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Ah, October '77 - I remember it well. (October is when this November-dated mag probably went on sale - if not September, even.) At one time I had just about every issue in this series, but gave them to a pal in a moment of madness; now all I retain are the first and last issues to remind me of those happy days gone by.
Look at the artwork. I was surprised to learn that JOHN BUSCEMA wasn't too keen on ALFREDO ALCALA's inks over his pencils, a fact which, frankly, I find truly astonishing. Great as John B undoubtedly was, Alcala's inks gave the finished pages a whole new depth and dimension, resulting in a perfect example of a 'greater than the sum of its parts' scenario. Just why Big John couldn't appreciate that is amazing.
The mag finally came to an end with issue #93, cover-dated July '85, an impressive almost eight-year run. Luckily, I got another chance to collect these tales (and some of the cover art that fronted them) when CONAN SAGA made its debut in 1987. No doubt we'll be taking a look at that series at a future date.
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12 comments:
I saw a collection of these on E-bay the other night.
I had a look at the covers and only remembered owning the first,which you feature here.
I think there was another couple of releases at the same time which were sci-fi or super hero related,maybe Star-Lord or something,and that was more interesting to me.
I loved Conan,if Barry Smith was drawing him and although John Buscema's was probably nearer to the mark visually,he did not have the fantasy side I liked.
Alfredo Alcala gave 'Big John's' art a whole new depth which I think defined the look of these Black and White books.
There was another book that caught my attention at roughly this time and that was Thrilling Adventure Stories from Seagate/Atlas.
I bought a copy of this recently for my reminiscing.
Still not read it,had a sniff at the paper...
The Seagate/Atlas mag would've been around '74 or '75 - I had that as well, but no longer, alas.
I thought I was the only paper-sniffer around. So there's two of us, eh?
Kid, you really must have been bonkers to have given away those Conans ! This is probably my all time favourite Conan tale but I first read it in late 1978 when it was reprinted in colour in a Conan Treasury Edition with a new John Buscema cover. I didn't start reading the Conan monthly until No.8 (I bought it while waiting to see Star Wars) and I bought Conan No.1 via mail order a couple of years later - I didn't know "Iron Shadows" was the story in No.1 and was rather disappointed to find I'd already read it in the treasury edition. About four years ago I finally got around to reading the original Robert E Howard story and was quite surprised how identical the Marvel version is - it's almost word-for-word identical ! I'm not complaining though as reading the Howard story I can see the Marvel version in my mind. There's a Dark Horse version too which I wasn't so keen on but then I'm not a great fan of Dark Horse's Conan to be honest.
I agree with you - I was bonkers. Maybe I'll re-acquire them on eBay someday, although most (if not all) of the tales are reprinted in Conan Saga.
I used to buy this title every month from about 81 till the end of its run , but I never bought one single issue of the US SSOC , as I always found it grossly overpriced in comparison in the newsagents . Kid , did you ever get the US counterpart and , if so , what was so special about them to warrant such a big difference in price?
Yes Thrilling Adventure Stories was from 1975, issue 2 is an amazing comic probably one of the best b&ws I recall reading as a kid (teenager). I got rid of a lot of my UK "Savage Sword of Conan" as well about 10 years ago - a daft move but just had (still have) way too too many comics in my loft need to weed them out next time it will only be filler books though. Yep I agree Alcalla was amazing on big Johns pencils
JP, yeah, I did pick up a couple of issues. If I remember correctly, it had more pages, better printing, and it may well have featured articles from time to time. At least, that's the impression I have of the U.S. version after all these years.
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McScotty, I have comics everywhere - cupboards, drawers, wardrobes, boxes, loft, etc. I seriously need to clear some out, but when I see them again, I can't bear to part with them.
Both of you - don't do it! You will regret it for the rest of your lives!
I know, JP - done it before, regretted it before, replaced them all before.
I was obsessed with Marvel's Conan between 1975 and 1979! The colour comic sent me to the Sphere paperbacks ( back then I could only get them in John Menzies' new flagship shop in Buchanan Street- about 78, I joined Strathaven Library, then started going to EK's Olynpia which had more fantasy paperbacks).
But my real favourite was SSOC. I only got three issues of the US version and they were hugely thrilling and alluring. However, I bought more of the UK version in the end because they tended to be stocked in Menzies shops (and at Central Station). I think that Buscema/Alcala combo is unbeatable but I also love Kane's Conan.
Bell, Book & Candle is the long-gone shop in the Arcade you're thinking of, Dougie. The later Conan Saga was also a good publication, because it reprinted the Smith Conans (in b&w), as well as the SSOC strips.
Ah, it just clicked that you meant the Olympia Library, not the bookshop in the Olympia Arcade (Alexandra Arcade as it was called then - or was it Alexandria? Can't recall.)
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