I remember back when I was about 12 or 13 years old when I had gotten my first copy of 'Conan the Barbarian.' My dad had picked it up for me at a yard sale, thinking it might be worth something, given it's age. I didn't think much of it in terms of value in any case, as it was a little beaten up and someone had scribbled a price on the cover in green magic marker. But I didn't care, I never personally bought my comics in hopes of becoming a "millionaire comic-book tycoon", hell no, I was in it only for the stories.
I never really latched on to characters with super powers or any of that stuff. So for me, it was Batman, or the Punisher or Conan, but especially Conan. Oh sure, there were wizards and elements of magic prevalent in the series, but the main protagonist himself, never resorted to these kind of gimmicks. With his inhuman strength and fighting prowess, he simply didn't need them.
After reading the issue my dad bought for me (for the whopping price of 50 cents I might add,) I was hooked! Even to this day, out of the hundreds of comics and novels I've read over the years, nothing ever came close to this one story, and no, I'm not kidding, it was that good!
I'd soon developed an insatiable lust for all things Conan! As the years rolled on, I began a small collection, which grew and grew and grew, until I had accumulated nearly the entire 275 print run and then some.
One of the more pivotal issues, #100 depicted the death of Conan's mate, Belit (BAY-LEET), a major character of the earlier part of the series.
Of the time I spent collecting and reading each issue, I noticed that many of the covers were slightly misleading; depicting half-naked women clutched to Conan's leg as he battled some hideous monster, though the issue itself may not have had a single female in the entire story, or even a monster for that matter. Sometimes, Conan subscribers would write in pointing that fact out to the editor dozens of times, though no one really seemed to think it was all that important. The one thing that bothered me however, were the occasions when the editors couldn't finish an issue on time, so instead, they would try to make up by reprinting issues of 'Savage Tales' or 'Savage Sword of Conan' with an apology to the readers. It was the same for 'Savage Sword' as well, which was typically less censored in "zine" form.'Conan the Barbarian's' campier, more watered-down exploits would find their way into 'Savage Sword', making readers of both comics quite frustrated over the years. But regardless, the series in its entirety was truly well-written and illustrated! Nearly every issue was chocked full of things you come to expect when reading the Conan saga.
There was something to be said of the Conan series. Each was an homage for the most part to Robert E. Howard's work from the 1930's, but they also spawned a slough of new tales of the bronzed-skinned Cimmerian. Not only did Conan become a regular series, but with it, also came the Savage Sword of Conan,which was first featured in Savage Tales. These hard-boiled comics contained much better stories,artwork and of course, copious amounts of blood and sinew... And lots of it!
These magazine-sized comics often expanded the regular monthly series,which established them as canon. Savage Sword even tied in with Red Sonja and Kull the Conqueror. There were even tales of Solomon Kane and John Carter of mars. Each issue often featured two separate stories or two parts of one greater story. Even the covers themselves were somewhat "savage" in comparison to horror comics of the time.
Originally, the Savage Sword of Conan was first printed by Curtis Magazines, also owned by Marvel publications. By publishing under Curtis, they were able to publish Savage Sword without falling beneath the self-imposed moniker of the comics code authority, altogether. However, It didn't take long before Marvel began publishing under their own brand.
It's Unfortunate, but I really didn't get into reading much of SSOC till the later issues, more towards the end of the series. Of course, back-issues are always your friend.
Over the course the latter half of 25 years, Savage Sword would become one of the more premium fanzines on the market. From 1978 to 1981 It had even made it's way into the Sunday morning paper, as a regular comic strip. Many of these strips are now considered lost works of art.
Throughout Conan's entire publication length, many great artists and writers kept the series in check. People like Neal Adams, Barry Windsor Smith, John Buscema, Roy Thomas and Ernie Chan re-invented the character and the Hyborean age itself; making Conan the timeless series for what I believe will be many more generations to come.
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