Alcala. The other one I remember not being overly impressed with, but then I never really took to DeZuniga's style for whatever reason.

I've been looking at some of the later SSoCs at GCD and there some of them do seem to be worth looking for. I see a couple with Esteban Maroto in the 200s.

[Rob Allen]

I see a couple with Esteban Maroto in the 200s.

I met Esteban Maroto at last year's Emerald City con in Seattle. He was a gracious, bald/gray-haired, nattily dressed man who spoke little English. Since I speak little Spanish, I'm glad there was a translator there to help relay my request for his signature on some of his Warren work. I was at least able to point at his work and say, "me gusto mucho", which I hope said what I meant.

One of the things he signed for me was my copy of the Eerie issue that reprinted all of his "Dax the Damned" S&S stories. The translator said that they were looking for a copy of that magazine and asked if I'd bought it at the con. No, I said, I've had this since it was first published. They smiled.

[berk]

I met Esteban Maroto at last year's Emerald City con in Seattle. He was a gracious, bald/gray-haired, nattily dressed man who spoke little English. Since I speak little Spanish, I'm glad there was a translator there to help relay my request for his signature on some of his Warren work. I was at least able to point at his work and say, "me gusto mucho", which I hope said what I meant.

One of the things he signed for me was my copy of the Eerie issue that reprinted all of his "Dax the Damned" S&S stories. The translator said that they were looking for a copy of that magazine and asked if I'd bought it at the con. No, I said, I've had this since it was first published. They smiled.I have that Dax compilation thing too, but I bought it on eBay a few years ago. I love the Dax stories: obviously the writing isn't always that great, but the basic story ideas and gorgeous artwork are just out of this world. So dream-like and strange. I'd love to see the original Spanish scripts (by Maroto himself?) translated.

I think it's a crime that artists like Maroto and Vicente Alcazar and Gonzalo Mayo and Alfredo Alcala and Jose Gonzales and etc, etc never seemed to be accorded quite the same celebrity status as the Anglo-American-Canadian star artists of the time like Wrightson or Windsor-Smith or Byrne and so on.

I've never been to a comics con before, but if Esteban Maroto or one of those other guys (well, not Byrne) were going to be there, I would go.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Ernie Chan is probably the nicest artist I've ever met at a con.

The man is incredibly nice, and loves talking about his medium. He signed my Conan #79 (Chaykin signed it the same day). My only regret is not commissioning a sketch.

[berk]

Ernie Chan is probably the nicest artist I've ever met at a con.

The man is incredibly nice, and loves talking about his medium. He signed my Conan #79 (Chaykin signed it the same day). My only regret is not commissioning a sketch.This is what I wonder - even if the artist or whoever does want to talk, do they have the time or is there a great line behind you?

I think Chan's inks on Buscema's pencils brought a lot of needed stability to the colour Conan series. There was a long run there where it was really good once he came on board. Maybe a bit too slick at times, but for the most part, an improvement over the various inkers who preceded him, who as a group were always a little hit and miss, I thought.

[Paradox]

Rob Allen gives me a giggle:

I was at least able to point at his work and say, "me gusto mucho", which I hope said what I meant.

I hope he smiled at that, too. It means "I like me very much". :biggrin:

Me gusta

[earl]

Thanks for the info on the color specials. I had the one with the red cover.

I picked up some used Savage Swords and went through #50, which has a look back at the series article and the two color specials were put out in place of the regular magazine the month they shipped.

Reading through these old Marvel (and Warren) magazines, I have to say this was a cool format that I wish became more the norm.

[dupont2005]

agreed. i like magazine sized comic books better too

[Jim Thompson]

Reading through these old Marvel (and Warren) magazines, I have to say this was a cool format that I wish became more the norm.Me too -- and given the way the books are marketed these days, I don't see why that would represent any special challenges anymore.

[Roquefort Raider]

I had that bottom one, though I can't remember the story now. Don't know what happned to it. I've managed to hold on to all my SSoCs and to a couple Marvel Treasury Edition Conans, but have somehow lost all the colour Conan comics, of which I had a pretty good collection. Were the Super Specials reprints of material that had appeared earlier or new stories? I don't think I ever saw that top one before.

As benday-dot believed, they were not.

Both Super Specials (I'm not counting the movie adaptations as "real" Conan stories) adapted non-Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. The second one (MSS#9) had a Red Sonja story drawn by Howard Chaykin in a decidedly non-trendy style, very moody and daring for the time. The plot was also an attempt to redefine the Sonja character, but that storyline went nowhere since Roy left Marvel soon after. MSS#9 also had an outline of Conan's career in Marvel comics, a very useful resource at the time!

MSS#9 has one of the very few covers painted by John Buscema; the only other ones I know of are Savage Tales #2 and SSoC #40.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

This is what I wonder - even if the artist or whoever does want to talk, do they have the time or is there a great line behind you?

I think Chan's inks on Buscema's pencils brought a lot of needed stability to the colour Conan series. There was a long run there where it was really good once he came on board. Maybe a bit too slick at times, but for the most part, an improvement over the various inkers who preceded him, who as a group were always a little hit and miss, I thought.

It depends on the artist. Many are gracious and more than willing to talk, answer questions, etc... and some just want you out of the line so they can get back to doing sketches they've been commissioned to do... and that's fine. Some of them are there to make money, and I can't begrudge them that. Chan was a LOT nicer than Chaykin... I'll leave it at that. If you are looking to talk to an artist/creator, it helps to arrive as early as possible to avoid lines. It'll give you a chance to talk to them a bit longer if they're willing, as there won't be a dozen people standing in line behind you.

Also, check out Chan's inking toward the end of the Conan run... his inking style gets a little more gritty and detailed. It's some of my favorite inking in the whole CtB run.

[berk]

It depends on the artist. Many are gracious and more than willing to talk, answer questions, etc... and some just want you out of the line so they can get back to doing sketches they've been commissioned to do... and that's fine. Some of them are there to make money, and I can't begrudge them that. Chan was a LOT nicer than Chaykin... I'll leave it at that. If you are looking to talk to an artist/creator, it helps to arrive as early as possible to avoid lines. It'll give you a chance to talk to them a bit longer if they're willing, as there won't be a dozen people standing in line behind you.Oh, if there was a line-up behind me, I wouldn't blame them for wanting to keep it moving along. I wouldn't feel comfortable myself taking up too much time and making everyone else wait that much longer.

Also, check out Chan's inking toward the end of the Conan run... his inking style gets a little more gritty and detailed. It's some of my favorite inking in the whole CtB run.I'll have a look at it next time I see one of those dark Horse collections.

[benday-dot]

So the Daily Telegraph reports that President-Elect Barack Obama collects Conan the Barbarian comics.

Shame on Gov. Arnie (who ought to know a thing about the character) for calling him "girly." :wink:

[Bicorn Halfelven]

So the Daily Telegraph reports that President-Elect Barack Obama collects Conan the Barbarian comics.

Shame on Gov. Arnie (who ought to know a thing about the character) for calling him "girly." :wink:

He just gained about a grillion more cool points.

AWESOME!

[Deathstroke]

Does anyone know if the 4th volume in the Dark Horse collections has come out yet?

[Dusty.]

The Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan run on Conan the Barbarian is one of the greatest runs in the history of comics.

[Chemical King]

I just got into this after picking up "Savage Sword of Conan" TPB #1 from Dark Horse by sheer coincidence at German ebay. Found that I rather liked the stories thus far, though I'm very challeged to find out what the Timeline in these stories is.

But it's quite fun to read and the art is fantastic, even in Black and White. Are there any major storylines that I might want to check out?

[Bicorn Halfelven]

Unlike the Marvel Conan the Barbarian series, the Savage Sword stories don't follow a strict continuity, and stories from various periods in the Cimmerian's life may appear in the same issue. This is one of the many things that draws me to SSoC. You get a wide variety of artists and writers giving different perspectives on different Conan eras.

I actually prefer the b&w Savage Sword stuff to the CtB color series.

Are there any major storylines that you might want to check out?

As long as you're picking up the Savage Sword reprint volumes, you'll be getting the bulk of the great stuff. The second and third volumes have just as much great material as the first.

Enjoy!

[Chemical King]

Unlike the Marvel Conan the Barbarian series, the Savage Sword stories don't follow a strict continuity, and stories from various periods in the Cimmerian's life may appear in the same issue. This is one of the many things that draws me to SSoC. You get a wide variety of artists and writers giving different perspectives on different Conan eras.

I actually prefer the b&w Savage Sword stuff to the CtB color series.

Are there any major storylines that you might want to check out?

As long as you're picking up the Savage Sword reprint volumes, you'll be getting the bulk of the great stuff. The second and third volumes have just as much great material as the first.

Enjoy!

I don't know if there are any "must-reads" in Conan history. Currently, I just realize that it's nice to enjoy some simple one-parter from time to time after reading all those Superhero storyarcs (which I mostly really like) at Marvel and DC. Still: I am an "arc" fan - but Conan is fun too. So I was wondering if there was some good "arc-like" yarn which I might want to check out to get more into Conan. I heard a lot about the recent Busiek interpretation of Conan, but don't know if this is a new continuity or just a continuation of the old one. And there must be some classic storylines which fans keep on rambling about twenty years later - but the Wikipedia pages did not give too much information so...

[Deathstroke]

No one knows if the 4 volume of the Dark Horse collection has come out yet?

[Bicorn Halfelven]

No one knows if the 4 volume of the Dark Horse collection has come out yet?

It has, and it's sitting on the top of my to-read pile right now.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

I don't know if there are any "must-reads" in Conan history. Currently, I just realize that it's nice to enjoy some simple one-parter from time to time after reading all those Superhero storyarcs (which I mostly really like) at Marvel and DC. Still: I am an "arc" fan - but Conan is fun too. So I was wondering if there was some good "arc-like" yarn which I might want to check out to get more into Conan. I heard a lot about the recent Busiek interpretation of Conan, but don't know if this is a new continuity or just a continuation of the old one. And there must be some classic storylines which fans keep on rambling about twenty years later - but the Wikipedia pages did not give too much information so...

The recent Dark Horse series are reimaginings of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories, with the intent of keeping them as true to Howard as possible. There are also new stories thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend the Busiek/Nord run on DH's Conan series, and you should be picking up the ongoing Conan the Cimmerian series as well if you're into the Conan stuff. You'll like it, trust me.

There are a few Howard tales that have been re-told several times ("Tower of the Elephant" springs to mind), in CtB, SSoC, and the newer DH series. I can't argue with the selections most of the time, since you can't really go wrong with Howard, but I tend to gravitate toward the SSoC versions myself.

[Dusty.]

I don't know if there are any "must-reads" in Conan history. Currently, I just realize that it's nice to enjoy some simple one-parter from time to time after reading all those Superhero storyarcs (which I mostly really like) at Marvel and DC. Still: I am an "arc" fan - but Conan is fun too. So I was wondering if there was some good "arc-like" yarn which I might want to check out to get more into Conan. I heard a lot about the recent Busiek interpretation of Conan, but don't know if this is a new continuity or just a continuation of the old one. And there must be some classic storylines which fans keep on rambling about twenty years later - but the Wikipedia pages did not give too much information so...


The whole Queen of the Black Coast was a continuing storyline that lasted from Conan the Barbarian 58-100. That run had several 4 part arcs. Conan vs. Amra, Lord of the Jungle was from issue 60-63, issue 70-something through 70 something is a multi part arc about Belit trying to claim her rightful throne, issues 94-97 has Conan up against the Beast King, and issues 109-112 is another great arc.

Jim Owsley (now known as Christopher Priest), also wrote a great multi part epic that lasted for a few years. He wrote the book from 172-213.

The Roy Thomas Conan the Barbarian (his first run) has all been collected by Dark Horse. The old Marvel comics have been computer colored and they look awesome!

[berk]

As pointed out already, the old Conan the Barbarian series never really had long arcs with a well defined plot and so on, but sometimes there would be a sort of loose arc which would serve as a framework within which the usual short, episodic stories might be told. One I remember liking at the time was when Conan, Belit, Zula and Nephtha formed a sort of ongoing group for a while, I think they were on their way to Stygia, where Nephtha was from. That's where the Buscema/Chan team really hit its stride, or at least so I thought at the time; haven't read it since. That storyline seemed to peter out, IIRC, with Conan and Belit just moving on to some other part of REH's Hyborian World. my memory of the details is pretty vague, mostly I just recall this being the storyline where my interest peaked, and my favourite period for the artwork as far as John Buscema's run in the colour series is concerned. Looking at GCD, I think it went roughly through the 70s and 80s in issue #s, couldn't give exact start and end #s though.

edit: Dusty's memory looks to be better than mine. Maybe the one I'm trying to recall is the Belit regaining her throne one, or at least overlapped with that. The Amra story is definitely a well-defined multi-issue arc, but I didn't like Steve Gan's inks that much on Buscema's pencils, compared to Chan's.

[Bicorn Halfelven]

[QUOTE=Dusty.;8133655]

Jim Owsley (now known as Christopher Priest)[QUOTE]

Whuh?

[Pól Rua]

Also, since dan bailey brought up Thongor... what are y'all's opinions on the other barbarian comics? Just today I came across a slew of Arak, and was a little curious, but not enough to pick them up. Ka-Zar was always a little too tongue in cheek for me. I've also seen Thongor, Warlord, etc... are any of these worth picking up? If so, I'll start tracking them down as soon as my Conan runs are taken care of.

I really enjoyed Arak, Son of Thunder. Had a nice historical vibe to it, and I always liked Grell's work on the early Warlords (Which was more ERB than REH, but you get what you can).

[prince hal]

Just as Barry Smith ended his run, Roy Thomas wrote a multi-issue epic about a holy war in the nation of Turan that involved Conan, his Viking friend fafnir, Red Sonja, and a nasty villain called the Vulture. Buscema finsished the saga, and there are a few rough spots artistically speaking (including pages reproduced directly from Smith's pencils b/c of deadline problems), but overall, it's a great story.

I haven't seen the Dark Horse reprints of these; I'd be curious to see how well the raw pencil pages turned out.

[Deathstroke]

It has, and it's sitting on the top of my to-read pile right now.

Shit! Now I've gotta find out why my comic guy never got it.

[earl]

Just as Barry Smith ended his run, Roy Thomas wrote a multi-issue epic about a holy war in the nation of Turan...

I was going to point that one out. It is a good story.

A bit later, after the series was success, Roy Thomas had the series really paved out in ways that few comics were done at that time. He would have story arcs that kind of built on the time that passes where Conan is a thief in the early issues, then he ends up a sword for hire even meeting up with a character from later in the series to kind of have a logical path that ends up with him meeting up with Belit and becoming a pirate.

I'm reading through Conan from 1 - on right now, finishing issue 57 last night, which featured some really nice artwork by Mike Ploog and is a transition issue to when Belit joins the series the next issue.


"what are y'all's opinions on the other barbarian comics?"


Warlord was a good series. Kind of like Roy Thomas on Conan, Mike Grell had some freedom to do that series in ways that others really did not at that time. The fact that there was one main writer/artist behind the series for a good long time really helped it work. Why none of this stuff is in print seems a complete mystery to me, heck it would look good even in a Showcase. It isn't even an odd rights issue like some of the other kind of titles.


The Elric series for various indies over the years, especially any one with Craig Russell artwork are all pretty ace. I just got the four issue one that Moorcock did with Walt Simonson from a few years ago and one evening will give it a read. I've fingered through some of the issues and there are some really killer panels of Simonson artwork in that book.


The ones I read a long time back and want to check out again are the 'Sword of Sorcery' title from DC. That was an early one featuring Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser that had some nice early work by Howard Chakyin, Walt Simonson and I think maybe some Mike Kaluta. I remember getting those out of a quarter box a long time back. They probably will cost a bit more now!

There was a series of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser that had Mignola artwork that I would like to read again too.

[FanboyStranger]

There was a series of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser that had Mignola artwork that I would like to read again too.

Dark Horse released a trade of this last year. It's good stuff.

[Roquefort Raider]

No one knows if the 4 volume of the Dark Horse collection has come out yet?

The entire "Conan" series has been collected; it's now been rebooted as "Conan the Cimmerian".

Vol. 1 - the Frost Giant's daughter
Vol. 2 - the god in the bowl
Vol. 3 - the tower of the elephant
Vol. 4 - the hall of the dead
Vol. 5 - Rogues in the house
Vol. 6 - the hand of Nergal

Vol. whatever - Born on the battlefield (the story of Conan's youth).

There's also a smaller collection of fill-in stories called "the blood-stained crown and other stories".

As the titles suggest, each collection centers around one Howard tale and gives us storylines that lead up to it and sometimes deal with the aftermath. Some of the collections are e x t r e m e l y d e c o m p r e s s e d , unlike the early days of Marvel's "Conan the barbarian" book where we'd get "Tower of the elephant", "the god in the bowl" and "Hall of the dead" all adapted in one issue each.

Mind you, I really enjoyed the Busiek / Nord Conan stories; but I'm afraid I'll always favor the early Marvel run, warts and all.

[berk]

Marvel and DC should take some lessons from Dark Horse's repackaging of those early Thomas/Smith/Buscema Conans. Let's see MoKF, ToD, Man-Thing, Gerber's Defenders, the Kirby/Lee FF and Thor, the Lee/Ditko/Romita Spiderman, Kirby's New Gods, Kamandi, OMAC & Demon, and everything else released in affordable trade collections and IN COLOUR as they were meant to be read. If Dark Horse can do it with Marvel's own Conan the Barbarian, I see no reason why Marvel and DC can't do the same with their 70s & 60s classics.

[Deathstroke]

The entire "Conan" series has been collected; it's now been rebooted as "Conan the Cimmerian".

Vol. 1 - the Frost Giant's daughter
Vol. 2 - the god in the bowl
Vol. 3 - the tower of the elephant
Vol. 4 - the hall of the dead
Vol. 5 - Rogues in the house
Vol. 6 - the hand of Nergal

Vol. whatever - Born on the battlefield (the story of Conan's youth).

There's also a smaller collection of fill-in stories called "the blood-stained crown and other stories".

As the titles suggest, each collection centers around one Howard tale and gives us storylines that lead up to it and sometimes deal with the aftermath. Some of the collections are e x t r e m e l y d e c o m p r e s s e d , unlike the early days of Marvel's "Conan the barbarian" book where we'd get "Tower of the elephant", "the god in the bowl" and "Hall of the dead" all adapted in one issue each.

Mind you, I really enjoyed the Busiek / Nord Conan stories; but I'm afraid I'll always favor the early Marvel run, warts and all.


Thanks but I meant the Savage Sword of Conan trade series, not the Dark Horse monthly series. I've got all those.

Appreciate the time you took to give the information on that though.

[Roquefort Raider]

Thanks but I meant the Savage Sword of Conan trade series, not the Dark Horse monthly series. I've got all those.

Appreciate the time you took to give the information on that though.

Oops, sorry. :frown:

I hope you'll enjoy the fourth collection of SSoC. After that there'll only be one left before the first Roy Thomas run is done... and then we'll run into Bruce Jones and Michael Fleisher territory for a few volumes' worth.

And if you haven't read those issues yet, believe you me... Fleisher's Conan has nothing in common with his Spectre or Jonah Hex work.

Cheers!

- Ben

[benday-dot]

Marvel and DC should take some lessons from Dark Horse's repackaging of those early Thomas/Smith/Buscema Conans. Let's see MoKF, ToD, Man-Thing, Gerber's Defenders, the Kirby/Lee FF and Thor, the Lee/Ditko/Romita Spiderman, Kirby's New Gods, Kamandi, OMAC & Demon, and everything else released in affordable trade collections and IN COLOUR as they were meant to be read. If Dark Horse can do it with Marvel's own Conan the Barbarian, I see no reason why Marvel and DC can't do the same with their 70s & 60s classics.

The good news is that Marvel will be initiating a new trade paperback format of some of their Marvel Masterworks deluxe hard cover editions.

First up, at the end of this month is volume #1 of Amazing Spider-Man. This is to include, IIRC, the first 10 issues of the Lee Ditko classics on the title. I think Amazing Fantasy #15 is in their as well, including a look at the original Ditko pencils as recently installed in the Library of Congress.

Fantastic Four (Lee/Kirby natch) I believe is also scheduled sometime later this year.

We all know about the Fu Manchu copyright problems that seem to have been the great stumbling block for Master of Kung Fu.



I used to be very much share your opinion of needing to see this old material in colour just as once they were meant to be seen.Now; however, I am a wholehearted convert to Essentials/Showcase format.

My opinion has been reversed by a couple of things.

First, I have seen too many disastrous full colour reproductions, that utterly fail to replicate that original look you (and I) so much favour, that I get nervous whenever a new reprint book is announced.

Sometimes just the presence of admittedly high quality glossy paper or expensive hard stock is enough to undo that flat rather crude colour on newsprint look I pretty much idealize.

Now I tend to think the issue is as much to do with the paper (i.e. not newsprint) used in today’s reprint volumes as is the lack or presence of colour.

Also, and this is more nebulous, I often feel there is a sort of purity of line in these phone book sized cheapo volumes of Showcase and Essential. Just pencils and inks. That's it. Pure form drawing, reminding me affectionately of what I appreciate so much in the traditional strip work of the newspaper dailies.

Thus, a reprint in B &W manage in the sacrifice of colour to offer a sort of balancing salvation in the penciller and inker’s artistry. Maybe not a fair trade off. But there you go. This could be all nonsense, but what can I say I've come to really like the look of these B&W volumes.

Some of the titles come off better served than others, but on the whole from a historical perspective the appearance of Showcase and Essential’s is one of the most significant and revolutionary things to happen in the annals of the medium in the past decade.

[berk]

I agree that the colour reproduction on the glossy paper often fails to capture the right look, so I might well end up not liking these new PPB releases of the Masterworks stuff. Hopefully they'll do a better job than has sometimes been the case in the past.

[earl]

I think Dark Horse has gotten better on the coloring for the Conan reprints as they have went along. The later trades look a lot better than the early ones.

Personally I think all of the Dark Horse Conan reprints look better than any Marvel bronze age reprint, which I don't think they changed anything when they went to trade. Stuff like the Miller Daredevil is way out of wack, as on the bright white paper they use, the colors, which are probably the same settings as the original books look way way to light.

Some of DCs stuff looks a lot better, but I think some of the paper stock they use seems to not be as overly bright or they must be better at recoloring to the new format. (Not that there are not exceptions to the rule...)

That Marvel slick paper they use on their trades is glow in the dark white. I generally think their trades are not as good either way, they cost more and they don't look as good as other companies.

[Righty]

I just posted Conan reflections on my thread on 1973... and then I found this thread.

Unless you were there, I think it's hard to realize the impact of the visuals of Barry Smith on those first few years of comic book Conan. But Buscema's longevity of quality certainly earns him the title of definitive Conan artist.

As always, it is arguable: Smith's or Buscema's Conan? Kirby's or Buscema's Surfer? Buscema's or Perez's Avengers?

[InfoBroker]

As always, it is arguable: Smith's or Buscema's Conan? Kirby's or Buscema's Surfer? Buscema's or Perez's Avengers?

Can't speak for all of them, but Denzel Washington put the Surfer debate to rest years ago.

- jb the "everybody knows Kirby's Silver Surfer is the best" ib -

[earl]

I'll tell you what I would love to see is for Dark Horse to get Barry Windsor Smith to do at least a one shot of Conan. I'd love to see Conan with his current style, which is more developed than what he did in the 70s.

It is hart do argue with what Smith did on Conan, as it is some of the most influential comic artwork of its time. Heck it probably was the primary early influence on Cerebus, that alone would be kind of important.

That being said, John Buscema was about the most perfect artist for the book. It is really interesting as you read through his run on Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword as it is pretty much a who's who of 70s inkers and you can really compare their styles.

[Roquefort Raider]

I'll tell you what I would love to see is for Dark Horse to get Barry Windsor Smith to do at least a one shot of Conan. I'd love to see Conan with his current style, which is more developed than what he did in the 70s.

There's always the Conan vs Rune (http://www.comics-db.com/comic-book/1042400-Conan_Vs_Rune.html) one-shot. It goes back to 1995 (how time flies) but shows how a "modern" Windsor-Smith handles the character.

[earl]

I never knew about that one shot or that series. I'll have to check it out.

Is that Rune series any good?

Thanks.

[Roquefort Raider]

I never knew about that one shot or that series. I'll have to check it out.

Is that Rune series any good?


Well, it's not my favorite work from BWS. It doesn't compare to Archer and Armstrong or to Freebooters.

Rune is a Dark God kind of guy with a taste for human flesh. BWS produced a series about him under the Malibu imprint, and there were two team-ups with Conan. One is in the Conan vs Rune one-shot, and the other is in Conan the savage #4.

The one-shot is worth looking for if only for the art; the plot is sort of bland (Conan meets Rune in a cursed city and the two duke it out until the Cimmerian, quite implausibly, beats the massively more powerful dark god).

I preferred Conan the savage #4 (also beautifully drawn by Enrique Alcatena), in which king Conan is drawn in a conflict between Rune and another, Lovecraftesque entity. The two monsters manage to beat each other before Conan puts the kibosh on the weakened victor.

Good hunting!

- Ben

[Bicorn Halfelven]

That being said, John Buscema was about the most perfect artist for the book. It is really interesting as you read through his run on Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword as it is pretty much a who's who of 70s inkers and you can really compare their styles.

I came away with the same thing... being able to really discern and compare each individual inker's style was a major attraction to me as I've been reading the SSoC volumes.

This is also something I quite enjoy in the Showcase reprint series, which I was reluctant to get into, because of the lack of color. Since most of the coloring was either crap in the first place, or reprints may not do justice to the newsprint originals... I like the Showcase reprints just fine.

I've noticed myself paying much more attention to the nuances of various inkers much more so in the b&w reprints than I do with the same work in glorious color.

I'm not saying I don't enjoy color in comics... in fact, I'd really love it if Marvel would reprint the early Dr. Strange stuff in COLOR, as those books really benefitted from it, and having read the originals, the b&w reprints really fall flat. If they were recolored, but retained the spirit of the originals (much like the DH Conan reprints), I'd be all over that...