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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 26, 2014 12:07:03 GMT -5
What a she-devil?Article by Mario A. Cavallini, about a comic art convention where several contestants disguised themselves as Red Sonja. The winner? Elfquest co-cretor Wendy Pini, who really looked the part! Many photos feature different Sonjas and several pros just chilling out. In one of them, artist Frank Thorne sees his beard menaced by one Angelique Trouvere, whose make-up is remarkably true to Thorne's version of the she-devil!
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Post by berkley on Jul 26, 2014 21:31:51 GMT -5
Earl Norem's covers always seemed a little drab to me. Not bad, but lacking in atmosphere - he was somehow able to make images of sword-wielding barbarians defending half-naked women from hideous monsters in a by-gone age feel drab and ordinary. Also, something about his choice of colours never worked for me - either too dull or too bright, with none of the dramatic play of shadow and light you sometimes saw in the work of artists like Frazetta or Vallejo.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 27, 2014 8:30:35 GMT -5
Earl Norem's covers always seemed a little drab to me. Not bad, but lacking in atmosphere - he was somehow able to make images of sword-wielding barbarians defending half-naked women from hideous monsters in a by-gone age feel drab and ordinary. Also, something about his choice of colours never worked for me - either too dull or too bright, with none of the dramatic play of shadow and light you sometimes saw in the work of artists like Frazetta or Vallejo. That's a fair criticism; Norem's covers were indeed "earthier" that either of these gentlemen. I kind of like them personally, but admit that few of them are as memorable as anything by Frazetta or Vallejo. What Norem's work lacks in chiaroscuro, I think he makes up in simplicity: unlike the work of several fan favorites that would also paint covers for SSoC, his characters never look like oiled plastic models. Their very lack of eye-catchiness (is that even a word?) is a positive thing to me. I never stopped to consider what were my favorite SSoC covers... I'm pretty sure Boris would be pretty high up on the list with several covers, and there'd be at least one by Norem... John Buscema could very well be there as well. Michael Golden too, despite the quirkiness of his painted work!
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Post by paulie on Jul 28, 2014 9:11:12 GMT -5
Notes:- It's hard to place this tale in the chronology. Here it is said to occur shortly after The slithering shadow, probably because it happens in the same part of the world. However, this is not as parsimonious as it sounds. In the slithering shadow, Conan was a mercenary in Koth, serving a rebel prince who was defeated there and fled southward with the remnants of his army. That army saw its numbers grow smaller and smaller as it crossed Shem, Stygia and Kush, pillaging along the way, until only Conan was left. Here, it's quite different: Conan was with mercenaries hired by Argos, and he was traveling by sea towards Stygia and points south; the army he was with was destroyed by Stygia, and he had to escape eastward. For the two stories to occur in sequence, Conan would have had to escape Xuthal with Natala, travel back north and west toward Argos and find another job there; meanwhile, Koth should have recovered enough from its civil war with the rebel prince to feel confident enough to engage in hostilities with Stygia. All of that would seem to me to require many, many months, if not years. I'd be tempted to place "horror from the red tower" later in Conan's life, of "slithering shadow" earlier. (Probably the latter, actually). - Gazal and Tombalku would be revisited in SSoC #204, "Drums and death out of Tombalku". In that story, riders out of Tombalku would raid and destroy Gazal. - We never saw Amalric nor Lissa again, much to my chagrin. I liked them. They remind me a little of Yusef and Tara,another couple seen in the early years of CtB. - Sakumbe, the black king of Tombalku, is an oddity in the Marvel Conan series: he's the only character that Roy didn't retroactively introduce in his Conan the barbarian run. I don't know if that's a deliberate choice, of if there is some legal reason for it. Other characters like Publio, or the kings of Abombi, of events like the burning of the Stygian ships under the walls of Khemi, had been duly introduced during the Black Coast days of CtB; Sakumbe, however, was not. He was seen in Poul Anderson's pastiche Conan the rebel, however; that adventure is set during the days Conan sailed with Bêlit. (It's quite inferior to Roy's version of the Conan-Bêlit era, methinks, but that's another matter). A rare instance where some unlucky fella happens upon Conan and actually survives! I kept expecting the usual denouement where by Conan ends up having to rescue the dude's girl and drop her safely off at the next town as the story closes. But no! Roy threw us a hook here and Amalric survives and gets to keep his girl!
I may be mistaken but I think the typos were removed when the story was reprinted in Conan Saga which is where I first encountered it.
Probably in my Top 25 SSOC stories.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 28, 2014 16:02:35 GMT -5
Notes:- It's hard to place this tale in the chronology. Here it is said to occur shortly after The slithering shadow, probably because it happens in the same part of the world. However, this is not as parsimonious as it sounds. In the slithering shadow, Conan was a mercenary in Koth, serving a rebel prince who was defeated there and fled southward with the remnants of his army. That army saw its numbers grow smaller and smaller as it crossed Shem, Stygia and Kush, pillaging along the way, until only Conan was left. Here, it's quite different: Conan was with mercenaries hired by Argos, and he was traveling by sea towards Stygia and points south; the army he was with was destroyed by Stygia, and he had to escape eastward. For the two stories to occur in sequence, Conan would have had to escape Xuthal with Natala, travel back north and west toward Argos and find another job there; meanwhile, Koth should have recovered enough from its civil war with the rebel prince to feel confident enough to engage in hostilities with Stygia. All of that would seem to me to require many, many months, if not years. I'd be tempted to place "horror from the red tower" later in Conan's life, of "slithering shadow" earlier. (Probably the latter, actually). - Gazal and Tombalku would be revisited in SSoC #204, "Drums and death out of Tombalku". In that story, riders out of Tombalku would raid and destroy Gazal. - We never saw Amalric nor Lissa again, much to my chagrin. I liked them. They remind me a little of Yusef and Tara,another couple seen in the early years of CtB. - Sakumbe, the black king of Tombalku, is an oddity in the Marvel Conan series: he's the only character that Roy didn't retroactively introduce in his Conan the barbarian run. I don't know if that's a deliberate choice, of if there is some legal reason for it. Other characters like Publio, or the kings of Abombi, of events like the burning of the Stygian ships under the walls of Khemi, had been duly introduced during the Black Coast days of CtB; Sakumbe, however, was not. He was seen in Poul Anderson's pastiche Conan the rebel, however; that adventure is set during the days Conan sailed with Bêlit. (It's quite inferior to Roy's version of the Conan-Bêlit era, methinks, but that's another matter). A rare instance where some unlucky fella happens upon Conan and actually survives! I kept expecting the usual denouement where by Conan ends up having to rescue the dude's girl and drop her safely off at the next town as the story closes. But no! Roy threw us a hook here and Amalric survives and gets to keep his girl! You're right, Conan's friends to tend to have a short shelf life, don't they? Amalric reminded me a lot of Taurus, the young guy from Beyond the Black river. I'm glad Amalric made it to the end of the story in one piece, unlike that other guy from Aquilonia (and his dog, even).
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Post by benday-dot on Jul 28, 2014 23:43:10 GMT -5
Earl Norem's covers always seemed a little drab to me. Not bad, but lacking in atmosphere - he was somehow able to make images of sword-wielding barbarians defending half-naked women from hideous monsters in a by-gone age feel drab and ordinary. Also, something about his choice of colours never worked for me - either too dull or too bright, with none of the dramatic play of shadow and light you sometimes saw in the work of artists like Frazetta or Vallejo. It's true Norem didn't do action like a master of the cover as Frazetta, or even atmosphere as a keen practitioner of the skill as Jeff Jones, but count me a fan. A Norem cover always seemed to tell a story. Norem was a major force in the second generation of pulp cover painting, a frequent contributor to the the lurid world of the men's mags of the 50's and 60's. I don't rank him as high as a Norm Saunders or a Mort Kunstler in this dubious but wildly entertaining art form, but he definitely made the "sweat mags" come alive with his dramatic and richly over the top scenarios. A lot of his covers and interior illustrations are not that suitable for here (though easily Googled), but his later Marvel work was still capable of coveying great drama and narrative possibility. I always liked this rather sombre, but endlessly speculative cover by Norem
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 30, 2014 5:25:17 GMT -5
Back in the day, I was surprised to learn that Earl Norem was born in the 20s... and that Joe Jusko, another frequent contributor to SSoC, was extremely young! (What's that? he's a few years older than I? Well, that's still young...) His covers being the first ones I saw regularly on SSoC, I really grew to like Norem's work.
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Post by paulie on Jul 30, 2014 8:34:18 GMT -5
Earl Norem is still alive and kicking at 90. He had a birthday in April. And benday-dot said it best... not Frazetta or Jones but count me a fan.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 17:00:01 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #22, sept 1977Cover by Val Mayerik. Mayerik does a good job, here, especially with the menacing figure. The artist would be back for a few more covers over the years, and would also provide the inside art for several issues. This issue's contents: The pool of the black one, a Conan story. The sea hawks, an essay on seafaring in the Hyborian age. The Chaykin barbarians, a portfolio. The voice of the bloodstained god, a report on a Conan LP. The dragon at Castle Frankenstein, a Solomon Kane story.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 17:49:24 GMT -5
The pool of the black oneScript by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and Sonny Trinidad This issue adapts an original Conan story by Robert E. Howard, first published in the October 1933 issue of Weird Tales. It did not make the cover. For some reason, the tale was split over two issues of SSoC; I'm not complaining, mind you, but the first part looking so much better than the second suggests that there was some deadline problem. The artwork here is very good; Trinidad does an even better job than on the previous issue. Both he and Big John seem to have had fun with this issue, as they really put a lot of effort in it; crowd scenes have a lot of detailed characters, nature scenes show an exuberant vegetation and the storytelling is brisk. This story is far more interesting that I first gave it credit for; it is one of the most accomplished one in the cosmic horror vein of the entire Conan canon. The origin of the supernatural threat is not explained, and it strikes the right balance between sheer bizarreness and pure horror. One of Conan's less savoury traits of character is also explored here: he murders someone for personal gain. That should be expected from a barbarian, a thief and a reaver, but in a hero it is still disturbing. Our tale opens on a Zingaran ship, the Wastrel, on the western ocean. Sancha, who was once the pampered daughter of the duke of Kordava, is enjoying the sun on the foredeck of the carack. (The script says it's the poop deck, but we see a man at the tiller in the far background on the actual poop deck). The young and pretty girl has been forced to become the mistress of the pirate Zaporavo, after he took her from a caravel he and his crew attacked at sea. Says Howard, "because she is young and vibrant, she has come to find pleasure in the existence". Sancha will indeed prove to be a headstrong one, with a resilient nature. She's also not above gently flirting with the crew. Sancha's suddenly quite surprised to see a man climb over the deck's rail, straight out of the sea. It is Conan, who fled the Barachan port of Tortage the night before, and whose rowboat sank a little before he reached the Wastrel, swimming. The Wastrel's captain, Zaporavo, is quite angry to see the Barachan arrive unannounced (Barachan pirates -who are mostly from Argos- and buccaneers from Zingara are competitors), but after Conan tells his story of having to flee the Baracha islands after a disagreement with his fellow pirates, Zaporavo agrees that a ship can always use another good sailor. The stage is set: Sancha clearly has an interest in Conan, who has an interest for any pretty girl, and Zaporavo should know that things will eventually go sour between himself and this new crew member; but he misses his one chance to stop the problem before it begins. Conan goes among the other sailors, fully expecting to be tested as is any new kid in the schoolyard. (One could even play the amateur psychologist with this scene, and wonder if it's a power fantasy for someone who was bullied as a kid… but it could also simply be a straightforward scene of bullying among pirates, which is nothing unexpected). In any case, one big sailor taunts Conan and has his neck broken for his trouble. After that, strangely enough, everybody wants to be friends with the big Cimmerian. Mmph! Bullies! They're all sissies inside. In the following weeks, Zaporavo leads his ship in uncharted waters, looking in earnest for no one knows what. Sancha gazes all hot and bothered at Conan who does the work of three normal men, and Conan plays dice with his fellow sailors and becomes very popular. "Even the dullest crewman is struck by the contrast between the harsh, gloomy Zaporavo… and this pirate who guzzles ale and roars ribald songs in a dozen languages". (This aspect of Conan was much better rendered in the disappointing recent film than in the Schwarzenegger ones).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 18:59:04 GMT -5
Zaporavo tells Sancha of things he's read, of uncharted islands where dragons keep watch over the treasures of ancient, pre-human kings… and it is probably such an island that he was looking for, poring nightly over ancient parchments. And lo and behold, the ship eventually reaches an island on the western ocean. Look at this beautiful jungle! Buscema and Trinidad do themselves proud. Zaporavo and the crew get ashore, in order to gather fresh fruit and water. Sancha is ordered to remain aboard, a petty gesture meant to show her who's boss. (Yes, Zaporavo is a bully too, and he's probably caught the glances that his mistress casts Conan's way). From the ship, the girl sees the men reach the shore and get to work, partaking of a strange golden fruit that grows on the island; she also sees the captain argue with his first mate, slap him, and go off alone in the jungle. Puzzled, she then sees that Conan, instead of lying down for a nap like the others, seems to follow Zaporavo in the jungle. Intrigued, she removes her garments and swims to shore, thinking that it'll be worth a whipping if she can get her feet on solid ground for a while. Besides, she wants to know why Conan is following Zaporavo. Avoiding the snoring sailors on the beach and wondering how it can be that they felt so tired in the middle of the day, she enters the forest and soon discovers Zaporavo's corpse. Her erstwhile master has been killed by a sword thrust to the chest. Sancha then hears a noise from behind the trees and screams in panic at what she sees! Meanwhile, or rather a few minutes before, we learn what went on between Conan and Zaporavo. The Cimmerian caught up with the captain who asks "why do you follow me"? To which the Cimmerian answers "Are you mad to ask?" The two men engage in a brutal fight, which Conan wins. That was pretty cold, wasn't it? Zaporavo had not insulted nor harmed Conan; had in fact welcomed him (if a bit grudgingly) aboard his ship. But ambition is a cruel master. The deed done, Conan stretches like a satisfied cat, and then sees something odd from the corner of his eye: deep in the forest, a tall and dark human shape is carrying a paler body. Following the strange apparition, the Cimmerian reaches a weird city of shining walls and towers, a city that seems to be made of green glass and that's almost invisible in the jungle until you're right next to it. No door blocks the entrance to the walled city, which can be accessed by large open archways. The entire place, instead of a normal city, is a succession of round courtyards separated by more of these arches; in each courtyard can be found a shining tower. Conan is certain that no human hand could have built this eerie city, and future events are unlikely to change his mind about that. Peeking over the parapet of a balcony, Conan then sees that the city is not deserted. In a courtyard, around a round pool, a crowd of dark, hairless and fanged giants are assembled; they have captured one of the Wastrel's sailors, who was probably the figure he saw carried earlier. One of the dark giants starts playing a flute, and under its power the sailor starts dancing; it is a joyless and obscene spectacle, and once the dance is done one of the giants grabs the youth and plunges him head first into the pool. Conan has to duck to avoid being seen, and when he takes a peek again the giants are walking out of the courtyard, toward the beach. Curious, he goes to inspect the place they've just vacated. Around the wall of the courtyard, there is a long ledge on which are found small statues representing men from different countries. The pool itself does not hold the body of the youth (whom Conan expects to have been drowned) but its water looks strange, as if it were an abyss of green glass. Looking up, Conan then realizes that one of the statues is the spitting image of the lost sailor! He has no time to react before hearing Sancha's cry (from earlier above!) and finds refuge atop the courtyard's wall, which is many yards thick. Presently a giant walks in, carrying the hapless girl; as he's about to toss her into the pool, Conan jumps from his hiding place and kills him.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 19:02:30 GMT -5
Sancha throws herself in the arms of her rescuer, and please note how her face has very distinctive features: John and Sonny gave Sancha her own face, with large almond-shaped eyes. It's not that I mind the standard Buscema-girl face, but it's nice to have some individuality in characters too. No time for any kind of "how can I ever thank you" stuff, though, because the giants are back… having captured the entire crew, drugged by the golden fruit they ate!!! To be continued next issue. Notes: - This adventure is set shortly after the events of "The horror from the Red tower" in the previous issue, and so Conan is about 35. The prose tale provides some indirect hints for the chronology fans: as the story opens, Conan has just fled the Baracha islands and landed on a Zingaran ship but nobody knows who he might be. In the story The black stranger, set right after Beyond the Black river, Conan is famous as a Barachan pirate; even young Tina, who can't be more than 12, knows of him by name. That means The pool of the black one is set early in Conan's piratical career, before he'd had time to become famous. Note also that he became a famous Barachan pirate, not a famous Zingaran buccaneer. (The Wastrel, the ship he appropriates here, is a zingaran vessel). Conan singing ribald songs in a dozen languages tells us that this cannot be an early adventure; he must have had time to learn all these languages. The age of 35 sounds appropriate, even if it is hard to square with things said in The black stranger and Wolves beyond the border, which would make Conan a Barachan much earlier. - A sequel to this story, showing what happens to Sancha, would see print in SSoC #67. Other stories involving the Wastrel include SSoC #40-43, adapting "Conan the buccaneer". Sancha and the Wastrel are also seen in SSoC #129, in a tale where Conan returns to the Barachan islands to settle things with the captains who caused him to flee them in the first place.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 19:08:55 GMT -5
Sea hawks Maritime trade and piracy in the high Hyborian ageAn essay by Robert Yaple illustrated by Rick Hoberg. People like Yaple and Fred Blosser wrote many highyl interesting essays on the Hyborian age, and this one is no different. Many informations carefully plucked from Howard's tales help build a comprehensive idea of how sea trade was handled during Conan's time, both on the western ocean and on the Vilayet sea. (How many articles found in a comic-book have a full page of footnotes?) The Chaykin barbariansartwork by Howard Chaykin. Chaykin drew Swords of sorcery, he drew Solomon Kane, he drew Kull, he drew Conan, he'd draw Red Sonja… and here he regales us with four cool pin-ups! This is Chaykin as I love him: when he gets the chance to do the entire job, from pencilling to inking (and in certain cases to coloring). Few inkers can do justice to his style.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 19:15:37 GMT -5
Voice of the blood-stained godA product review by Fred Blosser The late and lamented Moondance productions gave us many cool things over the years of its too-short existence; among them were Conan LPs. This one features the voice talent of L. Sprague de Camp himself! The Conan stories here are one pastiche ("The curse of the monolith" and one conanized Howard story, "the blood-stained god"). These two stories would be adapted in SSoC #33 and Marvel Super Special #9, respectively. Blosser seems to have liked the record, even if he does mention (fair is fair!) that opinions differ on de Camp's work on Conan. Wish I'd bought that (and the other record, "Tower of the elephant") when I had the chance.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2014 19:39:49 GMT -5
The dragon at Castle FrankensteinScript by Don Glut Art by Sonny Trinidad. This issue is a Trinidad-fest! I like this story. It's one of my favorite Kane pastiches. Its main appeal, I believe, is the character of Cathryn (a pretty English name for a German girl); she's the beautiful damsel in distress who turns out to be resourceful and brave, indeed a potential love interest for Solomon Kane. She's honest, caring, courageous, a real early XVIth century Betty Cooper. She also wears the remains of a dress that's so tattered that it could be considered dental floss, and that it is only by a miracle of gravity that its shreds always manage to fall right where they're needed to keep this story PG13. But all joking aside, she's a sweet girl, a great new character… and one who, you will have guessed, is not long for this world. So. Kane arrives at Castle Frankenstein (mentioned by his friend John Silent in SSoC #19) right in time to see two soldiers trying to abduct a barely clad young girl. He dispatches the miscreants, leaving only one alive to tell him that he was acting under orders from Baron Frankenstein himself. The girl is called Cathryn, and although she's grateful for the rescue, she is rebuffed by the dour Puritan. Did you see that? Look, Solomon, if you don't like girls, you can always say "thanks, but no thanks". If you're really so religious that you consider a kiss some kind of sin, make up some excuse like "I am sorry, child, but I'm old enough to be your father and although I appreciate your kindness it would feel too weird". But that crap about remaining pure? It makes you sound like a moralistic douche. And look how sad you've made the girl, now! Shame on you. Anyway. Solomon goes to the Baron to demand why he has girls abducted as if it were normal behaviour (which, when you think of it, pretty much is in this type of story). The baron explains that there is a dragon living in caves that dot the regions, and that when it comes out it ravages the countryside. He's trying to appease the creature and save the village by offering it a fair young girl as sacrifice. Solomon declares that this will not be, but that he will try to slay the beast. Kane, Cathryn and the baron make it to the entrance of the caverns, a vertical shaft in the ground. The two men lower themselves with a rope, find dragon eggs and start hacking at them. The mother dragon then shows up, quite upset, and the baron runs away in fear; he crosses the path of Catrhyn who, having heard the monster's bellow, had meanwhile clambered down the shaft to try and help Solomon. The Puritan is caught by the creature's prehensile tail (a tail that also ends with a sting, like a scorpion's), and his sword breaks on the monster's scales. But Cathryn manages to throw him the baron's sword, which the coward dropped as he fled. As she does so, she is stung and collapses, dead. Kane stabs the dragon through the heart and runs to her… too late. Taking her body back up, Kane confronts the cowardly baron and lambastes him for his grievous sins. He later leaves the village telling the baron that the coward will see Cathryn's face in his daydreams and nightmares, and that it will be his private hell until judgement day.
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