awesome news on there being an eassential of killraven . if you could be so kind as to put one away/order one on my standing order i would be most greatful Batmanuel.
tis a bit of a issue that the eassentials are in black and white Catfang but i have had no real issue with the other eassentials i own, and the completist in me wants it all in nice volumes.
Norsefire1, I am shocked - 3 words..."P...Craig...Russell...".
You say you will be happy with it in black and white - what heresy is this?
Buy the essential for the shelf and the run for the colour...and the really cool 70s adverts. My favourite is the one for the record that will make you a "kung-fu master" if you listen to it for a few hours in your sleep.
the record that will make you a "kung-fu master" if you listen to it for a few hours in your sleep.
She has a point you know....
and that record, i had so forgotten about that, oh i so wanted to be a "kung fu master" and now, it was possible, and in my sleep too, imagine my disappointment when after saving money i could have otherwise spent on useful things, i happily posted my international money order (which cost more in fees than the record and the postage) posted said money-order and waited, and waited...and waited and no record arrived
i felt robbed
it wasn't the money you see, money can be replaced, its of no significance when compared to being....a kung fu master.
the opportunity was stolen from me by a dishonest postman.
for all i know there's a kung (fucking) fu postman out there who is only a kung fu master because he stole MY BOOK
and the question i have to ask myself, is do i really want to post this having read it back to myself
to submit or not to submit, that is the question?
Ah, but we all like a bit of submission now and again _________________
what can i say, when it comes to this heretic, given the choice of most effective way or the fast way of getting hold of the good ol pulp media, i will always take the fast way.
yeah the ads for 70s/80s comics rule. its the ones about "issues" and "positive rolemodels in comics" that make me chuckle.
By Marvel comics
collected by Dark horse
Conan created by Robert E. Howard
Roy Thomas, barry windsor smith, Gil Kane, John Mayerik and others.
this blast from the past is more of a overview of the conan comics by marvel then a retrospective on any one book/issue/story.
in the late 60s Marvel where receiving a large number of letters from there fan base urging them to adapt fantasy from the printed media, something at the time marvel was not really known for. it seemed that the most populer title that the readership wanted in there letters was the lord of the rings but the Tolkien estate did not want to know, so after a while it was Lin Carter's Thonger that had been chosen to fill the demand of readers wanting a slice of "sword and sorcery" in there comics. although due a financial disagreement Marvel could not obtain the licence of carters character, so after negotiations with L. sprague de Camp (Howards estate, literary agent) Roy Thomas got the rights for Marvel to print Conan storys, on the foundation that it would give Conan a whole new audience thus being worthwhile to the Howards estate.
from looking at issues 1 - 3 it is clear to see that Marvel did not have the greatist faith in there new comic, the art is at best slapdash and the writeing feels like a poor mans Edgar rice Burroughs then the savage writing of Howard. the clear issue with these early tales is that marvel only had the rights to write original stories about conan they could not retell any tales from the pulps untill issue 4.
issue 4 is a real turning point in the comic for not only does it adapt the Howard story "the tower of the elephant" but there is a huge improvement in Windsor - Smiths art but also in Thomas writeing. it was from this that the way to deal with conan was in some kind of chronological order, something that much conan media has done since. issue 4 also was nominated for best comic book of 1971 by the ACBA.
this then lead to tthe comic then adapting Howards "the God in the Bowl" in issue 7 although the adaption does make changes to the tale. in turn fans did not seem to like such change and sales decreased since issue 1.
after issue 7 stan lee moved on to the title makeing some moves in the area of style. for me such change took something away form the title, makeing it far less animalistic and the comic started becoming less about Conans struggle against nature. although sales did indeed rise.
then in issues 14 and 15 the comic horizons started to broaden, there is a Elric and Conan crossover, Plotting for the crossover was done by Michael Moorcock himself. the art of this crossover is very good save for elrics look which pertains to the American paperbacks of the time. also within this crossover also was important due to return of the wizard Zukala from issue 5 which cemented the chonological continuity of the comic.
after a few issues with sales not at there best and the comic was put out bimonthly, creatively the title had stared to retell Howard tales that where not from conans world and then place them with conan as the protagonist
inspiration was also found in Fritz Leibers work's, this can be seen most blatantly in some of the comics foe's.
after issue 16 sales again where on the rise and the comic went back to a monthly for the rest of the titles run.
it seemed tobecome the ethos of the title that this was very much Marvels comic and made some departer away from Howards tales. although the comic became far more about prose then dialogue and captions.
the art in issue 21 really took a turn in the stlye of the comic due to a coming togeather, a synthesis which captured the grandeur of the prose. at this point P. Craig Russel started to do fill in on art work duty due to deadlines.
in later issues after issue 60 the poor mans Burroughs would rear its ugly head once more, and conan would have a great deal in common Tazan in characterization and would adventure with Tarzan homage Amra although this was somewhat tempered by the introduction of Howards Belit. also at this point, strange crossovers with quasi howard red sonja and a time traveling Kull.
it is clear however that the comic was indeed a great vehicle for keeping conan alive. infact one could say that these Marvel comics did indeed keep conan going, this comic not only lead to a few spin off's by marvel of other works by the same writer, including the more adult savage sword of conan but also had a huge impact on all conan media after right up till now.
These Dark Horse collections are just so top notch, they haven't just been reprinted any old how, they have been lovingly restored, and beautifully recolored, absolutely superb.
Hooay - I have been waiting for this Blast from this past since Norsefire1 mentioned doing it a while back.
I am going to have to get these now! Well, I thought I probably was, anyway, but now I am going to get them the next time I come in the shop.
I am curious about the Elric / Conan crossover - does that work while staying true to both characters?
I just read a (fairly, I think) new adaptation of "The Frost Giant's Daughter" by Busiak, but I did not think it worked all that well at conveying the feel of the original story.
When I see "Burroughs" as an author, my first thought is always William, not Edgar Rice. A Conan story by William Burroughs would be great. There is a Tarzan story done like that called "Jungle Rot Kid on The Nod" as a what would happen would if the Burroughses were exchanged _________________
the Elric/conan crossover works very well and it works cos moorcock did work on it.
when i read the "new" adaptation of the "the frost Giants Daughter" i thought that Busiak did a real nice job on it. thought the giants where awesome and that it did ok at conveying the feel of the tales original tale. its quite close.
yeah i must admit that i have to reprogram my self when i think of the name Burroughs as an author as well. will so have to hunt down that Tarzan tale.
The Frost Giant's daughter adaptation is one of my favourite Conan stories - and when I read it I had such a strong visual impression of it that probably no one was going to get it "right" for me!
With the Busiak version I didn't think it captured the "fire and ice" elements of desperation and longing and determination of the prose version. It was a bit too literally illustrative I think and so did not get across the eerie /uncanny/otherworldly haunted quality that I really liked in the book. Also I think it tones down the slightly uncomfortable bits where Conan is driven so mad with lust and frustration by the Frost Giant's Daughter that he can't tell if he wants to kill her or rape her or both. It is further complicated by the idea that she kind of seems to want him to do one or the other to prove that he can. Once this is all tied up with feasting and sacrifice and her father and brothers it makes for a beautiful and nasty little tale.
The whole thing in the book has a keen sense of loss - and I think that is absent from the comic.
Just aesthetic preferences, of course, but I thought I would explain to you a bit why I didn't think it worked.
We have the Tarzan story in a sci-fi anthology called Alien Sex it seems to be out of print now but you can buy it second hand from amazon. It is by Philip Jose Farmer. The book also includes the brilliant "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" about the realities of Superman and Lois Lane ever have any kind of physical relationship. _________________
oh yeah i think the frost Giants daughter is one of my fave conan yarns as well, by contrast it was Robert E. Howards least fave conan tale.
with the Busiak version, i think your right it does seem to fail to capture the "fire and ice" of it all. as you so rightly put it. and yes it does somewhat tone down the lusting that goes to make it such a savage tale. although i think why this is and why it is very litrally illustrative is due to that i think when first put out in single issue it was early on ( issue 2) in its run and was trying to win over the Howard faithful and i think it was trying not to relive the sales decline of those early marvel issues. although i do think your completely valid in saying that the comic is indeed abesent of a sense of loss and the end of the comic is kind of turned into a joke.
thankyou very much for giveing me the title and link to that anthology, will look into it.
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. if you could be so kind as to put one away/order one on my standing order i would be most greatful Batmanuel.
