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Post by paulie on Jul 27, 2015 13:00:44 GMT -5
I think this is maybe the best non Thomas issue. I'm interested in reading your thoughts. I fully agree! Great blend of action, awe-inspiring magic, character moments and humour (which I didn't emphasize above). Gary K. knocked it out of the park on this issue. Every panel packed with detail. I enjoyed they way Conan dispatched his two pirate enemies as well. #135 is another non-Roy Thomas classic. Man, we only waited 5 years for stories like this in SSOC. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 27, 2015 13:31:12 GMT -5
What, no nostalgia for giant mechanical tortoises???
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2015 13:48:00 GMT -5
What, no nostalgia for giant mechanical tortoises??? Only if I can get them fighting giant winged apes from DC's Silver Age! In a Conan comic though... not so much! -M |
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Post by paulie on Jul 27, 2015 14:24:25 GMT -5
What, no nostalgia for giant mechanical tortoises??? None whatsoever and this thread only confirmed that I will probably never read SSOC 61-65, 69-110 ever again. Life is too short. I do want to read King Conan/Conan the King in one weekend sit down soon. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2015 15:29:58 GMT -5
Savage Sword of Conan #130, November 1986  Cover by Joe Jusko Frontispiece by Dale Eaglesham, who would soon draw a very distinctive Kull series for this mag and go on to do a few Conan stories as well. I was amazed by Dale's early style, which was very original... sharp contrasts, elegant and uncommon designs, and great mood overall. It had an exoticism rarely matched by other artists. I'm not too keen on the more standard style he adopted later on, as in his JSA or Fantastic Four days for example. It's not that it was bad, but it had lost its idiosyncrasy.  Table of contentsThe autumn of the witch, a moody Conan adventure perfect for Halloween. Beneath the crown... a warrior, a short Kull story
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2015 15:32:08 GMT -5
SSoC #130 ------------- The autumn of the witchScript by Don Kraar Art by Mike Docherty and Fraja Bator This is the type of story that William Shakespeare would have enjoyed, I'm sure: it has doomed love, betrayal, politics, treason, witches, poison, death, death and death!!! It could also be easily adapted as a play. The art by Docherty and Bator is typical of the team's output, with which we are familiar thanks to their long stint on Conan the king. It's definitely not as intricate as Kwapisz's work, but the fight scenes are very dynamic. The story is set in Brythunia. None of Conan's original adventures are set in that country, but a few Brythunians showed up occasionally -notably the girl Natala (in "Xuthal of the dusk / the slithering shadow"). Brythunians are mostly described as blond and blue eyed, and their women are renowned for their beauty. The tale opens on a tense scene of judicial activity: the lady Vitellia, a young widow, is accused by her three brothers-in-law of having murdered her husband and of being a witch. In attendance is the king of Brythunia, who must render a verdict and would very much like the business to be concluded soon as he is supposed to go hunting later that day. The lady has demanded a trial by combat, but her champion is late in arriving and everyone is growing impatient. Without a champion, Vitellia must undergo trial by torture! Finally a warrior arrives, and it is Conan -not the expected champion. We assume from what Conan hints at that he decided to replace said champion (probably leaving him incapacitated), since in case of victory his reward will be considerable. And indeed, once she realizes that she has no choice but to accept the offer of this impromptu saviour, Vitellia offers him all that she owns if he manages to save her life. What's icing on the cake is that should the three brothers-in-law's suit fail, they forfeit their own lands and castle to the accused. The brothers Caractacus, Orbin and Barak grumble about Conan being a barbarian and a mercenary, but their hatred of Vitellia is such that they accept the fight. They seem convinced that she is a witch, and all wear a certain Stygian amulet that they think protects them. But they would also have good reason to falsely accuse Vitellia of witchcraft: Caractacus wants revenge for his dead brother, Orbin wants her land, and Barak was in love with the woman before she decided to marry the family's eldest brother. Caractacus, the angriest one, faces Conan and is defeated. The trio of siblings retire to their castle, and Conan learns that even if their lands are forfeit, it falls to the victor to kick them out if they refuse to leave. A problem for another day. Conan accompanies Vitellia to her castle and there meets Harapha, her Shemite accountant. The estate has land, cattle and crops but is poor in gold; Conan gets Harapha to admit that he's been diverting coin from the castle's coffers to benefit the peasants, who would otherwise all starve and be unable to maintain the domain. The Cimmerian likes the man's underhanded but well-meaning attitude.  Conan and Vitellia grow closer and have good fun kicking out the king's tax collectors who show up after a few days. The two end up in bed together. But they do not know that Baldar, a high-ranking officer in Vitellia's guard, is still convinced that she is guilty and organizes for Caractacus to enter the castle with a few men during the night. The incensed Brythunian attacks Conan and Vitellia as they're still in bed, but Conan manages to kill them all.  The next day, the Cimmerian rides off with Harapha to settle accounts with the two remaining brothers, bring them the body of Caractacus, and to sell off Vitellia's lands (which are now his lands, technically) at the Autmun fair. Since there is no gold to be had from Vitellia's inheritance, the plan is to sell the land, split the gold between the widow and him, and ride away. As Conan and Harapha leave the castle, Vitellia ominously tells her handmaiden Eigen that the Cimmerian may have outlived his usefulness! The brothers are chagrined, to say the least, to learn of Caractacus' demise. Orbin takes on Conan and tries to have his favorite falcon gouge out his eyes, but since the Cimmerian deprived the Brythunian of his precious amulet, the beast turns on its master. He then seems to be struck by a fast-acting malefice and collapses to the ground screaming, his body putrefying at great speed. The surviving Barak claims that Vitellia is responsible for this dreadful turn of events, as Conan and Harapha leave to conduct their real estate transactions. Later, having sold Vitellia's castle and lands to neighbouring landlords, the two men are riding back home when they are stopped by Barak and a few of his men. Barak, who is usually a peaceful man, is uncharacteristically wearing arms and armour; he intends to see his former love Vitellia pay for her crimes. Conan tries to convince him to give up his plans,but the young man attacks. Wounded by Conan's parry, Barak loses his own amulet and suffers the same fate as his brother Orbin. As he dies, he picks the amulet from the ground and offers it to Conan, saying it will protect him. The Cimmerian is now pretty convinced that Vitellia is more than she claims to be and he rides to her place to confront her. The lady has been waiting for him, laying a trap in the form of a thorn hidden in the wax seal of an invitation to the king's post-hunt feast. Should Conan prick his finger on the thorn, his blood would trigger the same curse that felled the brothers. It is however the faithful Harapha who opens the message and falls prey to the curse. Conan and the now decidedly evil-looking Vitellia go at it, but Barak's amulet protects Conan. Eigen, the handmaiden who is also the witch's apprentice, manages to snatch it away but in the scuffle falls down a flight of stairs and breaks her neck. It is Conan who recovers the amulet first and he can then knock out Vitellia with a good right cross. (The boxing kind, not the religious one). The Cimmerian travels with his trussed-up prisoner to the king's banquet, and accuses her of witchcraft again. He will face any champion who would defend her. Nobody volunteers, and Vitellia is condemned to burn. From the pyre, she tauntingly invites Conan to join her and tries to grab him, but he stabs her burning body in the chest and rides away, forsaking the gold, the castles, and especially anything having to do with Brythunian sorcery.  Notes: - We meet a king of Brythunia whose name is not given. He's brawny, has a black beard and enjoys hunting. The only other Brythunian king we met is King Brian, who dies in Conan the barbarian #3 when Conan was 17. - When is the story set? Pretty hard to say! According to the Conan Saga chronology, Roy Thomas places it in Conan's busy 27th year, shortly before "Black Colossus". - Caractacus was a king of the historical Britons, which is appropriate here. Brythunia, a Hyborian kingdom, was eventually taken over by Aesir (later named "Brythunian Aesir" would would become the ancestors of the Britons. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2015 15:33:32 GMT -5
SSoC #130 ------------- Beneath the crown... a warriorStory by Charles Dixon Art by Val Semeiks, although the inking looks rather unusual for Val. It doesn't have the slick quality we saw in previous issues.  Kull and his severely depleted Black Legions are limping back to the Crystal city of Valusia, after a brutal but victorious war against Commoria. The leader of a mercenary corp has had enough of this overlong campaign, and he insists on being paid right away so that he and his men can depart. Kull faces the man (who is also Atlantean, like the king) and tells him that their contract stipulates the mercenaries are to accompany the army all the way back to the capital. Against his advisers' council (except Brule's, since the Pict knows his king very well), Kull agrees for the matter to be settled by single combat. The two Atlanteans give a good show and Kull finally kills his opponent, adding several fresh wounds to his previous injuries. As Alecto blames the king for such foolhardy behaviour, Brule explains that Kull is a warrior first and foremost. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 3, 2015 12:03:30 GMT -5
Savage Sword of Conan #131, December 1986 Cover by Joe Jusko  Frontispiece by William Johnson. Quite impressive, even if my scanner messed up some of it.  In this issue we also have a few pin-ups, including this Buscema-inspired piece by French artist Henri Bismuth who drew a short story a few issues ago. I would have liked him to handle a complete Conan story.  Table of contentsReavers of the steppes, a tale of Conan as leader of the Kozaki Prince of thieves, a short King Kull story
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 3, 2015 12:21:12 GMT -5
SSoC #131 ------------- Reavers of the steppesScript by Don Kraar Art by Dave Simons (with uncredited assistance by Vince Colletta). Dave Simons is very good with an airbrush (which he doesn't always use, alas) and he puts a genuine enthusiasm in his work, even if the anatomy of the characters is sometimes a bit cartoony. I really like the way he uses Cossack-style designs in this tale of the steppe-dwelling Kozaki, their Hyborian age equivalent, whose literary creation was inspired by the historical Cossacks. Tall riding boots, astrakan hats, wide pantaloons, sabres and stolen jewelry... We could be in an adaptation of Taras Bulba, and I couldn't be happier. It's unfortunate that the art seems rushed, as if it had had to be finished under a tight deadline (thus explaining the obvious Colletta touches scattered throughout). Even so, the not-as-good-as-it-might-have-been art does not detract from enjoying the story. The script is among the good ones for this title and it features a period we saw too little of, that of Conan among the Kozaki. It also tries to connect with a few of Howard's tales, which is commendable, and it refers to the series' continuity. Unfortunately this fails on a rather important point, but the effort is clearly there; this is not a case of just throwing random Howardian names around and see what sticks. Reavers of the steppes occurs around the time of Robert Howard's The devil in iron. As we mentioned before, Conan was a Kozak on two different occasions. The first time around, some months after the events described in the story Black colossus, the king of Turan was Yildiz and Conan had joined the Kozaki who lived on the steppes between Turan and Zamora, west of the Vilayet sea. That period ended when the Turanian lord of Akif, Shah Amurath, successfully crushed the Kozaki near the mouth of the Ilbars river on the Vilayet sea. Conan had been one of the few surviving Kozaks, and a twist of fate had allowed him to wreak bloody revenge on Shah Amurath in the opening pages of the story Iron shadows in the moon, adapted in SSoC #4. After this episode Conan was a pirate on the Vilayet for a while, then a mercenary once more and a desert-dwelling Zuagir ( A witch shall be born, SSoC #5) before rejoining the reforming Kozaki. This time, the king of Turan was no longer Yildiz but his son Yezdigerd, whom we first met in CtB #18, whom Conan scarred for life in CtB#20 and who succeeded his dad in SSoC #38. During this second Kozak period, Conan was operating further south and east, around the mouth of the Zaporoska river. One of the Turanian officials he was a problem for was Jehungir Agha, lord of Khawarizm. Say, since we just mentioned Turan, there's a passage from the devil in iron that I think is quite interesting: Turan is obviously the Hyborian age equivalent of the Ottoman empire at its zenith, but in the comics it was never depicted as so far-reaching. Bringing "sword and torch into Brythunia and Ophir and Corinthia" is not something we ever saw Turan do in the Marvel Conan series, even if it's pretty much what Ottoman Turks did in Poland, Ukraine and Hungary. I'm not complaining, mind you, since the Marvel Conan series was internally consistent (at least under Roy Thomas' aegis), but it's a reminder that it remains an adaptation and not an exact transliteration to the comic-book page. Anyway, on with our story. Conan and his Kozaki reavers plunder a caravan that was taking a princess of Iranistan, Serena, to join the harem of King Yezdigerd in his capital of Aghrapur. Serena is very beautiful and two sub-chiefs want to bed her rather than ransom her to the Turanians. Serena herself, taking a liking to the rough but honourable-seeming Conan, would much rather not be ransomed since she loathes the idea of marrying Yezdigerd. This creates dissent in the Kozaki ranks, dissent which a wily fellow named Hazzan means to use to his advantage. Stoking the egos of brutal Muzram and ambitious Balkanus, he convinces both (independently) that they'd make a much better hetman than Conan, and that should they topple him they could keep the girl for themselves. Meanwhile, Jehungir Agha has heard of Serena's abduction while in the Turanian city of Fort Ghori.  The place's governor, Khovan, is a plump man at the twilight of his career but he is charged by the king to recover the princess and to punish the Kozaki. Along for the ride is a Turanian lord named... Shah Amaruth. Shah A maruth? Don't you mean Shah A murath? And isn't he dead? Conan killed him a few years ago at the end of SSoC #4, when Yildiz was still king. Well, since Shah Amurath is dead, perhaps the conversion from A murath to A maruth isn't a typo and that the two men just happen to have similar names and have the same job. Since "Amaruth" spells his name that way for the entire issue and that he is lacking one eye, this would make sense... except that at the very end of this issue, we are told in no uncertain terms (in a caption box, no less!) that this is indeed supposed to be Shah Amurath from Iron shadows in the moon/ SSoC#4. For continuity's sake, I think it's better to forget that caption box and pretend that this Amaruth fellow is NOT Shah Amurath. Short parenthesis: Shah Amurath was featured a few times in the Marvel Conan magazines. He was of course first seen in SSoC #4, where he was a ruthless Turanian lord with a taste for massacring Kozaks and raping young girls. This is what he looked like:  He was later seen in SSoC #160, as a far less impressive lord of Akif, wearing a stupid tiara and behaving in a foolish manner most of the time.  That is the way he was again depicted in the limited series " the flame and the fiend", one of the last times a Conan comic was published by Marvel. (I assume Roy chose that silly version of Shah Amurath for the limited series for consistency's sake).  And here we have a one-eyed Shah Amaruth (note the alternate spelling), closer in character to the one from SSoC #4, but at a time he should have been dead for two years of so.  End of the parenthesis. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 3, 2015 12:31:01 GMT -5
SSoC #131 ------------- Lord Khovan seeks help for his mission from the priesthood of Tarim, but is surprised to learn that the priests do more than simply pray that benign god when they want results... they also deal in black magic! The priest of Tarim whom Khovan visits reveals that he serves the Master of Yimsha, that dreaded sorcerer we met in the story The People of the Black Circle, adapted in SSoC #16-19!  That would be a clear case of one coincidence too many IF it didn't agree 100% with what Robert Howard himself wrote on the subject! To all those who would wonder (me included!) why the Master of Yimsha would care about Turanian troubles, here's the answer, as excerpted from People of the Black Circle: Yes, it's right there in black on faded yellow: the acolytes of the Master of Yimsha are the priests behind the priests of Tarim! It therefore makes perfect sense for this particular priest of Tarim to refer to the Master and to be able to use black magic. The help granted to Khovan comes in the form of a demon (rather nicely designed, with a distinct Middle-Eastern look) who will disguise itself as an ordinary hunting falcon until needed. Khovan also intends to raise an army, led by Shah Amaruth, to deal with the Kozaks the old-fashioned way.  Meanwhile, back in the Kozak camp... Goaded by the devious Hazzan, Muzram tries to abduct princess Serena from her tent, killing the man Conan had charged to protect her. The Cimmerian arrives in time to prevent Muzram from getting too far, and the two men fight until Muzram is killed.  Soon therafter, Balkanus (the other sub-chief whose ear Hazzan had poisoned with his treasonous talk) also abducts Serena, riding off into the night. Hazzan, who organized the whole thing, stays behind and goes so far as to have Balkanus whip him in the face to provide a good alibi. Feigning loyalty, Hazzan warns Conan of the abduction... but as soon as the Cimmerian rides off in pursuit, Hazzan claims to the other Kozaks that it is Conan who ran away with Serena, hoping to keep the ransom for himself. Hazzan is made chief in Conan's stead. Naturally, when the Cimmerian catches Balkanus things go poorly for the mutineer and his few comrades. Since the chase has lasted for quite some time, Conan and Serena are now very close to the incoming Turanian army hunting down the Kozaki! The Cimmerian understands what the Turanians are up to, and means to warn his troops when Khovan's pet demon attacks the pair. The barbarian manages to kill it but ends up a prisoner of the Turanians -and of Shah Amaruth. Later that night, Amaruth makes the mistake of trying to force himself on Yezdigerd's promised bride and discovers that the lady is not one to accept her fate meekly. She stabs him in the arm and manages to free Conan from the tent he was attached in. The two of them escape the Turanian camp and return to the Kozaki. Conan is received as a turncoat, despite his protests that he did NOT try to steal Serena for himself and that in the face of an impending Turanian attack, the Free Companions have better things to do than playing "who's the leader". Faced with execution, he invokes the Kozak law: he has the right to challenge the new chief, Hazzan, in a duel to the death... winner takes all. (Refusing would brand any chief a coward, so no one ever says no). Hazzan thinks himself pretty clever by demanding a knife fight, since he's an artist with the weapon; but Conan soon shows him that he's not as good as he believes himself to be. Leader of the Kozaki once more, Conan organizes the defence against the Turanians who do not know yet that they have been detected. Trapping the invaders in the swamps, the Kozaki crush the Turanian troop. Escaping through the reeds, a tired old lord Khovan is elated to be eventually found my fresh Turanian soldiers; but these are Jehungir Agha's own, and they decapitate Khovan for his incompetence. Shah Amaruth, who wasn't present for the ignominious defeat on account of his wounded arm (he's not telling the Agha how he got it, that's for sure) is given the mission to replace Khovan and solve the Kozak problem once and for all. He mentions that he was promised a great victory over the Kozaks by the Seers of Yimsha, and we're told by a caption that he's refering to the Ilbars massacre (even if we know it has already occurred and that Shah Amurath is already dead, so this is a bit of obfuscating continuity). Nevertheless, kudos for having the Kozaks defeat a turanian army in a swamp! For in the devil in iron, we read this : Conan and Serena end up together, with the Cimmerian declaring that he wouldn't sell her back for all the gold in Turan. That was a pretty good Conan story, an ambitious one, with several major players (Jehungir Agha from the devil in iron, the Master of Yimsha from People of the Black Circle, and "Shah Amaruth" from Iron Shadows in the Moon) even if they didn't all play very big roles. But that's all right, that's the way I prefer such pastiches to be handled; not by revealing fan-fictiony connections between established characters, but by using them in agreement with what came before. The art could have been a bit better if Simons had had more time, I'm sure, but it certainly did the job. Notes: - Conan would be 32 or 33. - Jehungir Agha doesn't look like the man we met in SSoC #15, which adapted The devil in iron. He was clean-shaven and didn't have such a hawk nose. But hey, small potatoes. - An Iranistani fellow invokes Asura. My joy knows no bounds! - There's a plump eunuch in this story who displays quite a lot of personal courage even if he's definitely not a brawler. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 3, 2015 12:32:20 GMT -5
SSoC #131 ------------- Prince of thievesScript by Charles Dixon Art by Val Semeiks and Walter Brogan The art is really jarring in this story, as I don't think the two artists go for the same look at all. Semeiks's pencils are usually full of small details and little lines while Brogan's inking here is done with a very broad brush.  The script is another exploration of the dual nature of King Kull: he's the king of the greatest civilized nation of his days, but he also remembers having been a thief, a brigand and a gladiator. A young thief manages to enter the king's palace and its treasure room just as a band of assassins do the same for a little bit of attempted regicide. The thief's presence helps thwart their attempt and Kull disposes of all of them, magnanimously telling the thief as he leaves not to take more loot than he can carry. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,184 
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Post by Confessor on Aug 19, 2015 10:40:01 GMT -5
Every time I look at this thread, I'm impressed with how great the artwork in these scans is.
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Post by paulie on Aug 21, 2015 17:16:01 GMT -5
I'm glad I'm not too far behind on this thread. My busy season is almost over. I might actually be able to read #s 130-133 tonight!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 23, 2015 17:59:05 GMT -5
Every time I look at this thread, I'm impressed with how great the artwork in these scans is. The artwork was certainly a big draw for many SSoC issues! |
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Post by gorgenapper on Aug 25, 2015 22:33:17 GMT -5
Hey all, just joined the boards - I've been searching for a forum where I can discuss classic comics and I'm glad I finally found an active one.
So, to get to the point, I'm a huge fan of the old Conan comics, especially the ones by Roy Thomas / John Buscema. Plenty of reasons for this, too many to list, but basically I feel like I'm looking back into the Hyborian era when I read many of these stories. It is in the archaic way that the characters talk, in the narrative and descriptions of the world, the detail of the cities, weapons, armor, ships, buildings etc. The artwork in many of these stories is also fantastic and highly detailed in a way that seems to have been forgotten by many of the newer, modern comics. You can just feel the way Conan moves as he stalks through the ruins of an ancient city, or whirls around with his sword at the ready, or runs as he is being chased by too many enemies for even him to defeat. You can sense the attitude of the characters just in the way that they are depicted, with no words necessary to describe their emotions or state of mind.
I hear that Dark Horse has started reprinting the old comics and I have started picking up the Savage Sword of Conan trade paperbacks, and I have 1 - 19 so far. However, what irks me is how SSOC volume 1 has the later illustrated portion of Conan the Conqueror (where Conan has to chase after the Heart of Ahriman into Stygia, recover it and return to defeat the combined armies of Valerius, Amalric and Tarascus), but the first portion of the story (where Orastes resurrects Xaltotun) is not even in the volume or (I think) in subsequent volumes! I see this time and time again as I read my SSOC trade paperbacks - I read a story, and I'm intrigued by the first half of the story but I cannot find it in print.
In other words, how would you guys suggest that I go about getting all of the really good, classic Conan stories? Can I ever find the complete Conan the Conqueror parts in the SSOC trade paperbacks or elsewhere in the new reprintings that Dark Horse is doing?
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