The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 2
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The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 2 Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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Conan the Terrific!
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The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume Two
During the mid 1970's, a new kind of magazine hit the stands. While featuring Conan the Barbarian, a full length, black and white magazine appeared. It seemed to be the same as the Marvel Comic, rascally Roy Thomas still wrote the stories, and stygian stalwarts John Buscema, Gil Kane, Alfredo Alcala, and Neal Adams illustrated these graphic' adventures.
You might say, they were among the first Graphic Novels' before the term became popular.
And somehow, they conveyed a more dangerous Conan. In black and white, the art was more savage, hence the title. Imagine though, a full size magazine, selling for a whole $1! The color comics were 35 cents at the time, and yet, both formats were selling faster than poultices at a massacre.
This 544 page volume reprints issue #11 to #24, partially complete with covers (in b/w). Now, if the interior art is not spectacular enough for you. Boris Vallejo, Earl Norem, Tim Conrad, Mike Zeck, Ken Barr, and Ernie Chan execute Conan and his hordes with broad savage strokes. If you didn't like the story, the cover art was often worth the price of the issue! One thing I appreciate about the art by big John was that he was able to go to town. Every issue displays his mastery of the format, the male and female form, and particularly, his flair for the dramatic. Certainly, this was Buscema at his artistic peak!
It was the best of times (for Conan), and the worst of times (for those in front of his sword). This collection takes Conan from "Abode of the Damned" to "The Horror of the Red Tower". Savage beasts, meddling priests, scantily clad maids, and demons unleashed encounter a hyborian warrior focused on survival. Thomas adapted "People of the Black Circle" (16-19), "The Pool of the Black One" (22-23), "Tower of the Elephant (24), "The Thing in the Temple" (13), "The Slave Princess" (12), unfinished fragments, and "the Country of the Knife" (12). Robert E. Howard would have been proud of the future Conan he created. Roy Thomas and his artists always managed to create a magazine that oozed blood and savagery. If the magazine would have been color, it would have bled mightily. Each issue was epic in its' proportions, and had the feel of adventure few books can possess.
The only down side to this book is the missing back up stories and perhaps a forward/afterword. If that were included, the series would still be at issue 5-8 however. Something had to be sacrificed....
On that note, I will slink away and pray the Cimmerian comes my way not.[...]
Tim Lasiuta
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The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 2 Books In Print, Audio Books.