My interview with Donald Glut was reprinted in the latest issue of Comics Unlimited! If you haven’t read this new bi-monthly yet, it’s one of the best comic mags I’ve enjoyed since Comics Journal was on the shelves years ago. Check it out on Amazon today. I think you’ll agree it’s a publication worthy of a subscription, or at least, worthy of picking up on Amazon every two months when new issues arrive! https://www.amazon.com/Comics…/dp/1838329331/ref=sr_1_1…
If you’re unfamiliar with Don Glut, he’s a man of many talents. In the comics world, he’s the creator and writer behind many 1970s comic book staples, including Gold Key’s Tragg & The Sky Gods, Dagar the Invincible, and The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor.
As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)
January 19th, 2020 By Wally Monk, InterviewsComments Off on INTERVIEW: Don Glut – Revisiting Gold Key Classics
“If you remember the days of Gold Key Comics, Donald Glut is a name you should know. He created The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor, Dagar the Invincible, and Tragg and the Sky Gods. He’s also a successful filmmaker, amateur paleontologist, and novel writer. His time at Marvel and DC Comics included writing in DC horror anthologies and writing fan favorites like The Invaders, Captain America and Ghost Rider. You can read some of Don’s most recent work in the pages of The Creeps, a horror anthology in the spirit of Warren’s Creepy and Eerie magazines, to which he regularly contributes.”
By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor
Donald F. Glut is a man of many faces and equally as many talents. He’s a successful motion picture director, writer, comic book creator and pop culture entrepreneur. If you’re a fan of dinosaurs, he’s got plenty of books and independent films to his credit in the prehistoric genre.
If you love swords and sorcery, Don was the creator of Dagar the Invincible, Tragg and the Sky Gods and the horror series The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor for Gold Key Comics. He’s written episodes of my favorite childhood show – Land of the Lost (and many others) – and he wrote stories for Marvel’s Savage Sword of Conan featuring Solomon Kane and Kull the Destroyer. Don received the coveted Inkpot Award in 1980 from Comic-Con International and he’s also well-known for his novelization of the 1980 Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back.
Truth be told, his resume is so comprehensive that I could fill dozens of posts with the work he’s done in the film, comic book and writing industries.
Don agreed to an email interview with Paint Monk’s Library about his time with Gold Key Comics on Tragg and the Sky Gods, Dagar the Invincible and Doctor Spektor with a few questions about his time on Savage Sword of Conan and his storied movie career mixed in.
(In all fairness to Don – whose work I respect tremendously – I have been working on formatting and editing this interview for some time. It was completed in early 2019 –but I didn’t have the time to add sidebars, do my due diligence, and properly format it until now. Thank you, Don, for your immense amount of patience.)
WALLY MONK
So all of my interviews start back at the beginning. With so hefty a resume, much of your work seems to entail dinosaurs, the horror genre, swords and sorcery, and science fiction. When did you enter into this world of fantasy and creativity, and how old were you?
DON GLUT
“When I was a very young kid, say prior to about six years old, I was mostly into trains and cowboys. Of course, like all kids in the late 1940s, I loved Disney movies, cartoons in general, fairy tales, etc. And I always had an affection for the Superman character. My first awareness of dinosaurs began when I was about four or five years old and my mom took me to the Chicago Natural History Museum (now called the Field Museum) and I saw my first fossil skeletons. My interest in science fiction began when at a Cub Scout den meeting I saw something on TV that totally captured my imagination. It was a chapter of the first Flash Gordon movie serial. Instantly I was hooked!
The author’s early influences? Flash Gordon, dino fossils and EC horror comics.
As to monsters and horror, my first significant exposure to those were the movies I saw on TV and in theatres, especially the old Universal Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolf Man pictures; and also the pre-Code horror comic books, mostly the ECs and Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein.
I’ve never particularly liked sword and sorcery, even though over the years I would write a lot of it. Of course, I’d seen movies that were almost in that vein, like the Italian Hercules and Maciste films, but I think my first exposure to actual S&S, as we usually define it, were some of the stories about Dax the Warrior appearing in the Warren horror comic magazines. But as I said, that genre never much appealed to me.”
WALLY MONK
You are heavily into film making and are credited with over 40 films during your younger years and time as what the ‘zines call an “amateur filmmaker”. Many of these films were based on comic book characters. Did you foresee the jump into comic book writing, was that the eventual goal, or just an extension of what you were doing in your films? And did any of your ideas for films ever get incorporated into your comic book writing?
DON GLUT
“I made 41 of those amateur movies, starting what would become my main hobby at the age of nine, and to date eight professional feature-length films, most recently Dances with Werewolves and Tales of Frankenstein through my company Pecosborn Productions. And yes, a good number of the featured comic book characters, including Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, The Shadow and The Spirit. No, I never – at least back then – thought of those movies as leading to anything, like comic book writing or making professional films.
A documentary about Don Glut’s amateur films contains all 41 of the productions as “extras”.
That was, after all, Chicago, where most people, at least the ones I have known over many years, tended to regard such things as writing, art, music, acting etc. as hobbies rather than professions. I initially started making those films not because I wanted to be a film-maker, but because I wanted to show monster etc. films anytime I wanted to on our home screen. Those were days long before you could own movies – legally anyway – at least, the kinds I wanted to see (dinosaurs, monsters, and superheroes). There were no home video players and companies like Castle Films didn’t yet include such genre material in their catalogs.
The only “occupation” I really yearned for back in those days was to be a rock star (honestly!) which seemed like a pipe dream and almost did become a reality in the late 1960s (Google Penny Arkade and Mike Nesmith). All I really knew back then was that I didn’t want to work in a “regular job”. Luckily, I was fairly adept at various creative activities – e.g. writing, art, music, acting and other things – which explains why there are so many seemingly unrelated credits on my resume.
As to my home movie ideas getting incorporated in my later comic book writing, it was really the other way around. I wanted to put some of the ideas I’d read and seen in comic books – and also in Universal and Hammer horror movies, Republic movie serials and so forth, up on my screen. It wasn’t until the 1990s, after writing novels, non-fiction books, music, TV shows and a lot of magazine articles, that I got to write and direct my first movie, which was Dinosaur Valley Girls. ”
WALLY MONK
As you know, Paint Monk’s Library focuses on science fiction, horror, and fantasy, with a special emphasis on Conan the Barbarian and Robert E. Howard’s work. How much of your Dagar the Invincible was inspired by the work of Howard, or was this your own variation on the “barbarian” genre? Can you share how you envisioned Dagar as a different barbarian, or what separates him from the rest of the fictional warriors on comic stands at the time?
Dagar the Invincible by Gold Key Comics.
DON GLUT
“When I created Dagar, I’d never read a Conan story or anything by Howard, except maybe one or two of his horror short stories. My only experience with Conan was the Marvel comic book. That was the first time I’d ever heard of the character. The only Conan I knew was the middle name of the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Yes, I definitely wanted Dagar to be different from Conan and all the Conan clones that followed in comics. Most importantly, Dagar was not a barbarian, a fact that gets stated more than once in my stories. He was a civilized guy, the last of his countrymen – an origin similar to that depicted subsequently in the movie Conan the Barbarian. Dagar had blonde hair, as opposed to the black hair sported by Conan and most of his comics imitators. And his horse had a name (Kasa), as did those of my old cowboy heroes like Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. Another way the Dagar book differed from the Conan (and Kull) comic books is that it used sound effects and gave the characters thought balloons.”
WALLY MONK
Tragg and the Sky Gods, one of my personal favorite comics, was a nice mixture of science fiction and prehistoric times. What was your inspiration for Tragg, and can you tell us how you envisioned the series shaking out? There is a link to Dagar the Invincible from this series – did you envision the two to one day be entwined in some major storyline?
Gold Key editors wanted ancient astronauts, which became Tragg’s ‘Sky Gods’.
DON GLUT
“Tragg was directly inspired by Joe Kubert’s Tor, which had a tremendous impact and influence on me as both a kid reader and also as a later professional writer and amateur paleontologist. In fact, Tor was one of the primary influences on my lasting interest in things prehistoric, which would lead eventually to a serious study and the writing of semi-technical books.
I really wanted to do Tragg as a straight Tor-type caveman-dinosaur book. But Gold Key already had Turok, Son of Stone, and dinosaurs also appeared frequently in the company’s Tarzan books, which may be the reason my original concept got shot down. Erich von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods and its follow-ups were hot topics back then and Gold Key wanted to capitalize on the phenomenon. So they asked me to come up with a series about the so-called ancient astronauts.
I saw that as an opportunity to get my Tragg title, at least in a compromised way. When they okayed my request to set the series in prehistoric times, they also let me bring in Tragg (who’d already appeared in two Mystery Comics Digest short stories) as its hero. When I started the Tragg book, I don’t recall his being related to Dagar and Dr. Spektor.
Tragg & The Sky Gods was inspired directly by Joe Kubert’s Tor.
I think that idea came later after all three books were going full steam. I’m really surprised the editors approved those relationships. They hated continuity, convinced as they were that nobody would ever read even two consecutive issues of a single series, nor were they fond of crossovers. Miraculously, I was able to carry that idea over all three titles – Tragg, Dagar and Spektor.”
WALLY MONK
Tragg gave you a great opportunity to mix dinosaurs with science fiction and primitive man. With the science fiction connection, did you have any plans to have Tragg literally in a pure “science fiction” setting, ala cross-over comics? And what do you think of some people claiming that Tragg inspired Marv Wolfman’s Skull the Slayer at Marvel Comics?
DON GLUT
“I never heard that Tragg inspired my good friend Marv’s Skull the Slayer. Given the poor distribution of the Gold Key books, especially on the East Coast, I wonder if Marv was even aware of my book. But comic books featuring prehistoric creatures were very popular during the 1970s, which also saw DC bringing back Tor for a while. I’d say that Marv, a very creative guy, was just following this trend and his own instincts. As to a pure SF setting, no, Tragg was always meant to live only in his regular prehistoric environment.”
WALLY MONK
Are there any comics in your favorite genres from the 1970s and 1980s that you would have enjoyed writing but did not have or take the opportunity, and what are they?
DON GLUT
“I really wanted to write a Frankenstein series. When Roy Thomas gave Marvel’s Monster of Frankenstein to Doug Moench – both of whom were and remain good and long-time friends – it was heart-breaking. I would have liked to do more What If, Captain America and The Invaders, books I really enjoyed writing. But that wasn’t in the cards. I think I could have had fun with Ka-Zar too.
Also, I once pitched an idea to Roy about doing a team-up book I called The Golden Girls, featuring some of Marvel’s Golden Age distaff heroes like Golden Girl, Venus, Namora and Blonde Phantom, but he wasn’t interested.”
The Golden Girls could have been a team filled with some of Marvel’s Golden Age heroines, but Roy Thomas didn’t seem interested in the project at the time.
WALLY MONK
For those of us who loved your three series with Gold Key, can you share with us a little tidbit of how you would have wrapped up Tragg and Dagar had the series run their course? We’ll call it a Paint Monk’s Library exclusive!
DON GLUT
“I’d already written some future plot ideas for those books, plus a full Spektor origin script, which Gold Key bought and new editor Bill Spicer edited – shortly before the books got abruptly and surprisingly canceled. As much as I can recall, the Zorek character in Tragg would have gone completely insane, possibly turning against his own people, and Keera would have become an ally to Tragg and Lorn against the “Sky Gods”. I don’t remember any plans to bring Graylin back in Dagar. But I certainly had plans for Lakota to return to Dr.Spektor, after being a prisoner of the Dark Gods. I also planned to have Spektor head a team of former heroes including the Owl, Man of the Atom, Purple Zombie, Simbar and maybe others to combat the Dark Gods. When Dark Horse reprinted the Spektor books in hardcover, I wanted to do a graphic novel, reinstating the 1970s status quo, after which a new writer may want to take it over as a regular series.”
WALLY MONK
As one of many talented writers who had their time with the Savage Sword of Conan, what was your spin on the Cimmerian? What were your ideas for expanding the Conan mythos through your writing?
DON GLUT
“My only involvement with Conan was writing a plot for one of the Thomas-scripted annuals. As already stated, I wasn’t a fan of sword and sorcery per se so I never thought much about the character. Even if I had, Conan was strictly “Rascally” Roy’s baby back then.”
WALLY MONK
You wrote stories of Kull and Solomon Kane during your time writing for Marvel. Which Robert E. Howard character was your favorite, and why? Which do you feel gave you the most opportunity to “flesh out” or be creative?
DON GLUT
“I never enjoyed writing Solomon Kane, didn’t like the character. I wrote those stories because Roy gave me the gig, they were fairly easy to write and they paid well. I managed to do quite a lot of stories featuring the Puritan, many of which were adaptations of Howard’s prose originals, meaning I didn’t have to come up with original plots.
Robert E. Howard’s puritan Solomon Kane was never one of the author’s favorites.
Inventing a plot is, with me, more difficult than the actual writing. I did have fun with the Dracula and Frankenstein Castle crossover stories, because they involved other subjects that interested me.
As for Kull, I had to make that book different from Dagar, which I was writing at the same time. But in a sense, Kull was for me what I wanted to do with Dagar, but Gold Key company policy wouldn’t let me do. I even did a secret crossover between the two books, which I assume not many people (certainly not my editors at Gold Key) ever caught!”
WALLY MONK
If an independent company were to approach you about revisiting Tragg or Dagar, would you be open to the possibilities? I think there are many of us that would love to see these characters brought back for a new story. If not, have you ever considered crowdfunding a new effort, through perhaps Kickstarter or Indiegogo?
DON GLUT
“If you could clear the rights and the money was good, I would probably write at least a few new stories. But I’d rather write Tragg, which I enjoyed more than Dagar.
I would write Dr. Spektor in a heartbeat. When a few years ago I heard that Spektor was going to be brought back, I campaigned to write it, but to no avail. What I had in mind would have picked up today, starting with the Doc, now an old man, literally climbing out of the Dark Gods’ Hell, where he’d been kept prisoner (since his Gold Key book was canceled).
Dynamite’s re-envisioning of Doctor Spektor never quite caught on.
Spektor’s friends would have been kept un-aging in some kind of status field by the Dark Gods. The story would have been Spektor’s final battle with the Dark Gods, maybe with the aid of those previously mentioned heroes. After defeating the Dark Gods once and for all, he would be rewarded by the Warrior Gods by having his youth restored and his friends – including Lakota – freed and back to normal. So a new series would begin picking up from where we left off in the late 1970s – business as usual.
But the Powers-that-Be weren’t interested. I never read the rebooted version, which didn’t catch on.
As to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, I’ve already launched a number of crowdfunding campaigns for my movies and also a Tales of Frankenstein collectors calendar, all of which bombed. Despite heavy promotion by me, they brought in tons of likes, shares and smiley faces on Facebook, but very little money. I couldn’t even get people just to put in a dollar, which I figured anyone could afford. They all proved to be just colossal wastes of time for me.”
WALLY MONK
The comics industry has changed quite a bit. Modern comics tend to focus on storylines that can be adapted to graphic novel format and tales which could be told in a single issue often span five or more comics. What do you think of the contemporary comics industry, and is it making progress and moving forward, or is something missing?
DON GLUT
“I have no comment because I haven’t read comic books since about the mid-1990s. I have no idea what’s happening with any of the old characters ore what is brand new. And I fondly remember complete stories that could be told in five to seven pages. Remember those back-up features in Action, Adventure and World’s Finest? But I’m back to writing comics scripts again. I’m a regular writer for Rich Sala’s magazine The Creeps, writing basically the same kind of horror stories – only better – that I wrote decades ago for the Warren magazines (Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella), which were my first professional comics-script sales.
Don is a regular contributor in The Creeps, a horror anthology magazine that is the spiritual successor to Warren’s Creepy and Eerie.
So in a way, as far as writing comics is concerned, I’ve sort of come full circle. So far I’ve written close to 100 stories for The Creeps, most of which have been stockpiled for future issues, and have had a lot of enjoyment doing so. I also recently wrote graphic novel called Tales of Frankenstein, adapted from my recent motion picture of the same title. The book features great interior art by Mike Vosburg, Nik Powliko, Brian Postman, Craig Wilson, Russ Rainbolt and Jim Craig, and the cover is a painting by Christopher Shy; and the introduction was written by legendary Jim Steranko. I’m happy and quite proud of the way this is turning out. The graphic novel should be out (soon) from Bill Cunningham’s Pulp 2.0 Press.”
WALLY MONK
Growing up, who were your early influences in the comic industry, and who were your role models while developing your own writing style? What would you say to a young, teenage aspiring comic book writer or filmmaker? What advice would you give them to pursue their dream of being a pop-culture guru like yourself?
DON GLUT
“My earliest role models and influences as to writing comic book stories, in no particular order, were Stan Lee (Marvel), Al Feldstein (EC horror and crime), Joe Kubert (Tor) and Dick Briefer (Frankenstein). After getting firmly into the business as a professional, I continued to learn a lot about writing comics from Russ Manning, also Roy Thomas and my main Gold Key editor, Del Connell.
As to advice in regards pursuing any dream like writing or drawing, etc., think of it as a day job rather than a hobby; keep working at (and improving) your craft; let rejection roll off your back and don’t take it personally; network wherever and whenever the opportunity comes your way (it’s not so much what or who you know, as much as who knows you); and, perhaps most important of all, never give up!
Remember, if you have the talent, the drive and persistence, work like writing comic books can be your day job. It’s like playing and getting paid for it!”
WALLY MONK
Thank you to Mr. Glut for taking the time to answer these questions for our friends and fantasy aficionados.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Ever the Robert E. Howard scholar and pulp enthusiast, Paint Monk’s Library scribe and Occult Detective Bob Freeman spent some time chatting with Scott Oden about Conan, historical fiction, writing pastiches, and his numerous best-selling novels.)
By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer
If you’ve been following Marvel’s re-acquisition of our favorite Cimmerian for the past year, then you’ve probably already caught on to one of the shining highlights of an otherwise uneven relaunch of Savage Sword of Conan — Author Scott Oden’s brilliant novella, The Shadow of Vengeance.
Set after Robert E. Howard’s “The Devil in Iron” (Weird Tales, August 1934), Oden takes us on a breathtaking adventure of daring and swashbuckling sword and sorcery that is immediately reminiscent of Howard’s legendary writing.
Oden’s tale is vivid and positively dripping with the pulp sensibilities that call to mind the original stories found in Weird Tales. Oden, however, brings a command of historical fiction, and, much like Conan’s creator, shapes the Hyborian Age in such a way that it feels authentic.
Oden is able to do what, to me, no other Conan pastiche author has, and that is to nearly perfectly recreate not only the cadence of Howard’s writing style but the very spirit of it as well. In The Shadow of Vengeance you will discover Conan as Howard conceived him — cunning, strong, and agile.
If you’ve not read through the twelve-part serial novella and consider yourself a Conan fan, you need to acquire them post-haste.
Obviously, I became an immediate Scott Oden fan and so reached out to him for a little chat. I think you’ll find our discussion insightful and we were certainly thrilled to have him sit down with us for a bit.
So, without further ado…
BOB FREEMAN
I discovered your writing through The Shadow of Vengeance, your serialized novella in the pages of Marvel’s relaunch of Savage Sword of Conan. I was immediately taken by your writing style, which mirrored so much of what excited me about Robert E. Howard’s prose. Tell us how you came to discover Howard’s Conan and the impact both writer and character have had on your life and career.
SCOTT ODEN
“I discovered Howard in ‘77 or ‘78, when I borrowed a copy of the Ace edition of Conan from my older brother. I was ten years old, and I’d already found Tolkien, that year, thanks to my grade school librarian, Ms. Hipps, and I was eager to read something similar. I liked the Frazetta cover, and that each story was relatively short. And I was hooked from page one.
Conan became the quintessential character of my youth. I was a chubby asthmatic kid from Alabama who
shared nothing of the Cimmerian’s strengths or experiences. I was bad at sports and other physical
endeavors, a total loss in regards to hunting or fishing or outdoor survival; I
couldn’t fight my way out of a wet paper bag.
But, I had one thing in common with Conan: I, too, was plagued by
boundless curiosity. That was my
touchstone with the Cimmerian, and from that I began to subsume other aspects
of his personality, aspects I came to recognize much later in my life: his
never-surrender attitude; his idea we were all doomed, but a man could write
his own ending; his multiculturalism . . . all these things that became part of
me had their birth in the pages of Howard’s prose.
Howard himself was my mentor, in a way. As a bookish kid, I was practically fated to try my hand at writing stories. And when I did, they were bad. Always these horrid pastiche things filled with stilted dialogue and ten-dollar words, like the worst aspects of Lovecraft filtered through a 14-year old’s sensibilities. Well, I wrote a three or four-page tale I was particularly proud of, about a knight going off to kill an ogre, and in a spate of courage I gave it to my brother to read. My brother, who was a newspaper editor and who wanted to write fiction himself. Yeah, so what I got back was a solid wall of scrawled editorial marks. It was savage, a beating in inscrutable blue hieroglyphics, each mark like a voice in my head taking me to task for daring to consider myself a writer. But, he wasn’t wrong. I had a lot to learn. So, once my ego healed sufficiently to contemplate writing again, I tried a different approach.
“The Thing in the Crypt” first appeared in a 1967 collection of Conan stories. It was written by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter from an unfinished Robert E. Howard manuscript.
I sat down with a Howard story (well, a Howard and DeCamp story, really, ‘The Thing in the Crypt’) and started typing it verbatim. When I felt comfortable with the flow of words, I slowly started changing things. A word here and there, a line of dialogue, an image, until I veered off into new territory. In my version, the thing in the crypt reassembled itself and came looking for the Atlantean sword. Conan burned it after an epic fight atop a burial mound and scattered its bones as the sun dawned. And that’s what I mean by REH was my mentor; I learned to write by copying his style and vocabulary verbatim until I felt confident to add my own material. The rest was down to trial-and-error and Conan’s never-surrender attitude.
Oh, and the story about the knight and the ogre my brother tore apart? I rewrote it in the early 1990s using the same REH aesthetic I’d taught myself. It was called ‘Faith’, and while not great it did become my first ‘sale’ to a local SFF magazine.”
BOB FREEMAN
Of all the pastiche authors I’ve read, your Conan has come closest to the character that lives in my head. Your writing feels like lost history, which was Howard’s great appeal. World-building is a skillset all too often absent from many authors. What do you credit for your ability to make the setting as viable as the characters in your stories?
SCOTT ODEN
“If you notice, my settings are — like Howard’s — almost always historical. Late period Egypt, Asia Minor in the 4th century BC, 12th century Cairo, Viking Age northern Europe, and 13th century Sweden. Even those with strong elements of fantasy have their grounding in history. That, I think, is the secret, and it is a secret REH knew only too well; no amount of world-building I engage in will ever rival the depth, detail, or sheer reality of ancient and medieval history. Those time periods are the wellspring of modern fantasy, from the monsters and sorcery folk back then believed in to the breadth of their religious pantheons to their folktales and sagas. Why, then, would I seek to reinvent the wheel (especially a wheel that would look suspiciously like the prototype handed down by my ancestors) when I have the plans for a perfectly good wheel at my fingertips?
How I make them viable is a mystery to me. In The Lion of Cairo, the city simply came alive without any effort on my part. It was a mixture of fact and fancy, that picture of Cairo, with elements drawn from ancient Egypt, the Arabian Nights, the Mameluke period, and REH’s Crusader stories. They worked. These elements gelled into something all its own, and those who read that book commented on the fact that the city seemed a character in itself. I wish I knew how I did it, but it just happened. Same goes with the Viking Age setting of A Gathering of Ravens. It’s ridiculously fictional, but weighted with just enough fact to give it the semblance of life. That’s probably my writer-superpower.”
WALLY MONK
L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter are well-loved by some and detested by others. When you interpret Conan in your work, readers – Howard fans in particular – will have a specific Cimmerian in mind as they take in your work. How do you temper or hone your own creativity to appeal to a character who is so beloved and established a certain way in the minds of many readers?
“The thing I’m trying to do is evoke Howard himself. To tap into that vein that made the Cimmerian so popular in the first place. So, when I’m working on Conan, and I’ve written two stories featuring the Cimmerian (The Shadow of Vengeance and Conan Unconquered), I try to forget everything pastiche. No comics, no Tor novels, no De Camp or Lin Carter. I focus solely upon the words of REH. And I’m consciously attempting to write in his style, in his voice; I lift everything from his vocabulary to his worldview, even going so far as to hunt down copies of historical texts he might have owned and read to adopt the same historical nomenclature, regardless of modern convention.
Oden tries to “evoke” Howard in his words and world-building, as evidenced in The Shadow of Vengeance.
I’ve made files for myself with nothing but Conan’s dialogue from the original Weird Tales stories, which help capture the Cimmerian’s voice. And I write with the Del Rey editions at my elbow, in case I need to look something up. I’ve sworn an oath never to write anything that contradicts any fact REH established about Conan — so, for example, you’ll never see a story from my pen where Conan allies himself with the Picts, which would contradict what Howard wrote in ‘The Black Stranger’: A momentary anger flickered bluely in the giant’s eyes. ‘Even a Zingaran ought to know there’s never been peace between Picts and Cimmerians, and never will be,’ he retorted with an oath. ‘Our feud with them is older than the world. If you’d said that to one of my wilder brothers, you’d have found yourself with a split head.’ Thus, the storyline in the recent Conan the Barbarian comic where Conan fights alongside Picts contradicts what Howard wrote, it’s foreign to the character up until this point in his life. Might he ally himself with Picts later in life, after the events of ‘The Black Stranger’? Perhaps. But no story cast before this time should even entertain the notion. No pastiche should ever gainsay Howard’s own canon. It’s our job as writers to work inside the framework REH built, and not change the architecture of that frame to make it fit our own stories.”
BOB FREEMAN
Based on a single chapter in Savage Sword, I purchased Memnon and Men of Bronze and thoroughly enjoyed both. I saw influences by writers such as Steven Pressfield, Bernard Cornwell, and, of course, Howard. But I also got the sense that you had read some Harold Lamb, a writer I absolutely adored in elementary school. Growing up in rural Indiana, books were highly coveted but hard to come by and I was lucky enough to discover a dozen first edition Lambs in my small town library. Is it possible Lamb was an influence as well?
Oden’s novel Memnon was inspired by a story thread in Harold Lamb’s Alexander of Macedon.
SCOTT ODEN
“You’ve a good eye! Yes, Lamb was an influence — especially on Memnon, which owes its existence to a thread in Harold Lamb’s Alexander of Macedon concerning the love of Alexander’s concubine, Barsine, for her dead husband, Memnon of Rhodes. Memnon was supposedly the only man Alexander had qualms about facing on the battlefield, and the scorched earth campaign Memnon advocated to the Persian king, Darius, would have throttled Alexander’s ambitions. And we see flashes of Memnon’s cunning, such as at Halicarnassus when he made Alexander waste Macedonian lives on what amounted to a meaningless siege (Memnon did his damage and sailed away, under no threat since the Persian navy still controlled the sea).
Lucky for Alexander that Memnon died. And after the Battle of Issus in 333 BC came the capture of Damascus, where Barsine became his concubine (he also captured the Queen of Persia, her sister, the Queen-Mother, and the whole of Darius’s household . . . all of whom he treated with the utmost respect). A couple of years later, according to Lamb, Alexander found a piece of jewelry in her possession bearing a love-inscription from Memnon to his wife. Lamb stated that Alexander would be second to no one, and dismissed Barsine with honor. That episode fired my imagination, and from it a book was born.”
BOB FREEMAN
Discovering your novel A Gathering of Ravens was one of the high points of my year. Grimnir is a terrific character — savage and vengeful, but with a complexity and depth that elevates him and makes him both sympathetic and relatable. I picked up on elements of Irish and Norse myth, even aspects of Beowulf take the stage, and your knack for hammering sword and sorcery into historical fiction is refreshing for someone who has been obsessed with both genres since childhood. The second book in the saga will be out soon. What can you tell us about Twilight of the Gods“ and what sort of insights can you share about Grimnir’s creation?
SCOTT ODEN
“Grimnir is one of my oldest characters, though he’s gone through several incarnations to get here. Back in the idle days of youth, one of my best daydreams was that I had befriended an Orc from Tolkien. That Orc would go to school with me, lurk around the campus, and dispatch anyone who decided to pick on me. Some bully would corner me, in these daydreams, and find the tables turned when my Orc appeared. He resembled Tolkien’s description of Shagrat in The Return of the King, with his long knife and apish build. Well, daydreams led to a desire to write, and that particular daydream was one of my first boyhood stories — hastily scrawled on a couple of sheets of loose-leaf paper, with little illustrations in the margins. I think my Mom was the only one who ever saw it, and then only in passing. I’m not sure what happened to that early tale, but it most likely ended up in a box somewhere ‘ere it was consigned to one of my Dad’s frequent burn barrels.
Grimnir the Orc is featured in A Gathering of Ravens, the first in a series of three novels about the character.
But, that childhood dream took root. I wanted to write something with an Orc — not
necessarily an agent of evil, but definitely out for his own ends. Many years later, after three books, I had
the opportunity. Originally, I planned
it as a secondary world fantasy where Orcs were a slave-warrior race serving an
empire of monotheistic zealots — kind of a fantasy analogue of Mamelukes or
janissaries — until one rose up, embraced the old ways, and led a
Spartacus-like rebellion. To me, though,
there was nothing really special about that idea. It had been done before, by the likes of the
stellar Stan Nicholls. No, I wanted
untrod ground.
I decided to wrench an Orc from Tolkien and shoehorn him in
our historical past. That was unique, I
thought. But a friend and frequent beta
reader, Josh Olive, told me it couldn’t be done, not without coming across as
silly or super cheesy. I took up his
thrown gauntlet, and thus was Grimnir born — an Orc, the last of his kind,
driven from the pages of Tolkien and into the annals of Norse myth. And the grim gray world of the Vikings
accommodated Orcs like they were made to be there. They were pure, distilled Northern rage and
the tale of the last of their kind and his quest for vengeance fairly spilled
off my pen.
And people liked it! Publishers Weekly gave it a starred
review. My editor wanted another, if I
could. And so, Twilight of the Gods came into being. It’s set a couple of centuries later, with
Grimnir (like the Orcs in The Silmarillion, his folk are immortal, immune to
disease, but likely to die in battle) facing off against a zealous Northern
Crusader on the eve of Ragnarok.
There’s a third one planned, called The Doom of Odin, which takes Grimnir into Italy and France during the Black Death, to finish what was started back before Rome fell to the barbarians.”
BOB FREEMAN
One of the things I loved about A Gathering of Ravens was how it felt like an epic Dungeons & Dragons campaign writ large. I know you, like myself, are still an avid player. What sort of influence has D&D, and RPGs in general, had on your writing?
SCOTT ODEN
“I don’t think it has had a direct effect on my writing, but rather it influenced me through my reading. Appendix N, man! That became my catalog, and when my library fell short, my brother let me borrow his copies of Zelazny, Vance, ERB (whom I did not like), and Lovecraft. The greatest gift RPGs gave me was a shared language to meet people. I was always terminally shy, but DM-ing at local cons thrust me right out of my comfort zone and forced me to talk. I met a few lifelong friends this way.”
Oden’s tale Conan Unconquered was included with the Deluxe Edition of the PC game bearing the same title.
BOB FREEMAN
Which leads us back to Conan. The Shadow of Vengeance was a simply brilliant pastiche and Conan Unconquered followed suit as a compliment to Howard’s “Black Colossus”. Surely there are more Hyborian adventures in your future?
SCOTT ODEN
“There are! I’m currently finishing up a novel-length tale of everyone’s favorite thief from the Hyborian Age – Shevatas. I’m expanding the hints REH gave about his life and legacy, his drive to seize the score of a lifetime, and the unmentioned effect the looting of Thugra Khotan’s tomb might have on the sorcerers of the Black Ring. After that . . . who knows? I might return to tackle the rise of Conan to the throne of Aquilonia. All will depend on how well Shevatas does with readers.”
BOB FREEMAN
As we’re largely a comic review site, I’d be interested to know what comics struck a chord with you growing up and what books you still follow. Have you ever had an interest in writing comics?
SCOTT ODEN
“I’d love to try my hand at writing a Conan comic! It would be a wholly new experience for me, and a bit of a challenge. Growing up, the only title I collected was the original Savage Sword of Conan. I love the B&W large format! And the art! Earl Norem was my favorite cover artist, and Buscema’s illustrations formed the basis for Conan in my imagination. I had a few random issues of other titles, but nothing grabbed me like SSoC.”
BOB FREEMAN
And finally, to wrap things up, it’s Desert Island time. You’re shipwrecked for a year and you’ve got one book to keep you company. What is it?
SCOTT ODEN
“The rational side of my brain would choose Survival for Dummies. But, if everything were taken care of, I had food and shelter and means to make fire, I’d probably choose a massive thousand-page blank notebook and a supply of pencils. I’d write my own book to keep me company.”
BOB FREEMAN
Thanks for joining us here at the Library, Scott. It’s greatly appreciated. And if you can pull any strings with Cabinet, I would love to play in that sandbox. 😉
SCOTT ODEN
“Thanks for having me! Hey, just do what I did: write stuff reminiscent of REH, publish it as large as you can, and once you hear rumors stirring that Cabinet might be resurrecting the old publishing program, begin a concerted effort to get their attention. I begged via email. No shame :)”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: A special thank you to Jim for answering my questions and taking the time to do so, and a special shout-out to the Marvel bullpen editorial folks who allowed this interview to move forward! Both this monk and our loyal readers are looking forward to this new chapter in the Conan the Barbarian saga!)
By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor
Following Jason Aaron’s 12-issue story arc “The Life and Death of Conan,” Marvel writer Jim Zub will be picking up the scripting duties on Marvel’s flagship Conan title beginning with Conan the Barbarian #13.
Like Aaron, Zub has a healthy resume already at the House of Ideas, where he’s scripted fan-favorites like The Champions, Avengers: No Road Home, and the Mystery in Madripoor mini-series featuring Wolverine. He’s also the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Award, which he won in 2018, and is a two-time Harvey Award nominee.
Jim graciously agreed to an interview with Paint Monk’s Library in anticipation of his Conan the Barbarian series premiere.
***
WALLY MONK
So your first comic, Makeshift Miracle, came out in 2001. At the time you had your first comic published, what were your goals in the industry? Had comics always been something you were interested in? Can you share the beginnings of your journey in the industry, and what led you from there to your current gigs at Marvel?
JIM ZUB
“I grew up as an avid comic reader but, to be honest, I didn’t consider it a viable career path for a long time. As far as I could tell the only people who were making a go of it in comics were based in the U.S. (especially New York) or were brilliant and British. My knowledge of Canadian comic creators was limited and, even then, I just didn’t see how people made their way into the business.
My post-secondary education was in Classical Animation and that was originally where I expected to work. I wanted to be a Disney animator or work on other animated productions. It was a creative goal, but one that seemed reasonable. I could get focused training and be one of a few dozen names that scrolled by during the credits.
As soon as I got out into the business, I could feel the animation industry shifting under my feet. Computer animation was rapidly overtaking traditional production methods and I felt like I was out of date almost as soon as I began. The first couple of industry jobs I got were fine, but at an entry-level you don’t have much creative input, so I felt like a cog in the machine. Makeshift Miracle was a creative outlet I worked on in the evenings. It was a way to make my own story without interference. I slowly taught myself Photoshop and basic HTML so I could post up pages online a few times per week. That would connect me to the growing webcomic community and build my excitement for comics all over again.
When animation freelance work slowed down, I originally planned to go back to school for computer animation, but instead an opportunity popped up to join UDON, an art studio full of illustrators and animators who were working on concept designs, advertising art, and comics. Through the studio, I learned a ton about publishing, storytelling, project management, conventions, and marketing. It was the kind of energizing place where the more you put into the job the more opportunities you could take on and I really dove in with both feet. Over time I realized that at the heart of all these projects I was involved with, the stuff that really engaged me was story development. I wrote a few stories at the studio when clients needed a writer and would eventually take what I learned to help me launch Skullkickers at Image.
Skullkickers was an action-comedy built from the things I loved about sword & sorcery stories like Conan and Dungeons & Dragons. I didn’t put it out intending it to be an “audition” for more writing work, but that’s eventually what it became. As I started freelance writing for other comic companies (Dynamite, IDW, DC and eventually Marvel), the experiences I had working at UDON meant I understood the whole publishing pipeline and could anticipate what editors needed. That has served me well right through to the present day.”
In 2010, your series Skullkickers ran an amazing thirty-four issues at Image, and was followed by Wayward, described by some as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer set in Japan.” You also wrote Samurai Jack for IDW. It’s clear you have a fondness for stories in Eastern settings. What inspired that fondness? It’s interesting your first adventure on the Conan title takes place in Khitai!
JIM ZUB
“Sword & Sorcery is definitely my jam, with Conan and D&D at the heart of my fandom for the genre. Skullkickers was me trying to take the strange unexpected turns that happen in D&D game sessions and attach them to a very pulpy and weird Conan-style story.
In the early-mid nineties I was still in high school when my brother came home to visit from university and brought a bunch of Japanese animation and comics he was getting into. That really opened me up to the variety of comic stories being published in Japan and keyed me into Japanese mythology as well. I found it really fascinating as I dug into the similarities and differences between Japan’s myths and the Euro or Greco-Roman myths I was used to. Years later I would travel to Japan a few times on business trips for the UDON studio and that reignited my excitement for those myths all over again.
Classic samurai stories share a lot of connective tissue with pulp fantasy tales like we see in Conan – Characters venturing into the unknown to confront threats way out of their league or heroes choosing between the bonds of duty and the chaos of freedom. It’s all pretty primal stuff.
As far as taking Conan to Khitai, it wasn’t an intentional riff on things I’ve done before, it was more about finding places where a lot of Conan stories hadn’t already been told. With hundreds of Conan comic stories already out there, I’m feeling the pressure to try and strike a balance between the familiar tropes, the stuff about the genre I absolutely love, and the unexpected. Putting Conan in different environments is a way to shake things up a bit without losing the heart of what makes him so great.”
WALLY MONK
In addition to Japanese-influenced work, you tackled four different Dungeons and Dragons comic series for IDW. Are you an RPG gamer? Were you familiar with D&D before taking on the projects at IDW? And how will your previous work in fantasy influence your take on Conan?
Dungeons & Dragons: Evil At Baldur’s Gate was one of several D&D comic series Jim wrote for IDW.
JIM ZUB
“I’m a lifelong D&D player. I started playing D&D when I was 8-years old. It became a way to bond with my older brother and carries a ton of great memories for me. I even did a TEDx Talk about how D&D has influenced my creative career (link).
“One of the challenges I’m enjoying is making sure my writing on Conan feels very different from my writing on D&D. Fantasy is not homogenized approach and two fantasy properties I really like can and should be unique.”
Jim Zub – Paint Monk’s Library Interview
Getting the chance to write D&D comic stories has been a dream come true, but I’m quite conscious that D&D is not Conan. D&D was influenced by the work of Robert E. Howard, but it also carries strains of Fritz Leiber, H.P. Lovecraft, Jack Vance, Poul Anderson, Michael Moorcock, J.R.R. Tolkien and a slew of others. It’s a high fantasy/low fantasy mash-up built on a miniature wargaming engine that has grown and changed in many ways over the years, building its own look and feel that changes with the settings and each new edition of the rules. I love D&D, but it is its own thing.”
WALLY MONK
Unlike many comic book characters, Conan is what some might consider a legacy character. His background was established by Robert E. Howard, and people – especially hard-core REH fans – are very critical of new interpretations of the Cimmerian. Conan is not like other Marvel characters who have been killed off and brought back, or changed repeatedly with reboots or relaunches. What is your vision for Conan in light of such history and his often critical yet loyal fan base?
JIM ZUB
“You’re absolutely right that Conan is a legacy character with very specific characterization at different points in his adventuring ‘career’. Like Howard says, he has ‘gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth’. I want to try and evoke that feeling of plunging readers into a sweeping adventure against crazy odds with brutal action.
Part two of the “Conan the Gambler” storyline in Savage Sword of Conan.
For me, Conan stories have particular elements that make them special. Many of my favorite Conan stories are about morally dubious miscreants struggling to survive in a mad world they will never fully understand. They’re about good people making bad choices, warriors fighting against insane odds, and misplaced courage. The kind of misplaced courage that makes you look death in the face and laugh.
I love the feeling of mystery inherent in the Hyborian Age. Magic is not about casting spells or destined heroes with prophesized magic items, it’s forbidden secrets unleashing curses and creatures that can only be stopped by an indomitable will and a strong arm swinging cold steel.
Conan the Gambler, the 3-part Savage Sword story I did this summer, is as good a preview as I could give of what I enjoy and what I’m hoping to keep rolling as I take over the flagship series – Conan in over his head, using wits and a wicked blade to take on everything he comes up against.”
WALLY MONK
In light of my last question – and I’m not asking you to bite the hand that feeds you here (winking at Marvel) – but how do you respond as a newer Conan writer to critical fans who are not happy with Conan showing up in the mainstream Marvel universe?
And how do you think you can make a “believer” out of fans who are not embracing a new take on Conan’s adventures? Is there a way to “bridge the gap” between older fans not willing to budge on classical interpretations of Conan and newer fans hoping for something new and untried?
JIM ZUB
“I wrote Conan meeting the Avengers in No Road Home because we were asked by Marvel editorial if we could do it and I figured I could make it feel like the classic Conan comics I grew up with. Selfishly, I also wanted to write the character again (I’d previously co-wrote him with Gail Simone in Conan Red Sonja back in 2015) and felt I could do him justice even in the weird situation of him getting mixed up with superheroes.
That first issue where he shows up (Avengers: No Road Home #6) is a straight-up sword & sorcery tale as Conan travels across Stygia with the Scarlet Witch. I did my damnedest to bring them into his world instead of “fish out of water” stuff in modern Marvel Earth. That’s also why we ended that story by depositing Conan in the Savage Land. It felt like the most pulp-appropriate place to set up future adventures.
Conan travels Stygia with the Scarlet Witch in Avengers: No Road Home #6.
Gerry Duggan’s been writing Conan’s adventures in Marvel Earth over in Savage Avengers and obviously I’ve been keeping up on it. Gerry’s done a nice job at keeping the character intact and consistent even in some really strange circumstances, so my hat’s off to him for that. I might have hesitated in spots where he’s gone for the team-up gusto.
Personally, I prefer Conan in the Hyborian Age so that’s where my focus is. In the upcoming Conan: Serpent War mini-series, he stays in the Hyborian Age and the other characters come to him to complete their quest. In Conan the Barbarian, he won’t be teaming up with forces outside of classic sword & sorcery. Barbarian is the pure Hyborian Age series, just like it always has been. In other series or places, I think it’s fine to experiment, but keeping that spot carved out for pure Hyborian adventure is important to me, and I know it’s important to the fans too. I hope REH fans give my run a try and support that vision of the character.”
Conan: Serpent War #1 hits stands on December 4th, 2019.
WALLY MONK
Roy Thomas is considered by many to be the consummate Conan writer in comics. Others that have taken up the torch, like Tim Truman, have done a commendable job with the character. In light of this, was being selected to take on Conan intimidating? How do you view your work on Conan when considering the previous scribes who have taken on the title?
JIM ZUB
“It’s absolutely intimidating! The whole thing is surreal at times. They’re called “dream projects” because you don’t actually ever think the dream will become reality, but here we are. I feel a lot of pressure to try and measure up to the kinds of stories that have influenced me so much. In October, I had the chance to meet Roy Thomas at Paris Comic Con and in private conversation I let him know I was taking over the series. He was incredibly kind and it made my whole trip extra-special.
I wish I could say I have the perfect characterization that will please old fans and new, but all I can do is write Conan the way I feel works and hopefully, it hits the mark for the majority of readers.
Conan isn’t a character who needs radical reinvention, but it’s also important to try and steer clear of clichés that have become too well worn. Putting him in new locales, brainstorming unexpected threats, it’s all a way for me to try and honor the character’s legacy but also not endlessly recycle what has been done before. Will I succeed? Only one way to find out…”
WALLY MONK
Your three-issue arc “Conan the Gambler” was well received and hopefully was a preview of what you’ll be doing in the new series. Can you give us at “Paint Monk’s Library” an exclusive hint of something we can look forward to in your time with Conan the Barbarian?
JIM ZUB
“The Gambler distilled a lot of the elements I love about Conan stories and the response from readers has been really heartfelt. It’s even more special now since it went over just as well with the Conan license holders and started me on the path to taking over the flagship series.
Into The Crucible is the first of a series of connected stories of Conan in his younger days. He’s the more headstrong Conan we see in The Tower of the Elephant or The Frost Giant’s Daughter. He’s venturing further than he’s ever gone before and the exotic locales he treks through are steeped in opulence, opportunity, and otherworldly danger.
The cover to Conan the Barbarian #13 with art by E.M. Gist.
Variant cover artwork for Conan the Barbarian #13 by Toni Infante.
In a city in Uttara Kuru, Conan joins a wild celebration underway but doesn’t know the local language or customs, so that revelry takes a dark turn and puts him in a life or death contest called The Crucible Tournament. He needs to figure out who he can trust and a way out before everyone gets sacrificed to the warped whims of a dark god.
I love putting Conan out of his comfort zone and far from the places he knows. The Demon’s Den in the Gambler story was a place where Conan didn’t have control and didn’t know what might happen next. Now it’s whole countries filled with the strange and the sublime – Beautiful women, vast treasures, and bloody vengeance are all coming up.”
WALLY MONK
Thanks, Jim, for taking the time to share your thoughts with me and library readers. I have one last question – and it’s a personal one. Savage Avengers began in the Savage Land, and personally, I’m hopeful Conan might return there at some point. Since Conan is headed in many different directions in different Marvel titles, is there any chance he’ll cross paths with Ka-Zar, Shanna or Zabu? That would make this monk smile.
JIM ZUB
“I wish I could definitively answer that for you, but I really don’t know. That’s a question for Gerry Duggan or Saladin Ahmed since they’re now handling Conan stories where he’s interacting with Marvel Earth. Right now, my sights are firmly set on the Hyborian Age.
One last thing – I’m not trying to give people the hard sell, but I do want to stress that starting a new run with issue #13 is tougher than a new #1, so it’s extra important that readers let their local comic retailers know that they want to get on board. Please read Conan the Barbarian #13-17 and let us know if we deliver the goods. I would love to build out a long and healthy run on a book that has meant so much to me, but I can only do that with reader and retailer support.”
***
FEBRUARY 2020 – INTO THE CRUCIBLE AS THE MARCH TO KHITAI BEGINS!
“Conan has faced many foes since leaving Cimmeria, but the greatest challenge lies ahead! A perfect jumping-on point for new readers as Conan finds himself in a city in the mystical Uttara Kuru, further on the eastern border than the young barbarian has ever traveled. And with the new city comes new dangers! Unfamiliar with the language, Conan inadvertently agrees to be the latest entrant to the Great Crucible. The people of the city support their foreign champion…but what deadly traps does the Crucible hold, and what will Conan sacrifice to overcome his ordeal?”
Writer JIM ZUB (SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, AVENGERS: NO ROAD HOME) and artist ROGÊ ANTONIO (CONAN 2099, X-MEN RED) lead Conan on an all-new journey, as we begin a new era for CONAN THE BARBARIAN into undiscovered country!
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The classic cult fantasy film Hawk the Slayer could live on in audio! British entrepreneur Graham Richards is currently crowd-funding the first installment of ‘Hawk the Slayer’ on a loaded, sound effects laden and character filled audio CD. If this endeavor succeeds, he’s indicated that he plans to complete the trilogy with Hawk the Hunter and Hawk the Destroyer to follow. Graham graciously agreed to a interview with Paint Monk’s Library about this exciting venture.)
By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor
If you’re a fan of swords and sorcery and were into cinema in the 1980s, you’ve no doubt seen the B-movie Hawk the Slayer. From it’s futuristic yet oddly appropriate soundtrack, to Crow the elven archer and a dramatically cliché and twisted Jack Palance, the film made its mark with fantasy enthusiasts across the globe.
Sadly, a Kickstarter project to produce its movie sequel, Hawk the Hunter, failed in 2015 and the film project seems to have been shelved. But never fear – you may still get your chance to hear a remastered and re-envisioned version of the original movie in audio. And if that’s successful, the other two planned installments of Hawk could eventually make their way to fans too!
As someone who loved the original movie, I have enthusiastically backed the new Hawk the Slayer audio project – and I’m hoping some of our readers and friends will jump aboard for the ride, too. I’ve reached out to Graham Richards, the British mind behind the new project, and he graciously agreed to an interview with this lowly monk. You can check out the Hawk the Slayer Audio Kickstarter project by clicking here!
Hawk the Slayer could come to life in audio form through crowdfunding.
While this was never made, Graham says he hopes to bring it to life in audio if the first project successfully funds.
WALLY MONK
Thanks for agreeing to share your project with our library readers! Can you tell us a little about yourself, your experience working with audio media, and your reason for choosing “Hawk the Slayer” for an audio remastering and release?
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“I’m just a product of my own mad schemes, with a wonderfully tolerant wife who helps with design, packaging, and all the really important things, plus a bunch of cherished friends who’ve stuck by, despite, or because of, my reluctance to do ‘normal stuff’. All invaluable and go towards making me who I am.
My love for audio began when I was 8 years old. My sister had a big ole’ portable stereo that I used to sneak away to record stories on, recording myself as all the characters, then passing the tapes around at school. I never really stopped doing this, and went on to rope anyone I met into this odd ritual.
From school, to college, to the working world. It wasn’t long before it was no longer a solo venture. I still have most of the tapes. It’s essentially the same to this very day. Most people I bump into I’ll try to wrangle into my audio madness. The difference is, that the stories have become more ambitious, and the people I’ve dragged by the hair are now seated along-side hired actors. As for Hawk, well, I hate unfinished business when it comes to story-telling.
TIM PLEWMAN (Defending the Caveman, SA Theatre) voices the role of the villianous Voltan.
ADRIAN J. ANDREWS (Midsomer Murders, Survivors, Brighton Fringe Theatre) is the voice of Voltan’s son Drogo.
We’ve been denied a sequel to Hawk for so many years now by various cruel turns of fate, that I couldn’t rest unless I’d made some attempt to put that right. As a completest, I need to start at the begining. There’s no point in starting with Hawk the Hunter as it’ll look odd to have your CD box-set sitting next to your DVD (Or Blu-ray, or VHS, or Laser Disc. Note to Self: I want a Laser Disc of Hawk. Was it even released on Laser Disc?!) It needs to exist as a complete medium, at best, a trilogy of CD box-sets, and that’s certainly feasible. “
WALLY MONK
What did you enjoy most about the original Hawk the Slayer film? You mention that you’re making a tremendous effort to preserve the Hawk that fans know and love, but that some additions will be made. Can you elaborate on some of those?
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“It’s the definitive D&D movie. It just gets the characters so right, even in their awkwardness and unfamiliarity (as a stereotypical tea-drinking Brit I’m looking at you here, Crow, with your rugged manliness and sharp American accent.) I also love its sincerity. It takes itself pretty seriously and I adore that. It’s a bold move, and it pays off, as amid all the theatrics, matte-paintings, and glowing ping-pong balls, is a film that is shouting at you, ‘This is just like that game you like playing, only it’s real!’
“(Hawk the Slayer is) the definitive D&D movie. It just gets the characters so right, even in their awkwardness and unfamiliarity….(it’s) a film that is shouting at you, ‘This is just like the game you like playing, only it’s real!'”
Graham Richards, Project Creator
Everyone really acts their socks off to make sure it’s perfect for the viewer. No one gives a half-hearted effort. No one within the cast sends it up for the sake of it. The humor is honest and perfectly balanced, ensuring that the time you invest in the story is going to be well-spent. Kudos to the entire cast and production team for that. It’s unique.
As for additions, we’re mainly trading the path of the book here, so if you’re familiar with that, then you’ll have an idea of the extras. In audio we also need to be carefully led into some of the scenes, paint a bolder picture if you will. To elaborate on just one, we have the battle at Ranulf’s village fleshed out and scored.
Ranulf, the one-handed man who seeks out Hawk in the original film. (SOURCE: IMdB)
It just wasn’t enough to have some music, some huffing and wheezing, then some chap collapse at the Abbey. We need to be introduced to Ranulf, hear the approaching threat, understand what they are capable of, and how Ranulf deals with it. It’s not a long scene, but necessary to keep the flow.”
WALLY MONK
Have any of the original cast members or people affiliated with the original Hawk film agreed to take part in the project, or have they offered their support? It would be interesting to have some surprises like this in an audio production
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“There’s still the potential for this manner of support here, but it depends on how well the Kickstarter perfoms. I could have introduced cameos and such as stretch goals, but it’s no certainty, just a possibility. Albeit a promising one. If it only just-about funds, I’d say, “Don’t discount the possibility.”
WALLY MONK
While Hawk was a commendable movie that has achieved “cult” status, there were some silly yet memorable moments – such as Voltan assaulting a loaf of bread to demonstrate what he’d do to his younger brother Hawk. How – or will – you attempt to keep moments like that in an audio format, when much of the fun came from the visual?
In the original film, Voltan (Jack Palance) viciously chops a loaf of bread in half to demonstrate what he plans to do to the hero Hawk. Good-bye, bread, we hardly knew you! (SOURCE: IMdB)
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“I’m happy that the fans will know that the loaf is being helpfully cut when they hear it, and it wouldn’t add anything to over-elaborate on those events. We don’t want to inadvertently create a parody. This may mean that some of audio Hawk will come across as being “slightly more serious” to some, but there are some cheeky lines to enjoy and the dialogue is so delicious anyway that you should feel steeped in Hawk’s unique mythos throughout its duration. “
WALLY MONK
One thing that stood about the original Hawk film was the odd yet compelling futuristic music. You mention in the Kickstarter campaign that you have received the blessing of the property’s estate to use the soundtrack. How will that play into the final audio product, and what if any changes will be made?
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“For this to work well, the score has to fit the play, not just be tacked onto it (we tried that and it felt quite false, or empty with no surprises) so we are recording the score as we create the scenes, always taking our cues from Harry Robertson.
We want to maintain the overall familiarity with the score, but naturally progress it into the new territory. We want listeners to smile when they recognize certain things, but we want them to be able to take a different look at other aspects of the story.
We’ve most recently been working on the Mindsword track. It’s an odd, ambient piece with some really harsh sounds in there. We’ve included the most recognizable sounds to paint the scene, how they rise and fall, and due to additional dialogue, have broadened the soundscape with… ah, you’ll have to listen.
We used Voltan’s main theme for the audio trailer. In the drama this is heard early on, and is, for the most part, a direct translation from the original soundtrack. Again you’ll find more dialogue in the audio drama, and in this case, the theme is joined by a Peckinpah, Wild-Bunch(ish) inspired march. It feels like a lost track from the original Hawk soundtrack. That’s what we want from this. “
WALLY MONK
Despite the failure of the Hawk the Hunter movie Kickstarter that you were not associated with, it’s clear that Hawk the Slayer still has a fan base. How committed are you to finishing the trilogy in audio form once this project is funded?
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“It’d be the right thing to do. My fingers are poised already to type that email to Terry Marcel and the Harry Robertson estate to say, ‘Heya. The Slayer was funded. Now about the next two…'”
WALLY MONK
I’m a religious monk and my full name is Walter. If you need a monk for Voltan to harass in one of the monasteries for the audio recording, I’d gladly pay a pledge level to have someone address “Walter Monk”. Just saying….thoughts?
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“Sounds great as a pledge. We currently need £628. How important is this scene to you? ;)”
WALLY MONK
Thanks once again for taking the time to talk with me and share your project with our readers. As I ask these questions, your project is already over 75% funded with over 20 days left. Is there anything you’d like to tell Hawk fans out there, or my readers in particular?
GRAHAM RICHARDS
“Seriously, if you’re a fan of Hawk the Slayer, then this is the best way to ensure its future. Please pledge and let’s see this thing through to the end, together.”
***
The Hawk the Slayer audio recording Kickstarter ends on Dec. 4th. The Paint Monk gives it a hearty thumbs up! Click on the image or link below to go directly to the project page.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of a two-part interview with Rik Offenberger. To read the first installment, please click here. My apologies to all of the readers who have been patiently waiting to hear more about these brave Golden Age heroes!)
By JOESEPH SIMON – PM Library Associate Editor
Rik Offenberger is a dedicated comic book professional. He knows what he loves, and it shows in all of his projects and industry-related accomplishments. The co-author of The MLJ Companion: The Complete History of the Archie Super-Heroes and former PR coordinator at Archie Comics talks here about the Shield and the legacy of The Mighty Crusaders.
The first part of Rik’s interview ended with discussion of the new Shield G-Man Fan Club, which Rik brought back for super-fans of these characters.
JOESEPH SIMON
No doubt running a fan club could be fun. Have there been any surprises running the Shield G-Man Fan Club?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“The Shield has a niche following and he hasn’t been published in a lot of comics internationally, but we have international fans in the club and they care a great deal about a patriotic character from a different country. I think that’s great. I have a fondness for both Captain Canuck and Captain Britain so I get it. But it still makes me happy to see the reach these characters have around the world.”
JOESEPH SIMON
You occasionally revise the contents of the Shield G-Man Club that are mailed back to people in the SASE, tell us more about that.
RIK OFFENBERGER
“It is unintentional. I have both of the original Shield G-Man pinback button styles. But you can’t wear them. They are old and fragile and worth a bit of money. I wanted to produce a new button for myself DIY, but you know what? If you make one and want quality, you pay a really large fee for a one off. However, if you produce 200 it really brings down the cost per unit. The other item is a membership card. It’s just a business card. The people who produce our business cards at www.firstcomicsnews.com do a great job at a good price. So that was the membership kit, same as 1941, a card and a pinback button. Better quality than the originals and you can wear the pin and show the card without fear of losing hundreds of dollars of investment.
My cost per button is 26¢ including shipping and they gave me $5.00 off plus free shipping. The membership cards are 10¢ each. My total cost was 36¢ and I could make a lot of super fans happy, maybe not a lot, but at least 200. I get to share my joy for these heroes and the fans share their joy with me. Tons of fan art and a really good time had by all. I can’t really explain the rest, except the bookmark. Mitchell Kwok did an exceptional piece of original art with all the Shield characters on it, and Ric Croxton wanted a bookmark for his Mighty Crusaders Companion. He’s a longtime friend and he reviews books and comics with me, so how could I say no. Also, I thought I would like a bookmark for my Mighty Crusaders Companion too. So, now we all have bookmarks.”
JOESEPH SIMON
What motivated you to write the Twomorrows press book? What interesting stories have resulted from it being published?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“Paul Castiglia is a longtime friend, we both worked at Archie Comics and we both love the Crusaders. He is my editor and co-writer on the book. He asked me, ‘Do you want to write the MLJ Companion for Twomorrows?’ I said sure. I have written for the Comic Buyers Guide, Newsarama and Comic Book Resources. I write for First Comics News daily but this was my first book. I have tons of material from the website but I needed Paul’s help and guidance on a project this size. I started with an outline I turned in to Paul and he made revisions and turned it in to John Morrows. Next thing I know, Twomorrows sends me a contract. It’s really cool to have a book to show people, much cooler than showing the website. But the real joy of the project is when people tell me they enjoyed reading the book. “
JOESEPH SIMON
The original publishers of Shield, MLJ, eventually turns into Archie. Taken together, the company has accomplished quite a lot in its long history. What do you think are some of the noteworthy moments in the way the company handled its super heroes?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“The heroes have been around for 70 years. They have been published in every decade – given many chances to find an audience and they have. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about them now. Archie Comics is a Mom and Pop shop. It’s still owned by the founding family. It’s not a major conglomerate like Warner Bros. or Disney that owns DC and Marvel, so the heroes have always had to take a backseat to Archie who outsells them.
The success of Archie made the other superheroes take a back seat.
But they have had major pushes with Mighty Comics, Red Circle, DC’s Impact and DC’s Red Circle. Dark Circle continues the heroes legacy and puts out new stories with legacy versions of the classic MLJ heroes. Each venture had some high points. The original Red Circle will always be the high point for me, I loved the handling of the heroes. The historic text pieces and the feeling that I was getting in on something new and special. But I have been excited about every relaunch ever since. I was a comic retailer when Impact launched and very excited to see the heroes at DC, I encouraged all my customers to sample the Impact line.”
JOESEPH SIMON
Now that the Archie & Mighty Crusaders two issue team up is over, is there any news on upcoming Mighty Crusaders releases?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I don’t work for Archie Comics any more, so I don’t have any inside information to give you. I know there are a few trade paperbacks in the works. But I don’t know what they have planned next.”
JOESEPH SIMON
You also run a site devoted to the team. What might one find at the site?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“www.mightycrusaders.new has literally everything you ever wanted to know about the Mighty Crusaders and MLJ Heroes. A comprehensive who’s who, fan art, fan fiction, history of all the publishing ventures, copies of every Golden Age MLJ comic to read, unpublished comics not seen anywhere else. If you want to know anything about these heroes it is on the site. “
JOESEPH SIMON
You are a spokesperson for Archie. It has to be an exciting time, with the successes of many of the story lines of late to the TV Show. I loved how elements of the Mighty Crusaders made it to the Riverdale TV show. Who was behind that?
Elements of The Mighty Crusaders on television?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I was the public relations coordinator for Archie Comics for 10 years but it’s been 3 years since Archie eliminated my position, so I don’t have a lot of current inside information. I do know that in the first season, the producers had elements of DC Comics in Riverdale because it was the same production company that does Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning. After the first season they stated using elements for Archie’s own heroes. Part of the fun watching Riverdale is all the “Easter eggs”.
JOESEPH SIMON
Marvel Comics and Archie have collaborated to get Marvel digests out to the general market (non direct comic market). Even under Disney ownership, this shows the incredible fan base Archie has on the newsstand. My very first contact with the Archie superheroes were the digests. Those digests were great and influenced me even to today.
RIK OFFENBERGER
“The digest has been one of the most innovative comic formats, and no one had done as well with it as Archie. Michael Silberkleit told me his father came up with the idea. It’s amazing how many decades you have been able to find Archie Digests at the checkout line.”
JOESEPH SIMON
My very first contact with the Archie superheroes were the Archie Super Hero Special and Super Hero Comics Digest Magazine from 1978 and 1979. Those digests were great and influenced me even to today. It would be incredible if Archie did super hero digests of their own! Any thoughts on those coming back?
ZAP! SPLAT! It’s the first issue of Archie Superhero Special digest.
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I loved those super hero digests, I have both the American editions. I have the French and German Star Team editions as well. When I was first hired by Archie, I asked about more superhero digests and was told the sales under performed. The thinking was the smaller panel size was still good for a joke but too small for the action needed for a superhero story. DC also abandoned their superhero digests.”
JOESEPH SIMON
The original publishers of Shield, MLJ, eventually turns into Archie Comic Publication, Inc. Taken together, the company has accomplished quite a lot in its long history. It is noteworthy, that, with its start as MLJ, Archie will be turning 80 next year! What do you think are some of the noteworthy moments in its the companies handling of its super heroes?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“The Shield was the star of Pep Comics and was so popular they did a second series Shield/Wizard Comic. Dusty also expanded to Boy Buddies. They were really excited about the heroes until Archie came along. Then it was all a matter of the marketplace telling them what to do. Archie outsold everything else they did. They keep bringing the heroes back and testing the waters.
The Silver Age brought Private Strong and the Fly both by Simon and Kirby, what’s not to love about that? Later Mighty Comics, The Mighty Crusaders and Jaguar. When the direct market started, they were one of the initial publishers to start the entire direct market and they launched the Red Circle line to bring their heroes back. That was the high point for me and my collecting. Even the new Dark Circle was an attempt to do something different and unique with the heroes. Not every version resonated with the market but I appreciate that they keep trying new ideas.”
JOESEPH SIMON
Speaking of comic history, I am a fan of the Archie Super Heroes from all different periods. MLJ’s version was different than Archie’s take on their heroes in the 1960s. Archie would describe its super hero line at the time as high camp. Archie imprint Belmont released a paperback style comic collection that flashed “Dig Their Crazy Costumes—Marvel at their Deeds! High Camp Super Heroes” (with an introduction and stories from Co-creator of Superman Jerry Siegal)! Its interesting looking back on that style from today’s vantage point, what exactly it encompasses. High Camp was deemed as a “thing to be” due to the success of the Batman TV show. Tower Comics attempted to jump on that band wagon with the T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents and Archie saw it as an opportunity to take their heroes in.
I think
Camp might be a vague term that many might be unfamiliar with and not
understand completely.
Camp has
been defined as an aesthetic style that sees something as appealing
because of its bad taste and ironic value. Another definition says
that Camp opposes satisfaction and seeks to challenge.
Examples of camp can be found in film, cabaret and pantomime. Camp is amazingly diverse. In addition to the 60’s Batman TV show, you can find camp in film like Flaming Creatures, most of John Waters films, Beat The Devil, Valley of the Dolls, Mommie Dearest, Duck and Cover, Toxic Avenger, Pulp Fiction, Rocky Horror Picture Show and TV shows like Mod Squad, the 60’s Avengers, Adams Family, Munsters, Gilligans Island, Lost in Space, Wild Wild West, Get Smart, Dallas, and Dynasty. Even in music, Cher has been called Queen of Camp and Dusty Springfield and others have performed under a camp styling.
I find comments in Christopher Isherwood’s 1954 novel “The World in the Evening” to be insightful to the ideals of camp where he wrote “You can’t camp about something you don’t take seriously. You’re not making fun of it, you’re making fun out of it. You’re expressing what’s basically serious to you in terms of fun and artifice and elegance.” Susan Sontag even included Ishewood’s qoute in an essay “Notes on Camp.”
I am curious what your thoughts are on camp and Archie’s appropriation of it for Archie super heroes in the 1960s as high camp given all the above.
RIK OFFENBERGER
“It didn’t start out as camp in 1959. Adventures of the Fly and Private Strong were very straight forward arch type superheroes. As time went on Archie ran superhero stories in both Pep Comics and Laugh Comics. As primarily a humor publisher, they were trying something different with their heroes. It wasn’t the archetypes from DC nor was it the angst of Marvel. It was camp. The heroes had problems. The Shield couldn’t keep a job and the Web was henpecked. These were problems but they weren’t Marvel style problems.
By analogy, if DC was Coke and Marvel was Pepsi, then Archie was Dr. Pepper. People who think that Archie tried to do the Marvel style and failed don’t understand camp. The heroes were uber-heroic and villains were evil all in a Golden Age type example of how heroes and villains should behave.
But there was humor in the rigidness of the roles and the seriousness of the reactions at a time when the readers were seeing the presentation as passé. It was 8 years from Adventure of the Fly #1 until Mighty Comics #50. So there were fans and they understood and enjoyed the presentation. I think it was a valid presentation of the heroes. Almost all Mighty Crusader fans love “Too Many Super Heroes”, it’s just that Dr. Pepper isn’t everyone’s favorite.
JOESEPH SIMON
How would you classify the MLJ era and the eras after the camp of the 60s?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I think the MLJ era was very straight forward super heroics. I think they were one of the more successful publishers of their era. Red Circle started out very strong and produced a life long love for the heroes in my mind. It was very influential to my fandom.
Impact was a good idea if Image and Valiant hadn’t launched at about the same time and given unrealistic expectations about what a launch should look like. I liked everything about the DC Red Circle and if JMS had used them exclusively in The Brave & the Bold, with Batman and outside of DC continuity, it would have had a stronger launch and sales would have been better. I was very excited at the Red Circle/Dark Circle launch, and enjoyed every issue, the Fox standing out as trying something different and exciting.”
JOESEPH SIMON
You reprinted a number of stories from the members of the Mighty Crusaders in your book. What did you reprint, and what led you to include those out of the the history of the characters?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“You and I are talking about this because we are both hard core MLJ superfans. However, we wanted the book to appeal to fans and non-fans of MLJ. So if you were a Golden Age comics history buff and wanted to learn more about the MLJ heroes, you would have a few stories to read and get a feel for who they were. “
JOESEPH SIMON
Your site has really cool unpublished scripts and art of the Mighty Crusaders. The deeper you look, the more you find the characters are thriving in all sorts of ways. There is a whole culture of fan art, commissioned art, custom figures and other activities occurring around the Mighty Crusaders. Gwandanaland, a comic publisher who is reprinting much of the Golden Age, has released collections of quite a few of the MLJ publications revolving around the heroes.
It’s a testament to the characters. In talking about that culture, what have you discovered since you released the book or is new and noteworthy that might not be on the radar of every reader?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I love everything about the MLJ Heroes! I love every era and almost every version of the characters. I have discovered that I may be alone in this. While there is a strong and thriving fan base, they don’t all want the same version of the Mighty Crusaders, and that is why they have had such a difficult time finding their audience. Some people only like the Golden Age version – others only the Silver Age version. Some people only like Impact while others hate the Impact versions of the characters. So the problem is that you can’t make everyone happy and the comics aren’t selling well enough to generate buzz and bring in a large enough new generation of fans to love these heroes too.
As to what new, the greatest part of having the site is it’s a collaborative effort. A lot of people helped with the Who’s Who. A lot of artists have contributed to the galleries. People start sending things to help. I discover new items much more frequently than I would have suspected. When I find them, I share them with the G-Man Club and post them to the site to catalog them for all the MLJ fans to find. I found a reverse colored version of Lancelot Strong by Joe Simon that looks amazing.”
JOESEPH SIMON
In addition, you are part of First Comics News, which by appearance pays homage to First Comics, the famous indie publisher of the past. At one point, it was mentioned First, the publisher, was making a comeback. This was a while back. Any knowledge what happened to that, what I consider, great news?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I was writing for Newsarama and Comic Book Resources when the Editor-In-Chief at the Pulse quit. I had been the senior feature editor at Silver Bullet comic books, and I understood how the news websites operate. I put together a business plan and made a pitch to take over the Pulse. They made me an offer, but the offer was lower than I expected.
Instead, I decided to start www.firstcomicsnews.com using the business plan I put together for the Pulse. I stared with the above-mentioned Ric Croxton and Phil Latter, both of whom still contribute to the site. I owned Super Hero News, which was a clipping service on one of Yahoo’s platforms, I wanted to use that name but someone else had registered it and was sitting on the domain name. I needed a new name that indicated we loved independent comics and would reliably get you the news to readers quickly.
I loved Nexus, the Badger, Jon Sable Freelance and all the comics at First Comics and First Comics was out of business for 15 years at that point. So, I checked on the availability of the name. We have a trademark for use in journalism. After we started First Comics News, word came out that First Comics was coming back. But they aren’t a comic news site and we don’t publish comics so it’s hard for fans to mistake one for the other.
They did come back as 1First Comics with a “1” in front of the name, so that is a little different too. They publish monthly and are in every issue of preview. The even brought back the Badger! We have an excellent relationship with 1First Comics and cover everything they do, with interviews, previews and reviews. They put out a lot of fun comics.”
***
Thank you, Rik, for your time!
For more information on the heroes of the Mighty Crusaders:
Your local comic book store can order the MJL Companion from Diamond or you can buy it from Amazon: www.amazon.com/MLJ-Companion-Complete-History-Super-Heroes/ and other online seller of comics as well as directly from the publisher Twomorrows Publishing at http://twomorrows.com with other great books on the comic industry.
Gwandanaland has released most of the golden age appearances by the individual members of the team in trade paperbacks. Gwandanaland has also released over 2,000 trade collections from the golden age of comics! You can visit them at their home on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gwandanaland.
The stories are diverse and the adventures plenty. Many known creators have taken part in the Mighty Crusaders history, including Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, Alex Nino, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, Rich Buckler, Dick Ayers, Ian Flynn, Marco Rudy, Marc Guggenheim, J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Parobeck, Len Strazewski, Michael Gaydos, Howard Chaykin, Dean Haspiel, Mark Waid, J.M. DeMatteis and many others.
If you’re looking for something different for super hero comics, there heroes of the Mighty Crusaders might be that something you need!
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part interview.)
By JOESEPH SIMON – PM Library Associate Editor
Rik Offenberger is a dedicated comic book professional. He knows what he loves, and it shows in all of his projects and industry-related accomplishments.
What exactly are those other projects and accomplishments and what comics does Rik love? Rik was public relations coordinator for Archie Comics for a decade. He’s also the co-author of The MLJ Companion: The Complete History of the Archie Super-Heroes from the always excellent TwoMorrows Publishing with Paul Castiglia. This authoritative book tells of the heroes of The Mighty Crusaders. It’s got details on decades of super heroes supported by articles, interviews, art, and actual reprints of stories involving the heroes.
Rik runs www.mightycrusaders.net, a website devoted to The Mighty Crusaders as well as First Comic News, a web-based division of Super Hero News, covering comics, and related pop-culture fun while complementing his journalistic efforts at Newsrama and other comic industry websites. Rik has also engaged his passion of one Mighty Crusader known as The Shield by resurrecting the Shield G-Man Club of the 40’s.
Since 1940, these heroes have existed in one form or another. The heroes were originally published by MLJ (Archie Publishing’s founding company), Red Circle, and even DC Comics (under the Impact banner in the 90’s and later they were integrated into the DCU proper.) They’re currently back at Archie.
If you’ve heard of The Shield, the Comet, Fly, Fly Girl, Hangman, Jaguar, Mister Justice, Steel Sterling, Private Strong, Black Jack, Bob Phantom, Captain Flag, Darkling, and Web then you already know some of the team!
In many ways, these heroes when present in the 1940s made way for comics to come. The Shield, who predates Captain America, obviously inspired Simon and Kirby in the creation of the latter hero a few years later. Rumors continue to exist that The Fly inspired Spider-Man.
Alan Moore wanted to write a story with the Mighty Crusaders. That project never happened, but it did transform into changing out the Mighty Crusaders for Charlton Heroes. The specific use of the Mighty Crusaders or the Charlton Heroes did not happen, but the story did. That would be Watchmen!
This interview covers quite a lot of ground. Thank you to Rik for letting our readers know about the thrill of the Mighty Crusaders!
Interview with Rik Offenberger – Part I
JOESEPH SIMON
Which hero of The Mighty Crusaders did you become aware of first, and how did this happen? What was your impression of that hero and the team itself?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“It didn’t all happen at once. I first saw Mighty Comics in a used bookstore. Before comic specialty stores, the only place to get comics was used book stores. But I wasn’t a fan yet. I saw the Private Life of Private Strong cover in the Overstreet Price Guide, and was intrigued. When the Red Circle Mighty Crusaders #1 hit the comic shops I was all in. I had wanted to read Private Strong and remembered the Bill Higgins’ Shield from Mighty Comics, so I was excited to see them again. I saw the two Shields and understood one was the Golden Age Shield and one was the Silver Age Shield. I picked up All the Red Circle Comics when they came out. I even went to K-Mart and bought all the toys.”
JOESEPH SIMON
Over the years there have been a number of different versions of the Shield from MLJ and the companies after MLJ that have published the character. What is your favorite version of The Shield?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I like them all. I really do. I like that he is a legacy character. Alan Light did a project called Flashback Reprints in which he reprinted Golden Age comics in black and white. My father worked in Hollywood at the time and would go to a sci-fi shop called Collectors Bookcase and buy the reprints, bring them home and read them to me and my brother. He would make funny voices for the bad guys. He was reliving his childhood and sharing the comics he remembered owning with us and it made Golden Age heroes really special to me. Joe Higgins is my favorite, but it stems from more than liking the comic, it is also wrapped up in really happy memories of my childhood.”
JOESEPH SIMON
The Shield holds a very interesting place in the history of comics. Many know Shield was created before Captain America, which in and of itself is incredible. Here is an interesting follow-up question: Who came first, Shield’s sidekick Dusty or Captain America’s sidekick Bucky? I always thought that it somewhat odd that the adults would be hide their real identities, and the sidekicks, while masked, would go by their real first names. Any ideas as to why sidekicks were not given super hero names?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“Dusty came first. The reader at the time was a younger child. Batman was a killer at the time, and Robin lightened him up and made him more relatable to the readers. After seeing the success Robin had, everyone else copied it. While Dusty came before Bucky, they are both copies of Robin. Both Captain Marvel and the Fly were kids that became Adult superheroes, they were their own sidekicks. Sidekicks fell out of favor in the 60s until they have all but disappeared. Of course, current comic book fans are older so maybe they can’t relate to being an 8-year-old sidekick. Why Dusty and Bucky used their real names while Robin and all the rest of them didn’t I don’t know.”
The Shield pre-dated Captain America as a patriotic super hero.
JOESEPH SIMON
Would Joe Higgins, as the Shield, be the first red-headed super hero? At this time, Archie Andrews was not around (Archie would appear first in 1941 and Pureheart the Powerful until the 60’s) Could Joe Higgins / Shield have been an influence on Archie?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I am sure there were other red-headed superheroes, I don’t know who was first. Red hair is a big thing at Archie Comics. The Shield, Red Rube, Archie, Ginger, Josie, Cheryl all have red hair and all are or had been important characters at Archie Comics. Based on their original roles that would have been a John Goldwater call on approval of the final look of all the characters. If you watch Riverdale on the CW notice all the red in every episode.”
JOESEPH SIMON
Shield’s origin is similar to that of Captain America, including the taking of a formula that gives each hero their powers. Shield’s formula was his own name as an acronym (Sacrum, Heart, Innervation, Eyes, Lungs and Derma) which perhaps by coincidence is also the name of a certain Marvel organization called S.H.I.E.L.D (under Marvel the acronym has changed from Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate (in 1991) and finally due to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Further, Captain America’s original shield was the same shape as the emblem on Shield’s chest – something so obvious that Marvel, upon request, changed Captain America’s shield to the more well-known rounded shield. It is likely that the rounded shield changed Captain America for the better. There are a wide number of stories that completely rely on the shield being rounded (and being thrown, bouncing off of objects, especially bad guys, and often saving the day). Do you know if the changing of the shield was a legally-enforced request?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“The Shield is unique in that he is a proactive hero like Batman, he made himself a hero. He finished his father’s formula to become a hero. It wasn’t a mutation of a happy accident, he isn’t an alien who has been given magical powers. He is a regular guy who was smart enough to carry on his father’s legacy to become a hero. Also, he was a hero when he wasn’t the Shield. He’s an FBI agent.
About Captain America : Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took MLJ’s best-selling character and made their own version, and they were caught. John Goldwater went to Martin Goodman and had Timely change the shield Captain America used. But there are a few things you have to understand about the comic business of the day. It was bad and low budget. The pay was poor and the profits small. All of the publishers knew each other and worked on different publishing ventures – together and apart – and comics were never a business by themselves. So, John Goldwater may have been mad, but he didn’t think the Shield would still be around 70 years later or that there was any real money in Captain America (also) they all stole ideas from one another anyway.
MLJ and Timely had to work out some issues to prevent The Shield and Cap from being too similar to each other.
MLJ Comics was Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater. Maurice Coyne was the money man, he paid for everything from the founding of the company until he was forced out. Any time the company was short on funds, Maurice lent money to the business until the cash crisis passed. Over at Timely, Martin Goodman only hired family because he didn’t trust outsiders. Maurice Coyne was the treasurer at Timely and therefore somehow a relative of Martin Goodman, who did not know he was one third owner of MLJ. After John Goldwater made peace with Martin Goodman over Joe and Jack stealing the Shield, Maurice told Joe and Jack that Martin wasn’t paying them all they were entitled to on Captain America and they quit. Later, they came to work for MLJ and created a new Shield for them and DC complained that Joe and Jack were steeling Superman with Private Strong. He was Superman with an American Flag instead of an “S” including being raised by an older farm couple.Neither the dispute between MLJ and Timely nor the dispute between DC and MLJ got to a legal battle. They were friendly enough to work through it themselves.”
JOESEPH SIMON
Beside these historical points in comic history, what makes the Shield an interesting character for you to read?
RIK OFFENBERGER
“I am and have always been a patriotic guy. Even as a kid. So, I have an attraction to patriotic heroes. I love Captain America too, as well as Fighting American and I liked the Awesome Comics version too. So, you might say I am predisposed to liking the Shield. There aren’t a ton of stories when compared to Captain America. But it was hard to find them. The difficulty in getting them before eBay made me appreciate them more. Joe Higgins is a true hero, not an anti-hero or a flawed hero with feet of clay. I like that he is and always has been one of the good guys because it’s the right thing to do.”
Rik’s re-imagining of the Shield G-Man club included clever giveaways and trinkets.
“The Shield G-Man Club started in 1941. For a 2¢ stamp, you got a membership card and a membership badge. I am way too young to have joined then. But in 2003, I started my own Shield G-Man Club with 11 members. I produced DIY projects and mailed them to 10 other members. I produced 8½ x 11 prints, an animation cell, switch plate covers, and a few other items. I did 12 mailings. I didn’t collect any money, it wasn’t a commercial venture, just a collection of super fans, most of whom had their own MLJ related websites and had joined my MLJ webring back when webrings were a thing.
There were a few who were very active members of the Mighty Crusader message board which was owned by Scott Martin at the time and I moderated. After a year I stopped producing DYI items for the club and stopped the mailings, but it was fun. Scott Martin gave me his Mighty Crusaders message board and I added it to my website www.mightycrusaders.net. I had avoided making a Facebook group because the message board was kind of the same thing. By the time I decided I wanted to migrate the message board to a Facebook group I was writing the Mighty Crusaders Companion and thought I should be devoting my time to the book rather than moderating a group of super fans.
After the book came out, I joined two of the Mighty Crusaders Facebook pages and I am still a member of both groups – but I really wanted a group for super fans. I started a closed group for the Shield G-Man Club. As a closed group, these aren’t casual Golden Age comic fans who might be interested in something about the MLJ heroes from time to time. This is a smaller group of fans that really love these heroes and interact about them daily. There has never been a day on the Facebook Shield G-Man Club without a post.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an interview with Robert A. Kraus, owner of RAK Graphics and creator of independent comic characters like Thundermace, Stephen Darklord, and Chakan, the Foreverman. Robert’s success comes purely from his own creativity, and his willingness to do nearly everything himself and in his own way! Robert is a native of Akron, Ohio and can be seen all over the Midwest and at small cons in his home state. Thank you, Robert, for taking the time to share with our readers!)
By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor
WALLY MONK
“Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got into drawing? And were comics your first love, or did you at some point have different aspirations for your artwork? How old were you when you made your first drawing and thought, “I’m going to publish that one day…?”
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“I am a late bloomer as artists go. Sure, i drew a bit as a kid, but I mostly liked being outside and playing sports and enjoyed reading much more as a pastime than art. Comic books, sci-fi books, in addition to most of the classic authors. I came from a big family, and books were everywhere as well as trips to the library. I still am addicted to reading, and at the time I wanted to be a writer more than an artist.
The RAK Graphics convention booth, where Robert sells comics, graphic novels, as well as illustrated cards and his own games.
I got serious about art in 10th grade. I attended a vocational high school and we did rotations in several vocations to see if any appealed to us. Carpentry and graphic arts and commercial art were all interesting to me, but I decided on trying for commercial art. I was terrible, but I told the teacher, Mr. Schwartz, that if he let me into the program I would really try to get good. He let me in, and I started doing tons of work to become more adept. Around this time, late 70s, I rediscovered comics, and started writing and drawing my own characters. I loved the medium because it was a mix of my two passions, art and writing. In the middle of my senior year in high school, I got a job at an ad specialty company as a staff artist and have been a professional artist ever since.”
WALLY MONK
If I’m correct, you started self-publishing during the black-and-white comic book explosion of the mid-80s. What was that time like, and did you ever dream of producing comic books before that? And what was your original vision for RAK Graphics?
ROBERT KRAUS
“I actually started publishing before the explosion, before RAK Graphics, as a way to get my artwork and ideas out there. I published two books, Straight From the Sketchbook and Aliens of The Cosmos.
I learned a lot from those two little projects. So I guess my original vision that eventually came to fruition under my RAK Graphics label was to get all these ideas I had out to other people.
“Aliens of the Cosmos” was one of RAK’s first published projects.
There was no internet, so it was hard to showcase and exchange ideas back then. My publishing company facilitated that for me.”
WALLY MONK
Chakan the Foreverman is arguably your most popular title and character. He was a back-up story in the original Thundermace comics. Did you expect Chakan to become as big as he is, or were you surprised he took the spotlight? It seems, from looking at your current offerings, that you really love drawing dragons!
Chakan the Everman is perhaps Robert’s most successful character. He’s been made into a SEGA Genesis video game and written into nearly two dozen graphic novels!
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“Chakan was the backup feature, and I put him into the Thundermace book because I knew that story was going to take a while to tell, and wanted readers to have a short complete character and story to satisfy them while the Thundermace story unfolded. Chakan was perfect for that. I was able to tell snippets of his long existence in 4-8 page shorts. I was surprised at how much fans loved him. That was cool. Did I expect to have a video game and to sell 100K+ graphic novels? Not a chance (laughs). The grey warrior has been good to me!”
WALLY MONK
One of the many notable traits in RAK comics is that you never used word balloons in the early issues. Your comics were more like illustrated books. What was your reasoning for that, and how was it received by your fans?
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“I was never a fan of word and thought balloons, in fact, I liked the old comic strips like Foster’s Prince Valiant, where the text blended with the art. Burne Hogarth did a great Tarzan of the Apes book where he used mostly type blended into the art that I enjoyed. Plus, although I loved Marvel and DC Comics, I wanted to do my own thing, experiment with a media that employed text and art. I wanted to take my own path and see where it lead me, good or bad. I do things my way, and have been able to stand out a bit because of that.”
“I love the characters in mainstream comics, but I do not want to play in that sandbox when I have a perfectly fine sandbox of my own to have fun with.”
– Robert Kraus
WALLY MONK
You continue to promote your own work through RAK Graphics, and have branched out from comics into a card game (Dragon Wars) and collecting stories in the now popular trade paperback format. Did you ever consider working for one of the big comic publishers? Why or why not?
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“I have worked for many gaming companies, and of course SEGA, as well as doing commercial work for decades, so I just enjoy doing my own thing. I am selfish in that I want to create my work and see what happens. I do not mind taking a risk a major publisher may not want to take. As I said, I love the characters in mainstream comics, but I do not want to play in that sandbox when I have a perfectly fine sandbox of my own to have fun with.”
WALLY MONK
RAK Graphics had some other interesting series – two that come to mind are Stephen Darklord and Buce and Gar. How did these two series come about? And were they explored as much as you would have liked? Would you like to revisit them some day?
Buce and Gar was created by Robert’s friend James Groman and published by RAK.
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“Darklord was a sci-fi/men’s adventure yarn, kind of like the Executioner Mack Bolan paperback series meets Mad Max movies in the comics. It was fun, I would like to revamp and finish that tale one day. Buce and Gar was the case where my good buddy James Groman had this amazing talent and story and I wanted to help him get it out there. Fun stuff, and also a sci-fi type book done in a time where there was not more than the traditional spandex superhero or superhero team books out there. I have always thought comics should be a broad range of styles and stories. Now with print on demand and the internet, there is a healthy dose of all things out there, not like when I started out.”
WALLY MONK
RAK graphics survived the independent comics crash of the mid-1980s, and you’re still drawing today. What makes your company different from the dozens of companies – even major ones like Eclipse and First – that shut down during that time? What allowed RAK to survive when others failed?
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“Being different, having a wide variety of offerings – books, games, toys. Wildlife to visual poetry to fantasy art, a portfolio where everyone can find something to enjoy! Too many just try to do one art style or a single product. Being a one-trick pony is the surest way to have a short and rocky stint in the art biz.”
WALLY MONK
How do you see your comic properties in today’s market?
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“Not to brag, but I feel I am as good at what I do as anyone else out there. Of course there are better writers and artists than me, but my concepts and stories and how I put them together hold their own against the top competition across the US every week I am at a comic con. I am proud that I can compete at a high level while still retaining an outsider art/writing presence.”
WALLY MONK
Your business model is much different than mainstream and even many other indie publishers. Have you thought about taking your properties to companies like Image or AfterShock, where creators retain ownership of their own characters? The independent comic environment seems to be much more organized than it was decades ago.
Robert keeps his offerings diverse to attract the widest possible audience and offer something for everyone – even card games!
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“I would like to some day have another company publish and promote my work, but not at the expense of my creative freedom. If one of those want to work with me, that would be fine. I could use some editing help and their bigger distribution footprint, but I have a loyal fan base that supports what I do.”
WALLY MONK
It seems like a lot of comic book talent came out of the Greater Cleveland area. Ryan Brown, Dan Berger and many others (including Brian Michael Bendis) all hailed from somewhere in Northeast Ohio. Did you know any of those guys during the 80s, and if so, do you have any contact with them today?
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“I have met many talented people throughout my career, but I have always been an isolated creator. Actually, until the Facebook thing, I had no idea how many other creators were out there. It’s amazing how many talented people there are. I have always been this little island where I write and draw and then disperse my creations and then return to my island to do it again.”
WALLY MONK
Comic books are a tough business. They were then and they are now. What would you tell the next young Robert Kraus about starting up an independent comic company?
ROBERT A. KRAUS
“I would just tell them to do it. That their challenges will be different than my challenges were, but that there are always ways to get around them if you never give up and stay true to your dreams. Also, that it takes hard work, so if you do not enjoy the work, do something else. I myself have loved doing what I do for over 40 years!”
* * *
Thank you, Robert, for sharing your story with Paint Monk’s Library. To learn more about RAK, please visit his website and online store at www.rakgraphics.com. Photos in this article provided by Robert Kraus.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s time for the rodents to get off their wheel, as we conclude the Paint Monk’s Library interview with Don Chin, creator of the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters. If you enjoy this interview, Don told me he always welcomes care packages of sunflower seeds and carrot-shaped chew sticks, with an occasional piece of lettuce thrown in for good measure.)
By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor
WALLY MONK
You got a chance with ARBBH to make one issue in 3-D, and also a spin-off for Clint the hamster. Were other projects planned that got cut once the comics market changed? And what would we have seen from the radioactive rodents had the market not fallen apart following the indie explosion?
DON CHIN
“We actually did four 3-D ARBBH issues and probably my favorite was issue #1. That had an awesome cover by Par and interior art by Ty Templeton that was about professional wrestling. I actually had another talented Bay Area artist, Ken Hooper, start drawing a revival of the Hamsters where they all had super powers.
He and artist Greg Espinoza actually drew ARBBH Massacre the Japanese Invasion #1 for Eclipse, which was a one-shot where the Hamsters completely annihilate Japanese comic book characters like Speed Racer and Lone Wolf and Cub.
Unseen cover art from what would have been “the new” ARBBH.
In the revival, the hamsters were maturing and weird side effects from the Cosmic Jello were coming into play. Chuck had the power to summon an iron fist (sorry, Marvel), Clint had a white-hot laser he could shoot out of his visor, Bruce was the huge, towering hulkish furry beast, and I believe I had Jackie as a super speedster. That project never saw print, but I really loved Kurt’s version of the Hamsters…they were more cute and furry than previous versions, but had an edge.
So if the market hadn’t imploded from the glut of comics being produced, you probably would have seen a “super-powered Next-Gen John Byrne era X-Men version” or ARBBH, and I would have loved for it to be in color.”
WALLY MONK
In issue #8 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Donatello and company met and fought alongside Cerebus the Aardvark. Were there any crossovers planned between the ARBBH and other comic properties at some point?
DON CHIN
“I think Blackthorne Comics approached us to do a possible ARBBH / Hamster Vice cross-over, but it wasn’t something Eclipse or myself were really into. However, Parsonavich and some friends of mine did do some short ARBBH stories in Blackthorne’s Laffin’ Gas humor anthology book. I would still love to see a TMNT/ARBBH cross-over. Also, since Dynamite Comics has the exclusive rights to ARBBH, I always thought teaming up Clint and Ash from the Army of Darkness comic book to fight legions of zombies would be a riot.”
Don and the folks at Eclipse weren’t particularly interested in a team-up with Blackthorne’s Hamster Vice.
WALLY MONK
In addition to ARBBH, you wrote another comic book series called Enchanter, and another book for Eclipse. Did you have other plans for comics at the time, and do you still have plans for future work?
DON CHIN
“I think the only other book I did for Eclipse was another incarnation of Overload, The Fantasy-Humor Magazine. There has always been a character dear to me that I created in my youth called Arrowman and a bunch of his sidekicks, like the Amazing Boll-Weevil that I would love to share someday. They are kind of goofy anti-heroes like The Tick. I published a one-shot of Arrowman with Parody Press Comics that I drew and that my friend, the late Sam Wray, inked. Sam was a kind of a comic book mentor to me and the rest of the northern California crew. His talented son William Wray worked in animation on Ren & Stimpy and a Batman project with Bernie Wrightson.
I would guest write anything new for the ARBBH if someone asked me to. I also saw that Chuck Dixon is doing a book called Trump’s Space Force – I think that would be a hoot to work on, as I love political satire and relevant current events in my writing.”
WALLY MONK
Looking at your Facebook, you’re a kindred spirit in many ways. I value my Christian faith tremendously as a professed religious in the Roman Catholic Church – and I see from a quick look at your information on the web that your faith motivates you as well. How have your beliefs impacted your work in the medium and your views about the industry in general?
DON CHIN
“Thank you for noticing that aspect about me, Paint Monk. I have been a professing Christian for quite awhile, but to be honest, it has been a hard walk as I am a stubborn man unlearning bad habits and slow learner at times, but am thankful we have a patient and loving God.
Most of the times I would use Chuck in ARBBH to be the example of how I thought a sensible and loving Christian would act. It was also fun to partner in my comics career doing a lot of projects with my friend, Nate Butler, who does have a ministry teaching and publishing. He asked me to go to the Phillipines in the 1990s to reach international students and teach them how to put comics together. I got to join comics legends Kerry “Superman” Gammill and Carlos “Star Wars” Garzon.
We helped distribute some of Nate’s books like PARO-Dee and Behold 3-D into the direct comics market. We also worked on doing some comics tracts for American Tract Society and some Russian-translated evangelical comics for CBN and some “Truth for Youth” New Testament Bibles that had comic book stories inserted in them that were drawn by Frank “TMNT” Fosco.”
More unpublished ARBBH art. (Courtesy of Don Chin)
WALLY MONK
What are your thoughts about where the comics industry is headed, and have you considered work for a company like Kingstone, that publishes Christian comics?
DON CHIN
“To be honest, I don’t read that many current comics anymore, so I’m a little out of touch on what the industry has been producing. I’m not a big fan of the dark shift in comics where it’s hard to tell the heroes from the villains due to moral ambiguity, probably because of my faith, and since I grew up reading a lot of the 1970s and 80s books where things were still pretty distinguishable between good guys and bad guys. I think the last books I picked up were relaunches of Rom and Micronauts, which were staples of my youth. My grandkids are both really into Star Wars, so it’s cool to introduce them to comics and collecting Star Wars graphic novels and memorabilia. I’m not so familiar with Kingstone, but more power to them if they can make a living doing faith-based comics.”
WALLY MONK
In 2007, Dynamite Entertainment got the license to produce ARBBH stories and added a female character to the mix! Can you tell us a little bit about Dynamite’s version of the hamsters?
Dynamite Entertainment licensed the ARBBH in 2007.
DON CHIN
“I was contacted by Nick Barucci at Dynamite to see if I would oversee and give my blessing to a relaunch of the Hamsters, and it was really exciting to see them pull out all the stops and give the ARBBH a slick, color treatment.
Keith Champagne and Tom Nguyen and colorist Moose Baumann did a great job expanding the ARBBH universe and adding additional action-movie inspired characters that were inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean Claude Van-Damme and Lucy Lawless, who was the female hamster you are referring to.
I’m pretty sure you can find the back issues for sale online on eBay, or even buy digital versions to read. They were a lot of fun to work on, and I was honored that Nick and Dynamite were willing to give them another opportunity for fans to enjoy them almost 20 years later from the time they were first introduced.”
Once again, a special thanks to Don Chin for taking the time to share his thoughts with our readers. Perhaps one day the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters and the scribes at Paint Monk’s Library will get together to tackle the modern comic book industry. I can envision a team up, where the two get together to restore the “old school” look of comics back to the industry. Hmmm…Don…sounds like an idea for a parody comic!
Marvel Comics has announced the release of a new omnibus edition of their Conan the Barbarian series for release in 2019 well ahead of their expected new Conan series. This special release – set to be available in January 2019 – will include Conan the Barbarian #1-26, Savage Tales #1 and #4, Chamber of Darkness #4 and Conan Classic #1-10.
This new edition has once again been digitally re-mastered, but the inks and colors appear to be much closer to what perhaps the artists’ intended and is much different from the re-inking and re-coloring completed in the Conan: The Barry Windsor-Smith Archive Collection from Dark Horse Comics.
The new coloring (left) in Marvel’s Omnibus versus the Dark Horse BWS archive.
As we roll into the 13th week of our Classic Conan Countdown here at Paint Monk’s Library, we’ve covered reviews of all Conan’s “early” issues featuring the outstanding pencils of the legendary Barry Windsor-Smith. Months ago, I reached out to Mr. Windsor-Smith in the hopes he’d be kind enough to answer some questions for this humble blogger, allowing me to pay tribute to his time on the series as we rolled into the long run of John Buscema’s artwork on the Cimmerian.
Preparing just a few questions for the artist, I was excited! Will Mr. Windsor-Smith be a part of the Conan re-launch at Marvel? Is there a chance that the bullpen at the House of Ideas would do whatever it takes to bring a legend back to their creative fold? The answer, it seems, is a resounding “no”.
WALLY MONK
Did you have any idea at the time that the series on which you were working (Conan) would span 275 issues? And did you think you would be considered a “legacy artist” based on your Conan work alone? You have worked on many other fantastic projects, but your Conan artwork is a landmark for many fans.
BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
“Conan the Barbarian was on shaky ground for the first year so I wouldn’t have guessed it would have such longevity. Although I enjoyed several of Robert E. Howard’s books and I was thoroughly involved in each story I created or co-created I wasn’t deeply invested in the REH mythology nor its place in Marvel Comics’ publishing history. Because Conan was not part of the Marvel Universe there was a greater freedom to pursue his character and his world. My involvement was more of a personal nature than any superhero book I created.
To be honest with you, I’ve got no idea what ‘legacy artist’ means. Who came up with this term and for what purpose? Is John Buscema also a ‘legacy artist?’ Or is he the main ‘legacy artist’ with I being the runner up?”
WALLY MONK
In an early interview (Comics Journal, I believe) you mention you were not particularly happy with your work on Conan. I don’t mean to re-hash things you’ve already spoken of, but would you share with our readers “why” you felt Conan was a let-down for you in some ways?
BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
“I can’t recall the interview you’re referencing. I toiled passionately on the stories and art of those early issues. In fact, I worked so hard that I barely had a social life. I couldn’t afford to eat out and I had to make do with pizza and fish out of tins. I wasn’t paid nearly enough for my commitment to the work and I wasn’t credited or paid for my stories or dialogue.”
WALLY MONK
Had you remained onboard with Marvel, did you have any specific ideas for things you would have liked to do with Conan? And what parts of your work on Conan were satisfying? What was the favorite story on which you worked?
Art from Conan the Barbarian #4, which Barry Windsor-Smith considered a turning point for his work.
BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
“I had many ideas and plans for directions I wanted Conan the Barbarian to go but c’est la vie. ‘The Tower of the Elephant’ story was a turning point for me, a milestone in the evolution of my storytelling. I dreamed most of the scenes before I composed them. The next day, I did my best to draw the pages as I had envisioned them the night before in my sleep. I created most of the adaptation that way. It was a practically mystical experience.”
WALLY MONK
The reprints of your work – such as the Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives by Dark Horse – are of high quality, but the newer inking style sometimes dilutes the fine lined artwork you worked so hard to see published. If a reader was to look for a “collection” of your work that you are comfortable with, what would that be?
BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
“The re-coloring of the Dark Horse reprints was abominable and reprehensible. The only choice to see the comics as they were intended to be is to purchase the actual editions from the 1970s. That or the Conan Saga reprints in black and white.”
WALLY MONK
This is a long shot, but as you know, Marvel will be getting the Conan license back in 2019. Is there a chance we might see you re-visit the Cimmerian? Or would you have any interest in doing so?
BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
“No. I won’t touch Conan again. That bird has flown.”
* * *
I’ve taken Mr. Windsor-Smith’s suggestion and so far have collected issues #1-7 of Conan the Barbarian, with the premiere issue sitting at CBCS while I type this article (UPDATE: It came back as a 4.5 and I’ve since purchased the first Marvel Omnibus which collects BWS entire run.)
Do you enjoy Robert E. Howard's classic Cimmerian in comic book form? Join Paint Monk's Library bloggers, as we review all 275 issues of Marvel's original Conan the Barbarian series. New installments added regularly!
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March 15th, 2021 
