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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 12, 2024 12:14:17 GMT -5
Conan the Barbarian #3 (Feb 1971)  The Twilight of the Grim Grey GodScript by Roy Thomas Art by Barry Smith (pencils and colour) and Sal Buscema (inks) Adapted from the story The Grey God Passes by Robert E. Howard. I believe that it is with this issue that the Conan comic truly comes into its own. The first two issues had featured swords, wizards, monsters and adventure in an ancient world, true. They had hinted at a greater canvas against which these tales were set, which is good. But on the other hand, the Hyborian Age still was an ill-defined thing, and the two adventures were not especially deep: Conan is captured by a wizard and then escapes, Conan is captured by ape-men and then escapes. From these fun but simple tales, we now jump into a Shakespearean drama fully rooted in Hyborian Age politics and culture. Robert E. Howard, who wrote the prose story this is adapted from, was fascinated by the Battle of Clontarf which saw occupying Viking forces routed by an Irish alliance; an event that, in a sense, triggered the end of an era. It is this feeling of cataclysmic change that is featured here. ( The Grey God Passes is a re-write of Spears of Clontarf, a non-fantasy take on the battle; it is also the title of the Howard poem reproduced below. The art is markedly better here than in issue #2 (especially since Smith himself coloured it), and this is partly due to the fact that this was not actually Smith’s third Conan issue. In fact, it was his fifth! Barry, "exiled" to the UK after US immigration found out he didn't have a green card, managed to produce the art to two stories after his second one: Zukalas's Daughter and Tower of the Elephant. The art being done ahead of time (an uncommon thing, to be sure) and the book being bi-monthly allowed Roy to reflect that chronologically speaking, a tale showing how Conan left the far north and escaped the hated Hyperboreans would be a better fit after issue #2. Hence today's story. Amazing what just an extra two issues of experience can bring to a young artist's skill! ( Zukala's Daughter, the third story drawn, would be rescheduled to #5). Conan #3 is also the first issue adapting a Robert E. Howard story, though it is not a Conan tale to begin with. Roy was aware that many of the de Camp-Carter Conan stories like "Hawks over Shem" or "The Flame Knife" were re-writes of original Howard manuscripts featuring other characters (usually set at the time of the crusades), and he liked the idea (something I usually agree with wholeheartedly). Roy had therefore secured the rights to this story from Glenn Lord in order to do the same thing: "conanize" it. (The transaction probably involved very little extra cash; those were different days).
It is pretty cool that although he only makes a brief appearance in it, the character Black Turlogh Dubh O’Brien is seen in The Grey God Passes. Turlogh is the main character of the story The Gods of Bal-Sagoth, which would be adapted in CtB #17-18, as well as of The Dark Man, which would be adapted in Savage Tales #4. Turlogh was clearly a good stand-in for Conan, and I must admit that when I first read The Dark Man at the age of twelve, I imagined him just like the Cimmerian. In terms of Hyborian Age history, geography and politics, we learn a lot in just 20 pages. Vikings and Irish kings are here replaced by Hyperboreans and Brythunians. The Hyperboreans, let it be noted, were not your typical barbarians... they were the first among the northern peoples to build walls of stone : Hyperboreans are a Hyborian people, like the Brythunians. While they were the first to build cities thousands of years ago, here they seem to be less refined than their southern neighbours; maybe the life up north, being harsher, is to blame for it. Howard also informs us, in The Hyborian Age, that the original Hyperboreans were at some point conquered and replaced by a younger branch of Hyborians who nevertheless kept the name “Hyperborea” for the kingdom; perhaps that had the same effect as Odoacre's conquest of Rome. But a kingdom Hyperborea definitely is; it is not, like Cimmeria, a land divided among a multitude of clans. Many generations later, centuries after the reign of Conan, it would rival the Aquilonian empire itself. Hyperborea wouldn’t be seen very often in this series, though, nor would Brythunia. In fact, in the last few pages of The Hyborian Age, Howard tells us what happened to the denizens of most Hyborian nations… but is silent on what happened to the Brythunians. My guess is that their country was absorbed by Aquilonia and that they lost their national identity. In any case… Let’s get on with the sjow! The story:After the events from last issue, Conan was captured by Hyperborean slavers who were raiding in the land od Aesgaard. Brought back to Hyperborea, he developed an intense hatred for one blond fellow “who was handy with the lash”. (This event would also instill in Conan a life-long dislike of Hyperboreans). This not being a John Milius film, Conan wouldn’t stay a slave long; at the earliest opportunity, ne killed a night guard and fled the slave pens, his hands still shackled to a heavy chain. Escaping his pursuers (as will be show in greater details in later issues), Conan traveled south to Brythunia and this is where we find him in time for the opening of our tale :  The young Cimmerian, busy trying to break his chains, is startled by a very tall, grey man carrying an old and notched sword: a man with great presence who calls Conan by name and warns him that a great battle is looming between the kingdoms of Hyperborea and Brythunia. He adds that Conan will soon witness the passing of kings and more than kings. Right on cue, the sky suddenly reveals the flight of twelve heavenly women riding winged horses; the grey man announces that they are the choosers of the slain, come for the reaping of kings and the gathering of chiefs.  Conan flees, more in awe than in fear, and in the distance he seems to see the grey man grow to gigantic proportions and fade in the night sky. The Cimmerian soon encounters a scouting Brythunian soldier, Dunlang, with whom he instantly sympathizes. Dunlang offers Conan to share his horse, and the youth tells of his escape from Hyperborea. The two are then met by a beautiful young woman, Eevin, a member of a race “that was old when this land was young”. She looks fey, like a wood spirit.  Eeevin is Dunlang’s light of love, and she gives him a coat of golden chain mail that should protect him in the coming battle. Elsewhere, we meet more members of our cast; Malachi, commander of the Brythunian cavalry, and Kormlada, the wife of Tomar, the king of Hyperborea. Tomar sent his wife to seduce Malachi, so that the Brythunian cavalry would refrain from charging the invading Hypernoreans at a crucial moment; Kormlada, for her part, intends to use Malachi as her puppet when she finds a way to dispose of her husband.  Dunlang brings Conan to the Brythunian army’s camp, where the Cimmerian agrees to join king Brian’s forces. Conan refuses the offer of a weapon, and merely asks that the chain he wears be cut near one wrist— he intends to use the rest of the chain as a flail, and not to remove his fetters until he has killed the blond guy who whipped him. (This virile statement contradicts his trying to remove the chain with a rock on page #1, but perhaps it's a spur-of-the-monent decision). As both armies prepare to fight, Conan is surprised to see that king Brian will not lead his troops (unlike Tomar, who’s at the head of his Hyperboreans). “Back in Cimmeria, our kings lead the charge… their broadswords in their hands. Maybe that’s because we’re not… civilized.”
This comment, on the difference between civilization and barbarism, is of course central to the Conan series. The battle starts, and as luck would have it Conan gets to kill his blond enemy (who, and this is excellent in terms of verisimilitude, does not recognize him at all. I mean, why should he?) Malachi, as planned, refuses to charge the enemy, staying put with the Brythunian cavalry on a nearby hill. Dunlang realizes that they’ve been betrayed, and out of spite he removes his magical chain mail... only to be promptly stabbed in the back. Conan goes berserk upon seeing his friend slain, and so brutal and efficient is he that he manages to replace Dunlang as an inspiration to the Brythunians; the Hyperboreans begin to lose ground. As Eevin finds the abandoned chain mail and realizes that her love is gone, she is espied and severely judged by the cruel Kormlada, who reflects that she would never show such weakness, no such folly as to cry for some frail, fallen warrior. Kormlada is still certain that her puppet Malachi will come out on top, even should Tomar be defeated. Speaking of the Hyperborean king, he reflects that even if his forces are currently being routed, he can still salvage the situation by murdering King Brian. He makes his way to the Brythunian camp, which is basically left defenseless as everyone is busy on the battlefield. At the same time, Conan sees the traitorous Malachi still on his hill and purposefully walks toward him. Malachi doesn’t go far, as you would expect. Kormlada is besides herself with anger and spite when she finds Malachi's corpse, realizing that all her scheming has come to naught. At the same time, Tomar and Brian have it out, and manage to kill each other.  As in Hamlet or Titus Andronicus, there are dead people everywhere. The rain begins to fall, and the choosers of the slain fly down to collect the souls of the brave; as he stands above the two dead kings, Conan witnesses the immense but ethereal figure of the grey man disappearing in the clouds. He remembers the grey man’s words: “soon you shall witness the passing of kings… aye… and of more than kings”. Comments :What a great and epic story, and in just 20 pages. Its structure is interesting in that it features multiple pairs of characters who are the polar opposite of eavch other. We have two kings, Brian and Tomar; the first is more civilized, more of a politician; the second is more brutal and hands-on. We have two women, Eevin and Kormlada; the first is pure and true, gentle and kind of heart; the second is a harsh and cruel schemer, ready to sacrifice anyone to her ambition. We have thwe two soldiers Dunlang and Malachi; one is a generous, honest and selfless fellow; the other is an ambitious and traitorous bully. Dunlang and Eevin are united by a love pure and innocent; Kormlada and Malachi are united by common interest and sweaty lust. As for Conan, he is not part of that tangled web; he has no counterpart, except perhaps for the grey man himself, who turns out to be the Hyperborean god Borri. Borri knows that his worshippers are about to experience a major defeat, one that will diminish him; he knows, as all northern gods know, that even gods must die when their altars collapse. Conan is no god, but he is the mortal man whose presence at this crucial time tips the balance and allows the god’s fate to unfold. Powerful stuff! Making the grey man the god Borri instead of Odin is a good fit, and presents us with a funny situation! See, in this story, Borri is clearly an actual god, a supernatural being. (He’s not the only major god Conan will encounter in his life, either, as the latter will notably meet an avatar of the goddess Ishtar herself in CtB#40). However, according to Howard, Borri is not an actual god, insofar as there is such a thing!
Here's what Howard says of him...
So to Howard, Bori was not an actual being!
What’s even funnier is that Odin, too, is described by Snorri Strurlusson (in his Heimskringla) as a great chief who was later deified. The association Odin-Borri is therefore valid both in a fantasy context and a literary one! Perhaps what we learned in Thor Annual #10 applies to Conan’s world: our planet comes with something called “the godstuff” that human faith and dreams shape into the gods we believe in and gives them an actual reality! Conan has now had his first taste of civilisation, even if he has yet to see his first city. He has travelled north from Cimmeria to Aesgaard, then east to Hyperborea and south again to Brythunia; next he will travel south and east to enter the non-Hyborian kingdom of Zamora. He is still surprised by civilized habits, as we’ve seen, but adapts quickly. He has furthermore played a not inconsequential role in the politics of two major powers; that, too, is something he'll experience again in his tumultuous life! Notes : - The matter of language is entirely eluded. Everybody speaks English! - Borri is spelled with two Rs, here, instead of just one. He won’t be mentioned very often in the future, but it will be with the traditional spelling “Bori”. - Conan doesn’t know who Borri is when he learns of the god’s name. That might be surprising (since he is a god of the north) but it is actually a positive point for me: Bori is not worshipped in Vanaheim and Aesgaard, the northern countries closest to northwestern Cimmeria where our hero hails from. His not knowing about the god of Hyperboreans, who live far to the east, makes sense in the context of a prehistoric world where people generally don’t travel far. I mean, even in civilized and cultured Aquilonia, the not-so-distant countries of Vanaheim and Aesgaard are seen as half-mythical places. - Still no mention of other gods apart from Crom and Borri. The Brythunians might have invoked Mitra, which eventually became the chief god of the Hyborians (thus replacing Bori, another nice parallel to today’s story), but they did not.
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Aug 12, 2024 12:39:01 GMT -5
This was the issue that Overstreet (and thus many mail order back issue dealers) noted had poor distribution or distribution issues and hence valued (or priced) at a higher amount than the issues around it, with its value/price being set at about the same as CTB in the 80s when I first saw an Overstreet Guide or paid attention to the back issue ads in comics. It was also the issue that I inherited by luck from someone giving away comics at some point and was one of the first back issues of Conan I ever got (#76 was the first I ever got new and that was as the middle comic in a polybagged 3 pack with other Marvels) and never had to track it down and pay collector's prices for it.
-M
PS And I will say I have to disagree on converting Howard's other tales into Conan tales, as started by de Camp/Carter and followed through on by Roy. I think it was a misstep, as thematically most of them were not in synch with the thematic underpinnings of most Conan stories and the protagonists often did un-Conan like things and reacted to events in un-Conan like ways so diluted the essential character of Conan, and I think they did a major disservice to the legacy of Howard as an adventure writer as a whole, narrowing the focus and making it seem only the Conan stories he wrote mattered and everything else had to be in service of Conan. And, from my experience, every single one of the stories converted read better in its original Howard form with its own protagonist than they did as Conan watered down Conan pastiches.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 13, 2024 17:16:47 GMT -5
Conan the barbarian #4 (Apr 1971)  As the house ad below shows (it’s reprinted in Marvel’s Conan Epic Collection vol. 1, which by the way contains a surprising amount of interesting extras), this issue features an adaptation of “the first tale of Conan” by Robert E. Howard. The first tale chronologically speaking, that is, as it was actually the third one published in Weird Tales… and the first not to feature Conan as king, but as a youth pursuing the not-so-glorious career of a thief.  Roy’s intention with this title was to depict Conan’s life more or less in real time, starting when he was a youth fresh out of Cimmeria and proceeding to his latter days as king of Aquilonia. That should have provided a little more than twenty years worth of stories, which was plenty considering the Fantastic Four hadn't quite been around for ten years by then. Along the way, the original Howard stories would be adapted, linked by original material weaving the official tales in one grand tapestry. The plan worked amazingly well for a decade or so (although we must make allowance for slightly compressed or slightly stretched periods of time here and there).
After that decade, Roy left the mag with issue #115 and was replaced by a succession of writers. J.M. DeMatteis, Bruce Jones and Michael Fleisher would drop any sense of continuity, and just tell “barbarian of the month” stories for a few years. Jim Owsley (aka Christopher Priest) would then take over with issue #172 and resume chronological storytelling for a little while, but that too would stop eventually (around issue #220,a few months after Owsley’s departure) to go back to generic fare until Roy finally came back with issue #240. The Tower of the Elephant is Roy Thomas’s favourite Conan story, according to the man himself. And it is indeed an excellent yarn, short and to the point, full of the wonder and excitement so typical of Howard’s writing at its best. It would be adapted again in SSoC #24 (with art by John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala), and naturally by Dark Horse in its own Conan book (written by Kurt Busiek with art by Cary Nord). Unfortunately, French publisher Glénat did not offer us its own version of The Tower of the Elephant before its Conan series seemingly came to a permanent halt. Marvel’s beautiful adaptation by a still young but very inspired Barry Smith was reprinted in the first Conan King-Size Annual (1973), and naturally in the B&W magazine Conan Saga, for its second issue which was graced by a new cover by Barry (now Windsor-) Smith. It can also be found in Marvel's pocket-sized book Conan the barbarian vol. 2, and in the fourth issue of Conan Classic. Probably elsewhere as well, notably in Artima's Eclipso. (It came too early to be translated in Conan le barbare, the translated series from Héritage I followed as a youth, because that particular run started with issue #15).  That #4 was reprinted in the Annual probably explains why it was not reprinted again in Giant-Size Conan #2. The first four issues of the Giant-Size series featured a serialized adaptation of the novel-length Hour of the Dragon, with reprints of issues #2, 5, 6 and 7. Before we get to the issue itself, a few notes about the still brand new series. The famous introductory text “ Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis…” has yet to make an appearance; issues #2, 3 and 5 say “ From Earth’s dim, forgotten past… from the centuries which which sprawl between the sinking of Atlantis and the dawning of history.. comes.. Conan the barbraian!” A few other points of interest: there are no thought bubbles in the Conan comic. Roy had to argue with Stan Lee over that point, according to what the writer related in several interviews. Whatever information could not be given by dialog or by looking at the scene would be provided by captions, and there would be no sound effect either, as a rule. No Klanggg! Biff! Pow! nor Crash! although an occasional death rattle (“Grrokkk!”) has been observed. These artistic choices made Conan stand out even more among the different comics offered by Marvel. The story:Traveling south and west from Brythunia, Conan has reached the city of Arenjun, Zamora’s city of thieves. He seems fairly new to the thieving game, behaving a little like a yokel in a big city (which is exactly what he is at this point). According to the original Howard story, Conan now speaks Zamoran with a pronounced accent that marks him as a barbarian; that would mean he’s already been in the country for a fairly long while -several months at least. No such inference today, and in this issue it is not Conan’s accent that betrays his origin, but his looks; I guess we continue to simply ignore the language barrier as an obstacle to storytelling. Which is fair enough. In a tavern (where a fellow in a corner is seen smoking a pipe, a rare instance of anyone smoking in this title), Conan hears a bragging thief mention “the secret of the Elephant Tower”. Inquiring about it, he is rudely told that any fool knows the wizard Yara lives in a gem-encrusted tower in this very city, and that it also contains a great gem called the Heart of the Elephant. Conan asks why nobody in a city of thieves has tried to abscond with the gem, and he is mocked by all and sundry: the tower’s lower levels are heavily guarded by soldiers, and the tower’s walls are as slippery as glass. The Cimmerian, being an excellent climber like all of his race and a little brash to boot, argues that “there is always a way… if the desire be coupled with courage”. This doesn’t fly with the bragging thief, who takes umbrage of this slight to his bravery and professional skills; he shoves Conan away, and the lad loses his cool. Being mocked was hard enough, but he won’t brooch manhandling. A brawl erupts, the place’s only candle is snuffed out, and when it is lit again Conan is gone and his opponent lies dead. The Cimmerian makes his way to the Tower of the Elephant, whose owner Yara is at this moment coming back from a walk. Well, “walk” is not the right term… we see that Yara’s feet do not touch the ground, as he levitates a few centimeters above it! It may explain why he doesn’t need shoes. This levitating trick was an initiative of the artist, as Roy hadn’t mentioned it in his script. Conan has no desire to meet the wizard, as he previously heard a page from the Zamoran court describe how the man had turrned a disrespectful prince into a spider before stepping on him (thus showing that his feet do touch the ground from time to time). Conan jumps over the wall circumventing the tower’s gardens, and quickly meets (a) a dead guard, and (b) the famous Taurus of Nemedia, said to be a prince of thieves, who like Conan is after the Heart of the Elephant. Taurus is a friendly and garrulous fellow who definitely came prepared for this expedition; he’s got an unbreakable rope and some quick acting poison made from the black lotus (noxious stuff that we’ll encounter again in future issues). The two thieves are suddenly attacked by silent lions who roam the gardens. Taurus’s poison powder saves their bacon just in time, but an extra beast, who held back, has to be killed by Conan’s sword. (Taurus mentions that he used all of his black lotus, and that no man east of Khitai has any more. This is doubtless a typo, or Taurus is more shaken than he lets on, as he must have meant *west* of Khitai, seeing as Khitai is the equivalent of China). Conan and Taurus use the latter’s rope to climb the sheer tower. Page number limitations prevents Taurus from explaining how he came by it: according to Howard, it was made from the hair of dead women collected at midnight and soaked in the juice of the deadly upas tree! (No idea if it works, but it sounds suitably eerie). Reaching the top of the tower unmolested, the thieves prepare to go down its stairs to find the coveted jewel. Taurus asks Conan to perform a last look-around, in case guards showed up at the foot of the tower. The Cimmerian (a little naively) obliges, while Taurus enters the tower on his own. Conan barely has time to suspect he’s being double-crossed when Taurus exits the tower, falling dead at the feet of his comrades. The only mark on his body is a double puncture wound in his neck. Conan enters the room Taurus just vacated, naturally on his guard, and is amazed to discover that the place is full of priceless jewels and coins scattered here and there, spilling from heavy coffers. The Cimmerian is then suddenly attacked by the spider from the cover, an eight-legged horror as large as a pig! After losing his sword, Conan resorts to squishing the arachnid with a heavy chest full of gems, wondering if this monster was someone once, transformed by Yara’s sorcery. Our hero resumes his search and descends a flight of stairs. He eventually makes his way to a room where a strange idol is chained to a dais; but to Conan’s great surprise, the statue is alive!  The odd-looking creature, blind and broken by years of torture, senses that Conan is not the evil Yara but a youth with the “clean, lean fierceness of the wastelands” about him. He then tells his tale of woe. Yag-Kosha (for that is his name) belongs to a species of cosmic beings, many of whom flew to Earth aeons ago, during the age of dinosaurs. Losing their wings, they had to remain on our world and saw the rise of man as the planet’s dominant species. (We get the second cameo of the kingdom of Valusia in four issues, too!) One by one, Yag-Kosha’s brethren died —for they are long-lived, but not immortal. Naturally enough, given their appearance and extraordinary abilities, they were revered as gods and it is in a temple in Khitai that Yara met the space traveler. The evil wizard learned all he could from Yag-Kosha, and then chained him to exploit his knowledge for all it was worth. For three hundred years, Yara sequestered Yag-Kosha in this very tower, which was built in one night by the alien’s magic. Now all Yag-Kosha wants is to put an end to his wretched imprisonment, and to take revenge on Yara. He enlists Conan in his plan and the Cimmerian, touched by the alien’s plight, agrees to follow his instructions. Next to the dais is a great jewel, which of course is the Heart of the Elephant. As per Yag-Koahs’s will, Conan stabs the alien through the heart; the jewel then turns blood red. (In SSoC #24, Conan will take Yag-Kosha’s heart from his body and pour its blood over the jewel, which will absorb it. Definitely too bloody a scene for a code-approved book in 1971!) Conan then moves to lower levels in the tower, finding Yara stoned on yellow lotus. He awakens him and puts the red jewel in front of him, reciting the words he has just been instructed to repeat: “Yag-Kosha gives a last gift —and a last enchantment”. Yara is irate and not a little fearful, realizing that his captive has turned the tables on him. And all of a sudden, the wizard starts shrinking, shriking, and shrinking some more (a nice visual touch here is that we see a ring, now too big, fly off one of his finger. His clothes don’t shrink with him either, proving that they’re not made by Henry Pym’s tailor). The diminutive Yara sinks into the jewel, where he is met by a reborn Yag-Kosha, now winged again, and verrrry pissed off. The jewel then vanishes in front of Conan’s eyes.  Yag-Kosha gone, the magic tower (it was built by magic, remember?) starts shaking; it is all Conan can do to run down the stairs and exit before the whole building collpases in gleaming shard. Lovely image of the falling tower here!  In fact, it was so nice that Gary Kwapisz referenced it in SSoC #165, when Conan recalls those events.  Comments: It took me a while to finally read this adaptation; I had seen the cover in a (French) comic-book encyclopedia, and I had read the original story, but I believe the first time I saw the Thomas-Smith story was in Conan Saga #2. (I wouldn’t find Conan Annual #1 until a few years later, and I don't own the original). I was surprised by how such a rich tale was condensed in so few pages without losing any of its charm or mystery. Smith was still young, but he brought with him a sense of mystery and exoticism that really fitted the ambiance of Howard’s stories. I think Buscema's version of the character "look" more like what Howard envisioned, but nothing beats Smith's Hyborian Age in my eyes. ( Well, maybe Nord would be a contender...) Conan’s character will grow over time; here he’s still a kid who’s young enough to think he’s invincible. He’s brash, he’s confident, and he won’t be mocked without responding. There was a passage in Howard’s story (not brought over here for lack of space, I suppose) in which we see that this arrogant lad is still capable of respecting experience: when he makes a suggestion to Taurus and the latter explains why it’s a bad idea, Conan agrees that the Nemedian is in the right. That’s how we grow in any business: by learning from the pros. Yag-Kosha’s extra-terrestrial origin was not something I was not keen on at first; I didn’t want space aliens in Conan when I was twelve. However, over time I came to learn of the Lovecraft mythos, and came to accept (and even enjoy) the fact that many of the Weird Tales gods came from other planets. They may not be supernatural per se, but it doesn’t make them any less scary! Notes : - The first caption reads “Torches flare murkily in the Maul this night… where certain denizens of Arenjun, thief-city of Zamora, hold their roaring revels.” Arenjun is not a Howardian name; it was given to the city by L. Sprague deCamp. However, Thomas seems to share my own opinion that when Howard mentions “the thief-city of Zamora” in a letter to P. Shuyler Miller, he meant “the thief-city found in the country of Zamora” and not “the thief-city whose name is Zamora”. Like, say, “the poutine capital of Canada” when talking of Warwick. In its recent reboot of the Conan comic series, Titan decided to go with the latter interpretation and called the city “Zamora”, same as the country it’s in. Added geographical detail: while the city of thieves is not named by Howard, its section called "the Maul" is named twice. One in The Tower of the elephant, and once in the synopsis to "The Halls of the Dead".
- Titan made the city of thieves the capital of Zamora, instead of the city of Shadizar (which was also a deCamp assignment). That makes sense, since Conan was told a story about Yara by a page of the Zamoran court; so either a court employee made his way from the capital to the city of thieves, or the city of thieves is itself the capital of Zamora (a more economical assumption). Naturally, since Howard never named the city of thieves but did mention a place called Shadizar the wicked, Shadizar itself might be the city of thieves!
Maybe we'll get a definitive answer one day. After all, as the Spanish say, "No se ganó Zamora en una hora"!  - Conan has a sword at the start of this issue; it is safe to assume that he acquired it after the great battle he took part in at the end of the preceding issue, when there must have been plenty of now-ownerless swords lying everywhere on the Brythunian battlefield. Comforting us in this hypothesis, Conan mentions that his sword is made of Brythunian steel when he first meets Taurus (and threatens him with it). - Taurus swears by Bel, god of thieves. Conan would mention Bel too in The Queen of the Black Coast, where he would describe him as “a good god”. I bring this up because in a stupid story published in SSoC#211, Bel was described as an evil, six-armed, elephant-headed god (issue 212 would explain that this was a case of mistaken identity). Unfortunately, some website decided to present that erroneous version as the actual Bel, and that is the one Titan went for in its Conan relaunch. I object to that for two reasons: the first is that SSoC #212 makes clear that this elephant-headed thing is *not* Bel, and the second is that in today’s issue, Conan has never seen an elephant; he’s only heard of the animal from a Shemite wanderer, who described it as a beast with a tail at both ends. When Conan meets Yag-Kosha (who *is* an elephant-headed god, albeit not a supernatural one), the Cimmerian does not mistake it for an avatar of Bel or anything; he just finds the alien very strange-looking. If the local god, Bel, had an elephant head, Conan would have been able to recognize an elephant on sight.
Conan the barbarian #4 manages to keep the high level of quality set by the preceding issue; Unfortunately, as Marvel would learn, sales (while good) were going down with each issue. More on that later!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 13, 2024 17:41:33 GMT -5
By the way, folks, while checking facts online I came across this brilliant blog that is absolutely in the spirit of our little community. Mr. Alan Stewart does a great job covering old comics! 50yearoldcomics.com/Another source I've just found is Barbarian Life: a literary biography of Conan the Barbarian. It is a series or recollections by Roy Thomas on every issue of the Marvel Conan series. It was (mostly) originally published as a succession of introductions for a Spanish reprint series, and is now collected in an English version. For the early issues the material had already been covered in the Dark Horse books or on Conan Classics, but it remains a valuable resource -especially for later issues. |
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 13, 2024 20:36:58 GMT -5
On Conan #3. This was my second Conan, having missed #2 and not getting it for another few months. The story of the warring kings didn't grab me, but the ending did leave my 15 year old self awed.
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 13, 2024 20:52:26 GMT -5
Conan #4, what can we say, a classic from the day it came out. Maybe because it was Howard, maybe Roy and Barry honed their work, but it remains a great book. Everything about it sang.
A note, Yag Kosha makes an appearance in the current Titan Conan book.
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Post by swansong on Aug 14, 2024 6:34:24 GMT -5
I read a lot of Robert E Howard stories - but never these comics. My favorite had always been "Hour of the Dragon", the almost-full-length Conan novel and the horror stories "Pigeons From Hell".
"Tower of the Elephant" is a great story, it belongs to the "cosmic horror" Conan with the Lovecraft influence.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 22, 2024 14:50:46 GMT -5
Conan the barbarian #5 (May 1971)  Yes, May! For after CtB#4, the series is promoted to monthly status! Good news for the readers, but tighter deadlines will lead to problems later on. As discussed earlier, this is in fact the third Conan story produced by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, rescheduled for continuity’s sake. The Story : Zukala’s DaughterScript by Roy Thomas Art by Barry-Smith, inked by Frank Giacoia. Frank is of course one of Marvel’s best inkers, but here his style doesn’t really mesh well with Smith’s for some reason… The final art somehow looks gritty, lacking in fluidity, and it's not all due to the penciller's's relative inexperience; the short story The Sword and the Sorcerers, from Chamber of Darkness #4, had looked way better. (Although in all honesty, it also looked better than CtB #1 and 2!) It's not the first time that a good penciller and a good inker don't work well together. It wouldn't be the last either.
The story was inspired by a poem written by Robetrt E. Howard, Zukala’s Hour: We begin as Conan, still struck by the wanderlust bug that will take him from one end of the world to the other, has left the City of Thieves. On his way to Zamora’s capital, Shadizar the Wicked, the Cimmerian enters a small village where he chats with a shopkeeper. As the two argue over the price of a dragon-hilted sword, people on the market place notice that the sky is growing dark. In typical Marvel comics fashion, everyone suddenly and fearfully realizes that “It is time! IT IS TIME!” (You know, the kind of super-important moment that people would definitely remember in real life but that slips their mind for drama’s sake in comics). On cue, and in the midst of a cloud of Kirby crackle, a small tiger appears out of thin air! The cat starts breaking tables and carts, trashing the market place, then growls menacingly at a mother and child. While most villagers flee, Conan confronts the beast… but his sword shatters on the animal’s skull! Strangely enough, the tiger refrains from hurting the youth, even after it catches his arm in its mouth. In fact, Conan seems to hear a voice “from the nether side of the universe”, saying: I shall never harm you… not now. Not ever! After giving the Cimmerian a pensive and very human look, the tiger slinks away, leaving a puzzled Conan behind. (Let us note that as is the case with many young artists, Barry is still uncomfortable with different animals. His tiger looks more like a fox in some images. Still... early days, eh?) As our omniscient reader's eye follows the beast into the hills, we witness its transformation into a beautiful young woman dressed in a tiger-patterned leotard. Meanwhile, the villagers explain what is going on in their neck of the woods: a wizard named Zukala rules over the region, and each year he sends his daughter to collect taxes from the residents. She can transform into a tiger and has the power to see the future… including, it is said, the moment of her own death. The villagers are admittedly fed up with this system (one assumes that they must also pay taxes to the Zamoran crown, and such double-dipping is likely to annoy any taxpayer!) and they hire Conan to kill the wizard. (Unbeknownst to the Cimmerian, they intend for him to suffer an “accident” should he actually manage to defeat the sorcerer and come back to claim his salary). Zukalas’s daughter, named Zephra, eventually reaches her father’s castle and collapses in his arms. Meeting Conan has caused her great emotional turmoil, as she’s seen that he would be the great love of her life. A while later, as captions quote a few lines from Robert Howard's poem, Conan reaches the castle and finds the masked Zukala busily summoning the demon Jaggta-Noga, whom he charges to go collect the taxes that Zephra didn’t bring back earlier.  Here's an excerpt from Zukala's invocation: “ Before Acheron was, Atlantis was… and the man-legend Kull, who rose to sit on the Topaz throne… and before Atlantis was— I was! Come thus in my name— at my call— The call of Zukala!”Lots of information is dropped by Roy here, in preparation of future stories and future books. Kull, Valusia and/or Atlantis had been mentioned in issues #1 and 4, and we reinforce their importance here while also introducing Acheron, an evil empire from 3,000 years earlier. Acheron would be important in the novel-length story The Hour of the Dragon (adapted in Giant-size Conan 1-4, SSoC #8 and SSoC #10). Jaggta-Noga himself is another Robert E. Howard creation, mentioned in the unfinished story The Curse of the Golden Skull. In it, a dying sorcerer invokes the demon’s name as well as a few others: Long-time comics fans will recognize the names of Hotath, Helgor and Valka, often used in the Kull the Conqueror series. Vramma, Kamma and Kulthas will be invoked in a spell in Conan the barbarian #38 (it's the one that bound the demonic Ardat-Lili and his mate Lilitu). As for Shuma-Gorath, not only would we see him late in the Conan series (in CtB #260) but he would also be used as a major villain in Doctor Strange! A little quote goes a long way! Where were we? Ah, yes. Conan does not interrupt Zukala's summoning ritual, because he is pulled back into another room by Zephra herself. The girl fircely embraces the Cimmerian, telling him that he’s the one destined to watch the ages flow at her side. She also tells him that she saw him, in a vision, stand over her body with an axe in his hand. This is foreboding, especially since Zephra was originally supposed to die in this issue. Roy, however, decided to change the ending… and so Conan would later stand, axe in hand, over the girl's very much alive but unconscious form. (Zephra would die for real, alas, in issue #15… but Conan didn’t hold an axe at that time. Magical second sight, eh? Can’t trust it worth a fig). Conan and Zephra keep kissing (they’ve never met, but hey… they’re both pretty, Zephra has fallen in love due to her magical visions and Conan is a 17 year old dude full of testosterone). Who would then interrupt the scene but, naturally, the girl’s father, entering the room as a floating wraith? (The scene is actually funny because Conan exclaims "Crom's devils! do doors mean nothing in this place?" as if he was just an audacious boyfriend slipping into his girl's bedroom and not a paid assassin). Zukala goes all Ditko-wizard on Conan and prepares to blast him into next year, but the youth strikes the wizard’s magical mask. That is a fortuitous move, for the wizard’s power mostly resided in it! Zukala runs away, with Conan and Zephra in hot pursuit, until the sorcerer turns and casts a spell that transforms Conan new sword (the villagers had given him the dragon-hilted one he coveted earlier) into a snake. Into a brazier then goes the fanged reptile! As Zephra begs her father to spare her chosen mate, Conan arms himself with an axe hanging on a wall. Magical bolts and axe blows are traded, until Zukala falls to the ground; the damage to his mask has severely depleted his powers. The wizard then forces the metamorphosis of Zephra into her tiger form, and orders her to attack the Cimmerian. Alas for the sorcerer, Zephra still will not harm her lover. Not now, not ever. Zukala moans that his daughter has doomed him, but suddenly regains hope as Jaggta-Noga re-enters the castle, carrying the gold taken from thje villagers. (I can just imagine the villagers' faces… they send a barbarian to kill the wizard extorting their money, and are immediately visited by a genuine demon insisting on immediate payment! What a lousy deal they must feel they have struck!) Zephra the tiger pounces on the demon to defend Conan, and since Zukala is now quite ready to sacrifice his child to win the day the Cimmerian joins the unequal fray, axe in hand.  The gallant tiger is no match for the supernatural creature and is sent flying like a broken toy, reverting to her human form. (In the original version of the story, Zephra died in the battle; Conan would then keep hitting Jaggta-Noga until the demon fell out of a window. Roy pointed out to Barry that the demon could fly, as seen earlier, and that this didn’t make much sense… So a new ending was written and drawn, one in which Jaggta-Noga stays in the room and Zephra survives).  Brought back to more fatherly sentiments by the sight of his prostrate daughter, Zukala banishes Jaggta-Noga to his otherworldy home. He then picks up his daughter, who’s slowly coming to, and berates the barbarian for the mess he’s created. He is particularly irate that Zephra’s heart is now torn between her father and Conan. As Father and daughter vanish, Zukala warns Conan to beware should they ever meet again. We are not told why Zukala decides to retreat in such a way... Is he afraid that Conan would resume his attack on his weakened self now that Jaggta-noga is gone? It seems to me that Zukala could probably hold his own against Conan, especially if Zephra intervened to calm everyone down. But perhaps the sorcerer simply plays it safe and intends to return to the castle in an hour or so. The Cimmerian is left a little baffled, but then realizes that the gold coins taken from the villagers are now scattered on the floor of the empty room, ready to be picked up. No need to go back to the village and claim a reward, then (and so the Cimmerian unwittingly avoids the trap doubtless set for him). Comments:This is still an early issue of the run and Conan is not entirely well defined as a character (at least in his comic-book incarnation). Here we see him risk life and limb to save a mother and her child (a heroic gesture and a testimony to his innately noble nature) but he also accepts a job as a hired killer (a decidedly non-comics code approved line of conduct). How future issues would balance Conan’s nobility and his readiness to use violence is still up in the air. That being said, we already see the general outline of his moral code: he defends the weak and innocent (or at least refrains from willfully molesting them) but is quite ready to take on the powerful for his own personal gain, whether they threaten him or not. Later issues will make much of Conan's natural aversion to magic and the supernatural; here he doesn't seem to hesitate one moment to take on a sorcerer for money. As we said above, his character isn't completely defined yet.
I liked the character of Zephra. She is eons-old, yet seems to be eternally young at heart. Her professed love for Conan sure sounds genuine, and as strong as that of any teenager who falls in love for the first time. It has a strong tragic streak to it.
Notes:- Zukala and Zephra will both return in issues 14 and 15. Zukala will then show up again in issue #115, as well as in issues 242 and 243. A possibly apocryphal appearance in SSoC #189 may or may not be canonical, depending on your tolerance to continuity-twisting. (That issue had many problems, as reported ion our sister thread). - Zukala claims to be the last member of his ancient race. Shouldn’t Zephra be a member of said race too? In CtB 242-243 we will learn he also has a son, because retcons. - Jaggta-Noga will be seen again in CtB#115, 242, 243, as well as in a Kull back-up in SSoC #197. - Conan ends up sword-less at the end of this story: he broke the first on Zephra's head when she was in her tiger form, and the second was turned into a snake., That’s how we’ll encounter him at the start of issue #6, swordless (although with a new-found dagger). I like such attention to detail. Swords were an expensive item (even when they were more common than today) and it would make sense for our hero to need some time to acquire a new one when he loses one.
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Aug 22, 2024 15:47:27 GMT -5
I think part of the reason it took so long to define Conan as a character is comics is that Roy kept using non-Conan stories and adapting them into Conan stories, but the protagonists in those stories have different motivations and moral codes than Conan does, and Conan has to act according to the plot of those stories doing things Conan as defined by Howard in the Conan stories, would not do to make those stories work. While it may have exposed some readers to Howard's non-Conan tales, it was a disservice to the character of Conan as defined by Howard.
-M
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 24, 2024 15:21:23 GMT -5
Conan the Barbarian #6 (June 1971)  According to Roy’s comments in Barbarian Life, this issue was particularly well received by fans and colleagues. Some even believed that the story was an adaptation of a Robert Howard Conan tale, which is high praise indeed. It was no doubt one of the reasons our tem landed two 1971 Shazam Awards (granted by the just established Academy of Comic Book Arts): Best writer, dramatic division (Roy Thomas) and Best continuing feature ( Conan the barbarian). The previous year, Barry Smith had taken home the 1970 Shazam Award for Best new talent. This mag was on a roll! (However, despite the book's quality, sales were declining. Issue #7 would be the lowest-selling in its early days). The story: Devil-wings over ShadizarScript by Roy Thomas Art by Barry Smith and Sal Buscema.  Barry keeps improving his skill, as demonstrated by the lovely splash page showing the minarets and art deco feel of Shadizar the Wicked, capital of Zamora. Look also at the bottom-lit scene… Lovely city scape at night. Conan himself is depicted as lean, borderline rangy; I can easily believe that he’s a strong lad of 17 or 18. Smith’s version of Conan is not as bulky as John Buscema’s, but I believe that it’s pantherish enough for the Cimmerian, especially as a youth. (For the record, the Conan version that I feel is the closest to Howard’s description is Neal Adams’, but I have a soft spot for Smith’s). We don’t know how long Conan has been in Shadizar, although later comments suggest he’s just arrived. The money pouch at his belt probably contains what remains of the gold he took from Zukala’s castle in the previous issue. He still hasn’t found a sword but is carrying a dagger. and since he’s seen here at the top of a wall I would assume that he’s currently involved in a bit of cat burglary; an activity where a bulky sword might be a disadvantage. Shadizar was mentioned three times in the Howard stories (twice in the same tale, and one of these is just a mention of the name) and we knew very little about the city before this. That last quote caused Sprague deCamp to make Shadizar the capital of Zamora, but it doesn’t even make it clear that the city is even in the country; it could be that there are naughty girls both in the country of Zamora *and* in the city of Shadizar, which for all we know could be in Zembabwei. But let us stick to what the Marvel series says! Our opening scene is a nod to Fritz Leiber’s own famous S&S heroes, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, here featured as a pair of arguing thieves named Fafnir and Blackrat. Fafnir will be seen again in CtB #17, where he will become a fast friend of our hero; it will be revealed that he’s from Vanaheim, a fact belied here by his swearing by Mitra. Perhaps he has traveled far and wide, like Conan would eventually, and just picked up foreign swear words during his travels; the Cimmerian himself will often swear by Mitra after having lived in Hyborian countries long enough.  The two thieves are fighting over how to fairly split three objects taken from a murdered goldsmith earlier in the night. Conan intrudes upon the quarrel and amusingly offers to settle the dispute by taking one of the three objects, but when the irate Blackrat tries to skewer this impudent intruder, all he manages to do is impale his partner. (Fafnir will recover in due time, as we’ll learn in CtB #17; Fafnir will then explain “Blackrat? That pipsqueak could never thrust a sword hard enough to spit a sparrow”. Brave words to be sure, but as of today Fafnir does fall unconscious to the ground, looking quite dead. Conan casually kicks Blackrat into a wall, and leaves with all the loot. Notably, he leaves their swords behind; I suspect that at this juncture, and despite its worth, a sword might be too much baggage. Let us mention that this is the last time we’ll see Blackrat, a rare thing for a non-dead character in this series. The Cimmerian goes to celebrate his accrued wealth in a tavern, “The House of Suwong”. Again according to A Barbarian Life, this is a nod to “The World of Suzy Wong”, a reference that would totally have escaped me back then and still does today! I never read the book, never saw the film and feel the weight of my shameful ignorance. At the bar, Conan meets the first recurring supporting character of the series: Jenna, a pretty blonde whose job consisted, in my pre-adolescent understanding, in getting free meals and drink to chat with the tavern’s patrons. Jenna is a deft manipulator and an extremely good liar! She latches onto the imprudent Cimmerian (he really should be more discreet about his money pouch, since at least two people notice it in this issue) and the two exit the tavern together after a brawl almost breaks out with a few rowdy customers. That scene helps show that Conan is really new to the city life; he doesn’t know the codes yet, and behaves like a country yokel… just as happened in issue #4. This is of course what Thomas wants: Conan is still very much a fish out of water, albeit a fish with teeth. Jenna leads her new friend to the smithy of her “uncle” Maldiz, and suggests that Conan’s easily-recognizable golden trinkets be melted into the shape of a heart (“easier to carry”, she'll later say). Conan is puzzled because that makes the gold harder to spend but he relents, probably hypnotized by Jenna’s feminine charms. We get another pop culture reference, as Maldiz says the golden heart is not quite up to a falcon he once forged. (Get it? The Maldiz Fal… yes, you got it. That one would also have escaped me, though). Hard to believe that all this happened in just seven pages. Comics hadn’t reached the age of decompression yet! The two young people exit the city itself and reach an isolated palm grove. One may wonder why; as the city is walled, it suggests that the outside may not be that safe; but perhaps Conan doesn’t have a flat yet and prefers camping in the wild, where it doesn’t smell so bad. In any case, under the shadow of the palm trees, the young barbarian once again demonstrates his lack of social skills by roughly kissing Jenna, who quickly rebuffs him: “I thought you knew how to treat a woman. I am a girl— not some bear that you are wrestling.”  I love that exchange. Our man Conan is still a boor, and in more ways than one; I love seeing him slowly learning how to behave outside of his Cimmerian hills. Jenna also removes Conan’s trademarked horned helmet, which “makes him look like a yak”. Roy and Barry had decided that Conan didn’t need a “uniform” (so to speak) anymore, and so the helmet went first. Conan would wear similar helmets in future issues of Savage Sword of Conan, and SSoC#189 even reunites him with the original one; however, I’ve already expressed my doubts about the canonicity of that particular issue. The lad doesn’t have much time to practice the gentler arts of love-making with his skilled tutor, as both are suddenly attacked by a group of cultists dressed in red robes! They abduct Jenna and leave Conan unconscious, without even stealing the golden heart he had on him. The Cimmerian awakes and makes his way back to Maldiz’s smithy, reporting the abduction. Maldiz then reveals that he’s not Jenna’s uncle at all, but enjoys playing these games with the lying little scamp; furthermore, those red cultists are *very* bad news and Jenna is as good as dead, a sacrifice to the cult’s Night God.  Conan would doubtless run after Jenna even if he wasn't hornier than his now-lost helmet, so following Maldiz’s directions he makes his way to the red cultists’ strange temple, where a minaret sports a huge aerial entrance. (More lovely architecture drawn by Barry, here… the lad was on fire!) Our hero follows the normal protocol known by any pulp hero for entering secret temples: ambush a lone cultist, steal his robes, join the crowd. The Cimmerian’s just in time for the main event, for atop the tower the alluring High Priestess is starting the sacrifice ceremony. Jenna is, naturally, chained to an altar near the minaret’s sky opening. A bell is struck and the lights are dimmed, and in the darkness Conan is suddenly grabbed by the night god votaries (no fools, they!) while Jenna screams for help. The sound of giant wings is heard, and as Jenna’s yelling redoubles, the Cimmerian breaks lose and topples a covered brazier, casting light upon a fantastic scene: the night god is actually a giant bat!  The bat, frightened by the sudden light, takes wing to return to its roost; Conan jumps on its back, carrying the High Priestess with him! (Multi-tasking, he also manages to carry a lit brazier in his grabbing hand). Jenna dangles from the night god’s claws, and Conan commands the priestess to cause the bat to land; however, she has no power over it. Ensues an aerial battle: Conan vs giant bat, High priestess vs Conan, gravity against everybody. The bat finally crashes outside of the city, splitting its skull on a tree (shades of what will happen to the dragon in Red Nails) and Conan loses consciousness. The very angry priestess intends to stab the blasphemous savage when Jenna brains her from behind, using the still-smouldering brazier. The girl may be afraid of dark gods, but when it comes to human opponents, she doesn’t take $#% from nobody! Soothing her saviour with sweet words, she entices him to rest while she watches over him… but when Conan wakes up, he is quite alone with the corpses of the night god and the priestess; Jenna has absconded with all his gold! The faithless one has taught Conan yet another worthy lesson! Accepting that he’s been outplayed, Conan laughingly turns his back on Shadizar, promising to return when he has gold that he can spare losing. Comments:A very good issue indeed, with beautiful art and a classic story full of exoticism, adventure and a sense of wonder. I love the way Conan is handled as a character: still raw and inexperienced, barely surviving thanks to his cunning and physical prowess, he hasn’t learned yet how to avoid trouble in the first place. His sense of humour is also showcased, something that isn’t always frequent (and more’s the pity). “Gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth”: the man likes to laugh, let's not forget! (Kurt Busiek had very good scenes where he showed us Conan’s intelligence and sense of humour, as in the story “ Two Nemedians walk into a bar…”) Conan is still rather naive; he never suspects that Jenna might be interested in him only for his money, nor that Maldiz might not be her actual uncle (despite the man hesitantly saying “You, uh, make me blush, my dearest niece”). Conan will often stress in later issues -and later years- how the northern people he’s familiar with are more honest and direct than the southerners. (I suspect that's mostly because he better knows how to detect dishonesty in a northerner than in a southerner, not because of a difference in integrity between the two). Notes :- Jenna mentions having seen King Numedides of Aquilonia. That is the king Conan will kill when he himself takes the crown, something like 20-25 years later. In the Marvel continuity, that tells us that Numedides was king for a long time, which I do not mind at all; supposing he was 25 when he inherited the crown, his being 50 when Conan deposes him doesn’t stretch the imagination at all. In fact, considering how later writers will have several kings of this or that country meet an untimely demise, it is good to show some political stability in a few places. (In the unfinished story we know as “ Drums of Tombalku”, set roughly 15-17 years later, the king of Aquilonia was given as Vilerus by the young Amalric. But since Howard never published that story, it doesn’t matter much that Numedides be made a longer-reigning monarch at Marvel. Furthermore, Drums of Tombalku had been completed by DeCamp, and Marvel didn’t have the right to such stories yet). - Jenna’s mention informs us that she’s traveled far; Aquilonia is a great distance to the west. She claims to enjoy traveling, but since it costs money, she mostly remains in Shadizar. We may be tempted to think that she traveled along the road of kings (which extends all the way westward to Argos) and then came back, but nothing states that Jenna is a native-born Zamoran; in fact, the famous “Know, O Prince…” introduction mentions “Zamora with its dark-haired women…” As a blonde, Jenna may well be an Aquilonian or a Brythunian who traveled to Zamora. A one-way journey is easier to accept that a round trip, considering how tourism wasn't yet a thing for the working classes back then. - Maldiz will be back in CtB #273. There we would learn that after the events of today’s issue, the votaries of the night god had learned that the barbarian who had killed their god had been seen at Maldiz’s smithy earlier. They would visit the smith with ill intents on their mind, and while he would trounce them he would also injure his right hand and have to give up his trade. Maldiz then purchased a tavern, and didn’t hold a grudge against Conan. - The night cult will be back in CtB #274. We’ll learn then that the high priestess was actually subbing for her dad the high priest, and years later he would try to exact revenge on Conan when, at the head of his Free Companions, he’d camp near Shadizar. On that occasion we’d also learn that the giant bat belonged to an extremely sexually dimorphic species, as the male looks like… well, a giant bat and the female looks like a woman with wings. A woman with wings who can talk, too. Now that’s one retcon I could have done without. - This is the first issue we hear of Mitra, the Hyborian’s main god, and it is thanks to a Vanirman! But then, apart from a few pages in Brythunia in issue #3, we haven’t seen much of the Hyborian nations yet.
- As we will learn in the Letters Page a few months later, this issue was penciled after issue #7. No reason given, but it avoids having Conan travel hundreds of miles one way and hundreds of miles the other way between issues.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 24, 2024 15:23:23 GMT -5
Conan losing his helmet this issue will cause the corner logo on the cover to be altered, starting with issue #9.
Current logo:
Updated one:
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 25, 2024 9:57:53 GMT -5
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 25, 2024 10:09:49 GMT -5
Which side? West or east? |
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 25, 2024 10:35:26 GMT -5
Hi from the Adriatic. (...) ![]() )  Which side? West or east? Just left Dubrovnik on way to Trieste. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 25, 2024 10:39:39 GMT -5
Which side? West or east? Just left Dubrovnik on way to Trieste. Oh, man, we're almost within shouting distance of each other. |
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