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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 17, 2016 12:58:49 GMT -5
SSoC #214 ------------- The reign of Thulandra ThuuScript by Roy Thomas Art by Ernie Chan This story is a direct sequel to the Conan the liberator story arc published in SSoC #49-52. It reuses characters from that tale and sets the stage for the events covered in The phoenix on the sword, Conan's first published adventure, adapted in Conan the barbarian annual #2. Conan has been king of Aquilonia for a short while only, and both he and his court are going through an acclimatization phase. For example, the king insists on sparring with soldiers using real swords, and when one of them nicks him on the shoulder everybody falls on their knees begging the king's mercy, sure that they are to be punished as cruelly as they would have been under the previous ruler, the tyrannical Numedides. (Conan tells them to grow a spine, basically). The Aquilonian court then welcomes an ambassador from Nemedia, one Phaidor, and reference is made to the diplomatic visit that count Prospero is supposed to make to that country in the near future (as seen in the opening pages of The phoenix on the sword, which introduced us to Prospero... and in fact to Conan's world). A great hunt is planned for the next day. We also learn of three Aquilonian conspirators who would like to see the new king replaced; they are three of the "rebel four" from The phoenix on the sword : Gromel, a soldier who hates general Pallantides; Dion, the fat baron of Attalus and a potential pretender to the throne on account of his blue blood; and Volmana, the count of Karaban. The three of them have managed to get in contact with the wizard Thulandra Thuu, the now-unemployed advisor to the late king Numedides. We had thought Thuu gone to islands located east of Khitai back in SSoC#52 (probably remnants of the Thurian Age continent of Lemuria), but clearly he decided to stay in the vicinity of Aquilonia for his own nefarious purposes. The rebels believe Thuu will use his magics to help Dion gain the throne, but it is clear that he is using them more than the opposite. Thulandra Thuu resides in a tent not far from the capital, magically hidden from prying eyes. With him are his servant Hsiao (misspelled Hsaiso and Hsaio throughout this issue), and the beauteous Alcina, whose charms allowed her to get so close to Conan that she almost succeeded in murdering him on Thuu's orders in SSoC#50. While Hsiao is as silently and devoutly obedient as ever, Alcina is clearly dissatisfied with her lot; the wizard treats her like dirt, requiring her presence (and tolerating her voice) only when "the woman need is upon him". The dirty old fossil! As Conan and his court prepare to go on their hunt, we are introduced to the final member of the rebel quartet : Rinaldo, the poet with anarchist tendencies. (Rinaldo sings Robert E. Howard's poetry throughout this issue, which is a very nice touch on Roy's part). The minstrel naturally sings verses that might be deemed offensive to a touchy ruler but Conan tolerates the jibes and lack of respect, going so far as to throw the singer a coin. Said coin is refused, however, as the artist would be beholden to no man. We can see why Conan would like such a free spirit and cut him a lot of slack. Thulandra Thuu plans to strike at Conan during the hunt. When the king leaves the others in his dust and engages a wild boar on his own, his horse is hurt and the king himself has a hard time finishing his prey with a knife. That's when Thuu strikes, sending his devilish horse at the king; the stallion has been transformed into a thing of iron, with a mane of thorns and very sharp hooves. The monster proves to be a unstoppable force of destruction, and Conan ends up falling into a river. Much to the credit of the beast or to its master's, the horse does not immediately assume that Conan has drowned when he fails to resurface (as soooo many villains have done in the history of literature) and it gets into a killing frenzy, striking the river's bottom mercilessly like an equine osterizer. Finally satisfied that the king isn't coming out of there, the horse leaves the scene. Prospero, Trocero, ambassador Phaidor and the rest of the hunting party finally show up and find the king's wounded horse, a dead boar, but no Aquilonian monarch. They naturally fear the worst... until a hand comes out of the river and Conan emerges from the water, not mentioning that he's just been attacked by a supernatural horse of iron. Clearly this is not really Conan, but Thulandra Thuu in disguise! The wizard-turned-king immediately starts to act in a tyrannical and insane manner. When Rinaldo greets the returning hunting party with one of his songs, the king has him arrested and condemned to death. Surprised by this sudden change of heart, Prospero and Trocero mutter that they don't really know their new Cimmerian monarch and that it's possible they have just replaced one tyrant by another. They should have muttered more quietly, for they are overheard by Thuu and condemned to death as well! When ambassador Phaidor makes a remark about the rashness of this decision, he, too, is slated for a dawn execution, and if this means wah then so much the better! Business taken care of, Thuu/Conan decides it's time to select the girls of his harem, and he spends the night bumping uglies with girl after girl after girl. He even forces Chancellor Publius to watch, both to humiliate the old man and to have a witness to his renewed virility. (We are given to understand that Thulandra Thuu, in his natural form, is not that capable a lover). At dawn, the tyrant declares that he wants all those women removed from the palace, and that he'll require a fresh lover each night -a virgin, and from a good family too. When Publius protests, the mad king decides that it's "off with your head" time. However, just then... the real Conan appears on the balcony!!! Where had he been, one might ask? It turns out the iron horse's fury had proven ineffective after all, despite its good intentions. A nearly-drowned Conan had managed to escape the river but, weak and wounded, had found himself as helpless as a babe. Who would find him then but his ex-lover, Alcina, near Thulandra Thuu's tent? The woman had drawn a dagger, and when Conan had promised her a reward if she would help him, she had asked if there was anything that would bring her more joy than killing him. To which Conan had cleverly answered by returning the question : "well, is there?" Alcina was quick to grasp the possibilities and when Hsiao had showed up in turn and tried to attack the king, it was the Khitan whom Alcina had stabbed. She then helped Conan to the nearby tent, there to minister to his wounds, explaining that she would want a villa near Elymia to begin with, and then... That's how Conan managed to return to Tarantia in time to save poor old Publius's life. Before the eyes of the chancellor, the two Conans engage in battle; one with a sword, the other with a magical staff. The two are evenly matched physically, but in the end the real Conan impales the wizard on his own staff and decapitates him so they never have to go through this kind of situation again. Come morning, all the previously-condemned men are freed and the king apologizes to the Nemedian ambassador, who wisely decides that he'll simply omit this adventure from his report. All that remains now is to give Alcina her due. The dancer/spy/seductress had really hurt Conan back in SSoC#50; her resemblance to Bêlit and the trust Conan had in her had made her betrayal doubly painful. The king had spared her in the end "because he doesn't make war on women" but had exiled her from Aquilonia, on pain of death if she returned. Now he promised her a recompense for her help, which she provided... What to do, what to do? Conan starts by claiming that under the circumstances, the gift of her life is the greatest gift he could bestow, to which Alcina must grudingly acquiesce, feeling betrayed nonetheless... but then the king tells his guards to escort her away, all the way to Elymia, where there's a villa in need of a new mistress loyal to the king. Grateful, Alcina claims that from now on there will be one. All's well that ends well, for once! Notes : - Very good continuity between Conan the liberator and The phoenix on the sword. The reign of Thulandra Thuu does not distract us with needless references to other stories but really maintains the illusion that the Conan saga is one long and coherent tale. Well done. - Alcina won't be seen again, but I'm glad she and Conan part on better terms than last time they met; their relationship thus becomes something unique in the saga, with them being linked by something that's not quite friendship, but has become respect. Might they become lovers again someday? We would alas never know. - I like the fact that Conan's future close friends, Trocero and Prospero, still see him as something of a stranger at this early point in their partnership. They still find him a little unpredictable. - The two original sequels to the hour of the dragon, " return of the conqueror" and " bride of the conqueror", are mistakenly said to have been published in CtB annual #2 and 3. The actual issues were #4 and 5. (Issue 2 presented the phoenix on the sword and issue 3 was all reprint).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 17, 2016 13:01:22 GMT -5
SSoC #214 ------------- Blood and ice : an account of the lost Conan filmDid you know that RKO pictures (producers of Cimarron (1931), the most dangerous game (1932) and King Kong (1933) planned on making a Conan film in the ‘30s, based on the works of then-young writer Robert E. Howard? No? Well, neither did anyone else… but for the sake of one article, it’s fun to pretend! Here, our host Alexander Charles Piltdown (a name that doesn’t suggest a hoax in any way) tells us of a secret compartment in an old piece of furniture where certain papers had been hidden for decades… papers revealing the genesis of that aborted project! (The article is illustrated by Sandy Plunkett, who is revealed to be Pitldown himself in the letters page of issue #219). The plot is described in broad terms, and it is pretty silly, in the Weissmuller Tarzan way. Like the modern Conan films, it wouldn’t have reflected the true spirit of Howard’s character… but that’s Hollywood, right? It certainly adds to the verisimilitude of these documents that the RKO Conan film would not have been the kind of film we'd make! The notes and preliminary sketches are very authentic-looking and beautifully done. A very witty feature!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 18, 2016 13:49:27 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #215, November 1993 Cover by Tim Conrad, an artist whose association with the magazine almost goes back to day one. It is interesting that Conrad, whose early style bore a strong resemblance to that of Barry Smith, would provide the cover for an issue featuring the art of Rafael Kayanan, who shows the same influence, and for a tale that’s a sequel to what may be Barry Smith’s greatest Conan story. Thematic unity, as it were. Table of contentsWhen wakes the golden serpent, part four of Conan and the gods of the mountainRey Garcia portfolioThe savage brotherhood, a tale of young Kull Reggie Jones portfolioCaresses of mine enemy, a second Kull story Conan the barbarian, some dire news on the comics front Conan file on the Universal Studios Conan show. Quite a substantial issue, isn’t it? One of my favourite aspects of the early issues of SSoC was how it would manage to present a large variety of features each month… and I was glad to see the book return to its roots that way! (Here’s one of the Reggie Jones pin-ups. Very nice and unconventional art).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 18, 2016 13:54:04 GMT -5
When wakes the golden serpentScript by Roy Thomas Art by Rafael Kayanan Part four of the adaptation of Conan and the gods of the mountain by Roland Green The title page of this tale harkens to the days of Barry Smith and Savage Tales! After years of people trying to do the John Buscema Conan, it’s nice to see a little balance (says the Barry Smith fan). Conan’s necklace casting a shadow is a typical BWS touch! Conan and Valeria have been accepted as envoys of the gods by the Ichiribu, and the wounded Emwaya has recovered from intercepting a poison dart meant for Valeria. All should be well, but our heroes won’t have much time to rest… Ichiribu spies tell of restlesness among the Kwanyi, their secular enemies, and an attack of their island is feared. Conan offers to train the Ichiribu in new ways of fighting, but before training can start he and Val unambiguously answer the question “well, did they or didn’t they?” We also learn that below the lake where the Ichiribu island rises, the last of the magical golden serpent is waking. We have seen the skeleton of the next-to-last member of that species a few issues ago. The training scenes allow artist Rafael Kayanan to incorporate some of his own martial art expertise, as he has Conan perform complicated eskrima movements. One thing that strikes me as a long-time reader is how infernally nice Conan is when he addresses the Ichiribu. Dare I blame political correctness? I mean, in the past, whenever he trained anyone, he would go all Sgt. Fury on us and say things like “move your lazy asses, you dogs, must I do everything for you?” Here, he’s all “I will teach you new ways of fighting but I respect your own ways which I hope to learn as well so we can have a mutually enriching relationship among equals”. I mean, it’s all to the Cimmerian’s credit that he’s finally learned some manners, but it doesn’t sound much like him. As the Ichiribu get ready for war, so do the Kwanyi… by resolving the conflict between their chief, Jolari, and their head wizard, Geyrus. The two men argue and come to blows, but the ambitious apprentice Ryku intervenes on Jolari’s side, screwing up Geyrus’s spell, causing the old man to spontaneously combust. Ryku declares himself the new top wizard of the Kwanyi, and affirms his support of Jolari. Thus united, the Kwanyi are ready to march against the Ichiribu. Note that Jolari’s armour is based on an actual African design, one that was seen in comics as far back as “Le dieu sauvage”, an Alix adventure from 1970. I don’t know exactly where in Africa the pangolin-like design originated, but it resembles this warrior of the Sao people. The Ichiribu decide to take the initiative and leave their island via the tunnels that allowed Conan and Valeria to reach them in the first place. Unfortunately this brings them face to face with the newly-awakened golden serpent, which wreaks havoc among their ranks. Emwaya and her father Dobanpu join forces to halt its rampage, and the old man gets the snake to follow him down a side tunnel. Emwaya does not intend to let her father sacrifice himself for them and orders the Ichiribu to follow him and slay the serpenTO BE CONTINUED!!! (...the chapter ends a little abruptly).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 18, 2016 14:03:34 GMT -5
SSoC #215 ------------- The savage brotherhoodScript by John Arcudi Art by Donald Hudson and E.R. Cruz This little story would have benefited from a slightly tighter editorial influence, in my opinion. It’s a good one, but a few details are a little irritating and could have easily been changed. We open with King Kull and an old friend who calls him “little brother”, a friend with whom he shared the ignominious fate of a Lemurian galley rower. “Ah, yes”, you say… “That’s Bakas, the guy who lost half a hand when he helped Kull escape the galley they were slaves on…we met him a few times already”. Alas, no… this new old friend from the Lemurian galley days is called Kathonor. (Never heard of him, never will again). Why? Why not used Bakas? The man will even be seen in the other Kull tale in this issue! Anyway… Kull relates what happened when he jumped overboard and swam all the way to the Valusian shore, where he joined a band of brigands. He would eventually become their leader. Kull the bandit has the opportunity of saving the life of a tiger that his partners in crime would have slain; seeing that the beast is not hungry, Kull salutes his feline brother and lets it go on its way. Meanwhile, we learn that the Lemurian pirates have hired a bounty hunter and sent him on Kull’s trail. Say what? Why would they do that? Kull was a mere slave, chained to a rowing bench and destined to an early death, a living dead man who managed to jump overboard during a naval battle… Why would the pirates give him another thought? First he’s likely to simply have drowned, and second why bother getting him back? Slaves are a dime a dozen!!! Much better had the bounty hunter been sent by the Valusian authorities, since Kull was a bandit preying on Valusia's merchants. But anyway. The bounty hunter is an exquisitely-written little pest, acting all mighty and important because his partner is a massive brute under the protection of a spell insuring “no man can beat him”. (We know how well that works, right?) When the bounty hunter and his pet Hulk find Kull, the Atlantean has the worst of it until his tiger brother, the one he saved earlier, jumps to his rescue. And that’s that for our obnoxious bounty hunter and his pal! Caresses of mine enemyScript by Roy Thomas (from a plot by John Arcudi) Art by Dale Eaglesham Caresses of mine enemy (SSoC#215) is a retelling of the story told in SSoC#158, with just a few changes. It is said to be "from a plot by John Arcudi", who wrote original story. Since this is a good but not particularly remarkable story, one wonders why it would warrant a new adaptation. Very few such stories were told twice in the Marvel Conan universe… there was Red Sonja's origin story, there was Conan the barbarian #1, there was the tower of the elephant, and a few Solomon Kane tales on account of their publication in different comics…but that's about it. My gut feeling (unsubstantiated by any hard fact, I must admit) is that John Arcudi's plot was found in the editor's files and that neither he nor Roy realized that the story had previously been published four years before. Finding it to their liking, they must have decided to go ahead and publish the tale, with Roy providing the finished script and Dale Eaglesham the artwork. In a sense it's a very lucky thing, since Eaglesham’s art here is really, REALLY beautiful!!! In fact, it’s drop dead gorgeous!!! Printed straight from Eaglesham's pencils, it is as exotic as Mike Ploog’s famous art in SSoC#34. Eaglesham had a very quirky style in those years; absolutely nobody drew the way he did. That makes the story doubly magical, tugging at the strings of our imagination. Absolutely lovely work!!! The plot involves a mischievous water sprite who is brought to Kull’s palace and drives men crazy with desire, getting them to spread misrule. Only Kull and Bakas resist her, and when Bakas knocks her unconscious everyone regains their senses. The playful sprite is brought back to the sea and freed. Back in issue #158 Bakas had explained that he had resisted the siren because some men were not solely preoccupied by matters of the flesh; here he explains that he’s gay but would rather keep it quiet. Kull is fine with it, and explains that his own resistance comes from tricks that Ka-Nu taught him to resist the men-serpent. (Back in SSoC#158, Whether this story was retold by accident or for some other reason, I’m sure glad it was!!! Note : Bakas is missing half of his right hand (as he should) only in certain images; at other times he’s got his ten digits. Conan the barbarianAn idea of what to expect in the last few issues of the long-running color mag that introduced many of us to the Cimmerian. That book would be missed. The universal appeal of ConanAn article on Universal studios Conan show, based on the movie.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 1, 2016 9:29:59 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #216, December 1993 Cover by Toni Taylor Table of contents The vengeance of Nitocris, in which an old dangling plot line is resolved. The universal appeal of Conan; more about the stage show from Universal studios. It is illustrated by a photo and some beautiful artwork by Esteban maroto; these images come from the illustrated paperback novel “Conan the mercenary”. Appropriate, as next issue will feature an adaptation of said novel!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 1, 2016 9:32:58 GMT -5
SSoC #216 ------------- The vengeance of NitocrisScript by Roy Thomas Art by Alfredo Alcala and E.R. Cruz inspired by a short story by Tennessee Williams Yes, famous playwright Tennesse Williams! This issue is kind of a crossover between Savage sword of Conan and Masterpiece theatre. Who said comics weren’t educashional? (The escapees from a glass menagerie on the cover were already a sign of this portentous event!) In the same story, built upon by Roy Thmomas, we are furthermore treated to a welcome bit of continuity as we find out what finally happened to Neftha, the slave girl whom Conan and his pirate queen Bêlit had rescued from bondage in issue #74 and who had become "king" of Stygia (despite being a woman) in CtB #88 under the name of Ctesphon III! (Neftha would get none other than Thoth-Amon as her counselor, heralding the rise of the wizard in Stygia’s political circles). But let us not get ahead of ourselves and let’s talk about this issue’s neat origin. Young Thomas Lanier Williams III would one day become the celebrated playwright Tennessee Williams, but his first published story was seen in Weird Tales, the original venue for the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard. The Williams tale was set in ancient Egypt and titled "the vengeance of Nitocris" (1928). It involves a young Egyptian queen who avenges the king (her older brother)’s death, a death caused by rebellious nobles upset at their king’s disrespectful attitude toward the gods. After the king’s death, Nitocris succeeds him on the throne and for a while she seems to forgive the murderers’ actions. She then has a magnificent temple built and invites the nobles to its dedication… but the place turns out to be a cleverly built death trap claiming the lives of all the rebels. Nitocris then escapes the mob's anger by killing herself with poison gas, leaving an untouched and beautiful corpse behind. That short story is the basis for the adventure that Roy Thomas crafts here, playfully referencing several other Williams' works as he goes along! (The Nitocris segment is drawn by Alfredo Alcala; the rest is provided by E.R. Cruz). Conan is in a city in Shem where he saves a young woman after she wandered into a seedy part of town. Carrying the child-like girl (named Rosina) back home, Conan is treated with contempt by her mother, Sabbatha, a now destitute and alcoholic woman dreaming of past glories. The two women live in a run-down mansion, without servats, and their sole possessions are a pair of diamonds, "the tears of Nitocris", as well as a collection of crystal statues, "the crystal conclave" (to which Rosina is unhealthily attached). Also present at the house when Conan calls is a Zamorian nobleman, Dakin, a man pretending to be courting Rosina. Dakin is actually after the jewels ad the statues, which he hopes to sell for a princely sum. He hires Conan to steal them from SSS's derelict house that very night. The Cimmerian manages to get the diamonds from the sleeping Sabbatha, but Rosina catches him in the act as he's wrapping her crystal figurines in a canvas bag. Not one to steal the toys of a child, it seems, Conan decides not to go through with his mission. It makes no difference in the end, as two massive ape-like things barge in, slam Conan down and escape with the goods and with Rosina. Sabbatha, having emerged from her drunken stupor in time to see the monsters escape with the treasure and with her daughter, throws a tantrum. She reveals that these creatures must be the servants of Stornella and Valxavier, a brother and sister pair of wizards who have lonmg been after the tears of Nitocris; the jewels, if brought back to Stygia, could be used to perform powerful magic. Feeling a bit guilty, Conan decides to follow the creatures and free Rosina. Camping for the night in the desert, Valxavier and Stornella mystically sense that they are being tracked. They use their powers to sic a monstrous iguana at Conan and his horse. The saurian is killed, but alas not before it can kill the horse, seriously slowing Conan down. Rosina and her captors go all the way to Luxur, the capital of Stygia (whch looks just like it did in CtB #86; I love when that happens). The group does not enter the capital, though, and proceeds a bit further, all the way to the old temple of Nitocris. There, a crystal sarcophagus is holding the body of "King" Ctesphon III, a woman whom Conan once knew as Neftha. Assuming the throne upon her kingly brother’s death, Naftha had also taken the title of king, since no queen could rule Stygia on her own. (This must be a recent rule, since Nitocris had no problem with becoming queen of Stygia. But perhaps she was the reason Stygia decided to ban queenly rule after she murdered so many of its nobles?) Stornella reveal that Ctesphon III's body is not dead, but kept in catalepsis; she and her brother are the ones who cast the spell robbing her of the appearance of life. Using the magical attributes of the tears of Nitocris and the crystal conclave, they mean to reanimate it... with Stornella's mind taking residence in it. As the siblings start their magical invocations, Conan finally catches up with them and engages into a swordfight with Valxavier, whom he kills. Conan recovers Rosina, but then Stornella’s spell succeeds… And the body of Neftha rises, possessed by the mind of the sorceress. Stornella/Ctesphon offers a job to Conan, as her bodyguard… if he will prove his loyalty by murdering Rosina. Conan declines, and before the resurrected queen can order some newly-arrived Stygian guards to take on the Cimmerian, another player comes into play : the discarded body of Stornella herself, now animated by the mind of Sabbatha! (Sabbatha turns out to be a minor sorceress too). Sabbatha casts a spell and animates the crystal conclave, the members of which grow to normal size. and start killing Stygians. Quite demented, Sabbatha is even about to turn on her own child when Rosina remembers words of power her mother has practiced over and over again over the years; uttering them, the woman-child causes the whole scheme to fall apart. The crystal conclave is shattered, and the tears of Nitocris melt. (Can diamond melt?) After the dust settles, though, it appears that the body of Sabbatha is still alive… Now possessed by the minds of her rightful owner, but also those of Neftha, Stornella and Nitocris herself. Quite insane, the creature no longer poses a threat. Rosina is disconsolate at having lost her crystal toys, and Conan reflects that he will find a charitable soul to take care of her and her mad mother before he departs. Notes : - The chronological placement of this story requires some mental gymnastics, but it is still possible without rewriting history or ignoring published material. (The problem is that this tale is set after Conan has been a pirate among the Barachans, and Marvel already published stories set during that period in which the king of Stygia was not Ctesphon III). According to today’s tale, Ctesphon III has been "dead" for a certain time when the story begins, although not a very long one. We can assume that is was long enough for Valxavier and Stornella to set their plan in motion and go after the tears of Nitocris, and therefore assuming something around a year or two does not stretch plausibility overmuch. Chronologically, the last time we heard of Ctesphon III was during Conan's recent visit to Stygia, in the “Skull on the seas” storyline. We therefore know that she was king of Stygia when Conan became a Barachan pirate. King Mentuphera and his successor, King Ctesphon IV (SSoC #48; SSoC #94), both also reigned when the Cimmerian was a pirate, though; we also know that shortly after the events from "Conan the buccaneer", Thoth-Amon fell from grace with the Stygian court and went into exile into Zingara. I would therefore postulate that Ctesphon III fell into her death-like coma sometimes during Conan's days as a pirate, when he was around 36. She was replaced by the above-mentioned kings, and it took a few years for Valxavier and Stornella’s plans to finally come to fruition. This story opens with Conan in Shem. This could be shortly after he lost the last Zingaran ship he captained (I assume it would be the Wastrel, but who knows?) Since Conan finds himself in Stygia when he leaves Rosina, he could have pushed on to Sukhmet (also in Stygia) right on time for the start of the next Howard story in the chronology, Red Nails. Conan would therefore be around 38. - In the letters section, Roy reveals some of the clever references to Tennessee Williams he worked into the story. He also teases us about some that he didn't explicitly pinpoint! Here are the few ones I found : The crystal conclave is naturally The Glass Menagerie. The giant iguana is a reference to the play The Night Of The Iguana Maybe Sabbatha’s house, which is in a fairly bad shape, is a reference to A House Not Made To Stand. The tears of Nitocris are a reference to The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond The whole deal with Stornella entering Neftha's body and Sabbatha then entering Stornella's own seems to refer to this line from Orpheus Decsending, which I picked up on a Tennessee Williams quote webpage : "We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life". Conan concludes by saying Sabbatha and Rosina will have to depend on the kindness of strangers, an expression used in A Streetcar Named Desire. The two ape-like creatures don't have necks, a reference to Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, in which Madeleine Sherwood's children are called "no-neck monsters". Roy seems to have had a lot of fun with this!!! *edit* Roy would give a list of his Tennessee Williams references in issue #223.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2016 12:34:47 GMT -5
Hmmm, I picked up a copy of Conan the Mercenary earlier this year-haven't had a chance to read it yet, but did flip through it for the Marota art, which is indeed gorgeous. Of course I first discovered Maroto's work in the illustrations he did for Conan the Treasure of Trancios novel, which I found in a grocery store while visiting family in Vermont in the summer of '83, so his art has been one of the draws that helped shape my Conan fandom.
-M
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 1, 2016 12:51:41 GMT -5
Hmmm, I picked up a copy of Conan the Mercenary earlier this year-haven't had a chance to read it yet, but did flip through it for the Marota art, which is indeed gorgeous. Of course I first discovered Maroto's work in the illustrations he did for Conan the Treasure of Trancios novel, which I found in a grocery store while visiting family in Vermont in the summer of '83, so his art has been one of the draws that helped shape my Conan fandom. -M Maroto fans of the world, rejoice!!! The next few issues of SSoC will feature the adaptation of Conan the mercenary and that of a Red Sonja novel, both fully drawn by Esteban!!!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 9, 2016 7:25:04 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #217, January 1994 Cover by Tim Conrad Table of contents For the soul of a Cimmerian, in which Conan recovers his soul When wakes the living soul, concluding the adaptation of “Conan and the gods of the mountain”
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 9, 2016 7:54:19 GMT -5
SSoC #217 ------------- For the soul of a CimmerianScript by Roy Thomas Art by Esteban Maroto Part one of the adaptation of the novel “ Conan the mercenary”, by Andrew J. Offutt. Seeing Esteban Maroto’s art here is a double treat: because the man is a great artist, naturally, but also because he had already illustrated the novel when it was published in 1980! The tale comes full circle. “Conan the mercenary” is both a sequel to “Conan and the sorcerer” (adapted in SSoC#53-55) and a sort-of prequel to “A witch shall be born” (adapted in SSoC#5) since it introduces Taramis, the future queen of Khauran, and justifies the Cimmerian gaining an important position in that court when the time comes to tell that particular story. It also ties up the loose end left at the end of SSoC#55. As you may recall, that story more than a decade old concluded with Conan leaving the city of Arenjun (Zamora's city of thieves) with a precious mirror; a mirror in which the wizard Hissar Zul had trapped the Cimmerian's soul. Should the mirror be broken by accident, the soul would be lost forever; Conan killing Hissar Zul had not resolved the matter. The next time we were to meet the Cimmerian, chronologically speaking (in SSoC #57), he was back in Arenjun with his soul back in his noggin. How did he regain the fragile thing? Back in SSoC#53, Hissar Zul had explained how it could be extracted from the mirror and given back to its rightful owner. Conan could perform a ghastly ritual involving the blood of virgins, or he could have a crowned head smash the mirror (because there is a little magic in any king or queen). In today's issue, he would use the latter way. Mind you, it’s a little hard to understand why Conan bothered… During the weeks he was bereft of his soul, even if a caption box told us he felt somehow “less”, he was still the same Conan we knew. He enjoyed fighting and wenching, was still prone to gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirths, was as strong, brave and resourceful as usual… If you ask me, he was scammed by the wizard who “stole” his soul! It was the magical equivalent of the “got your nose” trick we play on children! But now, let the curtain open. We open with an old Kothian nobleman, Baron Sabaninus, who intends to regain the appearance of youth (if not youth itself) by magical means. Sabaninus's guest, a Khitan wizard, explains that this can be done with a spell and a human sacrifice. As the baron and the wizard hide inside a magic circle, a young servant devoted to the baron’s household is given (without her consent) to a loathsome demon, and torn apart. The baron is then transformed, gaining the appearance of virile and vigorous youth; henceforth, he will pass as his own nephew, Sergianus. The first item on Sergianus’s agenda? Visit the queen of Khauran, to the east, and try to woo her! What's in it for the wizard? That’s a little vague… a caption tells of some long term plan: “the future transplantation of a ghastly god from the dark mists of Khitai’s ancient-most history… onto a Hyborian throne”. (Since the plain ultimately fails, I suppose it doesn’t matter much). Meanwhile, let's return to the magazine’s star. Conan is in Shadizar, capital of Zamora, where he has an opportunity to rescue a comely Khaurani noblewoman and her small retinue from a band of robbers. The grateful lady, Khashtris by name, hires the Cimmerian to fight at the side of her bodyguard Shubal; she is on her way back home to Khauran and would welcome the added protection. Conan agrees and brings with him the amulet he gained earlier, the sword-shaped “eye of Erlik”, which plays a major role in his next chronological adventure ("the sword of Skelos", adapted in SSoC#56-58). He also brings the carefully-wrapped mirror that contains his soul. On the way south to Khauran, Khashtris and Shubal tell Conan of that small country’s peculiar curse (which we learned of in “A witch shall be born”). The country is ruled by a queen, never by a king, but because its first queen is said to have mated with a demon, every century or so a queen gives birth to a daughter bearing a crescent-shaped birthmark that marks her as a witch. That child is always named Salome, and is always slain for fear that she would bring doom to the kingdom. The current queen, Ialamis, gave birth to twin daughters a few years earlier; one of them was carrying the mark and was left to die in the desert. Ever since, Ialamis has been disconsolate. In turn, Conan tells of his adventures against the wizard Hissar Zul, who stole his soul and trapped it in a mirror. Khashtris says that queen Ialamis, who is also her cousin, will smash the mirror and so restore the Cimmerian’s soul to him. More adventure awaits on the road. Bivouacking for the night with other travellers they have just encountered, Khashtris and her group are unaware that these fellows intend to murder and rob them during the night. Luckily, Conan is a light sleeper and notices that something is wrong when the strangers quietly get up in the middle of the night. Quickly entering Khashtris's tent to warn her that some foul play is afoot, and when the brigands enter shortly thereafter the Cimmerian kills them all as is his habit. In the melée, the tent collapses on him and the lady. Finding each other under the tarpaulin, Conan and Khashtris… hem… how to put it delicately… Let me just quote the novel, since that sentence stayed with me since I read it in 1981 (being a prepubescent and impressionable lad at the time) : “But no woman, Conan learned, was old, in the darkness”. When Shubal wakes in the morning he is quite embarrassed to have missed the whole fracas, just as he is to find his mistress in a blatant state of undress and in the arms of the barbarian youth! Shubal is however not at fault for sleeping on the job: the robbers had drugged him the night before with sleep-inducing Tik-nuts that the Cimmerian hadn’t partaken of. Reaching Khauran, the party is presented to Queen Ialamis, who is grateful to the Cimmerian for saving her cousin’s life. As a boon, she agrees to break the mirror in which Conan’s soul is trapped. We are reintroduced to Sergianus of Koth, who has managed to become the queen’s suitor (the sly old devil must have a few romantic tricks up his sleeve, we suppose, or he's just very, very handsome). We also briefly meet the young princess Taramis, who will one day be Conan’s boss as queen of Khauran. Ialamis smashes the mirror and Conan’s soul goes back into his body, putting the lie to my earlier hypothesis. But then the glass shards decide to reform themselves into giant, sharp-edged monsters! Hissar Zul, apparently, had cast a final spell on the mirror to make sure whoever broke it to free Conan's soul would regret it! Jumping in to protect the queen, Conan and Shubal take on the shiny creatures, even as other guards are chopped into thin slices. Brifely, looking at the many reflections that the mirror-monsters cast, Conan sees Sergianus as a very old man -a problem for another day. Eventually, Conan smashes the monsters with his sword (while similar attempts by other people had failed). It is postulated that since the mirror was attuned to his soul, only he could finally defeat the monsters it spawned. Cared for by Khashtris and Shubal, a bleeding Conan is led out of the throne room as queen Ialamis and Sergianus look on. To be continued! Notes : - An O.K. story, even if it feels a little bogged down by continuity. - The artwork by Maroto is really nice, but not as accomplished as his earlier work on the novel's illustrations... There is a price to pay for a greater number of pages. - I always wondered how the idea that “there is magic in every king or queen” worked. Is it something a crown instantly bestows, or is it something that comes with one's destiny? Wouldn’t it be funny if Conan, himself destined to be a king some day, was imbued with that particular magic? It would mean that all he would have had to do after being tricked by Hissar Zul was smash the mirror himself and save himself a lot of grief. - Sacrificing a young girl in a sorcerous ritual early in the story is a plot device also used in Offut’s novel “Conan and the sword of Skelos”. Likewise, young Conan’s attraction to an older woman was previously used in “Conan and the sorcerer” (the woman being Isparana, 8-10 years older). - This tale is set very early in Conan’s career, right after “The tower of the elephant”… He’s therefore 17 or 18.
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 9, 2016 8:03:36 GMT -5
SSoC #217 ------------- When walks the living godScript by Roy Thomas Art by Rafael Kayanan Concluding the adaptation of “ Conan and the gods of the mountain” by Roland Green It’s unfortunate that the publication schedule of this story evokes a reaction of “is this still going on?” It would have benefited from being presented in three or four subsequent issues; too many small chapters chopped up in odd places really kill the momentum of any story, irrespective of the adaptation’s qualities. Anyway, let’s go see how the tale concludes. Conan, Valeria and the Ichiribu are still in the tunnels leading from their island to the land of the Kwanyi. After being attacked by a giant golden snake of magical origin (as seen in SSoC #215), the Ichiribu saw their shaman Dobanpu lead the creature into a side tunnel, presumably so they could escape. However, the loyal warriors decide to go to the rescue of their leader. When the Ichiribu reach a cave where grow the mushrooms that Conan and Valeria found earlier in SSoC#211, the snake attacks them. Conan decides to fight the reptile by setting the mushrooms afire, and turns the cavern into a snake-devouring inferno. (Most mushrooms I ever found in damp caves were gorged with water and quite unlikely to catch fire, much less explode... but there we are. In fantasy tales, mushroom can catch fire if it's convenient). Escaping the tunnels, the war party run into the Kwanyi and the fighting starts. As the warriors trade blows, the wizards on either side clash. Ryku, the new leader of the Kwanyi’s sorcerers, releases the living wind from his people’s sacred mountain. The unprepared wizard is torn apart by the demonic winds, “which shall never be contained again”. The winds care little for either Kwanyi of Ichiribu, and they kill the Kwanyi’s chief, Jolari. It takes all of old Dobanpu’s skill to tame the winds, although the victory is paid for with his life. Seyganko becomes the new leader of the Ichiribu, and his first act shows him to be a capable ruler as he accepts the Kwanyi’s offer of peace. Conan and Valeria discuss their future. Val would like the two of them to buy a ship and go pirating together, while Conan thinks he’ll stay on land a while longer…. he and Valeria would be at loggerheads before long if they tried to co-captain any ship. Their next chronological encounter will be in SSoC#127 ("reunion in scarlet").
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Post by foxley on Oct 9, 2016 18:30:26 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #217, January 1994 Cover by Tim Conrad Table of contents For the soul of a Cimmerian, in which Conan recovers his soul When wakes the living soul, concluding the adaptation of “Conan and the gods of the mountain” I'm a little concerned about where Conan appears to be stabbing that poor fellow on the cover! talk about hitting below the belt!
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 9, 2016 18:38:14 GMT -5
Conan the impaler!!!
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Roquefort Raider
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 10, 2016 15:11:22 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #218, February 1994 Cover by Earl Norem Table of contentsWhen turns the wheel of swords, beginning a new feature in SSoC Conan Magus, concluding the adventure started last issue. With issue #218, SSoC picks up the continuing storyline interrupted by the cancellation of its sister magazine, the colour comic Conan the barbarian, sadly cancelled after 275 issues. The cancellation happened when I was living in Germany and on a hiatus from reading comics, so my heart didn’t break right then and there… but it was a bloody shame nevertheless. Particularly so since, as a long-time fan, I had been waiting for more than a decade for my favourite Cimmerian to finally reach a relatively little known period of his life: that of a steppe-roving Kozak, and that we had been on the cusp of getting there! Oh, we had seen Conan as a Kozak from time to time… but only for a handful of adventures, and never in any sort of continuing way. Considering Robert E. Howard’s love for the work of Harold Lamb, however, and seeing as Conan was a Kozak in two of his original adventures ( Iron shadows in the moon and the devil in iron), it seemed right and proper that “Conan the Kozak” get a story arc lasting a few years, just as his stay with the Black Corsairs had in the late ‘70s. Unfortunately, each time the chronologically told Conan the barbarian book reached the point in our hero’s life where he would finally become a Kozak, editorial powers intervened and that era was sidestepped. The first time was after Roy’s original run, when J. M. DeMatteis became the regular writer; jumping over major storylines like the civil war in Asgalun (see the recap for this era here) and Conan’s days as a general in Khoraja, DeMatteis had decided to focus on flying cities and world-hopping demigods instead. After DeMatteis’s run, writers Bruce Jones and Michael Fleisher had written years of “monster of the month” episodes. The Kozak career, which should have started right there, was not to be reached. New writer Jim Owsley later returned the mag to a continuing storyline and was clearly headed toward that period (finally!) but he was kicked out right as Conan was reaching the right point… and the book returned to a monster of the month version before engaging into a semi-reboot starring Conan as a teen. Roy Thomas’s eventual return had given us a third chance to finally see the wide steppes west of Turan, and in the final issue of CtB our hero had indeed become a leader of the Kozaks… only to have his own mag cancelled from under him. Crom be thanked, Roy would not let thinks stand, and the storyline begun in the last few issues of CtB would continue here, in the pages of Savage sword, as a semi-regular feature. Phew!!!
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