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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 13, 2016 12:16:44 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #204, December 1992 Cover by Alan Rabinowitz A cover blurb signals that this month marks the 60th anniversary of the first publication of a Conan adventure, in the magazine Weird Tales ( Dec. 1932 issue). Table of contentsDrums and death of of Tombalku, part three of Conan in the city of magicians Murderer's grog, a short tale of Conan in the east.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 13, 2016 12:27:43 GMT -5
SSoC #204 ------------- Drums and death out of TombalkuScript by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and Ernie Chan In this third chapter of a five-part arc, we revisit the story “ Drums of Tombalku”, adapted as “ the horror from the red tower” in SSoC #21. Last issue we left Conan and Imhotep in the Kushite capital of Meroê, where the two unlikely allies were hard-pressed by the vengeful captain Mongo and his soldiers. Giving pause to all the fighters involved, the sky-riding demon horde of Imhotep (a horde now under the command of his wizardly nemesis, Hak-Heru) had suddenly appeared. As the airborne demons wreak havoc among the soldiers and general chaos ensues, Conan has an opportunity to save a baby in an alleyway. This act of kindness is always welcome in a barbaric hero and will pay dividends later on. Imhotep sees no reason to flee his demonic comrades, whom he is convinced have come for him; no matter how far he ran, they would always find him. He merely makes a point of decapitating one, just to slyly demonstrate to Conan that his scythe has absorbed some of his demonic power and might prove a useful tool in the future. Imhotep then discards his weapon as if simply despondent, while he is in effect giving it to his mortal ally. Imhotep is seized by the demon horde and carried on their winged horses back towards the city of magicians, Keshatta, where Hak-Heru awaits. Conan grabs the discarded scythe, but must immediately run once again, pursued by Mongo and his men. That’s when the wheel of karma comes full circle: the mother of the child that the Cimmerian saved earlier sees him running for his life and promptly opens her door to him, allowing him to elude his pursuers. Leaving Meroê behind on a stolen horse, Conan continues his journey towards Keshatta. Water is scarce in those southern climes, and especially so as the northerner enters the desert that leads to Stygia’s southern border. Eventually the traveller reaches a city he has heard of before, Gazal, an oasis off the traditional caravan roads. Gazal is a little-known city settled by Kothian exiles many centuries earlier. Back in SSoC #21, we had seen a young Aquilonian soldier, Amalric, defeat the demon Ollam-Onga who dwelt in the Red Tower dominating Gazal. Amalric had escaped the city along with a young girl, Lissa, whose adventurous nature set her apart from the generally apathetic Gazali. Amalric and Lissa had then been rescued from demonic pursuers by Conan, who at the time had become a general in the not too distant city of Tombalku. Recognizing the place thanks to Amalric’s description of the Red Tower, Conan enters Gazal. He is met by citizens who might be sleepwalking for all the interest they manifest for a stranger in their midst. Barely answering his questions, the Gazali move as if in a daze, going through the moves of daily life as if they weren’t quite there. Conan decides that he’ll spend the night and rest but leave this boring place as early as he can. A few days later, more riders approach from the south. They come from Tombalku and are led by general Battuta, who replaced Conan in that position following the civil war that rocked the city in SSoC #21. Battuta is surprised to recognize an apathetic Cimmerian among the slow-moving Gazali, but is quick to determine that there must be something in the local water that saps the will of whoever drinks enough of it. Still sore at having been passed for promotion in favour of Conan in days past, Battuta bullies the barely responsive Cimmerian and has him imprisoned in an old building. From his improvised jail, Conan witnesses without much interest the rape and plunder of Gazal by the invading Tombalkans. After three days of savage debauchery and vandalism, the soldiers find an old man who was trying to smuggle old scrolls from the infamous Red Tower. The soldiers are well aware of the evil nature of the building, since the old Tombalkan wizard Askia (who died in SSoC #21) had summoned devils from the place, and they have no intention of letting the old man either summon more deviltry or to give what are apparently magical scrolls to future sorcerers. They decide to burn the priceless documents, and while they’re at it to burn the old man alive as well. Conan witnesses those events as well, and since the man in charge of watching his cell has shared some of his food and water with the prisoner, the influence of the Gazal water has started to wear off. When general Battuta decides that the Cimmerian should be roasted alive as well and has a torch thrown into his cell, the heat manages to break the spell that keeps Conan pliable and he breaks out of the burning death trap. Luckily most of the soldiers are drunk, so when they try to corner the escaped prisoner the battle is not as one-sided as it could have been. However, as Cimmerian and Tombalkans fight, a new opponent rises. From the bonfire where the magical scrolls take their own sweet time to be consumed emerges the charred skeleton of the old man, animated by a supernatural vitality! The creature reaches for Battuta’s throat and simultaneously chokes and incinerates him. Proceeding to do the same to all living things it might encounter, the creature is decapitated by Conan, handling Imhotep’s magical scythe. Throwing the skeleton’s head back into the fire, Conan notices how the latter starts blazing brighter and brighter, and barely has time to put some distance between him and the pyre before it explodes, scattering many of the Tombalkans. As the fire spreads, the surviving soldiers now face the few remaining Gazali who, despite their torpor, have grabbed weapons and seem ready to exact a just measure of revenge from their oppressors. Conan finds his horse and rides off, as the city of Gazal burns behind him. Notes : - Captions remind us that Conan had been around these parts just a few months before; it is immediately after the events from SSoC #21 that he had decided to become a Barachan pirate. - It is nice to see a bad guy who is as intelligent as he is ruthless, for once. Battuta immediately understands what is going on in Gazal, thus avoiding the fate that struck the Cimmerian. - It is very, very gratifying as a Conan fan to have Kushite characters swear by Jullah, Jhil and Ajujo, all gods from the southern lands. Back in the Bad Old Years, they would probably have sworn by Ymir and Mitra. What a difference someone like Roy Thomas makes on this title!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 13, 2016 12:30:23 GMT -5
SSoC #204 ------------- Murderer’s grogScript by Roy Thomas Art by Ovi Hondru This is the first time we see Ovi’s full name. He’s usually a cover artist referred to as only "Ovi". In this story, set a little before The People of the Black Circle (adapted in SSoC #16-19), Conan is tricked by a would-be lover and her accomplice and given a drug that is supposed to unleash one's murderous instincts toward anyone the consumer might hate. Under the influence of this drug, he is expected to assassinate a political figure who has supposedly wronged him, but the tables are turned on the conspirators when Conan’s anger towards one of them turns out to be greater than toward the intended victim. A convoluted plot and so-so art makes this a very forgettable story.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 27, 2016 11:44:24 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #205, January 1993 Cover by John Watkiss It may well be that during the short history of Conan the adventurer, the comic that succeeded the classic Conan the barbarian, I was the only fan to prefer the art of its fill-in artist John Watkiss to that of regular Rafael kayanan. There is something about Watkiss’s work that really resonates with me, artistically speaking; It is more painterly than illustrative (even in black and white), more impressionistic that detail-filled… and so it has a certain aura of mystery, of wonder, that really suits Robert E. Howard’s ideas. His cover work is also pretty neat, very much not trying to ape Frank Frazetta. Table of contentsKheshatta, part four of Conan in the city of magiciansHunter’s ring, a tale of Conan the king
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 27, 2016 11:54:10 GMT -5
KheshattaScript by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and Ernie Chan After leaving the burning city of Gazal last issue, Conan finally reaches the City of Magicians, Kheshatta, in the south of Stygia. I appreciate the effort made to get this story to agree with a previous rendition of the city, back in CtB #85, down to those big towers and its demonic statues standing guard at its gate. The Cimmerian manages to steal camels from an incoming caravn and pass as a trader to get access to the city, which as most Stygian towns doesn’t much care for foreigners. I love the way Conan’s reaction to a “city of magicians” is described; it’s really a classic. “(…) he has pictured it in his mind as a place where mages cast colourful spells on every corner, while winged carpets soar unendingly from spire to spire. The reality, he soon sees, is decidedly more mundane. Soldiers, tradesmen and slaves fill the streets of Kheshatta… as they have in every inhabited city’s he’s ever seen.” Too cool! I admit that I, too, had pictured a city much more sinister than this one; certainly one as gloomy and eerie as Khemi, on the coast of the western ocean, as seen in SSoC #10. Due reference is given to those who had told Conan of Kheshatta in the past : Livia, from CtB #104 (misidentified as Olivia), and Zula, most notably in CtB #85. SSoC#89, a forgettable story in which Conan is supposed to have been in Kheshatta, is thankfully ignored. Conan tries to stable his newly-acquired camel, but his way of speaking Stygian betrays him as an imposter and he is clobbered from behind by an enterprising stable-owner who delivers him to the slave market. The Cimmerian therefore ends up on the auction block. Oh, the ignominy! Bidding starts slowly, until the mighty pecs of the barbarian attract the attention of a rich woman, the lady Athyr-Bast. We will later learn that Athyr-Bast is a member of the dreaded Black Ring, that conclave of sorcerers led by Thoth-Amon. She is also the lover and business partner of Hak-Heru, the very wizard who has abducted Imhotep, whom Conan is in Kheshatta to liberate. A bidding war begins when Athyr-Bast’s offer is matched by a newcomer… Lord Zula!Zula had recently been a supporting character in the Conan the barbarian comic and in a few back-up tales in SSoC, but in adventures set nearly a decade before the events depicted in this issue. Clearly, since we last met him, Zula has led a career path very different from that of his Cimmerian comrade! Zula ends up buying Conan for an enormous sum, much to the chagrin of Athyr-Bast, who has her litter carry her home in a huff. There she punishes a careless servant by using “the black hand of Set”, a magical maneuver that momentarily turns a wizard’s hand black and allows its touch to kill on contact. Zula takes the Cimmerian home, treating him with all the disdain due to a mere slave. Conan assumes that this is but a ruse and plays along, but starts having doubts when they reach Zula’s residence… He has apparently inherited the belongings and the house (as well as the position) of his former master, Shu-Onoru, whom Zula killed in CtB #248. Could it be that his erstwhile brother in arms has fallen prey to some form of sorcerous influence? Is he perhaps possessed by the ghost of Shu-Onoru? Strangers things have happened. The palace looks just the way it did in flashback sequences from CtB #85, complete with its ape-like skeleton. Now alone with his friend at last, Zula relaxes his guard and cheerfully offers to share a drink. However, not convinced that all is as it seems, Conan attacks him! Despite Zula’s protests, Conan engages him in a lance fight, until he is satisfied that Zula is really himself. He then intends to play a rough joke on his buddy, just to get even for the way he was earlier treated as a mere slave. His goal is to disarm Zula and plant his lance on the ground mere inches from his head, but the wizard-warrior amps up the game by magically animating the ape skeleton!!! The creature does not tire, and although the Cimmerian manages to punch and kick it into several pieces, all of them remain active… finally, Zula agrees to relent if Conan will just stop acting like an ass and listen to him. We are then treated to a recap of Zula’s career, and told that after his adventures with Conan and Red Sonja in Khoraja and Zamboula (plus, we assume, the as-yet unpublished episodes in which Zula joined the Kozaki, also with the same pair), the last Zamballah decided to pursue his sorcerous studies more seriously. In his explanations, he leaves for a later day the way in which he managed to be declared Shu-Onoru’s legal heir (and a good move too, since it’s not important to the plot), but does establish that he has finally been accepted as a member of the Black Ring... the Major Leagues for a wizard. (Good thing Thoth-Amon didn’t take a look at who was with Conan in CtB #89!!!) Conan is upset by his friend’s choice of career, and he promises to take Zula with him when he leaves the City of Magicians, by force if necessary, to save him from ambitions that can only lead him down a dark path. Naturally, Zula isn’t about to have his life dictated by the Cimmerian, but for old times’ sakes he agrees to help Conan accomplish his mission, that of freeing Imhotep from Hak-Heru’s clutches. Zula reveals that he knows Imhotep is actually a demon, and he would like to see Hak-Heru’s influence diminished should the wizard lose control of Imhotep’s sky horde. Before anything can be done regarding that matter, though, the two warriors have to stand together against a sorcerous attack : the vengeful Athyr-Bast, from her own palace, summons a monster to attack the upstart wizard who dared outbid her at the slave market. It takes the combined brawn and power of the two men to destroy the creature. Meanwhile, from the south and west, a new danger approaches : the army of Kush, led by Mongo, means to sack Kheshatta. This is not just a convenient plot twist, but a retaliation operation for the attack of Meroê by Hak-Heru’s sky horde seen two issues ago, so full marks here for coherence! Notes : - Great use of continuity here, what with referencing the art from CtB #85. Good job. - One gets the impression that Roy really likes Zula. And what’s not to like? An intelligent warrior who sees as much value in brains as in brawns, and who’s proficient in both? - It is not the first time Kheshatta is attacked by Kushite soldiers, as mentioned in CtB #104, so another good point here.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 27, 2016 11:58:17 GMT -5
SSoC #205 ------------- The haunter of the ringScript by Roy Thomas Art by Jerry DeCaire and George Freeman adapting the short story by Robert E. Howard This Robert E. Howard story is interesting in that although originally set in modern times, it features Thoth-Amon… sort of. Actually, it is Thoth-Amon’s ring, still extant after ten thousand years, that was featured in the tale. Here the story is set in the Hyborian Age, and Thoth-Amon’s ring becomes just a Stygian ring like Thoth-Amon’s. (Coincidentally, it almost could have been the thing itself, had the tale been set a few months earlier; indeed, this story occurs a few weeks after the events of The phoenix on the sword (CtB annual #2) in which the dreaded mage finally recovers his ring after having been deprived of it for a few years). Conan visits his friend and political ally Count Trocero of Poitain, one of the instigators of the coup that deposed the corrupt king of Aquilonia, Numedides. Trocero has recently remarried with a younger woman, the Lady Evlena, daughter of the Nemedian count Enri. The two of them seem very much in love. Trocero had been earlier married to the Lady Feiwana, whom he also loved deeply. (She was not named in CtB #200, but we assume that Feiwana was the mother of the daughter Trocero lost in that issue at the hands of Xuthl, the demon accompanying the Devourer of Souls). This creates a continuity glitch in that it ignores events from Conan the King #26, which focuses on Trocero. In that issue, a tired Count returns home to Pointain after two decades of service in the capital city of Tarantia; it is implied that he was very infrequently at home after Conan gained the throne. Not a big deal, except that when he finally returns home Trocero meets not only his senile father but also his neglected wife, the love of his life, who is named… Amanda. Oops! Well, perhaps Evlena’s complete name is Amanda Evlena or something. Anyway, the plot involves the murderous plot of an earlier suitor of Amanda’s, who means to use a cursed ring to get the woman who rejected him to kill the person she loves most in the world (that being her new husband Trocero). King Conan is brought into the plot and figures things out, cleverly managing to turn the tables on the would-be assassin. A good story, and the twist ending is very satisfying. I’m also glad that Evlena didn’t end up in a refrigerator to provide pathos to the tale.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 1, 2016 8:01:06 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #206, February 1993 Cover by Bob Larkin Only one story in this issue, and at 58 pages, it is massive! I am floored by Ernie Chan's productivity!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 1, 2016 8:20:24 GMT -5
SSoC #206 ------------- When wizards make war, part five of Conan in the city of magicians.Script by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and Ernie Chan The story so far : Conan has come to the Stygian city of magicians, Kheshatta, to free his unlikely ally the demon Imhotep, also called the ravager of worlds. Imhotep has been captured by Hak-Heru, a member of the Black Ring, the conclave of sorcerers calling the shots in Kheshatta. In the process, Hak-Heru gained influence over his fellow sorcerers, mostly on account on how he now controls the horde of airborne demon riders whom Imhotep ruled before being captured. Conan has found another ally in Kheshatta : his old friend Zula, who since their last meeting has become a real sorcerer and a member of the Black Ring. Meanwhile, an army from the country of Kush is marching against the city. The issue opens as Zula brings Conan, in chains, to the Black Ring. He presents him as a slave with great military expertise and claims that only this outlander can lead Kheshatta's army against the approaching invaders; the Kheshattans themselves are to used too the protection conferred by the Black Ring's power to know much about effective warfare. Hak-Heru and his consort Athyr-Bast are not enthusiastic about the idea, and claim that their power suffices to defend the city. Since the other members of the Black Ring meekly refuse to decide one way of the other, Hak-Heru and Zula decide to settle the argument by a game of zinat. (This is the Hyborian Age equivalent of the game of senet, an actual game played in ancient Egypt). As the contest starts Conan learns that it is more than a mere game, for he finds himself magically transported into another world where his fate is decided by the succeeding moves made by Hak-Heru and Zula. That other world is home to dangers like giant webs that catch souls. (The souls of the Stygians are represented by birds with human heads, as is the bâ -an aspect of the human soul- in Egyptian myth ). Luckily, Zula gave Conan Imhotep's magic scythe before the game began; at least the barbarian is not completely defenseless. Good thing too, for Conan also encounters the Devourer of the dead, a crocodile-headed monster whose earthly avatar he already fought in issue #196. He manages to escape it. Zula's skill at the game helps him defeat Hak-Heru, which the man takes very poorly. Arguing with his brethren over his unsportsmanlike behaviour and what is to be done next, the wizard doesn't notice Zula slipping away. As for Conan, he returns to our world deep in a dungeon, near to where Imhotep is kept prisoner, impaled on a a thorny tree. That is exactly where Zula hoped he would materialize. The Cimmerian frees the ravager of world and gives him back his magic scythe. The two then escape the dungeon and meet with Zula, whom Conan instructs Imhotep not to murder as is his habit with most people he meets. Meanwhile, the army of Meroê is nearing the city. It is led by commander Mongo, the man who took over Conan's position when the Cimmerian hurriedly left Kush's capital years before (in CtB #107). Mongo was humiliated by his former commander two issues ago and is hungry for revenge. Along with the army is Kush's current king, Ageera the witch smeller, who wants to cast down the blasphemous power of Kheshatta and to punish whoever sent Imhotep's sky horde against Meroê. Ageera proves to be much more than a mere witch-smeller, however, when he summons a gigantic skull from beneath the sands and rides it toward the walls of Kheshatta. Zula had been right : the Kheshattan soldiers are no match for the Kushite warriors. However, the city can count on its own magical defences. The two massive stone gargoyles flanking its main gate are actually imprisoned demons who fly out to wreak havoc among the Kushites. The stone demons are met by Ageera's giant skull, and eventually all these magical creatures see to their mutual destruction. As the Kushites have the advantage now that the city's magical defenders have fallen, the members of the Black Ring beg Hak-Heru to summon his flying horde. The magician seems surprisingly loathe to do so; he claims he can to the job on his own, riding Imhotep's winged steed Pazuzu, but we sort of get the impression that he's afraid he could lose control of the sky horde. In any case, he relents and finally calls in his army. Conan (him again, the confounding interloper!) jumps over Imhotep's shoulders all the way to Hak-Heru's flying horse, and after a high-flying scuffle causes the wizard to fall off. Right below him awaits Imhotep, scythe well in hand, and the demons cuts Hak-Heru in half (longitudinally). Once more the master of his sky horde, Imhotep orders his demons to slaughter everyone, Kushites and Stygians alike (although he personally decapitates Ageera, who caused so much trouble). The Cimmerian ends up facing Mongo himself on the battlefield. The last time they met, the Cimmerian had knocked him out while Mongo was visiting his mistress, Habarata, who had been Conan's girlfriend in the past. Conan had pretended to spare Mongo on account of Habarata's pleading in his favour, but this apparent proof of fidelity was not enough for the jealous Mongo; he now claims to have killed the woman for consorting with his enemy. Conan sees red when he hears that, and after a prolonged battle he snaps Mongo's neck more in revenge for Habarata than for anything else. Mongo and Ageera dead, Conan reminds Imhotep that they have a deal… and so the demon stops his winged followers, not really caring about Kheshatta one way or the other now that Hak-Heru is dead and that he is free again. Imhotep and Conan prepare to fly all the way to Zahbela on the Kushite coast, where Conan's crewmates have been sequestered five issues ago. (Conan's rescue of Imhotep, let us recall, was the price to pay to get the demon's help in getting the sailors out of jail). As they leave, Conan beseeches Zula to give up on the seductive call of sorcery. The last of the Zamballahs seems rather intent on remaining in Kheshatta and perhaps rise in the ranks of the Black Ring, but something he sees on the horizon gives him pause : an unnatural whirlwind that he knows announces the arrival of the Ring's real master. He then decides to grab a horse and leave, abandoning his possessions and his ambitions. The whirlwind is actually Thoth-Amon, who from afar has seen his fellow wizards make fools of themselves. Deciding to whip them back into shape, he reasserts his dominance over them and promises to divide his time, henceforth, between his home at the oasis of Khajar, the Stygian capital Luxur and Kheshatta, city of magicians. Far away to the west, Zanji, the queen of Zahbela is in the process of ritually sacrificing Conan's sailors, having obtained what she wanted from them -the training of her own navy. The arrival of Imhotep's horde puts an end to the proceedings, and in the general panic the queen falls off a flight of stairs and brains herself below. Conan and his men sail away on the Horned Whale, happy to have escaped with their lives. Conan and Imhotep part ways on better terms than the first time they did, way back in CtB #185. Notes : - This is the last chronological appearance of Zula. What became of him after he left Kheshatta is open to conjecture. - Why Zula leaves isn't quite clear. It can't be that he's afraid of Thoth-Amon, as we see them together in issue #206; Thoth-Amon was well aware that Zula was now a member of the Black Ring. What's more, why would the wizard hold any grudge? If anything, Zula helped saved Kheshatta by helping Imhotep regain control of his sky horde. And finally, Zula abandons much more than a fledgling career : he also gives up his castle, his money, his position in Kheshattan society... His going away really has me puzzled. - This is the last issue told in chronological order for the "Conan the Barachan" story arc begun in issue #190. SSoC will henceofrth resume its old habit of covering different eras in Conan's life. - The letters page has a letter by Robert E. Howard' scholar Steven Tompkins, the first of many. They would always prove to be interesting and their learned contents brought me back to the glory days of the title. - As you'll recall, chronologically speaking, Thoth-Amon has just returned from Australia when this story occurs; he met Conan over there back in issue #193. According to the informal timeline found here, the wizard would soon find himself out of favour with the new king of Stygia, Mentupherra, and would be forced to flee the country. - One thing that disappointed me with this issue is to see what a bunch of dorks the members of the Black Ring turn out to be. I would have expected them to be formidable sorcerers, certainly in the league of Thoth-Amon himself or of the master of Yimsha from People of the Black circle. Here, apart from Hak-Heru, they come across as ineffectual and bumbling fools. How can it be, then, that just a few months later Thoth-Amon would be forced to flee for his life when threatened by competitors? Why is it that, after losing his magic ring as related in The phoenix on the sword, he would find himself so badly outclassed as to be forced to accept exile and to live as a slave? It is a mystery.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 3, 2016 16:15:16 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #207, June 1993 This issue marks a makeover in the mag’s graphic presentation as well as a few changes in the mag as well. These changes even warrant an editorial by editor Richard Ashford! We are informed that in the forthcoming issues, the mag will once again feature text columns, as in its early years. Not only do we get a new logo, but this new era is heralded by a Mike Kaluta cover. It doesn’t get much better than this! Table of contentsThe Conan file, an article about Conan role-playing games. It’s hard to believe there was a time when games were played somewhere else than on a computer screen! How quickly time passed. Bugs, brigands and blind seers, beginning the adaptation of the novel “Conan and the spider god" by L. Sprague de Camp. Diverging paths, starting a multi-part adventure with Red Sonja. Roy Thomas takes a column to explain the story behind this month’s adaptation. Conan and the spider god was the last Conan pastiche novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, if you exclude the non-canonical novelization of the Conan the barbarian movie. During his first stint on the various Conan mags, it had originally been Roy’s intention to adapt all of the Conan books (except perhaps Poul Anderson’s Conan the rebel, which featured an origin for Bêlit that was irreconcilable with the one seen in CtB #59). His successors had dropped adaptations altogether, and the “spider god” book had been left in limbo. Complicating its adaptation was its subject : it told of Conan’s visit to Yezud, a Zamoran city worshipping a spider god. But Conan had already been to Yezud in the early days of the CtB comic, and our hero had not only killed its arachnid deity but also witnessed the destruction of the town! No matter; Roy manages here to retrofit the story in the Marvel Conan saga by placing it a few years later, at a time when the city is partly rebuilt and a new eight-legged demiurge to worship has been found.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 3, 2016 16:29:33 GMT -5
SSoC #207 ————————— Bugs, brigands, and blind seersScript by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and E.R. Cruz Adapting the pastiche novel “Conan and the spider god”, by L. Sprague de Camp. Enthused by the new design of the mag and the promise of a return to its glory days, I may have forgotten something important about this issue… As a novel, “Conan and the spider god” sucks mightily! Among the old Conan fans who aren’t particularly fond of L. Sprague de Camp in the first place, the novel is usually seen as the very worst of his pastiche work. Roy does his best to salvage the tale, but as we’ll see it is rife with implausible twists, inexplicable decisions, bad characterization and a general sense of careless improvisation. And the adaptation will last four issues! Oy! At least Cruz does a nice enough job inking Buscema (although I prefer Cruz on his own. He doesn’t add much detail to Buscema’s rough layout and simply renders them in his elegant style, complemented with grey washes). But... flawed as it is, let us begin reviewing the tale! Conan recently deserted the army of Turan, after that unfortunate affair with the Lady Amytis, wife of his superior officer Narim Bey (as seen in CtB #38). Captions tell us that the story is set after the events from CtB #45, which means the barbarian has been going back and forth between Zamora and Koth… He was in Zamora in CtB #42-44, in Koth in CtB#45, and finds himself back in Zamora. Traveling through an uncomfortable marshy region, Conan encounters encamped merchants he has the opportunity to save from the attack of a big swamp cat. The merchants are led by one Harpagus and they accompany a lady of noble bearing whose name is not given and who seems to be in a constant stupor. (She also bears a spider-shaped gem which plays a role later on). We see that Harpagus keeps her hypnotized, and he would very much like her to remain in her tent, away from curious eyes. Naturally Conan is very curious, and when he is caught trying to get into the lady’s tent during the night he is told by Harpagus that he must regretfully be slain for his indiscretion! Fighting ensues and Conan gives a good account of himself, but is eventually stopped by Harpagus’s hypnotic powers. Losing consciousness, the barbarian dreams of a huge spider... before waking up the next morning! He is all alone and has lost his sword, his horse, and the memory of how he came to be there. (What’s more, he’s covered with cobwebs and hungry-looking swamp spiders big as a hand). Why did Harpagus not kill the Cimmerian as he had first intended, you may ask? Has he some further plan for him? No, not at all. It’s just that the plot can’t allow Conan to die, and so he was just left there after he lost consciousness. Trodding through the swamp, the amnesiac Cimmerian reaches a Zamoran town where he has the opportunity to save an old blind beggar (claiming to be a seer) whom a thief wants to separate from his few coins. Grateful for the help, the seer (named Kushad) invites Conan home. For you see, the blind beggar sitting in the mud of the market place actually owns a mansion! He explains that his prophetic gifts made him rich years ago, but that he still sits in the mud to make prophecies because… it “pleases him to do so”. Say what? Conan enjoys a good meal served by Kushad’s young daughter, Tahmina (named after the Mozart character?) and explains how he fled Turan recently. He adds something we didn’t know: Narim Bey, the officer he killed in CtB #38, had been the son of the high priest of Erlik in Aghrapur, and now there’s probably a curse on his head on top of an offer for a reward. (Conan didn’t actually kill Narim Bey, by the way, despite what he claims here… It is the were-woman Lilitu and her mate who, summoned by Narim Bey to rid him of the Cimmerian who had cuckolded him, turned on him when their prey managed to escape them. But I guess it’s possible Narim Bey’s father knew of his son's plans for Conan and, learning of his death, would decide to put a curse on him. No idea how Conan would have heard of it, though). In any case, very uncharacteristically, Conan decides that he should refuse Kushad’s hospitality for fear of putting him “and his sweet child” in danger. (Conan has always been honourable, but since when is he so * nice*? He refuses to stay the night on the off chance that a priest in another country might have put a curse on him??? If he keeps this up, he will protest that his table manners make him an unsuitable guest for such distinguished hosts). Kushad won’t hear any of it and, sensing that Conan’s memory is foggy, uses his own skills to lift the hypnotic block on his guest’s mind. Conan then remembers his meeting with Harpagus and the unnamed woman. Which makes me, as a reader, wonder what the point was in introducing this short-lived bout of amnesia. By an amazing coincidence Khusad “who hears many things” reveals that the favourite wife of King Yildiz of Turan, Jamilah, has been recently abducted. She is known to wear a spider-shaped gem, which the priests of Yezud (from whom it was stolen) had long wanted to recover. Such a small world! She must be the woman Conan saw in Harpagus's camp! And he doubtless means to bring her back top Yezud for some nefarious reason! Khusad decides to hire Conan to recover Jamilah and get the reward doubtless offered by King Yildiz. When Conan remarks that Kushad had earlier claimed not to need more money and to keep plying his trade just for fun, the old man answers that one can never have enough money. (Fickle, isn't he?) Kushad then starts teaching Conan to resist hypnotism by reciting his multiplication table . I kid you not. (This trick will be used in a later adventure, too). A funny interlude involving Conan and Kushad’s daughter reconciles us with the story a little. (I personally haven’t read the novel, but I’m pretty sure this is from Roy’s pen and not de Camp… it’s too good for the latter!) As Conan and Kushad practice some more and Conan finally manages to remember what are four times six, a band of thieves get into the mansion and take Tahmina hostage, insisting on getting the old man’s money in exchange for her life. Naturally Conan goes full berserker on them, and old Kushad uses mass hypnotism (in which he, too, is versed!) to cause them to die of fright. (I assume that’s what happens, Kushad says that when we “die” while in a hypnotic trance, we also die in the real world, which is naturally nonsense. It could also be that in the shared hypnotic trance, Conan chopped them to pieces). Next issue : on to Yezud! Notes : - This story happens right after the sequence of events seen in SSoC #1 - CtB #43-44, which featured Red Sonja, and CtB #45. Conan is roughly 22 at the time. (Here’s a view of the timeline map published in Marvel Treasury Edition #19). - The king of Zamora is said to be Mitradites III. Well, damn… just a few weeks earlier, in SSoC #1 (“the curse of the undead man”), the Zamoran king was Hardanor. Oh, why didn’t Marvel ever use the list of Hyborian age rulers that I sent to the Savage sword editor in the early ‘80s? It would have made my day and would have insured a tighter continuity. You got fans, Marvel, use them!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 3, 2016 16:32:16 GMT -5
SSoC#207 ——————- Diverging pathsScript by Roy and Dann Thomas Art by Del Barras Red Sonja and Zula, who have been traveling together since the events from CtB#244-250, reach the country of Turan. Entering a tavern, they must suffer the uncouth attitude of a ruffian who means to grope the she-devil with a sword. Sonja does her best to get the fellow to back off but the situation degenerates into a fight and she has to chop off his right hand. As the maimed lout was acting as the bodyguard of a young traveling nobleman and his party, the man offers Sonja and Zula to take his place. He explains that he, Lord Linneus of Nemedia, is leading an expedition to the fabled city of Zanadu, located somewhere between Hyrkania and Northern Khitai. Accompanying Linneus is his young sister and a Vendhyan wizard named Jenghil. As Zula has no intention of journeying that far east, he and Sonja decide to part ways; the Hyrkanian will accompany Linnues and his small group and the last of the Zamballah will look for his fortune a little closer to their present whereabouts. Note : Linneus and Jenghil play the chess-like game “wizards and warriors” that we saw King Kull play in issue #55. Classic games never die. This story continues in the next two issues, and it features what could have been an important development in Sonja’s character. More on the subject next issue.
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Post by senatortombstone on Sept 3, 2016 19:06:35 GMT -5
RE:Conan and the spider god: I actually enjoyed this adaptation, even though I agree that Conan behaves uncharacteristically in it. The retconning is just par for the course, for a character like Conan, whose life story is told out of order and by many, many authorities who take liberties with REH's creation. I never figured out why reciting the multiplication table could break a hypnotic spell. Perhaps by reciting hard mathematical facts, the hypnotized mind is forced to become re-cognitized with reality? In any case, I got a big kick out of how poorly Conan performed it. This speaks ill of the Cimmerian educational system - no barbarian left behind, indeed.
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Post by berkley on Sept 3, 2016 19:48:05 GMT -5
I continue to be surprised by how nice some of the artwork looks in these later issues, long after I had given up on the series. The Buscem/Chan combo doesn't work quite as well in black & white as it did in the colour comic, but still, not bad. The Buscema/Cruz team looks interesting. And I like the samples here from Ovi Hondru and Decaire/Freeman, though i think the latter would have been better in colour.
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Post by foxley on Sept 3, 2016 20:44:45 GMT -5
Speaking as a diehard tabletop role-player, I have to point out that there are great many of us who still play games somewhere other than a computer screen (and often seem to a damn sight more fun doing so).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2016 23:24:21 GMT -5
I too still play a fair share of tabletop RPGs (we are actually trying to get a new group up and running this fall as our previous group disbanded after the couple who hosted the games moved to Chicago).
Conan and the Spider God was actually the first Conan book I ever bought (I had read some of my cousin's when he gave them to me, but Spider-God was the first I went out and bought with my own money) and it was the first novel length Conan story I had ever read, and at that age (having just devoured all of Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander, CS Lewis and a few other fantasy novel series) I was much more enamored of the novel than the short story. Now it's quite the opposite.
And that is a gorgeous Kaluta cover.
-M
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