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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 13, 2014 14:35:01 GMT -5
A Marvel Comics Super Special #2The savage sword of Conan
I should have reviewed this issue a little earlier, as it was published in 1977. It is the second issue of the Marvel Super Special series of colour magazines that had started with the KISS comic-book. Two of these issues would essentially be colour Savage sword of Conan magazines; the next one would be #9. What to say about this book? Production values aren't bad but apart from saying that it's in color, there's little to distinguish it from a regular SSoC mag. Oh, well, there is a wraparound cover painted by Earl Norem: There is only one story in this magazine, with a text piece (accompanied by colour artwork and photographs) presenting Robert Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala and Marie Severin... all looking wonderfully young, and we also get a short article about the upcoming Conan movie. The story is titled Revenge of the barbarian, a story adapting Robert E. Howard's tale of piracy "Black Vulmea's vengeance". The adaptation is the work of the lady and the gentlemen mentioned above. (Marie Severin coloured the book, using what look like watercolours. The effect reminds me of some of the early coloring on Epic comics' Dreadstar). The connection between Conan and Black Vulmea is interesting: just as Conan was born when a rejected Kull story got rewritten (from " By this axe I rule" to " the phoenix on the sword"), Black Vulmea was born when a rejected Conan story involving Barachan pirates was rewritten as a regular pirate tale (from " the black stranger" to " swords of the red brotherhood"). This first Black Vulmea's adventure was also left unsold, as was a second Back Vulmea's yarn, which comes full circle here by being adapted as a Conan tale. I read the original tale in this old Berkeley paperback: Zebra books had earlier published its own copy of this title.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 13, 2014 15:11:09 GMT -5
The story is something of a done-by-numbers pirate adventure, and not one of Howard's most interesting tales. It does have a few interesting elements, but the whole thing will never be seen as a classic. As we open the curtain, Conan the Barachan is aboard his ship, the Cockatoo (and I should really make a list of all the ships the man captained, to help with the chronology of these stories). After the pirates captured a merchant ship full of wine two days before, they have engaged in an immoderate level of imbibing and are at the moment thoroughly soused. So much so that even the watchman is asleep, unable to signal that a Zingaran man-o-war is just about to board the Cockatoo! Conan is captured after putting up a good fight and his men are killed in their sleep. He has been spared because the Zingaran's vessel captain wants to question him about a famous treasure: that of Captain Bloodraven. Conan doesn't know where said pirate hid his loot, but he's got something else to offer: he explains that before they were attacked by the Zingarans, he and his men were on their way to a nameless bay on the Black Coast. He explains that four years prior, he and another captain called Black Roj were there, looking for a hoard of jewels named the talons of Dagon. Their combined crews had managed to find ancient ruins and a chest full of gems as big as eggs, but had fallen among themselves over the division of the spoils. They had then been in turn attacked by Zingaran troops that had followed them and sent a party ashore. One of the pirates had hidden the chest somewhere in the temple and all the pirates had scattered; it had then taken a few years for Conan to raise a new crew to go get the jewels back. The Zingaran captain accepts this story and wants Conan to lead him to the place, even if the Cimmerian reveals that he knows the captain is using an adopted name. "Dom Castllius" used to be Basqus the butcher, a Zingaran who, in the employ of his king, had bloodily crushed a rebellion in the province of Hispan and had then "mysteriously" disappeared. (Dom Castillius fully intends to hang Conan once the treasure is found anyway). A large party of Zingaran lands on the unnamed bay and makes its way through the jungle until it is attacked by warlike natives; Conan takes advantage of the event to vanish in the forest. Still within earshot, he explains how he tricked Castillius: Castillius: " Dog! We'll find the treasure without your help.. and leave you here as prey for the savages when they return!" Conan' " You can't find something that doesn't exist! There never were any jewels: it was all a lie to draw you into a trap! Black Roj never came here... Only I did, and the savages slaughtered all my crew in that ravine... as your own will die, ere long, butcher!" Over the next few hours, the Zingarans are repeatedly attacked and see their numbers drop to just one (Castillius). The man runs through the jungle all the way to the infamous ruins where he spends an eventful night. When he wakes in the morning, it is to find Conan staring at him, intent on getting revenge for the murder of his men. The two engage in a sword fight and when the Zingaran drops his weapon Conan decides to finish the job with his fists. Castillius tries to put up a fight but collapses after a punch to his chest breaks a pendant he was wearing; Basqus the butcher then collapses in a whimpering mass. The pendant is a miniature painting of his wife and daughter, who are the reason he has been a cruel and money-grabbing bastard all his life. Conan being a great romantic at heart accepts not to kill Castillius for their sake. Before the two men can make their way back to the coast, they have to escape the natives who, unknown to them, have been joined by members of another tribe for whom the ruins are not taboo. Conan and Castillius must face these newcomers as well as a huge snake (the one from the cover above; Frazetta has something for big snakes). Running around in the ruins, they do not find a chest of treasure, but do get their hands on a very pretty jeweled necklace that adorns an old statue. Conan splits the loot, insisting that he's giving the other half not to Castillius, but to his wife and child. Escaping the natives thanks to their battle prowess, the two men from the north finally reach the beach within sight of the Zingaran ship. Despite Castillius' assurances of sincere remorse for past misdeeds Conan leaves him, not trusting him one bit; he intends to reach a certain pirate rendez-vous point instead. Basqus/Castillius is left realizing that his half-necklace will buy anything back in the Hyborian world; anything... but respect. The artwork by Buscema and Alcala is par for course, but Alcala's fine inking is a bit muddied by the colours (I doubt the separation process in those days was anywhere as good as it would get later on). Marie Severin's colouring is okay, but looks much better in monochrome scenes than in scenes set under the light of the sun. Notes: - Conan is a Barachan pirate here and he's already lost at least one ship, meaning he's something like 36. In the story he tells Basqus, he refers to events having occurred four years ago; this must be part of his invented tale, for he was not a Barachan for that long. - Zingara has always had a Spanish feel to it, but here the point is pushed a little too far for my taste. The rebel province is named Hispan (which would become Hispania with just one more syllable), and the armored soldiers that attack Conan's crew are called "conquadores" and wear outfits that Hernan Cortez would have found quite familiar.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 13, 2014 15:17:23 GMT -5
Meet the people behind Conanby David A. Kraft The editor of FOOM and future editor of Comics Interviews presents the creators involved in the production of this issue in five one-page biographies. Quite interesting for readers who would not know these fine people. Conan of the silver screenby James Delson Presenting a young Arnold Schwarzenegger as the future Conan and a study of a Zamorian city by the brothers Hildebrandt. There was a lot of hope for that movie. Oh, how cruel would be the fall.
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Post by benday-dot on Sept 13, 2014 18:48:09 GMT -5
Scarlet Citadel is one of those REH stories that I mentally have divided in two. The part where Conan is captured and thrown into the hellish dungeon, beset by an array of sorcery and Lovecraftian menace is top notch stuff and as as exciting as any pages of Conan I've read. However, I lose interest in the story a little once Conan flies back to lead the siege against his usurpers and overcome the sinister Tsotha-Lanti. But this I suspect is just me. Howard does write great accounts of medieval style combat, be it through siege or on open plain, but I have always favoured those yarns or parts of yarns where Conan is without crown or rule. It is as free agent and of uninhibited barbarian splendour over quasi fettered lord of city and state that I prefer to see my Conan.
Still the Brunner artwork is phenomenal and makes this adaptation a classic.
I also agree that that coloured marvel Super Special is neither that super or that special. I recall being disappointed with it when I finally ended up reading it.
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Post by paulie on Sept 14, 2014 8:38:54 GMT -5
Classic Comics Lament #173 (part of an occasional series): Frank Brunner should have done more Conan!
Both Marvel Super Specials featuring Conan were underwhelming. At least here we have Alfredo Alcala as opposed to Tony DeZuniga.
The coloring on both books was poor. And I like Marie.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 14, 2014 17:50:37 GMT -5
You gentlemen are quite right: it's a bit of a let-down when a super-special is actually a very little special.
I prefer the second one (mss #9) on account of its very unique Red Sonja story, its Buscema cover and the feature "an outline of Conan's comic career". It also has a sketch by Buscema which is pretty much exactly how I picture the Cimmerian).
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Post by jbruel0 on Sept 18, 2014 2:25:08 GMT -5
Hello RR, Thanks for the fantastic job you make here. Any chance you could post a sample of the "outline of Conan's comic career" in MSS #9? Or is it the Jim Neal's one?
Jb
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 18, 2014 5:47:31 GMT -5
Hello RR, Thanks for the fantastic job you make here. Any chance you could post a sample of the "outline of Conan's comic career" in MSS #9? Or is it the Jim Neal's one? Jb The pleasure's all mine! "A chronology of the Conan comics" is indeed a Jim Neal article, and I'll cover it pretty soon when we get to MSS #9. As I understand it, Roy Thomas himself wrote a more thorough chronology in the pages of the reprint title Conan saga, but that's something I have not read.
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Post by paulie on Sept 18, 2014 8:50:10 GMT -5
Hello RR, Thanks for the fantastic job you make here. Any chance you could post a sample of the "outline of Conan's comic career" in MSS #9? Or is it the Jim Neal's one? Jb The pleasure's all mine! "A chronology of the Conan comics" is indeed a Jim Neal article, and I'll cover it pretty soon when we get to MSS #9. As I understand it, Roy Thomas himself wrote a more thorough chronology in the pages of the reprint title Conan saga, but that's something I have not read. There's a lot of 'new' material in Conan Saga. Pinups mostly but did you know that it even had a letter's page? There's a juicy tidbit here or there.
I picked up about 30 issues earlier this year for a buck each in absolute mint condition. That's roughly the same price as the Dark Horse reprints and you can read with the benefit of having the stories in 'magazine size'.
One tidbit that will perhaps entice you... Issue 39 has a reprint of Kull #1 with the Ross Andru-Wally Wood team. I'm going to assume that this is the only way to see the gorgeous Wally Wood art in 'magazine-size' black and white.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 18, 2014 14:54:22 GMT -5
That's excellent, paulie! Much better indeed than the Dark Horse reprints, if one can get their hands on those Conan Saga issues.
Did Steve Tompkins write many letters in Conan Saga? His letters were always a great part of the later SSoC issues.
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Post by paulie on Sept 18, 2014 15:37:18 GMT -5
That's excellent, paulie! Much better indeed than the Dark Horse reprints, if one can get their hands on those Conan Saga issues. Did Steve Tompkins write many letters in Conan Saga? His letters were always a great part of the later SSoC issues. I'll have to check.
I plan on picking up the entire Conan Saga run (91 issues?).
Condition does matter to me. I prefer all my back issue 9.0 or higher but I don't like slabbing.
Conan Saga affords me the ability to read SSOC without having to open up my originals.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2014 19:30:51 GMT -5
I completed Saga last year wasn't planning on doing set cause of reprints but bought a lot of 300 plus issues of Savage Sword and they were tossed in . A full run also a near run of ss from 100 up to 235 . plus a few doubles . But My Saga are all vf . My Savage sword range from fn to vf plus . With about 10 issues been vg which I will eventually up grade . Only need 10 more Savage Sword issues to complete series . I have been trying to do run for under 300 bucks . So far spent about 225 . The last ten issues are 2 4 5 7 8 10 12 13 14 19 . If I settle for vg could more than likely come in on budget . I also want to get all the marvel graphic novels need I think 4 more and also Savage tales 1 to 5 and a couple of Marvel Super special 9 and 35 . Then maybe sell run after finish reading . Cause damn they take up a ton of room .
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 18, 2014 20:00:18 GMT -5
Cause damn they take up a ton of room . A recurring point of contention between me and my lovely significant other!!!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 21, 2014 10:36:26 GMT -5
Marvel Super Special #9, 1978.Painted cover by John Buscema! That does contribute to make this issue special. This is my favourite Conan painting by John. The frontispiece is also by him, pencils and inks (I don't know about the colors). As for MSS #2, this is more of a (coloured) ordinary issue of Savage sword than a truly special Conan event. But that's hardly a bad thing, even if the term "super special" seems a little overenthusiastic to describe the book. Table of contents: The trail of a bloodstained god, a Conan adventure. Uncle Crom wants you, an article about the Hyborian Legion fanclub. A chronology of the Conan comics, recapping the Cimmerian's career at Marvel from 1970 to 1978! Day of the red judgement, a Red Sonja adventure.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 21, 2014 11:29:22 GMT -5
The trail of the bloodstained god
Script by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga Colors by Marie Severin (according to the GCD) although the table of contents also mention Klaus Norby and George Roussos. We know from the letters page of SSoC #41 that Klaus coloured the Red Sonja tale, so either George helped Marie with the main Conan story, or he handled the other features of this issue. Whatever be the case, the colour process is much better here than in MSS #2. This story adapts the Conan adventure The blood-stained god, which saw print in the paperback Conan of Cimmeria. That prose tale is a L. Sprague de Camp conanization of an unpublished Robert E. Howard original, the trail of of the bloodstained god, starring Kirby O'Donnell (one of the many western adventurers who seek their fortunes in the mysterious east). The original story was published in 1976 in Swords of Shahrazar and more recently in Del Rey's El Borak and other desert adventures. Sadly, this was a minor effort by Howard to begin with, and de Camp's adaptation made it even worse by introducing a tacked-on fantasy element. A minor subject for a super special, certainly. The plot goes like this. Conan is in the City of thieves, looking for the people who stole a certain treasure map from him. Said treasure is supposed to be the statue of a god, made of ruby-incrusted gold, and hidden in some secret temple in the Kezankian mountains. (Those are, roughly speaking, the Caucasus; they're located between Zamora and Koth, are home to many hostile hillmen and to a few giant apes). Hearing the screams of a man obviously being tortured, the Cimmerian breaks into a house where he interrupts the questioning of a hillman by a fellow wearing a red turban and by a half-dozen of henchmen. Fighting erupts, the hillman flees, and as Conan escapes by jumping over a wall he is struck from behind by a thrown stool and loses consciousness. He is woken up by a friendly enough individual named Sassan. The newcomer is also on the trail of the bloodstained god, just as are Red Turban and his men. The latter are precisely the ones who stole the treasure map from Conan, and his bursting upon them is one of these coincidences that Howard often introduced in his lesser stories to get the plot going.(The hillman, we are told, was a spy from the Kezankian hill chieftain Keraspa; I suppose Keraspa also learned of the treasure and would like to know more about it). Conan and Sassan give chase to Red Turban, who have left the City of thieves to go get the statue.The two of them reach the hilly country where Keraspa holds sway, and run afoul of his brigands. Escaping after killing a few, the treasure hunters only have time to cover a few miles before being ambushed once again, this time by Red Turban and his followers. Conan manages to convince Red Turban (whose real name is Arshak, but soon it won't matter) that they should join forces to repel Keraspa's raiders who are hot on their trail. When all the parties finally clash, pretty much everyone ends up dead or in flight, leaving only Conan, Sassan and another man named Zyras on one side, and Keraspa and a hillman on the other. The first three ride on to the supposed position of the temple of the bloodstained god. Notice how the colours look better in this issue than in the previous super special: The temple is undefended, but its heavy door is booby-trapped and Sassan ends up crushed when it falls down on him (for despite its fake hinges, the thing is actually a drawbridge instead of a door!) The temple is pretty small, with the grotesque statue of the bloostained god being raised in its center, circled by a bottomless semi-circular chasm. Zyras decides that so much wealth should not be shared and attacks Conan from behind, only to have his throat crushed by the Cimmerian's grip. As Conan wonders how to carry the heavy statue away, Keraspa and his follower enter the temple, bowstrings drawn and arrows notched. Keraspa is something of an iconoclast, who despite the beliefs of his people is quite ready to steal the statue of the bloodtained god instead of protecting it from unbelievers. His follower objects, for he recognizes Conan as the one who saved him from Red Turban's torturers just the night before. Keraspa shoots him dead, and is about to loose another arrow at Conan when (inexplicably) the statue comes to life, grabs the hill chieftain and throws him in the chasm. Conan uses a heavy chandelier to knock off the statue's head, but the damn thing keeps coming at him, hands extended; the Cimmerian then pushes it into the abyss, and it goes down to join Keraspa. Conan rides away, hoping to find cleaner treasure somewhere. Formulaic, formulaic, formulaic. All it lacks to be completely stereotypical is a helpless girl somewhere. There is no real cultural background, we don't learn much about the Hyborian world, there is no mystery nor sense of wonder. De Camp really wasn't much of a Conan writer. The art looks all right if one likes the Buscema-deZuniga combo. I like it well enough in small doses, even if Tony does make Conan look a bit too old most of the time. This should be Conan in his mid thirties, at least, not his early twenties: Notes: - de Camp decided to place this story shortly after Conan left the Turanian army; he would be around 22 at the time. This fits with a reference to "Yldiz' hoard", as King Yildiz is still king of Turan; he would be replaced by King Yezdigerd when Conan was about 29 at the end of the story "the road of the eagles". - Conan is referred to as a Zuagir by Red Turban; this is a bit odd, as Conan would not become a Zuagir (and adopt their clothing style, one assumes) until the story "a witch shall be born", during which he was 30-ish.
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