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Post by rom on Sept 8, 2016 11:02:59 GMT -5
I have fond - but dim - memories of reading Savage Sword of Conan as a kid back in the day, but never got that many issues of the title. I remember it being tougher to track down than a lot of comics (due to it being a magazine instead of a comic, presumably).
So, it wasn't until Dark Horse started reprinting this about 10?! years ago in those large phone-book Trades that I became familiar with the series. I really enjoy the reprints, and don't mind the b&w artwork at all. Since the art was designed to be in b&w from the beginning, you can tell that the artists are making a point of applying more shading/detail to the art than if the plans were to add color later. Going along with this, it's nice that the night scenes actually look like they take place at night - again, this was because the comic was always intended to be in b&w (conversely, if you read some of the b&w Marvel Essentials - that are reprinting color comics that have the color removed - it's tough to tell the intended time of day much of the time).
In any case, the SSOC stories are also more edgy/violent than what we saw in the regular Conan the Barbarian color comic (out at the same time) - presumably because SSOC didn't have to deal with the comics code at the time.
My one complaint with the DH reprints is that I wish the covers could have been reprinted in their original color. However, other than that - these are stellar reproductions. The paper quality is better than the original mags. (slightly), and at the same time it reminds me of reading the original mags.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 10, 2016 14:48:13 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #211, July 1993 Another beautiful cover by George Pratt. (It was used as the cover of volume 20 in the Dark Horse reprint series of Savage Sword). Table of contents (which, in the mag, gets the main story wrong!) The gods above… the beasts below, part I in the first SSoC adaptation of a TOR Conan novel. The Conan portfolios, a few double-page pin-ups by Alfredo Alcala. God of thieves, first part of an inventory Conan story.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 10, 2016 15:03:06 GMT -5
SSoC #211 —————— The gods above…the beasts belowScript by Roy Thomas Art by Rafael Kayanan Adapted from the pastiche novel part I of the adaptation of the pastiche novel “ Conan and the gods of the mountain”, by Roland Green. This is a first in Savage sword : the adaptation of one of those numerous Conan novels published by TOR in the ‘80s. I can’t say that I am thrilled by the concept, as these pastiches rarely warrant an epithet more positive than “serviceable”. I am convinced that any Roy Thomas original would have been better than these. This one is a pastiche of Red Nails, a concept that would have normally delighted me! I was a huge fan of the adaptation of the Howard tale in Savage Tales #2-3, an adaptation that can rightfully be regarded as one of the high points in the history of American comic-books. I loved the Conan-Valeria dynamics, and was curious to see how their relationship would develop. What we finally get is unfortunately a little… bland. The prequel to Red Nails that would later be seen in the mag (a Thomas original, that) would be much more to my taste. This story also introduces Rafael Kayanan as a Conan artist; he would later be the main artist for the short-lived Conan the adventurer colour comic and become a fan favourite. His style evokes that of Barry Smith (which is appropriate, this tale coming right after Red Nails) and also that of Jim Lee. It’s highly detailed, with lots and lots of lines, and in the ‘90s tradition it has a lot of characters striking dramatic poses. Here’s my favourite image in this issue... I like the shadows on the figure in the back, and it doesn't look staged. The tale begins with a member of the Kwanyi tribe running at breakneck pace to reach his people with important news. As he reveals to other Kwanyi, he had been hunting near the forbidden city of Xuchotl, where he had found the dead body of a dragon (the one Conan and Valeria fought in Savage Tales #2). Curious, the man had then proceeded to enter dreaded Xuchotl itself. Dead dragon : Xuchotl as it is now : Xuchotl as it used to be : Finding the city’s doors open, the hunter had gone in and found all the dead bodies left in Conan and Valeria’s wake after Savage Tales #3. (The perspicacious hunter pretty much reconstitutes the events from that adventure just by looking at the corpses). Concluding that the city is still cursed, he had run out to warn his people of these noteworthy events. The hunter is brought to make his report to Thunder Mountain, where reside the “god-men”, the high priests and wizards of the Kwanyi. The ones responsible for all this turmoil are not that far, making their way through the jungle in a general westerly direction, bound for the ocean. They’re back to their old dynamics, with Conan trying to grope Valeria, and Valeria telling him she’ll lob a few limbs off if he touches her. Meanwhile, we are introduced to the politics of the land. The Kwanyi of different clans live around a great lake on which an island rises. On said island live the Ichiribu, who sometimes come ashore to raid and steal slaves. On one such occasion that we are witness to, a young woman named Mokossa is captured by the warrior Seyganko, lover of Emmaya, daughter of the Ichiribu’s spirit-talker Dobanpu. (Fair warning: there are lots of named characters in this story). Trudging in swampland, Conan and Valeria face the ravenous appetite of crocodiles. (Which is a funny way to describe a crocodile’s appetite. Shouldn’t that critter eat more than a raven? Why don't we talk of the crocodilian appetite of ravens?) When Conan falls hard on a tree trunk, he triggers a hidden mechanism that opens up a well leading to underground tunnels! (What coincidence! How many times do we accidentally stumble upon a hidden door in the middle of a bloody swamp in the middle of Africa?) Conan falls in, and Valeria follows at the end of a rope after having had to deal with a particularly obstinate crocodile. Val’s rope breaks and the two pirates find themselves trapped at the bottom of an unclimbable shaft, with a series of tunnels and caverns extending horizontally. With no other option, they start to explore the underground network. Just as in Jules Vernes’s voyage to the centre of the Earth, the travellers encounter useful fungi and a dinosaur; in this case, a foul-tempered triceratops. Time to strike a dramatic pose and get to business!!! The dinosaur eventually dies when a tunnel collapses on it. Notes: - Set days after Red nails, this story occurs when Conan is about 38. - Being hungry, Conan grabs a handful of fungus and eats it, declaring "I was right. It's edible". Trust me, as the victim of mushroom poisoning, I can certify that you don't identify a dangerous mushroom by tasting it. Toxic or not, it pretty much tastes like a mushroom. (For the detail-minded, it's eating green gill mushrooms that made me sick).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 10, 2016 15:13:31 GMT -5
SSoC #211 ------------- The god of thievesScript by James Rose Art by Ernie Chan Mmmh… Seeing a name other than Roy’s in the credit box suggests that this is an inventory story, and a column in the letters section confirms it. Kayanan’s richly detailed pages requiring a lot of time, the adaptation of “the gods of the mountain” would have to be spread across a few issues, with some other material filling in each issue (a situation complicated by the desire to publish the adaptation at about the same time the novel was published by TOR, creating a deadline even tighter than usual). Luckily, there was a story ready to be published in the editor’s cartons; truth to tell, it had been there since Craig Anderson’s time! (Anderson had been editor before Mike Rockwitz, who had himself been succeeded by Richard Ashford.) You know my cranky nature when it comes to Conan stories not written by Roy Thomas; anyone playing loose with continuity or, more importantly, using improper Hyboriana, is bound to be judged severely. Would this be another of the stories from the “bad old years”? To quote King Ecbert: “Oh, yes”. BUT! There is a saving grace to this tale. Only the first part is from an inventory; part II, published the following month, would have Roy undo most of the annoying bits and pieces from the first part. Phew! The story begins with Conan acting as bodyguard to a group of merchants carrying something very precious somewhere in Corinthia. They are attacked by %$# ninjas. (What was the fascination with $#% ninjas in the ‘80s???) Apparently, these guys are from Khitai and mean to recover a sacred idol. Conan dismembers them all and the journey continues. At a big inn at the border between Corinthia and Zamora, the group finds everyone massacred. A dying man reveals that the Khitans were responsible, looking for the merchants. That very night more Khitans are back and once again Conan kills them all. He then leads the party all the way to Arenjun, the city of thieves, where the merchants bring the Khitan idol to the temple of Bel, the god of thieves. The idol is actually an arm, one that must be attached to the statue of the god Bel. Here we are told that Bel is a many-armed god with an elephant’s head, with a very nasty attitude and an appetite for death and destruction. SAY WHAT???Okay, it seems clear to me what happened here… the story is about the thieves of Arenjun being gripped by a religious fervour, and their god is indeed Bel… so the writer just made up a Bel that fitted his plot. But Bel is nothing like this! This is what we know of Bel, from Robert E. Howard's “The queen of the Black Coast”: Bel appears to be a whimsical and fun-loving kind of god, a trickster… not a world-destroyer. What’s more, Conan does swear by Bel from time to time, and something noticed by Robert L Yaple in “Crom and Mitra: gods to swear by” in SSoC #7 is that “the other gods by which he almost exclusively swore -Crom, Mitra, and Ishtar- shared only one characteristic: none of them accepted ritual human sacrifice”. Not at all like the monster we have here. But fear not: the stomach upset caused by this decidedly incorrect representation of Bel will be alleviated next issue, where Roy has Conan explains in detail why this must be a case of mistaken identity: “…I never saw a single image carved of Bel by the cutpurses who mouthed their vague prayers to him… let alone one with an elephant’s head.” “I’ve begun to wonder whether the statue is not of some Khitan god, and not Bel at all!” (Thank Crom Roy is there to correct things like these). (Unfortunately, the "Bel as evil elephant god" concept is one that the internet has perpetuated for the sake of role-playing games. Le sigh.) All right, let’s get back to business. The elephant god is worshipped by the thieves, who are whipped into a frenzy by some high priest named Nhuzemdar. He intends to forge the thieves into a conquering army. Conan, meanwhile, is attacked in his rooms by city guards of some kind for some undisclosed reason. Badly wounded, he has to flee westward back into Corinthia. There he collapses but receives the kind hospitality of an old woman and her pet lion. During Conan’s recovery, Nhuzemdar leads his army of thieves across the border, pillaging Corinthian villages. The old woman claims that the priest's goal is to sack the sacred temple of Ashtoreth at Khumar-Kun. Looks like in ancient times, the evil elephant-headed Bel used a door to Hell in that location to summon an army of undead soldiers, and that the shemitish goddess Ashtoreth stopped him. Ashtoreth severed one of the god’s arms, sending him in exile to the land of Zamora. (Why losing an arm would confine a god to one country is anyone’s guess). Now that the statue is complete once more, it can be taken back to Corinthia, with the intention of re-opening that door to the netherworld. The old woman further tells Conan that it is his destiny to go help defend Ashtoreth’s temple. Gee, just how many people know what Conan’s destiny is supposed to be? The Cimmerian leaves, looking for a new horse, and comes across Bel’s army. He manages to find a new mount and rides away, as the huge elephant-headed statue is rolled further and further into Corinthia. To be continued! You will have guessed that I am not a big fan of this story. Luckily, as mentioned above, part II will make it a little more palatable.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2016 22:23:27 GMT -5
I am actually kind of fond of Rafael Kayanan's work. He did some work for First on the Moorcock books (Hawkmoon I think) prior to doing Conan. I find his style striking, and he definitely matures as an artist as you move through his body of work. I also sdore the one painted cover he did for the Ostrander Spectre series (#40) -M
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 11, 2016 6:40:49 GMT -5
I am actually kind of fond of Rafael Kayanan's work. He did some work for First on the Moorcock books (Hawkmoon I think) prior to doing Conan. I find his style striking, and he definitely matures as an artist as you move through his body of work. I also sdore the one painted cover he did for the Ostrander Spectre series (#40) -M Roy likes his work very much too, and Kayanan provided several covers for Alter Ego (which had a few issues on sword and sorcery). The artist also contributed to Dark Horse's rebooted Conan series, making him one of the very few people to have worked on both on the Marvel and Dark Horse runs!
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Post by berkley on Sept 11, 2016 21:46:15 GMT -5
I like the look of these Rafael Kayanan samples. Might have to start searching for other comics he's drawn.
I think I'll be adding more than a few of these later SSOC issues to my back-issue hunting list, or perhaps just go for some of the Dark Horse reprint books.
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Post by senatortombstone on Sept 12, 2016 22:13:01 GMT -5
RE: SSoC #211: The god of thieves: RR, I don't disagree with your overall assessment of this story and I have to admit that I am very impressed that you noticed how Roy Thomas salvaged this story in its second part. That went well over my head, but then, that is why it is you and not I who are the annotator off these time-lost tales. Still, I must admit that the Hyborian histrionics of the first few pages induced in me many a hearty chuckle. I enjoyed the drama between the grateful merchant Galibur and his cheapskate capitalist companion, as they bickered by how high a price he was willing to pay for Conan's service as a bodyguard: "Merchant Galibur, For 120 talons of gold, I would gladly escort you safely to the flames of Arallu." Oh, how I have always wanted to say that.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 13, 2016 16:10:46 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #212, August 1993 Cover by Julie Bell, a photo of which is used as frontispiece (she’s a bodybuilder). Very nice metallic effect on the head of the elephant, here! Table of contents To live as men, to die as gods (part II of Conan and the gods of the mountain). The blood of Bel, part II of the story begun last issue. The Conan portfolio, illustrated by Tom Grindberg and Esteban Maroto. The Conan file, an article on cover artist Julie Bell’s work.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 13, 2016 16:24:34 GMT -5
SSoC #212 ------------- To live as gods… to die as menScript by Roy Thomas Art by Rafael Kayanan Part II of the adaptation of Conan and the gods of the mountain, by Roland Green As our tale opens, Conan is eating dragon meat in VERY-- DRAMATIC-- FASHION! Tearing it out with his teeth, sword in one hand and knife in the other, bracing against the resistance of all that grit!!! No one out-chews a Cimmerian!!! This reminds me of the work of Marcel Gotlib, lampooning Burne Hogarth’s similarly intense representation of Tarzan’s every little move. (I love Gotlib. The man is an authentic genius in the field of comic-book art). Conan and Valeria are still exploring tunnels below the land of the Kwanyi and the Ichiribu, where they found themselves trapped last issue. There they find an ancient ornate door behind which lies the skeleton of some ancient great serpent; among the old ophidian bones are piles and piles of “fire jewels” worth a real fortune. Valeria fills her boots with the gems, intending on walking out of there barefoot, but rich. After many hours going from tunnel to tunnel (under a dripping ceiling, at times), the two pirates arrive at the bottom of a vertical shaft, which they begin climbing. Their movements are heard by someone at the top who asks who they are. The language is similar to tongues Conan learned during his days in the Black Kingdoms, and he invites whoever is up there to send them a rope and see for himself. Emerging from a well among a crowd of warriors, Conan and Valeria learn they are now on the island of the Ichiribu; the tunnels extended all the way below the lake on which their land rises. The two northerners are mistaken for spirits, a misconception that Conan is quick to reinforce by brazenly lying. An Ichiribu warrior by the name of Aondo takes an instant dislike to the Cimmerian, and invokes an ancient tribal law that allows him and three of his friends to fight this so-called “spirit”. As Conan accepts the challenge despite the misgivings of the highest-ranking Ichiribu present, Seyganko, the fight can proceed. Conan gives a good account of himself but ends up hanging by one hand over the pit, with Aondo ready to skewer said hand with a nasty-looking pick. However, the warrior is distracted by Valeria who, resourcefully, starts dropping precious fire jewels down the well as if they were so many pebbles. This causes everyone to pause, as nobody wants more jewels to be lost (and besides, who but a spirit would treat that great a treasure in such a carefree manner?) In any case, an imperious voice resounds and claims the strangers must be spared : it is the voice of Dobanpu, the main witch-man of the Ichiribu. Dobanpu apparently has “other tests… surer tests… of those who claim to be emissaries of the gods”. (That strikes me as entirely too convenient for our heroes… Conan had already been beaten fair and square by Aondo; wasn’t that all the proof required by the Ichiribu? Especially since the “other tests” will just consist in more physical exertions after all?) Meanwhile, far away, the god men of the Kwanyi have assembled around a great globe and are psalmodying. (Great shot by Kayanan, here). The god men summon a mystical wind that allows them to see an image of Conan and Valeria in the globe. However something goes wrong, one of the wizards gets distracted, and he is burned to a crisp. One should definitely be wary of magic! But the god men have what they want : an image of the ones responsible for the fall of Xuchotl, that cursed city rising not so far from their land. Back to the Ichiribu island, where Valeria is enjoying a bath. She and Conan argue a little, and both are summoned to attend Dobanpu. The shaman informs them that they will now undergo tests to see whether they are really messengers from the gods, and Conan continues bullshitting the Ichiribu about it. Aondo is still cranky, and swears he’ll kill the Cimmerian, rape Valeria, and do everything a bad guy usually does. Before the tests can begin, however, Conan and Valeria are married according to Ichiribu rites, because… some reason or other. That's a scene curiously devoir of any emotional impact. Valeria does state that if this is a trick of Conan's to get into her pants, it won't work. To be continued. Notes : - The contests imposed by Dobanpu are a strange alternative to just letting Aondo beat the crap out of Conan; they seem rather redundant. But we need to fill out the novel, so there will be four challenges, and the Cimmerian must win at least three out of four.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 13, 2016 16:33:58 GMT -5
SSoC #212 ------------- The blood of BelScript by Roy Thomas Art by Ernie Chan Completing the story by James Rose begun last issue. Escaping the advance of the thieves’ army and their huge idol representing the god “Bel”, Conan encounter Corinthian soldiers. They bring him to the temple of Ashtoreth, where the old woman from last issue had told him his destiny lay. At the temple, the Cimmerian is introduced to Suva Marsa, a priestess of the goddess and leader of the temple’s defenders. Discussing with her, the Cimmerian points out that the big elephant-headed idol is unlikely to be Bel, for different reasons (one of which is that there aren't any elephants in Zamora or Shem). Conan joins the local troops and helps in preparing for the coming siege; the temple of Ashtoreth is surrounded by a palissade. Thanks to his military expertise, the Cimmerian proves invaluable in setting traps for the incoming army of thieves; he lays much hopes in the fact that cutpurses are unlikely to be very good soldiers, lacking discipline. All on his own, he rides within bowshot of the invading army, taunting the fanatical thieves to follow him. Many do, in a carefree charge, and they fall into a trap. Still pushed forward by the high priest of Bel, Nhuzemdar, the remaining thieves attack the temple itself on the next day. Suva Marsa is killed in action, but Conan proves to be an inspiration for the other Corinthians. The Cimmerian finally makes his way to Nhuzemdar himself and kills him, but as the blood of the priest splatters the huge, many-armed and elephant-headed statue of “Bel”, the thing springs to life. Conan slays the creature with an axe blow to the head. As the monster collapses, still more Khitan warriors (like the ones seen last issue, again dressed as ninjas) show up, eager to recover the head of the creature, stolen from a temple in Khitai years ago. Conan grants them leave to do so, happy to be rid of the thing. The Cimmerian then has a vision of last issue’s old woman, who turns out to be an avatar of the goddess Ashtoreth. The goddess (or, rather, continuity-minded Roy thomas) explains that “Bel” was not Bel at all, but rather a many-armed Khitan god named Ghanizar. The idol had been stolen by Nhuzemdar (must have taken a lot of effort, big as it is!) who had named it “Bel” so the thieves from Zamora would follow it, thinking it their tutelary deity. The goddess vanishes, leaving Conan to return to Arenjun and enjoy some off time. Okay, Roy managed to salvage that mess of a plot from last issue! We can still wonder what was the story “Ashtoreth” told last issue, the one in which she wa supposed to have stopped Bel from opening the door to the netherworld in ages past… That doesn’t fit with the revelation from this issue. But since Bel, the god of thieves, is back to his normal status, perhaps we should just quit while we’re ahead. Notice that there's alion with her: the lion is, historically, one of the symbols of Ashtoreth. Something funny is that it’s the second time Conan has the opportunity to help a Shemite goddess; here it's Ashtoreth, and it was the goddess Ishtar in CtB #40. Ashtoreth and Ishtar are basically the same goddess, like Venus and Aphrodite… (another of their name is Astarte; it all depends on which pantheon you refer to). Now in the Conan world there are people worshipping Ashtoreth and other people worshipping Ishtar, which is fine, but I’m surprised they didn’t turn out to be the same supernatural entity under different names! Conan portfolio Some inages by Tom Grinberg. In those days, the artist had left his “Neal Adams” phase and had apparently become engrossed by the work of Mike Mignola. He would develop his own distinctive (though Frazetta-flavoured) style a bit later. Esteban Maroto also provides two images. In the Conan File, we learn more about Julie Bell and her work in fantasy illustration. The swords and scrolls section has a very long and very interesting letter by Steven Tompkins, whose contributions are beginning to be one of the high points of each issue. Here he analyzes “Conan and the spider-god” in a very informed way, and even points out that in the pastiche story “The hall of the dead”, the king of Zamora is called Tiradites, while here he was called Mitradites (spelled Mithradites in the novel). Roy explains the switch from Mithra- to Mitradites… but neither gentleman remembers that the king of Zamora at the time should be Hadranor, as per SSoC #1!!!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 15, 2016 17:08:36 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #213, September 1993 Cover by Jim Hoston Table of contents Death has four corners, part III of Conan and the gods of the mountainConan file, discussing the cover Thief in the night, a humorous adventure of young Conan Daughter of the western sea, a tale of Conan as a pirate Barbarian banquet, an article on food in the Hyborian age Conscience of the king, a tale of King Kull That’s quite a big issue, all things considered! Roy warns us in his editorial box that the adaptation of “gods of the mountain” will require an extra issue. There is also a pin-up by Fred Harper featuring a quasi-Wolverine/Conan battle.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 15, 2016 17:09:31 GMT -5
SSoC #213 ------------- Death has four cornersScript by Roy Thomas Art by Rafael Kayanan Part three of the adaptation of “ Conan and the gods of the mountain” by Roland Green. Very nice opening page! The wizards of the Kwanyi people are worried by the arrival among their rivals, the Ichiribu, of the destroyers of the cursed city of Xuchotl. Meanwhile, on the island of those same Ichiribu, it’s time for the contests that will determine whether Conan and Valeria truly are, as they claim, emissaries from the gods! In competition with the Ichiribu warrior Aondo, the "spirits" must beat him three times out of four. The trials are as follows: 1- Throw a spear as close as possible to the centre of a target. 2- Catch as many fish as possible in a given amount of time. 3- Win a canoe race on the lake. 4- Face Aondo in a rigged arena where stepping on certain spots causes a sharpened piece of clay to be shot at another spot. Given that the Ichiribu are a warrior culture living on a lake, the challenges make sense. I am just wondering what they're supposed to prove… Any gifted person could likely win in any of the trials; in fact, if Aondo were to win three times, would he be declared a spirit? Somehow I doubt it. The entire population is quite excited about the event, even if most everyone looks as if they're suffering from constipation. (Those were the '90s after all… everybody was supposed to scowl and gnash their teeth). Aondo first sends his spear very near the centre of the target but Conan does even better, with the added flourish of sending his weapon clean through the wood! In the second challenge, where both men must spear as many fish as possible with a trident, the giant Ichiribu easily does better than his rival. Aondo is however nothing like a graceful winner, even when Conan tries to be sportsmanlike about it. For the canoe race that follows, it is decided that Valeria must take part in at least one trial and so she grabs an oar. She and Aondo must steer their canoe around a distant statue rising in the lake and return. While Aondo is stronger, Valeria is lighter... and very good with boats. However, strength would have prevailed had the Ichiribu not tried to force his rival to crash onto the foot of the statue by suddenly barring her way. The plan backfires completely when Valeria, realizing Aondo's plan, brakes and turns her canoe at the last moment. The Ichiribu's canoe, at full speed, is the one crashing into the statue. Val goes around and starts paddling back toward the shore while her stunned opponent recovers and starts following her. It is then a sprint, with the Ichiribu slowly gaining on the Barachan pirate... but Valeria pushes herself so hard that she reaches the shore first, beaching her canoe and being ejected by the impact. Aondo is none too pleased, naturally, and he recruits a certain Wobeku to help him make sure the foreigners do not win. Wobeku, like Aondo, is an Ichiribu of Kwanyi origin, and so he agrees to do his fellow's bidding. Wobeku happens to be an expert with the blowgun, and he is to use it against Valeria during the final trial. This final contest is to be held in a boxing ring surrounded by sharp stakes, over which hovers a big clay ball drilled with a multitude of holes. As Conan will learn, this clay contraption shoots a hard and sharp clay pellet whenever someone in the ring stomps on a certain spot; the idea is that if you learn where to step, you can cause your opponent to be pelleted by a veritable hailstorm of cutting clay balls. How to determine the victor? That's kind of cute : the first one who physically strikes his opponent has lost, because he proved he could not control his temper! The trial begins and Conan is immediately at a disadvantage as he's never seen this kind of device. Even when it dawns on him that stepping on the right spots causes a ball to be shot here or there, he still has no idea of where to step to cause the clay to be shot at Aondo and not at him! With little other choice, his strategy becomes simply to outlast his opponent. Stepping almost at random, causing a deluge of sharp pellets, Conan receives twice the ounishment that Aondo does, hoping he can takeit better than the Ichiribu. To taunt Aondo, after both men are almost torn to shreds, Conan tells his hosts that this trial should end… for after all, being a spirit, he can not actually be hurt while the Ichiribu stand to lose one of their best warriors! An angry Aondo loses his temper and barely refrains from slugging the Cimmerian. Then the Olympic spirit is lost as things degenerate. More used to dealing pain than receiving it, Aondo finally gives in to his anger and jumps on Conan and tries to trown him upon the spikes surrounding the ring. Wobeku, taking advantage of the uproar, loads his blowgun with a poison dart. He shoots at Valeria, but Emwaya, the daughter of Dobanpu (who oversees the proceedings) extends her hand just in time and is hit instead of the pirate. Mayhem ensues as Wobeku tries to flee, then to blow more darts; Dobanpu's magic causes him to drop his weapon while Valeria's thrown knife plants itself in the murderer's forearm. Meanwhile, on the ring, Conan finally stops playing by the rules and breaks Aondo's arm before throwing him off the ring, unto the spikes, the same fate the warrior had in store for him. The Ichiribu have rushed to Emwaya's help and agree that since Aondo threw the first punch, Conan did no wrong by defending himself. When Conan states to Emwaya lover, Seyganko, that he and Val will try to intercede with the gods on the girl’s behalf (a very hypocritical thing for the usually honest Conan to say), the warrior basically tells him to ### off, and that if Emwaya dies, he will kill the "spirit envoys". After all, that dart was meant for them. (Can't blame him really). Notes : - Aondo may have behaved like an ass, but he was in the right... Conan and Valeria ARE imposters. - Seyganko doesn't seem to put much credence in the visitors' supernatural status, but he's willing to go along with the mascarade until he knows what to make of them. - A sub-plot about a power struggle between the Kwanyi chief Jolari and the Kwanyi god-men continues, mainly observed from the viewpoint of Ryku, a sorcerer's apprentice doubling as a spy for Jolari.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 15, 2016 17:21:35 GMT -5
SSoC #213 ------------- Conan file : Cover story
by Sue Chan This article explains cover artist Jim Hoston's process when he sets up a cover. Quite interesting use of photo reference. Thief in the night
Script by Don Kraar Art by Dave Simmons In this short tale by Don Kraar, young Conan's stamina is tested as never before. A thief in Zamora, he is told by a prostitute he fancies that to gain her affection he'll have to find money, and that a way do so is to plunder the palace of Fharim-Shah. Conan surreptitiously gets into the place's treasure room, where he is caught red-handed by one of the merchant's lovely wives. The poor girl, married to an old goat, sees in this strapping lad a way to pleasantly while away an otherwise boring evening, and Conan certainly doesn't resist her assaults. Later, with a goodly amount of money, he tries to tiptoe his way out of the villa when he finds himself right in Fharim-Shah's harem. The price the ladies therein decide set for them not to not raise the alarm is for Conan to show them a good time. The following day, back in the tavern, Conan is met by his earlier would-be paramour. He's quite willing to give her his loot but has no interest whatsoever in anything else : exhausted, he just wants to sleep! Dave Simmons's humour-filled art is well-suited to this story; for example, I love this scene with a "blind" beggar! Daughter of the western seaStory by Andrea Coates Art by Sandu Florea Conan is second mate on some pirate ship (not one we've seen before) as its crew rescues a beautiful woman, alone and adrift on a small raft. The Cimmerian becomes suspicious of her when he notices that despite her state of relative undress, she shows no sign of sunburn. The captain takes her to his cabin, but ends up dead quite rapidly. The first mate who takes the girl under his wing knows the same fate. Sailors then accuse Conan of being the murderer and of wanting both the captaincy and the girl. Things might have gotten ugly when an old sailor, who has lived through similar events before, splashes a bucket of sea water on the girl, who reveals herself to be some mer-creature; one who wraps people in her tentacles and drains them of life. An undersea tentacled monster then shows up to help the first one, and the pirates start chopping appendages left and fight before they throw oil at the kraken and set it aflame. They can finally sell away. Barbarian banquetby Jim Neal Oh, what a treat!!! It was more than a decade since Jim Neal regaled us SSoC readers with one of his great essays on the Hyborian world! Here, combing the Conan stories by Howard, de Camp, Carter and Nyberg, Neal tells us more about what people ate in the hyborian age. I really, really missed this type of scholarly work during the '80s! Conscience of the kingStory by Charles Dixon Art by Eliot Brown and Armando Gil We return to a storyline dropped many years ago (in SSoC #149): that of the City of Wonders being besieged by an army of Serpent-Men. King Kull is basically fed up with the responsibility of looking after a whole city of ingrates and hypocrites, in which even the dire straits the whole populaton finds itself in won't cause merchants to renounce their usual greed. Under the cover of night, Kull decides to just give up and retake his freedom of yore. He leaves his crown and quietly makes his way to a certain spot where it's possible to cross the walls of his beseiged capital, when he meets a young beggar girl. They strike a conversation and the girl expresses her faith in Valusia's king, certain that under his rule things will get better again. Humbled by her discourse, Kull abandons his plans and returns to the palace, while we learn that the girl knew who he was all along. The following morning, the Valusians seem to show renewed ardour in the defense of their city, buoyed by the example of their king.
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 17, 2016 12:39:28 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #214, October 1993 Cover by Julie Bell, with another gorgeous metal animal! The scene comes straight from this issue's main story. Table of contentsThe reign of Thulandra Thuu, a tale of Conan the king Conan file: an account of the lost film, a clever and fun feature about a 1930’s Conan movie! We take a break from the adaptation of Conan and the gods of the mountain this issue, probably to give the artist more time. It's a little unfortunate and will eventually lead to a situation similar to that of the adaptation of "Island of pirates' doom" which would get stretched in SSoC 73-74 and 76-79, with abrupt interruptions between most parts.
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