The third series I'm going to be reviewing in this thread is Kull.

Starting with...

Creatures on the Loose #10




Synopsis: King Kull and his entourage are wandering around when they come across a haunted castle. A slave in Kull's band gives a detailed, dire warning about staying away fro the castle, so naturally, Kull insists on riding straight to it and opening the mystically sealed door. A horrible evil doom springs forth, but Kull manages to stuff it back into the castle using a magic gong left behind by the wizard who closed it up in the first place. Kull reflects on being a moron. THE END!

My Notes: First off, big surprise when I opened the book and found interiors by Bernie Wrightson. I wasn't expecting that! It's very early work - this was drawn in 1970 - and sketchy, but still really interesting and moody.

This issue is a tryout short story piggybacking off the success of Conan. Kull had appeared in a couple panels of Conan #1 in flashback, but that was about it. Still, that series established a relationship between Marvel (i.e. Roy Thomas) and the Robert E. Howard estate, so this adaptation was born.

I have to surmise that fans were just super thirsty for fantasy comics at this time, because this issue led to Kull getting his own series. On the face of it, I can't see why other than a willingness by fans to buy pretty much any fantasy comic, though I know this isn't true base don how DC's fantasy comics would fare just a couple years later. That's not to give short shrift to the talents of Roy and Bernie, but rather just a comment on how stupidly arrogant Kull comes across here. He's basically moping because he has repsonsibilities now and can't just do whatever dumb thing comes into his head, so in order to recapture those glory days, he does something that nearly gets the entire world killed off. Talk about your midlife crisis.

I know that there's some great art coming up, and probably some very solid stories, but this introduction doesn't fill me with confidence. It reads like the prototype for Conan the King years later, which was a very underwhelming series on almost every level. I'm hoping there's more to Kull than just Old Conan With An Axe, but we'll see. 

My Grade: C

Kull the Conqueror #2




Synopsis: The Picts warn Kull that an ancient sect of snake men are secretly everywhere, plotting to overthrow Kull. He's skeptical, until Brule shows him some dead snakemen. The two of them battle a whole legion of snake people, who are revealed when a magic catchphrase is uttered. While they do this, though, Kull himself is replaced by a snakeman. Kull survives the battle, then kills his evil doppleganger. The end!

My Notes: Okay, this issue starts the art team wmost closely associated with the book, namely John Severin and Marie Severin. It's really great, and the story is exciting, even if this still reads exactly like a King Conan story (from 15 years later). I'm not sure if the issue is the source material, with Howard's two creations being too similar to each other, or if it's Roy later repeating himself, but so far, Kull just doesn't have enough characteristics to really separate him from Conan.

One thing this issue hints at that Conan doesn't have is a recurring supporting cast. I like Brule, and I'm hoping to see more of him and his interplay with Kull. Conan, on the other hand, usually was a loner in his stories, with even recurring characters only appearing occasionally in guest spots.

However, all of that is temporarily moot, because Kull the Conqueror was actually cancelled with this issue. Two and out! It wouldn't return for several months, after a couple more successful backup stories to re-establish a readership. And this is far from the last time the series will be canceled.

My Grade: B