Earl Norem’s cover to Savage Sword of Conan #28
© Dark Horse Comics
Mania Grade: B
Trade Paperback: The Savage Sword of Conan
Issue: Vol. 3 (Issues 25-36)
Written By: Roy Thomas, Robert E. Howard
Art By: John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan, Frank Brunner
Distributor: Dark Horse Comics
Pages: 526
Price: $19.95
Buy it now!
Trade Paperback: The Savage Sword of Conan
Issue: Vol. 3 (Issues 25-36)
Written By: Roy Thomas, Robert E. Howard
Art By: John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan, Frank Brunner
Distributor: Dark Horse Comics
Pages: 526
Price: $19.95
Buy it now!
Trade Review of The Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 3
By: Tim JansonReview Date: Saturday, July 26, 2008
The latest edition of Dark Horse’s Savage Sword of Conan collections reprints issues # 25 –36 of the Marvel Comics magazine series. Conan stories were never told more faithfully to Robert E. Howard’s original stories than in Savage Sword where Marvel did not have to worry about the censorship of the Comics Code Authority. As a black & white magazine, it did not have to be submitted for approval and so could be far gorier and have nudity where the color comic could not.
This volume is highlighted by an adaptation of one of Howard’s best and most underrated tales, “Beyond the Black River”. Conan is employed as a scout for an Aquilonian frontier fort near the border of the savage Pict territory. A Pict Wizard named Zogar Sag has united the various tribes to attack and destroy the fort. Conan is asked by the fort’s commander to take a small group of soldiers and kill the wizard before the attack. The group is ambushed leaving only Conan and the young man, Balthus, as the only survivors. Now they have to retreat and try to warn the settlers and get them to safety before the attack. At its core, this is a tale of the American frontier with Conan playing a sort of Daniel Boone role and the Picts standing in for Native American Indians. There is a minimum of sorcery in this story and it relies on a tense but fast pace. When Conan leaves he knows he may not survive but he goes anyway, a tribute to his integrity. It’s a brilliant story and easily one of Howard’s best and perfectly adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Tony Dezuniga.
“The Scarlet Citadel” was the second Conan story ever published, first appearing in Weird Tales in January, 1933. Conan is King of Aquilionia and when he rides to help the kingdom of Ophir, he is betrayed King Amalrus and captured by the wizard Tsotha-Lanti. In true melodramatic villain style, the Wizard doesn’t kill Conan right away but rather has him imprisoned within his dungeon of horrors to be devoured by a gigantic snake. The tale is quite similar to a later, longer story, “Hour of the Dragon”, Howard’s only Conan novel where Conan is again King and his captured by a resurrected sorcerer. The story is aided greatly by the polished art of Frank Brunner whose style was different, yet every bit as good as Buscema’s.
“Curse of the Monolith” was not written by Howard but rather by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter. The story finds Conan in the service to the King of Turan and on a diplomatic mission to the far east nation of Khitai, Howard’s version of China. Conan is tricked by the scheming Duke Feng and finds himself trapped on an ancient monolith which is heavily magnetized and holding him in his armor. But even worse is the slithering monster that is edging down towards him. Not a great story, but notable in its Lovecraftian influences with a monster straight out of the Cthulhu Mythos.
One thing you will find throughout the history of Savage Sword as well as the regular Conan comic is that often there are adaptations of Howard’s stories that were not written as Conan stories but were turned into Conan stories. For example, in this volume we have the “Flame Knife”. This story was originally called “Three-Bladed Doom” and written as an El Borak story, Howard’s 1930’s adventurer who was not unlike a modern day Conan. L. Sprague De Camp changed the setting and added some fantasy elements to turn it into a Conan story. “The Blood of the Gods”, another original El Borak story, is also included in this volume and adapted by Roy Thomas as a Conan tale.
The art in this volume is incredibly diverse. Yes we get a good dose of Buscema and his frequent inking partners Alcala, Dezuniga, and Chan. But in addition, we get some artists not usually associated with Conan, including Dick Giordano, Gene Colan, and Carmine Infantino. Giordano works, Colan doesn’t, and Infantino’s style is completely lost with Alcala’s heavy-handed inks. Solid volume, some great stories but a couple of stinkers as well.
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