|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 10, 2016 15:19:24 GMT -5
SSoC #218 ————— When turns the wheel of swordsScript by Roy Thomas Art by Mike Docherty and E.R. Cruz Docherty and Cruz will be the regular artists for this feature, and they make a good team. I would have liked the duo of Docherty and Ricardo Villagran to continue the Conan the barbarian feature, as the two men made my list of “twelve favourite penciller-inker teams” from Cei-U’s Christmas thread from a few years ago, but Docherty and Cruz do good work together as well, so no complain. This is the beginning of a new era for Conan, and there is a lot of setting up in this story. I personally like it, as it promises a lot of action for the future and introduces many characters, both old and new, as well as new situations. Conan is now hetman of a band of Kozaki. Akin to the Cossacks or the Mongols, the Kozaki live free on the steppes; they dwell in that large tract of land between Turan, Zamora and Shem. They follow a leader they must agree on, and have no kings or nobles of any kind. Here's how Robert E. Howard describes them in The devil in iron : There are several groups of Kozaks, independent of each other but following the same code. Here Roy gives a few of them names, appropriately inspired by those of Mongol leaders: the Ogadai, the Tului, the Catagai, etc. As you can imagine, Conan quickly dreams of uniting these peoples to form one powerful army that could stand up to the powers of Turan or any Hyborian kingdom. (Conan was never short on ambition, we must give him that). The tale begins with a clash between the Cimmerian’s erstwhile soldiers, the mercenary Free Companions, who had followed him out of Koth before turning on him as a bad luck commander. After the new leaders of the Free Companions are killed or captured, Conan mercifully offers the mercenaries to join him and his Kozaki. For lack of a better offer they accept, and the Cimmerian’s forces double right then and there. Among the Free Companions is Isparana, the sword thief that rode with Conan until recently; we are reminded that following the events from the last few issues of CtB, Isparana is now pregnant by the demon Wrarrl, the Devourer of Worlds. There are other old friends around: among the Kozaki is Turgohl, the mute Khitan from CtB #27, and pretty quickly Zula the last Zamballah will also show up. (Personally I really could have done without bringing back so many old characters, but even if their presence stretches credibility, they do not hurt the plot. Roy did tend to revisit a lot of old ground during his second tenure). Another returning character is Prince Yezdigerd, heir to the throne of Turan, and a man with a deep personal hatred of Conan since the Cimmerian scarred his face back at the siege of Makkalet in CtB #20. A new face is that of commander Grimm, another Cimmerian expatriate. Like a Hyborian Age Gwynplaine, Grimm has had his face hideously modified against his will by people of ill-intent; in his case, as we’ll learn in a later issue, it is evil priests from the East who surgically changed his mouth into that of a fanged predator with a constant great white shark smile. Grimm is now an officer in the Turanian army, and is rightfully dreaded by pretty much everyone who’s ever heard of him… perhaps including Conan! In this story, Conan puts forward his proposal of uniting the different Kozaki tribes. By common accord, the matter will be decided by “the wheel of swords”, a contest in which someone can demonstrate his worth (and, we assume, the worth of his ideas). It consists of a fight between an individual and six representatives of the Kozaki tribes; the challenger must stand at the center of a great horizontal wheel while his opponents approach him, all at once, from the spokes. Refreshingly enough, this is not a fight to the death, although we understand that such an outcome might accidentally occur. (Those who fall off the wheel are disqualified, but it's not that great a fall). I’ll let you guess who wins! A good start to a new feature. All was not lost for fans of Conan the Kozak!
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 10, 2016 15:28:56 GMT -5
SSoC #218 ————— Conan magus!Script by Roy Thomas Art by Esteban Maroto Concluding the adaptation of “Conan the mercenary” by Andrew J. Offutt. A young Conan finds himself in Khauran, a bodyguard for the beautiful Lady Khashtris, and in favour at court for his heroic deeds. The queen of Khauran, Ialamis, is currently being courted by one Sergianus, posing as the son of a duke Tor in Koth -however we readers know that he is actually the aged Baron Sabininus of Korveka, magically granted the appearance of youth thanks to a deal struck with a demon. Conan and his friend the Shemite soldier Shubal discuss the recent events at court, and with a preternatural ability to discern the plot of a story he stars in, Conan guesses all that’s been going on. He tells of having seen a reflection of an old man in the shards of a magic mirror where the reflection of young Sergianus should have been, and also points out that Sergianus claims to be the son of the duke of Tor in Nemedia while Tor is, he believes, a barony. The description of the old man in the reflection reminds Shubal of one Baron Sabininus of Korveka, on the neck of whom he saw a medallion now worn by Sergianus. (Just how many convenient coincidences can one story contain?) It’s a bit silly that Sergianus’s disguise could be pierced by his negligently confusing a dukedom with a barony (and even more so since the original plan was for him to pose as his own nephew, which would still make him as blue-blooded as they come), but on the other hand it’s refreshing that the people in Khauran aren’t sure about the geography or political entities in Koth; too often, in the Conan pastiches and comics, the Hyborian world is described as having a modern level of communications. The uncertainty here is far more realistic. Conan and Shubal’s musings are overheard and interrupted by Lord Arkhaurus, foremost advisor of the queen, whose behaviour has “TRAITOR” written all over it. To ascertain the nature of Tor as a dukedom or a barony, a Nemedian is sought for. There is one available, but he is quickly found assassinated… apparently, someone didn’t want him to talk. The Cimmerian is then the target of a plot meant to discredit him and to cause the death of the queen’s sole surviving daughter, the young Taramis. It involves the flirtatious Mishi seducing the Cimmerian and getting him to find a job for her at the palace; there, she manages to drug him while her accomplice tries to murder Taramis, who is under Conan and Shubal’s guard. Just as Conan covered for the drugged Shubal last issue, the Shemite saves the drugged Cimmerian’s bacon this time around. The murderer is slain, and Conan pursues the treacherous Mishi in the gardens as she tries to escape, only to find her stabbed and dying. With her last few breaths, Mishi reveals that she and her brother were hired by Arkhaurus himself to get rid of Taramis, so that Queen Ialamis would be more alone than ever and more given to consider marriage to Sergianus. It is Arkhaurus who stabbed Mishi to silence her. (And that's what happens when you botch the job, Arkhaurus. Next time, aim for the throat, not the belly.) Conan and Shubal reveal the foul plot to their boss, Lady Khashtris, but they are all aware that the queen’s love for Sergianus will require their accusations to be rock solid. In fact, after a first attenpt at exposing the villain, Conan and Shubal are thrown out by the queen who never wants to see them again and bars them from attending the state dinner to be held on the following day. Conan, Shubal, Khashtris and another of the queen’s councilors, the loyal Acrallidus, then concoct another way to expose the snake in their midst. At the state dinner, in which it is expected Queen Ialamis will announce her betrothal to her beloved Sergianus, Lady Khashtris presents a certain “Crispis of Kandala”, a seer who will entertain them with his abilities. Crispis is naturally Conan in disguise, and by revealing bits and pieces of the plot he causes first Arkhaurus and then Sergianus to reveal themselves. The latter imprudently attacks Conan, and when the Cimmerian kills him the Kothian reverts to his natural form, thus proving that our heroes were right about his duplicity. The demon who had granted Sabininus a semblance of youth then shows up to eat the old man’s body, making Conan comically wonder “can’t any spell just quietly fade away without leaving a demon behind?” Queen Ialamis is most upset at the recent events. So upset, in fact, that she takes her own life; her final words are to entrust her daughter Taramis into the care of Acrallidus, and perhaps one day his own son Krallides. Nice touch about Krallides, here, since he will be shown to be a very loyal follower of Taramis in A witch shall be born (SSoC #5), even if one with a dire destiny. Conan and Khashtris say their farewells; the lady gives Conan half a medallion that he will one day be able to use to prove his identity, should he decide to return to Khauran and seek employment with Queen Taramis, who will keep the other half. This is cute but unnecessary, and furthermore probably useless in terms of continuity: Conan will not long retain that half-medallion (we will never see it again, in fact). He might have entrusted it to someone in Khauran, like, say, the trusted Acrallides, but then what would be the point? I’m sure that none of the people present will forget who he is. Besides, suppose he shows up, ten or twenty years later, saying “hi, Queen Taramis, nobody’s around to vouch for me but here’s a half-medallion showing I’m really Conan the Cimmerian”, wouldn’t she remember he’s the guy responsible for her mother killing herself? I'd rather present myself as a complete stranger in such circumstances! Notes : - Conan gained a small scar on the left side of his mouth last issue; it takes several days to heal as we see here. Nice continuity touch by Maroto. - It would probably help their cause if exposed traitors refrained from loudly proclaiming their guilt at the first opportunity. Here, when Arkhaurus is killed by Conan and Shubal, his wife could have exclaimed “these men are murderers! Arrest them!” instead of going “On, Ishtar… I begged you, husband… I pleaded with you not to ally yourself with that Kothian imposter! Why did I not tell my queen when first you and he plotted? And now you’re dead… dead, a traitor!” It sure saves a lot of time explaining what just happened to the authorities, but c’mon… - Mishi's name in the novel is "Rosela". Perhaps Roy changed it to avoid confusion with the girl Rosina we met two issues ago.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,627
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 10, 2016 15:38:00 GMT -5
Love that Earl Norem cover. Beautiful.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Oct 10, 2016 17:18:38 GMT -5
Love that Earl Norem cover. Beautiful. It looks a different style to his usual, to me. The colours especially. I like the effect, though I'm not sure about that monster in the background. A lot of these late SSoC issues are going to be added to my wish-list now that I've read RR's reviews and seen some of the artwork. I had assumed the mag's quality had declined by this time to a point where I wouldn't want to bother with it, but there looks to be some very nice stuff in there.
|
|
|
Post by foxley on Oct 10, 2016 17:57:28 GMT -5
Love that Earl Norem cover. Beautiful. I agree. Absolutely gorgeous.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 12, 2016 19:49:21 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #219, March 1994 Cover by Colin McNeil Unlike the cover to issue 162 , this is not an allegory... Conan and Solomon Kane will really meet in this issue! Table of contentsDeath's dark riders, with an unexpected team-up between two Howardian heroes Kane the avenger, a probable outline of Solomon Kane’s career Black hound of death, the origin of commander Grimm
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 12, 2016 20:14:19 GMT -5
Death's dark ridersScript by Roy Thomas Art by Colin McNeil Partly inspired (and including) a short fragment by Robert E. Howard There have been a few time-twisting team-ups in Howardian literature and its expansion at Marvel. King Kull met Bran Mak Morn in the story Kings of the night (adapted in SSoC#42-43); the same Kull met Conan in Conan the barbarian #68; Conan met Brule (or at least a statue of the famous Pict) in Savage Tales #4. Here two of Howard's greatest characters join forces against a common enemy : Conan and Solomon Kane. Although I am usually wary of such endeavours, I think the meeting works quite well. It's somewhat surprising as Kane does not come from a sword-and-sandals background, and therefore presents a much more obvious anachronism in a prehistorical context! Let me first say that the art in this issue and the next is some of the very best of the latter SSoC days. There is something about McNeil's art that made me an instant fan. I don't know if it's the instant mood he can create, if it's his semi-realist semi-stylized approach, or if it's his great use of chiaroscuro... It's like a blend of Hugo Pratt's sensitivity and modern comics aesthetics. I just love it. (McNeil also provided the covers for the final issues of the colour Conan the barbarian comic). The story itself is, as we said, a team-up between Conan and Solomon Kane... and that's pretty much it. The overall plot is just... there, little more than an excuse for a meeting between these two heroes. But who cares, really? Conan and Kane work well together, and their respectful friendship is just what fans of both characters could have wished for. Both are written perfectly in character, thanks to Roy's decades-long familiarity with them. The tale uses the African city of Negari as a backdrop, and since we do require a measure of time travel for people living 12,000 years apart to meet, we'll have the privilege to see Negari not in one but three timelines, in varying states of disrepair! Negari was first seen in the Solomon Kane adventure Moon of skulls, adapted in SSoC #34 and a few later issues, and some of the art from issue is referenced here. SSoC #34: SSoC #220: (Great continuity, as always with Roy's work). Negari is an isolated outpost of ancient Atlantis that survived since the cataclysm (kind of like Opar in Edgar Rice Burroughs' works), where hideous rites are still being practiced. Kane had travelled there in earlier days to save a young English girl who had been sold as a slave to its cruel queen. At the end of Moon of Skulls, an earthquake had levelled Negari. Or had it? We begin today with a few lines written by Robert E. Howard himself, describing how Solomon (now an older man with grey hair, somewhere in Devon), meets skull-headed riders who bring him down thanks to their ghostly powers. The creatures are after something in Kane's possession : a small bone fragment. We will learn that long ago, at the climax of the Moon of skulls storyline, Kane kept this fragment of a magical skull he had shot; that had been the "skull of Nakura", said to be an ancient Atlantean wizard, and a nighty totem to the people of Negari. That Kane kept this memento for so long is actually easier to accept than if we had been talking about Conan, who tends to end up penniless and without even a shirt on his back in many of his adventures. Kane, we know, was known to keep his stuff a little longer. He managed to retain the juju staff that his friend N'Longa gave him for decades, so why not a piece of bone kept as a good luck charm? (Not that he would consider it a good luck charm, of course, as that is probably too heathen a concept for the dour Puritan). Meanwhile, or more exactly 12,000 earlier, Conan the Cimmerian is making his way through the jungles of Kush a month after the death of his beloved Bêlit. He is dressed just as he was at the end of CtB #100, so full points for continuity once again. Crossing the land of the warlike Matambas, the Cimmerian is chased all the way to a perilous stone bridge crossing a bottomless chasm; there, an able warrior causes him to fall in the darkness. Luckily, Conan manages to grab a rocky outcropping before he falls too far, and from there he can proceed through man-made tunnels that lead him into an old city we recognize as the Hyborian-age Negari. (This is the same road that Kane had taken to get into Negari in Moon of skulls, if I remember correctly). Conan is however rapidly captured by several men and their net. Conan and Kane find themselves the same great throne room, but 12,000 years apart. The Cimmerian is told by the leader of his captors that he is in Negari, built by Atlanteans in distant eons, and now ruled by King Yabalya, heir to those who overthrew the last Atlanteans thousands of years earlier. Yablaya swears by Golgor, an evil god from Kull’s time. Kane, for his part, stands in the same spot during the Elizabethean era. The skull-headed riders took him by means unspecified all the way to deepest Africa, where he faces one King Mkeeba. Mkeeba explains that he is the grandson of a man who was taken captive by Bartholomeu Dias and taken to Europe, which explains why Mkeeba can now speak Portuguese. Recently returned to the land of his ancestors, Mkeeba found Negari in ruins, with its people leaderless… and he had assumed kingship. He now intends to magically restore the city to its past glory, using the reassembled skull of Nakura, that powerful magical item shattered by Kane’s bullet during his previous visit. The skull that was missing just one final piece before being complete again and regaining its power: that which Kane had taken with him. Not wasting any time, Mkeeba puts the shard in place and Nakura’s skull awakens, asking who brought him back from across the void. Nakura then decrees that for the restoration of Negari, it is necessary that Kane be killed right in this room. Tendrils of light emanate from the bony relic and start invading Kane’s eyes and mouth, and the Englishman collapses. Kane finds himself in blackness, with his sword and juju staff at hand. Rising, he realizes he is no longer in the throne room but inside an enclosed space lit by round apertures; and facing him is a bronze giant. The barbarian and the Englishman, who understand each other’s words, mutually assume the other is a demon and they start fighting. Luckily, reason prevails when they realize they have both been made prisoners by rulers of Negari -even ones with different names- and both been transported to this spot by glowing tentacles. They share a historical arm clasp. Taking a peek outside the openings to the room they found themselves in, they see they are still in Negari’s throne room… More precisely, inside a giant skull that rises at the end of it! But the sturdy appearance of the place and the dress of the people present suggest that the time period is neither the XVI century nor 10,000 BC, but another time, much more ancient. To be continued!!! Notes : - Conan has just lost Bêlit, so he’s 26 or so. - Conan and Kane have a short theological discussion. Naturally Kane is set in his ways, but he finds Conan’s nonsensical attitude intriguing : “I've never expected much of my people’s god, Crom. That’s why I often call on those of lands I’ve wandered through. If they exist, they might welcome the attention… and if they do not, no harm done”. - Kane recognizes the name “Cush” from the Bible, but is convinced that Negari is far from upper Egypt.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 12, 2016 20:23:55 GMT -5
SSoC #219 ------------- Kane… the avengerthe life and times of Solomon KaneAn article by Fred Blosser, with a few nice illustrations, old and new, including this intriguing one. Blosser is always a welcome returnee to these pages, having written several great articles in the ‘70s; here he covers the Solomon Kane stories written by Howard, as he had done in a similar article published in Kull and the barbarians #3. The order of some stories has changed. The Black hound of deathScript by Roy Thomas Art by Mike Docherty and E.R. Cruz Adapting the story by Robert E. Howard Conan, hetman of the steppes-roving Kozaki, remembers that long ago day when he met Grimm, “the black hound of death”. (This tale was originally set by Robert Howard in the American west, but frontiersmen are easily replaced by Cimmerians and Indians by Picts. As for the priests of Erlik, they work well in any era!) The tale is therefore all flashback. Conan, a lad of 16 in those days, is headed toward the cabin of Svenno, to warn the man about a Pictish raiding party roaming the woods. On the way, he hears a terrible death scream before running into a man whose throat has just been ripped out, as if by the fangs of some great beast. As the man dies, another man and a woman show up; they are the companions of the victim, Hakar and Glorana, from the Greybear clan. Conan recognizes Hakar, alongside whom he fought at Venarium. Hakar explains that he and the victim, one Tibior, were escorting Glorana to her uncle Svenno’s cabin. A whisper from the woods confirms that Tibior was not killed by a wild beast : “ dead men… dead men with torn throats… there will be more dead men among the pines before morning”. Reaching Svenno’s cabin, the trio finds the man quite unhinged with fear. He has most definitely not requested Glorana’s presence, and understands that she was very likely tricked into coming there as part of some nefarious plan. Svenno reveals that he lives as a recluse for fear of someone from his past, his old comrade Grimm, with whom he left Cimmeria long ago to live a life of adventure. At some point in their journey, the two men joined an expedition against the fables black monks of Yahlgan, worshippers of the Hyrkanian death god Erlik. Ambushed by the cultists, the expedition had been cut to pieces… but not before Svenno, in a blind panic, had knocked down his friend Grimm to steal the only horse remaining. He had assumed Grimm dead and had gone back to Cimmeria, but years later had seen his friend, still alive, near his village... and had heard and seen what the priests had done to him. In terror, Svenno had left the company of his people and hidden in the woods near the village of the Snowhawk tribe, to which Conan belongs. Conan pretends to leave the cabin, but actually intends to stay around and keep an eye on the nearby woods in case Grimm really is planning something… or at least that would have been the plan, had he not been knocked out by the club of a very stealthy Pict! The war party he had come to warn Svenno against had found him first. Waking up tied to the ground, the Cimmerian hears the Picts say that they want him to know it was they who killed him, and not “the hound”. The warriors seem to be as frightened by Grimm as Svenno was, and they suspect him of being a werewolf. Rule one of anyone who captures Conan: don’t chitchat while he’s in your power, because he’ll find a way to free himself pretty quickly. That’s just what happens when the Cimmerian cuts his bonds on a sharp stone lying under his arm, and despite his young age he makes short work of the Picts (as we saw him do in a recent movie). Heading back to Svenno’s cabin, Conan finds the situation quite changed : Hakar has been killed, his throat ripped out, and within the shack a masked man is getting ready to torture the hapless Glorana under the eyes of her powerless uncle. Grimm removes his mask, revealing his shark-like, oversized jaws. He explains how the priests of Yahlgan cut into his flesh and rebuilt his face over the course of years, painfully turning him into a monster. His voice is now but a murmur, but his soft bark belies his oversized bite. All that kept him alive during his torment was the thought of exacting his revenge on Svenno one day, which he intends to start by slowly flaying the man’s only cherished family member right in front of him. Conan bursts in, stopping Grimm’s flaying knife. Throwing a spear at the man, he impales him right through the midriff and causes him to fall into an open fire. But even as the Cimmerian frees Glorana, the wounded and burning Grimm jumps at Svenno, tearing at his throat with his great fangs. Conan throws his sword right into Grimm’s back and leaves the now-burning cabin with Glorana in his arms, watching the wooden building collapse in a matter of minutes. The monstrous Grimm should definitely be dead after such an ordeal… but now, on the eastern steppes and almost fifteen years later, it looks as if he is not. Is it fear that grips the Cimmerian’s heart? Note : - We learn that Conan’s original helmet, the one with two horns facing front, was not made by his blacksmith father but rather bought from a passing trader a few days before this story. Since it is set after the sack of Venarium, the depiction of Conan with the helmet at Venarium are in contradiction to what we learn here! Whom are we to believe?
|
|
|
Post by foxley on Oct 12, 2016 20:36:41 GMT -5
I love this particular tale (possibly more than it deserves). It is an amazing team-up that manages to do credit to both Conan and Kane. My fear had been that - this being Conan's magazine - Conan would have centre stage and Kane would wind up playing second banana. But each acts according to their character. For instance, Kane's willingness to trust savages and godless mercenaries is demonstrated multiple times in his tales.
And you're right about the trail Conan follows to get to Negari. I had reread the Kane stories not long before I read this issue and was struck by how accurate what is depicted is to the description in Moon of Skulls. And Conan's pursuit is a very obvious echo of how Kane entered the city.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 17, 2016 17:13:41 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #220, April 1994 Cover by Colin McNeil Table of contentsDeath’s dark tower, concluding the team-up between Conan and Solomon Kane Solomon Kane -a publishing history Talons of Nergal, continuing the storyline from the cancelled Conan the barbarian colour comic Portfolio by Darren Goodacre, who signs “Daz”. The letters page has a letter by Howard scholar Steve Tompkins, and another by a film historian speculating further on what the fake 1930’s Conan film (seen in issue 214) might have been like, considering the studio politics of the era. The letters page really became a plus in the latter days of SSoC, providing a sharp contrast with what it had been in the 1980… “I love Conan because he’s so tough… when will he meet the Punisher?”
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 17, 2016 17:26:20 GMT -5
SSoC #220 ------------- Death’s dark towerScript by Roy Thomas Art by Colin McNeil In part two of the meeting between the time-displaced Conan and Solomon Kane, our two heroes have been moved from their respective era all the way back to 16,000 B.C. or thereabout, 2,000 years after the Great cataclysm put an end to the Thurian age. The two men are still in the city of Negari, but a Negari still at the apex of its power, peopled by the last sons of Atlantis still clinging to their civilization. As Conan and Kane emerge from the giant skull they had found themselves in at the end of last issue, right in the holy of holies of Negari’s great temple, they face a young and powerful Nakura, the wizard whose sentient skull would one day cause their voyage back in time. Barbarians who profane the temple are not welcome here, and Nakura orders his soldiers to slay them. Kane and the Cimmerian manage to fight their way out of the crowded room. Remembering the location of a secret passage he used in his own past (but close to 20,000 years in the future), Kane gets the two men out of harm’s way. Discussing their situation, the Englishman and the Cimmerian agree that the throne room they saw in their respective eras was not as splendid as the one they just left, and that there is not a trace of an earthquake anywhere. They correctly conclude that they have been sent to Negari’s distant past. Kane tells the history of Negari as it was revealed to him during his first stay in the ancient city; how a colony of Atlantis located in what would one day become Kush and then Africa had abandoned the worship of Valka for that of the evil Golgor. Over the millenia that followed, the Atlanteans had seen their bloodline mixed with that of the natives, until only a caste of high priest retained a purely Atlantean bloodline. (No mention is made of how deleterious that must have been to their gene pool!) Conan is surprised by the names “Valka” and “Golgor”, wondering why his distant ancestors did not know Crom, Macha and Nemain. This remark would make ethnological sense, except that it’s not clear how Conan knows that Cimmerians are descended from Atlanteans… I mean, we know it, but only because we read Howard’s essay The Hyborian Age. The Cimmerians themselves would be unlikely to remember their origin, considering what happened to the Atlanteans in the millenia separating the Thurian and Hyborian ages : Resorting to a tried and true trick of pulp fiction, our heroes walk through the secret passages until they reach a small grid through which they can see the chambers of the villainous Nakura, where the wizard helpfully exposes his nefarious plans. He is talking to Dygor, a powerful black warrior with whom he is in cahoots to put an end to the reign of Gandaro XVII. Dygor is to lead a rebellion against the Atlanteans, but surprise is an essential element for the plan to succeed as his own men have no armour, unlike the Atlanteans. Nakura promises to provide the right opportunity, and to deliver Negari into the hands of one he sees as a better leader than the blue-blooded weakling currently holding the throne. As Dygor leaves, Nakura is joined by his mistress Kari (whom we guess must be the ancestor of Queen Nakari, the seductive one who gave Kane so much trouble in Moon of Skulls). Nakura then performs a magical ceremony that ties his fate to Negari’s, making it so that the city is now magically linked to his very essence. Part of the ceremony involves putting a spell on a certain medallion, one shaped like the face of the Thurian-era wizard Thulsa Doom, dipped in a potion once used by Raama the great to imprison silence. So many references here!!! Thulsa Doom was introduced in the Kull story “ Delcardes’ cat” and was turned in to Kull’s arch-enemy; as for Raama and his role in imprisoning silence, it is the basis of another Kull story (the first to have been adapted in comcis form): “ The skull of silence”. Nakura mentions that if his skull is ever destroyed… Negari’s end will follow swiftly! And the medallion, apparently, is now the one thing that could ever truly destroy him. As long as the medallion exists, a part of Nakura will continue to exist and there will always be a way to draw him back from the realm of death. That night, another ceremony is held in the great plaza in front of the temple. That night the high priest is supposed to foretell the city’s fortune for the coming year. Using a trick worthy of Bugs Bunny, Nakura gets all the true-blooded Atlanteans to bow down, lower than they ever have before, while everyone else is to keep standing since they are not worthy in Golgor’s eyes. The king defies the order, saying he bows down to no man and no god, defying Nakura in the name of Valka, and Honen, and Hotath, the ancient gods of Atlantis (and Valusia, for that matter). The king is murdered, which is the signal for the start of the revolution. The kneeling Atlanteans are cut to pieces before they have time to think “should we get up, now?” and within minutes the old order hath changed. Nakura proclaims that in the name of almighty Golgor, he proclaims Dygor to be the new king of Negari. Dygor, the sly fox, swears obedience to Golgor’s chosen prophet Nakura for as long as he lives… which isn’t that long, as the faithless Kari stabs her lover in the back. Apparently, someone made her a better offer… As Nakura dies, he curses his lover; he swears that one day, one of her descendants will cause the fall of the city. (We know that this will come to pass!) As all this is happening, Kane and Conan have tiptoed from their secret passage to the dais where Nakura was standing; they manage to recover his medallion before the wizard’s body falls into a blazing fire. Running back to the temple and its giant skull, the two heroes surmise that since they emerged from the thing, it might be the way back to their own eras. Crawling into one of the giant orbits of the skull, Conan has time for a last look back: Dygor is walking into his future throne room, holding the skull of Nakura, whose flesh has just been burnt away. Inside the skull, our heroes feel like they’re falling a great distance before reaching the Negari of the Elizabethean era. The skull of Nakura is before them, on a pedestal, but the skull exclaims that he is not responsible for the two men’s return. (I must admit that as a reader, I am also puzzled. The proffered explanation that the key lies with Kane’s voodoo staff is less than satisfying, as this just sounds entirely too convenient, as the staff was nowhere to be seen until right this moment). The skull of Nakura sics the dark riders on Conan and Kane, and the ghosts are as unbeatable as before… except that since Kane now holds the medallion, his sword can slay them! With this information, the two heroes get rid of the pesky supernatural henchmen. This leaves only the flesh and blood warriors of Negari, who aren’t chopped liver either (until Conan goes through them, that is). Remembering how Nakura explained that the medallion was warrant of his continued existence and his skull was tied to city’s fate, Conan throws the talisman at the protesting wizard. When the two skulls connect, they both break and Nakura finally dies for good in a powerful explosion. Conan then vanishes, sent back to his own era by the mysterious powers that directed all these events. Notes : - The king of the Negari we spend most of the issue in is Gandaro XVII, a proper name for an Atlantean monarch. In Exile of Atlantis, Gor-Na tells a young Kull of his harrying the Valusian coats with a famous leader of the same name: - The names of Negari, Nakari, Nakura and Kari are a bit confusing, I must say. - There is no actual explanation as to what caused our heroes to travel through time. It just sort of happened as per the will of a higher power.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 17, 2016 18:01:36 GMT -5
SSoC #220 ------------- Solomon KaneA publishing historyby Glen Lord, literary agent of the Howard estate Well, this is certainly impressive! Glen Lord is a legend in the world of Howardian lore! Here he descibes the publication history of the Solomon Kane adventures. Talons of NergalScript by Roy Thomas Art by Mike Docherty and E.R. Cruz Conan the Kozak revisits old stomping grounds again, as he travels to the city of Yaralet, last seen in Conan the barbarian #30. On the way, he and his men are ambushed by Kezankian hillmen led by a man who happens to have been among the ones he fought in CtB#31… …as well as, although that’s bit of a retcon, in Marvel Super Special #9. The fellow’s name is Hobar, and once he and Conan get a chance to exchange a few words, he calls a halt to the ambush. Hobar was the brother of a man named Rustum, whom Conan saved from torture in MSS#9. Wanting to pay his debt to his saviour, Rustum had later refused to kill the Cimmerian when so ordered by his chieftain Keraspa. Keraspa had killed Rustum in turn, and so Hobar doesn’t really have a reason to hold a grudge against Conan. Kozaks and Kezankians call a truce. The Kozak leader explains that he wants the hillmen to side with him against the expanding empire of Turan, a plan that Hobar finds interesting. However, both groups face a threat distinct (and more sinister) than that posed by Turan’s ambition: a giant, magical hand, “the hand of Nergal”, sometimes comes out of the city of Yaralet to crush people like over-ripe fruit! It looks like a cloud at first but can become solid and deadly when it needs to! Conan, having once been to Yaralet and having left the town on good terms with its new leaders, believes he can persuade them to stop using whatever magic they control against the hillmen... and to get them to join the fight against Turan. Leaving a few of his men as hostage among the hillmen, Conan leads a group of Kezankians and Kozaks to Yaralet. Among them is Hobar’s son Muzon, and Hobar’s daughter Tiqua, disguised as a boy. (Tiqua is a lady after my own heart, one who doesn’t hesitate to slap Conan when he makes a certain improper proposal to her! Way to go, girl!) Entering Yaralet via a secret passage he learned of in CtB#30, Conan leads his band right into the city’s throne room. There he finds the place’s ruler, Prince Thann, apparently in a state of catatonia. With Thann is the philosopher Atalis, decidedly less wise and philosophical than when we last saw him in CtB#30; he’s now as power-hungry and petty as any bald wizard we’ve ever met in the series. CtB#30 dealt with an evil talisman also named hand of Nergal, a dessicated hand that granted several magical powers. Conan had helped Atalis and Prince Thann stop Yaralet’s then-ruler, Muntassem Khan, from using the hand to conquer a small empire on the edges of the Turanian empire; to that end, they had used another talisman, the heart of Tammuz. At the end of that story, the god Tammuz and the demon Nergal had come to blows, leading to the apparent destruction of both the hand and the heart, and the very clear destruction of Muntassem Khan. Now, it is revealed that the heart, at least, has survived; and Atalis has apparently found another hand of Nergal to use. His agenda is pretty much the same as the late Muntassem Khan’s. Conan gets all angry with his old ally, but when he grabs him by the lapels he is thrown away by Atalis’s bodyguard… Fafnir of Vanaheim! To be continued! Notes : - Pages 14-15 are inverted. - Fafnir was my favourite early supporting character until his death in CtB #20. Then he was brought back in a boring way in the ‘80s to die once more in CtB #167. Because that wasn’t enough, he came back and died once more in CtB#170. And now here we go again! - Freudian slip : Conan calls Atalis “Atali” at one point. Atali is the Frost Giant’s Daughter, whom Conan tried to rape in CtB #16. Untitled portfolio by Darren Goodacre, signing Daz. Very nice work, with a strong Frazetta feel.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 18, 2016 15:38:17 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #221, May 1994 Cover by George Pratt Table of contentsWerewoman, a dreamlike Conan story Death has four fingers, in which Conan reunites with an old friend. There are also a handful of nice pin-ups in the issue as well. One is signed “‘Mal", and judging from the art in next issue I surmise he must be one Malcolm Davis.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 18, 2016 15:43:42 GMT -5
SSoC #221 ------------- WerewomanScript by Roy Thomas Art by Robert Brown and Rey Garcia Adapting a story by Catherine L. Moore Moore is a writer from the Golden Age of science-fiction, mostly known for her Northwest Smith series starring an adventurous spaceman. She also wrote a few sword and sorcery tales starring the heroine Jirel de Joiry, who can be seen as a precursor of Red Sonja. Moore's stories often refer to ancient civilizations whose presence is still somehow felt in dreams or in visions. Many of her tales have an oneiric atmosphere, with characters not exactly sure whether they're dreaming or not, passing from one world to another. This is just what happens to everyone's favourite Cimmerian today. Conan and his comrades, unhappy mercenaries somewhere in Corinthia, fall victim of foul play on the part of a local lord. The sole survivor of his band, The badly wounded Cimmerian flees to a desolate salt marsh where, legends say, an ancient city once rose. The barbarian soon realizes that there are more than Corinthian soldiers after him. In the tall grasses of the marsh, he is hounded by wolves... wolves among which is one of a striking white colour. Deciding to make a stand with his back to a gnarled tree, the Cimmerian learns that these are no ordinary wolves as one transforms into a wild-looking woman. They are were creatures! His savage nature coming to the fore, Conan lunges at the woman... but quickly realizes that in doing so, he has left his body behind! While he feels fine all of a sudden, at the foot of the tree he sees his own bloodied and unmoving body. Has his soul made the final leap into the afterworld? The ghostly Conan runs for a while with the werewolves, embracing the freedom and the exhilaration of his animal nature. One of the werewomen takes a particular liking to him. In the marshes they encounter the ghost of the city that once stood there; once a truly magnificent place, it is no more than an echo. But there is also fear in the land... a dreadful presence seems to follow the group, one that threatens to end their life forever. Even though his partner just wants to flee the presence, Conan can sense where its source is... a huge monolith with a strange glyph carved into it. The Cimmerian lifts the massive stone and breaks it, putting an end to a millenia-old spell. A caption tells us that long ago, the god Mitra himself came to this city and cast it down for its sins, leaving the monolith behind as the guardian of its remains. The stone had however become corrupted over time, becoming evil, and casting over the entire area an aura of maleficence. But now it is all over. Conan returns to his body, which in the meantime has been found by his Corinthian pursuers. The soldiers find a wounded wolf next to the body, and slay it. Conan, enraged, kills the invaders. With a heavy heart he departs the haunted region. Well. This was certainly an uncommon story. It really felt like a C. L. Moore tale. I welcome an occasional change of pace, but I think adapting a Jirel of Joiry story might have worked better than a Northwest Smith one. The artwork is an odd duck. On the one hand, it is pretty amateurish... it looks like the work of someone who loved early 90's Image comics and said "I can do that too!", without studying anatomy or composition. (Rey Garcia's inking helps a little, but there's no hiding those pencils). On the other hand, many pages turn out surprisingly good anyway... Think young Rob Liefeld on a good day.
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 18, 2016 15:48:09 GMT -5
Death has four fingersScript by Roy Thomas Art by Mike Docherty and E.R. Cruz Continuing the storyline from the cancelled Conan the barbarian colour comic. In the city of Yaralet (last seen in CtB#30), the evil Atalis is trying to establish a local empire by using the hand of Nergal, a demonic limb that he somehow managed to graft unto the shoulder of a man we all thought dead since CtB#170, Fafnir of Vanaheim. Since a certain amulet, " the heart of Tammuz", was shown way back when to be able to defeat the hand, Atalis keeps the dangerous talisman mounted on his sceptre at all times so it can not be used against him. When Conan and his Kozaks, along with a few Kezankian hillmen, come to Yaralet to invite Atalis to join them in opposing the rising power of the Turanian empire, Atalis has Fafnir attack Conan. The Vanirman seems drugged with lotus but is no less capable for all that; using the advantage granted him by his demonic arm, he easily defeats Conan. Kozaks and Kezankians are thrown in an old dungeon. When the lecherous Atalis sends for Tiqua, the daughter of Hobar, chief of the Kezankians, Conan tells her cryptically to accept her fate so she can get close to Atalis's heart. The girl understands that he's referring to the heart of Tammuz, and when the wizard tries to grope her she lunges for the sceptre on which the talisman is mounted and uses it to strike Fafnir's demonic hand. Fafnir grabs the thing, but his hand starts smoking as he breaks out of whatever spell made him obey Atalis. Meanwhile, Conan and his partners have broken down their cell's old and decrepit door and have made their way to Atalis's quarters. When the evil ruler tries to remove his sceptre from Fafnir's hand, Conan chops off the wizard's own hand. The Yaralet soldiers make no attempt to defend their leader, as only fear made them obey him; they'd much rather serve the sedate prince Thann whom Atalis has kept as a puppet, thank you very much. As for Fafnir, he is surprised to find Conan there... as well as to discover that he has a left arm once again. His arm was cut off in CtB#20, and replaced by a demonic one later on... a new arm that was also removed). In the palm of the hand of Nergal, the symbol of Tammuz has been burned; it seems that once more, the heart was mightier than the hand, and Fafnir seems to control the thing. (We'll see how that works out later on). Notes : - I thought it was a pity for Atalis, who seemed like a decent chap in CtB#30 (and a philosopher, not a magician) to devolve into a stereotypical ambitious bald wizard. Oh, well. - Prince Thann looks a lot like Conan's old comrade, Murilo, especially in black and white (Murilo had brown locks while Thann's are black). - Tiqua's name is misspelled Taqui here and there. - Tammuz and Nergal are Mesopotamian gods. "The hand of Nergal", adapted in CtB#30, is a pastiche story written by Lin Carter completing a few pages written by Robert Howard.
|
|