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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 28, 2016 15:49:46 GMT -5
Death and life in Tiger valleyScript by Roy Thomas Art by E. R. Cruz In this story we meet King Kull's parents, if only briefly : Gorm-Li and Osa. The shaman Ram-Os predicts that a child born of the Sea Mountain tribe in the coming month will one day rule the Thurian continent. This does not sit well with the Atlantean chief Ba-Dar, who reasons that he is himself childless and that no conqueror of the mainland would set his sight on those distant shores before having first conquered Atlantis itself. Herod-like, Ba-Dar therefore decides to have all the children born in the coming weeks put to death. (Evil, evil man... why not be extra nice to those children, so that if and when a conqueror rises among them, they'll remember you with gratitude?) Ram-Os is disgusted by his chieftain's attitude, but is something of a coward and does nothing to change his mind. Young Osa is pregnant and about to give birth, which of course worries her husband Gorm-Li a great deal; not only because this is their first child, but because he's one of the warriors charged with killing all the newborns in town! Osa dies shortly after delivering twins, which Gorm-Li promises to save from Ba-Dar's madness. With the help of his colleagues Hro-Gar and Dal-Fah, he takes the babies to Tiger valley, where he hopes the presence of the striped cats should keep curious people away until the kids have grown enough for no one to be able to say exactly when they were born. Ram-Os sees the men and the babies go, but directs possible pursuers in another direction. Then Hro-Gar turns traitor and murders Dal-Fah, before he and Gorm-Li kill each other, leaving the two newborn babies unattended. Ram-Os, drawn by the babies' cries, finds them before the tigers of the forest but, being apparently very weak physically as well as being pusillanimous, he grabs only one of the children before walking away, intending to come back later for the second. The second baby is found by a female tiger that takes it away to raise it as her own. Shades of Romulus and Remus, or of Mowgli, of even Tarzan of the Apes... Kull will be raised by an animal mother. His twin, whom he will meet again years and years later after he has become king, will be raised in secret by Ram-Os and led to fulfill the conquering destiny foreseen by the shaman, a destiny that in the final analysis might also apply to her brother. That part of the story was covered in Kull the conqueror #1, volume 3. Roy does a good job of reconciling several stories concerning Kull's youth, including the apocryphal tale of his twin sister. I must however admit that it feels a little forced here, with too much exposition; it felt more natural when Alan Zelenetz told it in Kull vol. 3 #1. Kull’s sister was an impressive character… I guess it made sense for her to last only one issue (albeit an important one) but she made a great addition to the Kull mythos. I like that Kull's parents weren't secretly anyone important. As for those prophecies concerning an Atlantean conqueror, there were many of them in the pages of Kull the conqueror, Kull the destroyer and Kull and the barbarians...but it was never confirmed that they applied to Kull himself. The latter part of his reign was not explored in the comics. A good start, though Cruz is much better at drawing adults than babies (or tigers).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 28, 2016 15:59:38 GMT -5
Regarding Alter Ego #139, I was at comic convention two weeks ago and someone told me about how "Back Issue" magazine had run a story on Marvel's Black and White magazines. Althoguh, I am assuming he was referring to Alter Ego #139. I do not subscribe to Alter Ego, but I might pick up #139, to read Roy's commentary. Is it worth the $9.95 cover price, in your opinion? I believe that person was referring to this issue of Back Issue; it is indeed about B&W mags but not about SSoC in particular. I don't know if I'd pay ten bucks for every Alter Ego magazine, but they are definitely worth the price if you get the PDF file only (way cheaper). There are several issues that focus on Conan and S&S: # 139, # 92, # 82 and # 80. There is also a Back Issue on Conan, but I found it a bit light : issue # 11. Now that I know you've waited for these reviews, I'd better not screw up!!! I promise I'll do my best!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 29, 2016 12:20:55 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #191, November 1991 Cover by Joe Jusko. Conan, Li-Zya and a man-serpent! Table of contentsSkull on the seas, part II : Jade coils in Black Khemi, in which Conan finally comes face to face with Thoth-Amon! Death and life in Tiger valley, part II, continuing the childhood of Kull of Atlantis. Plus a portfolio by Tod Smith, who had pencilled issue #188. This is it! This is the issue I had been waiting for since first learning of the existence of Thoth-Amon, and it is one that required years and years of preparation! You see, Thoth-Amon was the closest Conan ever had to a nemesis (the Joker to Batman, Luthor to Superman, Moriarty to Holmes), because he was seen in one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard ( the phoenix on the sword), mentioned in another ( the hour of the dragon), and responsible for the events of a third ( the god in the bowl). His ring was also seen in modern times, in the haunter of the ring. Accordingly, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter decided to make Thoth-Amon the Hyborian Doctor Doom, setting him against Conan again and again. Roy Thomas played along, but remained true to what Howard had written. In REH’s works, we know that even as late as the Cimmerian’s early days as king of Aquilonia Thoth-Amon had no particular grudge against the man. Accordingly, whenever Roy used the Stygian wizard prior to those days, he had them never quite meet one another (even if working on the same problem, on opposite sides). That was very cool, because keeping Thoth-Amon’s at arm’s length maintained the man’s mystery and the sense of danger surrounding him (familiarity breeds contempt, after all). I think it was a mistake for Dark Horse to feature Thoth-Amon so prominently when it rebooted the Conan series and even to give him an explicit origin; Marvel’s version proved to remain more intriguing over a longer period. So, to recap the two men’s quasi encounters… Thoth-Amon sent a man-headed serpent to the priest of Ibis, Karanthes, in a sealed sarcophagus, but the creature was freed early and eventually decapitated by a young Conan in CtB #7. Next an envoy of Thoth-Amon tried to secure a page of the Book of Skelos, but absconded with it; since Conan, Bêlit and Red Sonja were also after the page, they could witness an image of Thoth-Amon’s head as he condemned his faithless acolyte (in CtB #68). Next came a dream that Conan had, a dream in which Thoth-Amon warned him not to pursue Bêlit’s quest for her father in Stygia; this dream turned, however, to have been sent by Karanthes and not by Thoth-Amon. (Thoth-Amon even claimed not to know of, or care, about any northern barbarian in CtB #89). In the same issue, Conan, Bêlit and Zula had to face some of Thoth-Amon’s man-headed serpents, but did not meet the wizard himself. Conan would see the face of Thoth-Amon once more in an episode written by Chris Claremont (in SSoC #74). Chris overdid things by having Thoth declare " Once again... once too often...you seek to thwart my dark, dread designs. This time, you will fail! The woman is mine, body and soul, now and forever! And as for you, Cimmerian, make your peace with your dunghill god, Crom, for I shall soon deliver what's left of you into his hands.” The two men hardly knew of each other at the time (and Thoth sure talks funny). Whatever be the case, Conan hadn’t met Thoth-Amon at this point in his career, when he was around 35. Still sticking to excellent continuity, Roy mentions that Thoth is still advisor to Nephta, the woman who assumed the crown of Stygia under the name Ctesphon III in CtB #88. (Ctesphon III would soon die and be replaced in short order by King Mentuphera and King Ctesphon IV, according to SSoC 48 and 94. During that period, Thoth-Amon would fall out of favour and exile himself to Zingara). The Cimmerian and the wizard would however meet again just a few more months later, when Conan had left the Barachan pirates and joined the Zingaran buccaneers, when Thoth tried to have himself crowned king of Zingara in SSoC #43). The only other thing I had been waiting for for a comparable length of time was Conan’s visit to Kheshatta, the city of magicians, and Roy would deliver on that just a few issues down the line!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 29, 2016 12:28:41 GMT -5
SSoC #191 ------------- Jade coils in Black Khemi(Skull on the seas, part II) Story by Roy Thomas (ooooh, how I like writing that at long last!) Art by John Buscema, Tony DeZuniga and Ernie Chan (DeZuniga finishes only eight pages here before Ernie Chan takes over, and Ernie would remain the primary finisher of Big John’s layouts for many issues.) Kuchum’s pirate ship, the Sea Pheasant, is attacked by a Stygian galley whose sailors are defeated by the Khitans’ martial skills and Conan’s fury. One of the Stygians manages to hide on board, however. During the melee, many of the Pheasant’s water casks are damaged and drained, forcing the crew to contemplate getting fresh water on the Stygian coast (a risky endeavour since Stygians do not welcome foreigners to their shores unless it is under strict supervision). We learn that one of the Zingaran ships encountered last issue survived the attack by Thulsa Doom’s sea monster. The Khitans allowed its crew to survive, provided they joined Kuchum’s quest. Their leader is one Mosardo, a Zingaran nobleman wearing the same type of hat as Black Zarono, another buccaneer we met in SSoC #40. Conan and Li-Zya still share quarters, as she is technically Conan’s hostage. The girl relates to the Cimmerian how her father, a Khitan nobleman, came to be a pirate looking for treasure on the seven seas. Kuchum was an admiral Khitai, and on one occasion managed to defeat an important fleet from Yamatai (Japan). Bringing back a great war treasure after the operation, Kuchum learned upon arriving home that his wife had died in his absence; heartbroken, he had gotten drunk and gambled the entire treasure away instead of giving it to the emperor, as was his duty. Not wanting to have the war hero executed, the emperor had exiled Kuchum. Since that day, Kuchum had tried to amass enough loot to be able to pay the assorted bribes required to reenter the emperor’s good graces. His little daughter Li-Zya had grown on the Sea Pheasant, trained in the arts of war by its crew; this paternal relation explains how a young and pretty girl could live for so long, unmolested, among scurvy sea-dogs. Kuchum and his ship had eventually found an uncharted island off the coast of Kush, in which the skull of Thulsa Doom lay in an ancient temple. The skull had promised Kuchum to help him find the riches he needed, and the two had since been inseparable. After the story is told, Conan prepares to sleep, telling Li-Zya that the charade about her being his hostage is no longer needed and that she is free to go. Now that she’s no longer kept under duress, the proud girl decides that she’d much rather share the Cimmerian’s bed after all. A surprised Conan reflects that one day, maybe, he’ll understand women, and hopes that by then he won’t be too old to care. Later that night, the Stygian stowaway sees that the Sea Pheasant is now within sight of Stygia’s main sea port, Khemi. Before he can jump overboard, however, he is addressed by the skull of Thulsa Doom who entices him to take it with him and to carry it to the high priest of Set, the wizard Thoth-Amon, who is sure to reward the sailor handsomely. The sailor’s escape is witnessed by sentries who sound the alarm, and Conan must lead a few men to recover the precious skull. Li-Zya tricks him into coming along, blackmailing him with the eventual revelation to her father of their recent tryst. Also along for the ride is Kuchum’s pet, a monkey-like thing named EE-ch’ing. The Stygian stowaway reaches land, and the Khemi depicted in the following pages is perfectly congruent with the one depicted in The hour of the dragon and seen in SSoC #10. Eventually he gets to the temple of Set. Naturally, one does not see the high priest of Set at will; to quote one of the denizens of the maze-like temple, “do you imagine my master has nothing better to do than venture forth to greet every Thom-Dakk and Ha-Ray who stumbles into his temple?” (The speaker, we soon learn, is one of the man-headed serpents who serve Thoth-Amon). Upon seeing Thulsa Doom’s skull and sensing the powerful magics it holds, the man-headed serpent agrees to take the sailor to its master. And that’s when we finally meet Thoth-Amon in person. Thulsa Doom and Thoth-Amon meet face to face, but they are clearly not friends despite both worshipping Set. It seems that Thulsa Doom has great influence over the Serpent Men, those shape-shifting creatures from Kull’s days, and a few of which still survive in Hyborian times. Doom’s mere presence is enough to sway these Serpent Men’s allegiance. Doom argues that the two wizards can surely share dominion over the children of Set, one leading the Serpent Men while the other rules over Men Serpents. Thoth-Amon will have none of that. War is declared between the two, but just then Conan and his band, who have successfully entered Khemi and the temple of Set, erupt upon the scene. A Man Serpent uses his hypnotic gaze to freeze them in their tracks, and Thoth-Amon is rather dismissive of Conan: “I believe I have some vague knowledge of this barbarian after all… even if he and I have never stood face to face. I would hear of him… no more!” A Man Serpent starts squeezing the Cimmerian and his Khitan friends in its coils, when Conan reveals he had closed his eyes when he started feeling the hypnotic spell of the creature! Cutting the ophidian body in two with his sword, he frees his comrades… but Thoth-Amon calls upon more of his servants. Time to fight!!! Under Thoth-Amon’s composed gaze, the Cimmerian and the Khitans slay their ophidian enemies, recover the skull and run away. Before they hastily depart, however, Thoth-Amon has time to set his eyes upon Kuchum’s pet monkey and clearly does something to the diminutive creature's mind. The journey back to the Sea Pheasant is naturally frought with obstacles, but eventually Kuchum recovers his precious skull. As the ship leaves Khemi, we realize that Thoth-Amon is now controlling little EE-Ch’ing. To be continued! Notes : - Conan mentions’s “Manannan’s foot locker” as one would “Davey Jones’ locker”. That is appropriate, as Manannan is a Cimmerian god, and a sea deity in Irish mythology. - A Stygian mentions Ctesphon III, whom Thoth-Amon later says is actually a woman. This is in perfect agreement with CtB #88, as is Thoth-Amon’s high position in court (a position he would lose before having to go into exile, as told in flashbacks in SSoC #48). - The Man Serpents have individual names… Ssarbaarix, Mehennassar, Nuubissat, Hotephaaph and Thefertaash. I like the names, but naming these guys makes them… I don’t know, more mundane. Just like the almost zoological distinction between Man
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 29, 2016 12:31:54 GMT -5
Death and life in Tiger valley, part IIScript by Roy Thomas Art by E.R. Cruz Five years have passed since Kull’s birth and his adption by a tigress. This story shows how he and his twin sister have grown since then. Little Iraina is raised in secret by the shaman Ram-Os, who teaches her how to fight, feeds her tiger milk and introduces her to books and to the tiger god Jaquari. Meanwhile, Iraina’s bother Kull is living as a wild animal. He and his tiger brother try to take down a water buffalo, but the massive beast kills the feline. As Kull hangs on to the bull’s horns, Atlantean hunters arrive and kill the animal. They capture the feral child and bring him in a cage to their village, that of the Sea Mountain tribe. No one knows what to do with this tiger boy, but a shocked Ram-Os realizes that this must be the other twin, the one he thought lost, and he declares that he will raise the boy himself. A few supporting characters are introduced : Am-Ra, who we’ll meet again as one of Kull’s childhood friends, and Sareeta, the girl whom Kull would one day mercifully kill swiftly to spare her being burned alive, as first seen in Kull the conqueror #1. Her name in Howard’s original story was Ala. Am-Ra had been renamed “Om-Ra" in previous Marvel comics, to avoid confusion with Conan’s own nickname (“Amra”) on the Black Coast. Here he reverts tio his original name... or perhaps it's just a matter of subtle pronunciation? This chapter is very good; much better, in my humble opinion, than the first one. There is a sense of impending tragedy about the fates of Kull and Iraina.
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Post by senatortombstone on May 29, 2016 17:57:47 GMT -5
Regarding Thoth-Amon, I found following the chronology and the canon of his appearances rather confusing. Claremont's depiction of him is obviously apocryphal, but it also seems that Thomas is retconning these newer stories into the already existing continuity and it does not seem to totally fit. In those earlier issues of SSoC when Thoth-Amon is trying to take control of Zingara, there is no indication that he has any recollection of the events of SSoC #190-193. Sort of like when reading issues of Uncanny X-Men #1-160, in which there are no indications that Professor X and Magneto were once best friends - that was retconned into the continuity in the following issue. Also, during the SSoC adaption of The Treasure of Tranicos, he kills Strom's first mate Galacus, and claims it was because he outwenched him once; however, in the following issues of SSoC, we shall see that their enmity really has nothing to do with Galacus being a superior womanizer to Conan. I am not complaining, but I have always found it interesting to read stories that were written with no knowledge of what would later be previous continuity and with no inkling that the author that story had any intention to add new continuity which was to take place prior to the current story.
However, this sort of thing is inevitable when even one writer writes multiple stories, out of order and over a real-life period of several decades, let alone when multiple and less than faithful to the source material writers are contributing material.
I managed to pick up Darkhorse's four-part Thoth-Amon origin story for fifty cents an issue in bargain bin, a few years ago. I enjoyed some of it, but also found it rather lame that an urchin named Thoth killed his best friend Amon and then took his name - ugh!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 29, 2016 18:30:00 GMT -5
Regarding Thoth-Amon, I found following the chronology and the canon of his appearances rather confusing. Claremont's depiction of him is obviously apocryphal, but it also seems that Thomas is retconning these newer stories into the already existing continuity and it does not seem to totally fit. In those earlier issues of SSoC when Thoth-Amon is trying to take control of Zingara, there is no indication that he has any recollection of the events of SSoC #190-193. That is absolutely correct and I was convinced that it was stated somewhere that Conan and Thoth-Amon first met in Conan the buccaneer (SSoC #40-43). But look as I could, I never did actually find that reference! The presence of Thoth-Amon here and once again in Conan the buccaneer (which happens only a few months later) also means important events have to be compressed to an almost incredible degree. As mentioned in "a probable outline of Thoth-Amon's career", after this adventure Thoth-Amon is present for the story arc "Conan in the city of magicians", published a bit later in SSoC. Then Ctesphon III dies, Thoth-Amon falls out of favour with King Mentuphera and goes into exile to Zingara, he is betrayed by Count Valenso to King Ferdrugo, Mentuphera dies and is succeeded by Ctesphon IV, Thoth-Amon returns to his place at the oasis of Khajar, and that's where he is contacted by Black Zarono. A lot of comings and goings for such a short period! A glaring example of that happened with the original adaptation of The dark man in Savage Tales: In it, Conan did not know what a Pict was!!! (That was corrected when the story was represented in a Treasury Edition). Absolutely! Yeah... Same here. It made for a good comic-book story, but I didn't think it made Thoth-Amon half as awesome as he should be. He was revealed to be, essentially, a scared and selfish little boy. Even as a grown-up. But how cool was his vizier identity, ages later... That was spooky! A pity Truman decided to let that aspect of the series go.
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Post by senatortombstone on Jun 1, 2016 22:33:13 GMT -5
Regarding Alter Ego #139, I was at comic convention two weeks ago and someone told me about how "Back Issue" magazine had run a story on Marvel's Black and White magazines. Although, I am assuming he was referring to Alter Ego #139. I do not subscribe to Alter Ego, but I might pick up #139, to read Roy's commentary. Is it worth the $9.95 cover price, in your opinion? I believe that person was referring to this issue of Back Issue; it is indeed about B&W mags but not about SSoC in particular. I don't know if I'd pay ten bucks for every Alter Ego magazine, but they are definitely worth the price if you get the PDF file only (way cheaper). There are several issues that focus on Conan and S&S: # 139, # 92, # 83 and # 80. There is also a Back Issue on Conan, but I found it a bit light : issue # 11. Now that I know you've waited for these reviews, I'd better not screw up!!! I promise I'll do my best! Thanks for those magazine recommendations, RR. It just so happens that TwoMorrows is having a memorial day magazine sale through to 06/06/2016, which means most of their PRINT back issues of Alter Ego are 40.00% of with free DIGITAL. I am big believer in the printed article. Digital is fine to a point, but I am the type that needs a paper copy. And so it is that I bought print copies of 80, 83, 92, and 139 for 22.05USD and that includes the cost of shipping - albeit media mail. They were out of PRINT copies of Back Issue 11 and I forgot to order Back Issue 88, which bites, because now if I order it, I have to pay more for shipping than I would have if I had lumped it into the order for Alter Ego 80, 83, 92, and 139, as one 4 pound package is cheaper to ship than one 3 pound package and one 1 pound package - ARGGH! I will probably purchase it at my local comic shoppe, instead. I know it does not focus as much on Conan as it does B&W magazines, but for the past two years those have been my favorite type of comic. I really wish Darkhorse would revive SSoC. As it is, I just ordered the final TPB, #22 (not sure if they are reprinting CtS 1-10), so soon there will be nothing new for me to read.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 11, 2016 11:58:26 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan # 192, December 1991 Cover by Bob Larkin. The shark is in the story, though the girl is not. Table of contentsThe cape of dark dreams (The skull on the seas, part III). Thulsa Doom! Thoth Amon! Serpent Men! Death and life in Tiger Valley, in which Kull meets his twin sister without realizing it. On the road of kings, a brief Red Sonja story.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 11, 2016 12:12:52 GMT -5
SSoC #192
The cape of dark dreamsStory by Roy Thomas Art by John Buscema and Ernie Chan Conan the Barachan is still first mate aboard the Sea Pheasant, a Khitan ship captained by hook-handed Kuchum helped by his daughter Li-Zya. Last issue, the crew of the Pheasant had managed to recover the skull of the Thurian age wizard Thulsa Doom from the temple of Set in Khemi, where the sorcerer had met that most famous of Hyborian age wizards, Thoth-Amon. Thoth-Amon had, upon this occasion, taken control of Ee-Ch'ing, the small monkey-like pet of Kuchum. Leaving Stygia behind, the Sea Pheasant resumes its journey toward a lost continent where Thulsa Doom assured Kuchum that a vast treasure was to be found. The Zingaran ship of their ally, Mosardo, has been separated from the Pheasant during a storm; Kuchum, however, trusts the men he left aboard to make sure they eventually meet again en route to the undiscovered continent. Traveling south, the Pheasant comes across what appears to be a becalmed and abandoned boat. Conan warns that this is probably a trap, and he is soon proven right : the boat is filled with Black Corsairs waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting ship come to investigate. Before the fight between the two crews has time to escalate, Conan orders a cease fire, making himself known as Amra. Luckily, the leader of the corsairs is one of his old friends, Laranga, who once sailed with him and Bêlit. Continuity corner : the crew of Bêlit's ship, the Tigress, perished with her in CtB #100. However, some of the Tigress's sailors had left the ship a few weeks before, as shown in CtB #94. This explains why there are still enough Black Corsairs left around to recognize Conan in The Hour of the dragon (as seen in SSoC #8) and in Conan of the Isles (CtB annual #7 and in the Conan of the isles graphic novel). Although Laranga would like Conan to join in a sea feast, the Cimmerian prefers to say farewell and go on his treasure hunt; he is not sure that once they're all drunk the corsairs and the Khitans could refrain from attacking each other. That night, the Thoth Amon-possessed Ee-Ch'ing tries to dispose of his nemesis, the skull of Thulsa Doom. Under a crescent moon, the small mammal grabs the skull and tries to throw it overboard, first getting rid of the night watchman by magically compelling him to jump overboard and make no attempt to swim. The skull is not going to accept such an ignominious fate without resisting, though, and clamps its jaws on Ee-Ch'ing's foreram even as the beast throws it in the brine. Both skull and animal fall in the sea. Conan, alerted by the noise, reaches the deck in time to see Ee-Ch'ing and Doom in the water (“ Skull overboard!”). He jumps off to rescue them, under the eye of Li-Zya, Ku-Chum, and the other Khitans who also woke up. Before the Cimmerian can swim back aboard, a scream tells him of a gigantic shark (megalodon-sized) that's coming for him! With no other choice, Conan propels himself right inside the shark's maw, avoiding its deadly bite. The inside of a shark is not as dark as that of a dog (to paraphrase Groucho Marx). Within the selachian's belly, we can see Conan use a knife to carve an exit through its digestive system and outer skin. In deadly agony, the shark jumps out of the water just as Conan escapes its stomach, in a bizarre form of cesarian rebirth. As the Cimmerian finally gets back to the Pheasant, the giant fish is eaten by its smaller cousins. Ee-Ch'ing has lost a paw in the adventure and is fitted with a tiny iron hook matching that of his master. Thulsa Doom explains the adventure by saying Ee-Ch'ing was simply feeling playful and grabbed the skull before falling overboard; Conan is sure that it is a lie, but doesn't press the point. Doom wastes no time trying to foment distrust among the treasure hunters. He hints that Conan and Li-Zya are having an affair, something that Kuchum refuses to accept; he still believes his daughter to be a virgin and wants her to marry a Khitan noble someday. Challenged about the matter, the two lovers demurely elude the question; but Conan, over Li-Zya's protests, claims that he no longer needs a hostage and that she doesn't have to spend her nights with him in the hold. Still travelling south and east, the Sea Pheasant comes across an island where a ruined temple can be seen. On the shore, Mosardo is waving at them; apparently, the Zingaran escaped the storm and made his way there first. Kuchum appears to be in some sort of daze; Conan suspects that Thulsa Doom might be influencing his mind. The captain decides to go ashore, even if it seems a little risky considering no one knows what's on the island. Suspicion was warranted, as the landing party is attacked by Asian-looking islanders. The swords of the Khitans prove to be more than a match for their opponent's weapons, but suddenly the fight is put to an end by the arrival of a young Khitan nobleman who orders the attackers to stand down. Apologizing for the rashness of his servants, who according to him were only supposed to escort the visitors, this “Prince Phan-Ku” explains that he is the grandson of a Khitan noble whose ship floundered here decades before. He and his retinue are all descendants of the crew of the Khitan ship who married native women. Their little insular society has strived to preserve the language and customs of a homeland they have never seen, and they continue to live as Khitan noblemen in their ancient and ruined temple/palace. Kuchum is overjoyed to finally see more of his countrymen after years of exile, and he clearly fancies a match between Phan-Ku and his daughter. Phan-Ku explains that Mosardo’s ship reached the island earlier, but that it crashed on a hidden reef and that only its captain survived. (Mosardo can’t confirm this story, because after waving to his friends earlier he is said to have returned straight to his room). Phan-Ku has a feast prepared for his guests; as they eat and chit-chat, a serving girl gets in whispering distance of Conan’s ear and warns him : “beware, outsider… they are all snake-men”. The Cimmerian doesn’t betray any surprise but quietly exits the room, following the girl. Apparently in a flirting mode, Phan-Ku invites Li-Zya to visit his palace. He takes her to a chamber in which a sinister altar is to be found. That’s where the masks fall off : Phan-Ku knocks out Li-Zya, and when she comes to she finds herself bound to the altar. Phan-Ku holds Thulsa Doom’s skull, which he had earlier borrowed from Kuchum. Li-Zya tells the skull to summon her father; Doom reveals that he and Phan-Ku are actually on the same side. The so-called prince then tells of the ancient history of the servants of Set; how that snake god once ruled over the world, and how the race that worshipped him eventually split into two branches: the man-serpents and the snake-men. The ape-like ancestors of humans served both races. But one day a Pictish shaman learned of a certain phrase which the snake people could not pronounce (no, it was not “shibboleth”) nor stand to hear. Armed with such knowledge, able to pierce through the disguise of the shape-shifting serpent-men, humans triumphed over them. Phan-Ku goes on to relate how the serpent-men remained a shadowy threat, often replacing the kings of great nations like Valusia. He tells of the end of the serpent-men’s power at the hands of King Kull, and of how millenia later Thoth-Amon became master of the surviving serpent-men and man-serpents. When the skull of Thulsa Doom resurfaced and called out to the serpent-men, they deserted their new master, eager to once more serve their Thurian age leader. As both wizards intend to dominate all the worshippers of Set, a war between them is inevitable. Phank-Ku then drops his human disguise to reveal his true nature : that of Hisssarlion, a serpent man and high priest of Set. Meanwhile, the serving girl has led Conan through the palace’s corridors, showing him hieroglyphs looking like ancient Srygian. She explains that her masters are not Khitans at all but shape-shifting serpent-men. As for “Mosardo”, he has been dead for days… ever since he and his crew landed on the island and fell to the swords of the serpent-men. The two are interrupted in their conversation by a woman who seems to be Li-Zya (who we readers know is currently bound on an altar elsewhere in the palace). She tries to get Conan to drop his guard by suggesting a kinky distraction, but Conan is no dupe and remembers the phrase that Red Sonja taught him in CtB #24 (and that King Kull learned in Kull the Conqueror #2), the same phrase that the Pictish shaman learned eons ago : “Ka nama kaa lajerama”. Upon hearing these words, Li-Zya hisses violently, revealing her ophidian nature; Conan stabs her, and in death she reverts to her true serpent-man form. (I have no idea if there are serpent-women. I guess there must be. But a serpent-man could certainly disguise itself as a female human). Conan runs back to the dining hall to get Kuchum, where he tests the Khitan captain with the secret phrase. The two men and the serving girl then go after Li-Zya, whom the girl suspects was probably brought to the sacred altar of her masters. They all arrive just in time to interrupt her sacrifice to Set. Kuchum attacks first but, drunk, would have fallen to his opponent’s sword had Conan not intervened. The Cimmerian kills Hisssarlion, but the priest’s death seems to trigger the collapse of the altar room; the quartet barely escapes in time. Before Li-Zya has time to reveal Doom’s treachery, they are all faced by identical copies of themselves: a fake Kuchum, flanked by a fake Conan and a fake Li-Zya, who are ordering a bunch of Khitan sailors to arrest them! Doom once against betrays Kuchum, demurely claiming to be unable to say who is the real captain. Using the ancient spell-breaking phrase, Conan forces the imposters to reveal themselves as serpent-men. The Khitans, angry to have been tricked, turn against the serpent-men among them but, outnumbered, are finally killed. Li-Zya is hit by the flat of a sword, Kuchum is wouded by a sword cut and Conan is overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The trio is gagged and bound and a new set of imposters has them carried to the Sea Pheasant, intent of pursuing the journey to the ancient continent where awaits not a treasure, but Thulsa Doom’s body. The serpent-men plan to make their master whole again, and then to subjugate the entre human race. Notes : - By 1991, I think most Conan readers knew when to use the words “Ka nama kaa lajerama”. This is really continuity used right : like a Checkhov gun, that formula had been set in the opening days of the Conan saga to be used a long time later. (The same thing happened with the sign of Jhebbal Sag, seen by Conan in CtB#94 when he was in his mid-twenties and used in Beyond the Black River (SSoC #27), when he was 39). - Meeting a Black Corsair was also a nice touch. There would be an abuse of continuity references later on, but in this issue everuything’s fine. - I’m not too keen on the almost Linnean distinction between Man-serpents and Serpent-men… this zoological distinction between them makes them a little less fantastic, a little more ordinary.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 11, 2016 12:18:08 GMT -5
SSoC #192 ------------- Death and life in Tiger Valley, part IIIStpry by Roy Thomas Art by E.R. Cruz Young Kull, Sareeta and Am-ra are listening to the tales of Ascalante, an Atlantean who lived for a long time as a slave of the Valusians and who regales the children with his description of that opulent civilization. (All these characters were seen or mentioned in “ Exile of Atlantis”, although the girl Sareeta was originally named Ala). As he would in the aforementioned REH story, Kull refuses to accept the Atlantean legends regarding tigers and their worship of the moon. (He would; after all, he was raised by tigers and knows them well). Chief Ba-Dar interrupts Ascalante, blaming him for feeding the kids’ curiosity about the mainland. One of Ba-Dar’s men, Ku-Var, bullies both Kull and Ascalante before Kull jumps at his throat. Chief Ba-Dar wonders how the fierce young Kull came to be raised by the striped ones, and this train of thought leads him to wonder about when Kull was born (because remember, Ba-Dar once ordered all children slain around the time of Kull’s birth, because it had been predicted that an Atlantean born in those days would one day rule the Thurian continent -and probably Atlantis as well). The Atlantean Khor-Nah (another of Kull’s friends, only a bit older) mentions that Kull has the look of one of an outlaw tribe that once lived in Tiger Valley, before a flood wiped it out; perhaps Kull is one of their children who somehow survived and was adopted by the wild beasts. (This is actually Kull’s real origin, as far as Exile from Atlantis goes!) Meanwhile, in the cave of the shaman Ram-Os, who acts as surrogate father to both Kull and his twin sister Iraina (only in two separate dwellings, each child unaware that they have a twin), the young girl wonders where the old man is. (We readers know that he is ill in his hut in the village of the sea mountain tribe). Left to her own supervision, and having always wanted to visit Tiger Valley (a place Ram-Os always refused to take her to), she decides to undertake the journey on her own. Having learned a spell that theoretically allows her to order tigers around, she has no fear of the striped felines; however, mispronouncing a few syllables, she finds herself nearly eaten by on. Only the timely arrival of Kull saves her life, but at the cost of the tiger’s life. (Young Kull didn’t wrestle with it, but tricked it into falling over the edge of a cliff). Kull is upset that the rashness of the girl led to the death of one he views as a brother. He gives her his name, saying he is the foster son of Ram-Os, and both children are drawn to each other… but then Iraina remembers a warning that Ram-Os gave her : you must have nothing to do with the sea-mountain tribe… and least of all with a boy named Kull!” She runs away, leaving a baffled Kull behind, and swears that she will master the tiger spell and that the world had best beware on that day. Kull goes back to his village, and tells of the encounter to the bed-ridden Ram-Os. The shaman makes him swear that he will never mention the girl to anyone, and that he’ll tell Kull who she is when he is older. Notes : - Ku-Var, the brutal follower of Ba-Dar, eventually became king of Atlantis. He was the one with whom Iraina came to Valusia, and he was killed by her (in Kull the conqueror vol. 3, #1). - This encounter between the twins is dramatically moving, almost Wagnerian, but it stretches credibility that neither would mention it when they met again as adults. We can always try to find excuses like “they were young when they first met”, “Kull didn’t know her name”, “this was a very minor event in very hectic lives” but still… On the road of kingsStory by Roy and Dann Thomas Art by Tony DeZuniga Sonja kills a man, then takes a bath. Witnessing mothers and their children enjoying a quiet afternoon by the river’s side, she is struck by melancholia. A young girl then sees her and presents herself, before her panicky mother comes to take her away from one she sees as a horrible mercenary. A resigned Sonja takes her leave.
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Post by berkley on Jun 11, 2016 14:42:43 GMT -5
I'm surprised how good some of these recent issues look and sound, long after I had given up on SSoC. That Docherty/Villagran artwork really does look good. I don't remember hearing Kull's parents' names before - were they given by REH or did Roy Thomas or someone invent them? Kull's sister sounds like an interesting character and I look forward to reading her story. Has the Dark Horse series ever revived her?
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 11, 2016 15:11:54 GMT -5
I'm surprised how good some of these recent issues look and sound, long after I had given up on SSoC. That Docherty/Villagran artwork really does look good. I don't remember hearing Kull's parents' names before - were they given by REH or did Roy Thomas or someone invent them? Kull's sister sounds like an interesting character and I look forward to reading her story. Has the Dark Horse series ever revived her? Roy must have invented them; this was the first time we ever heard of Kull's parents. Alan Zelenetz had already stated that Kull's mother belonged to the Sea Mountain tribe (in Kull vol. 3, #1), the issue in which the story of the twins was first told. But as far as Howard's work is concerned, Kull was just a wild child raised by animals before he was found by the Atlanteans; the only inkling as to his origin is that he looks like the members of an outlaw tribe that lived in Tiger Valley before being destroyed by a flood. I agree that Iraina is an interesting character! Alas, her entire story is told in the aforementioned issue of Kull. I doubt Dark Horse made use of her in its new Kull series.
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Post by senatortombstone on Jun 11, 2016 19:56:48 GMT -5
Regarding serpent-men, they do include females among their ranks and their men are capable of impregnating human women. In the "Turn About is Foul Play" episode of Conan the Adventure, there is a female serpent woman who is disguised as a human. Also, in the "Return to Tarantia" episode, it is revealed that Conan's female companion, Jezmine, is the product of human female and Aquilonian noble, Selene and the serpent-man, disguised as human, Astivus. Jezmine appears fully human and her serpent half can only manifest itself by means of sorcery; she is also completely immune to the censorship compliant device of start metal.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 12, 2016 11:17:12 GMT -5
Savage sword of Conan #193, January 1992 Dynamic cover by Earl Norem. I like it when a cover is made especially for a particular issue and features several of its characters, as is the case here with Li-Zya, the serpent men and Thulsa Doom (in two pieces). Table of contentsDeath in a land unknown, the conclusion of the four-part “Skull of the seas” storyline. Kull the Pict killer, continuing the tale of Kull’s younger years in Atlantis. It is worth mentioning that the letters of comments are getting better and better, more scholarly and asking interesting questions. (No more "will Conan meet the Punisher" stuff, if you see what I mean).
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