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Posts Tagged ‘Lin Carter’

December 6th, 2019 By Wally Monk, Classic Conan Countdown, Reviews Comments Off on REVIEW: Conan Faces “The Demon of the Night”

REVIEW: Conan Faces “The Demon of the Night”

“This issue of Conan is the conclusion of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s story “The Snout in the Dark,” which was put together and completed from an unfinished Robert E. Howard manuscript. In today’s comic, Conan must wrap up unfinished political business while coming face-to-face with a demon!”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to The Classic Conan Countdown, a series of reviews focusing on the original 275 issues of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian, which were published from 1970 to 1993. This is a review of Conan the Barbarian Vol. 1, #107.)

BY WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

We’re a mere eight issues away from Roy Thomas’ parting-of-ways with our Cimmerian hero. I tend to savor these issues, from #100-115, as many of them came out during the height of my youthful comic-collecting days.

Rascally Roy will disappear from this title from issues #116-239, replaced by other talented writers, including J.M. DeMatteis, Bruce Jones, and later, James Owsley (now known as Christopher Priest). While Bruce Jones is one of my favorite comic writers, even he would not have the subtle grasp of Conan’s nuances that Roy Thomas was able to employ.

Thomas would re-appear to wrap up Marvel’s initial Conan run, scripting issues #240-275. His final issue was an ongoing tale that sees its end in Savage Sword of Conan. In the 1990s, Roy wrote a new series, Conan the Adventurer, which lasted a mere 14 issues. Several mini-series events would follow before the torch would be passed to Dark Horse Comics. You can read the review of one such mini-series, Conan: Lord of the Spiders, here.

But I am getting ahead of myself. For now, there are a few more Roy Thomas/John Buscema issues to enjoy, and many more issues of Conan’s original run to review! Today’s installment is the second part of Roy’s adaptation of “The Snout in the Dark” which began in issue #106.

Review: Conan the Barbarian (Vol. 1) #107

(For background information prior to reading this review, please read Bob Freeman’s review of Conan the Barbarian #106.)

Conan and the Kushite queen Tananda are at a stand-off. The queen is determined to torture Diana, who she suspects of being a political tool and a spy of the cunning Tuthmes. But Conan, her new captain-of-the-guard, isn’t having it. He barks at her, telling her to put down the whip. The political climate in Tananda’s city is tense, and punishing Diana will only rile up rival nobles.

The barbarian wins the argument, despite Tananda’s threats and anger. He takes Diana down from her shackles and carries her out of the room. An angry Tananda screams at the barbarian, accusing him of preferring the captive over her due to Diana’s “lily-white skin.”

Shubba, the street dweller under Tuthmes’ employ, sees Conan leaving with the Nemedian “gift” and rushes off to tell his benefactor. Unamused but unsurprised, Tuthmes indicates that it is time to have the conjuror Muror summon the great pig-demon to kill Diana, should she reveal any of his plans to Conan, and the barbarian as well.

Meanwhile in the city square, Tananda has moved forward with her plan to have a man named Aahmes executed. With tensions already high in the city and unrest over Tananda’s violent rule, Conan knows this will only incite the populace more against the queen. In disgust, he goes off to find Diana.

Conan arrives in the nick of time, as the Cimmerian enters her chambers to see the great pig-demon beginning to form. Grabbing his sword, he rushes to her defense and a battle ensues.

The barbarian stabs the monster repeatedly and for moments it seems as if the beast may have the upper hand. But a deadly blow to the demon’s neck causes it to stagger away, bleeding and half-dead.

Conan trails the monstrosity to the town square, where it falls dead at the feet of the sorcerer Muru – the man who brought it forth! Since Muru is standing with Tuthmes, an angry man in the crowd – Ageera, a “witch smeller” – accuses Tuthmes and the wizard of controlling the beast and the mob attacks.

Queen Tananda orders her soldiers to stop the crowd, but they turn on her, killing her instead. As the city erupts in violence and mayhem, Conan takes Diana and together the duo flees the burning city.

CAPSULE REVIEW: An excellent ending to a good story. While I never read the original tale as written by de Camp and Carter, Roy Thomas did an excellent job in this tale examing the intrigues of the Hyborian Age, even in the uncivilized lands of Kush.

Once again, George Roussos quality coloring is evident in the different hues of the Kushite tribesmen. You can see people from different tribes all in different and subtle hues. This wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish and he deserves kudos for making the artistic distinctions. Even when comparing the Nemedian Diana to Conan we see different skin tones.

Conan again plays second-fiddle in this story to the ongoing plot among the Kushites, but as is always the case with our Cimmerian, he saves the day – or at least the girl – and rides off to fight another day.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this issue a 7.5.

November 5th, 2019 Classic Conan Countdown, Reviews Comments Off on REVIEW: Chief No More & A Tower of Dark Shadows

REVIEW: Chief No More & A Tower of Dark Shadows

“The Bamulan witch doctors have finally had enough of the bronze-skinned Cimmerian and our hero is once again on his own. Discovering an abandoned ruin, Conan seeks shelter inside. But as with most abandoned places in the Hyborian world, not all is as it seems! Will Conan survive the Castle of Whispering Shadows?”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to The Classic Conan Countdown, a series of reviews focusing on the original 275 issues of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian, which were published from 1970 to 1993. This is a review of Conan the Barbarian Vol. 1, #105.)

By ANDY MAGLOTHIN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

This issue, we are treated to another one of Roy Thomas’ adaptations of previously published work. In this case, it’s an adaptation of L. Sprague deCamp and Lin Carter’s Castle of Terror.

Our tale begins with a flashback conversation between Conan and a Bamula priest. The priest accuses Conan of bringing war, drought, and a plague to their people and orders the surrounding Bamula warriors to attack him. Unable to reason with the high priest, Conan slays him, toppling a large totem onto the warriors and fleeing. Conan runs northward, regretting that he did not kill the witch doctors when he took over as war-chief.

Days pass. Conan travels the grassy Kushite plains until he realizes he is being followed by a pride of lions. In an attempt to keep them at bay, Conan fires arrows, and the missiles continue to hit their target but only frighten the beasts off for a short time.

Their hunger increasing and seeing the potential for a great meal, the lioness’ patience wears thin and two attack. Swiftly, a desperate Conan fires an arrow into the first lion’s neck with success but her counterpart is not deterred. Conan takes off in a full sprint until he is almost exhausted.  The remaining pride continues their steady pursuit.

The oldest male lion has tolerated this long enough and sprints at the Cimmerian, but suddenly comes to a screeching halt along with the rest of the pride. This confuses Conan, but he continues his journey, observing a dark structure in the distance and travelling in that direction.

As Conan approaches the fortress-like ruin, a thunderstorm is rolling in across the plains. Conan decides to enter the odd premises. He climbs the stairs to an upper level when he realizes he is fatigued and decides to rest. As he dozes off, his Ka (Stygian for spirit) is aware of supernatural forces in the air. They are the lost souls of beings who died in the building. The spirits are trying to take Conan for their own, but his Ka keeps them at bay.

A group of Stygian warriors also trying to avoid the thunderstorm enters the castle. They set up camp, building a fire and sending a guard to the entrance while the other troops rest. Between the thunderstorm and the commotion from the Stygians, both Conan and the spirits are now on the alert.

The spirits, uniting together, morph into a massive, vile monstrosity of death which attacks large groups of Stygians at the same time.

Knowing the demon is out of his league, Conan takes the quickest way out, scaling the castle’s exterior by using the vines growing growing on the walls.

Unaware of the commotion inside and ignoring Conan’s plea to temporarily join forces, the lone Stygian warrior who was standing guard falls victim to Conan, who slays him on his way to freedom.

CAPSULE REVIEW: The cover of this issue features Buscema artwork with a cast of demons surrounding Conan. The mix of black, white and grey sets an ominous tone, foreshadowing the dangers Conan will face in this issue.  It is a unique cover, marked by lack of color with the exception of our Cimmerian himself.

Thomas’ adaptation of the L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter short story “The Castle of Terror” is a fast paced, exciting read.  Thomas sets the stage tensely multiple times in this issue with encounters between Conan and the Bamula priest, then lions, and finally the demon. Without using thought or word balloons, we know Conan is on edge with each encounter and can glean insight from the artwork into the Cimmerian’s decision to fight or flee.

There is little character development, as the story focuses more on Conan’s speed and decision making skills. I appreciate Thomas providing little explanation for the demon – it adds some mystery and leaves the reader with as many questions as answers. 

Have I mentioned Buscema is my favorite Conan artist?   This issue is another example why I enjoy his art so much.  There’s enough background in the artwork to set the tone, but not distract from the characters. Chan’s shading provides both texture and depth.  Let’s not forget the monstrous blob of a creature constructed by the demons – it is enormous, bloated and foul, and features multiple regenerating arms and tentacles. 

Mix Chet from Weird Science, Jabba the Hutt and the creature from John Carpenters’ The Thing and you’ll understand why Conan opted to flee instead of attempting to fight.

I give it 8 Aquilonian Luna out of 10.

Living life my own way – Andy from Aquilonia

June 27th, 2019 Classic Conan Countdown, Reviews 2 Comments »

REVIEW: The Thing in the Crypt and a Young Cimmerian

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to The Classic Conan Countdown, a series of reviews focusing on the original 275 issues of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian, which were published from 1970 to 1993. This is a review of Conan the Barbarian Vol. 1, #92.)

By ANDY MAGLOTHIN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

Roll back the Hyborian clock as we visit a never before seen tale (at least in comics) of a young Conan. Based loosely on the works of L. Sprague deCamp and Lin Carter, the story is inspired by their tale “The Thing in the Crypt”. Those of you who have seen the Conan the Barbarian movie from 1982 might recognize a few things.

Conan recently left Brutheim, and wolves have been chasing him for two days. The pack is exceptionally hungry and would have given up were it not for the long, dark winter.

As a wolf attacks, Conan swings a chain, significantly injuring the animal. The other starving wolves catch up and feast on their fallen friend. Conan reflects how he started out fighting alongside raiders from Aesgaard, was captured by the Hyperboreans and subsequently escaped.

The wolves continue their pursuit and a desperate Conan rushes across a frozen pond as another wolf catches up with him. During the skirmish, they both fall through the ice. The Cimmerian frantically swims to an opening in the ice and finds himself at the base of a small mountain. Our freezing barbarian climbs to the top where he finds a cave in which he takes shelter.

Conan hides just inside the entrance of the cave and sees the wolves at the opening – strangely, they will not enter. He decides to venture deeper into the cave, and the floor is uneven, requiring him to slowly move along the walls. Along the wall, Conan discovers some hieroglyphics and a shorter entrance to another area. The larger chamber features handmade items, which he discovers by accident when he falls over a rotting chair. Conan finds a dilapidated chariot then quickly gathers up other small pieces of wood, some stones, and metal from the chariot, preparing to make a fire.

The flames reveals the enormity of the room, and Conan soon recognizes the stench of death in the air. He has the eerie feeling he is not alone and turns around to find the rotted remains of a being sitting on a stone chair.

Conan’s surprise is short lived as he notices a stunning sword lying in the corpse’s lap. Conan swings the blade, imagining both the origin of its creation and his future use of it in battle. But the barbarian’s excitement quickly fades when he hears the creaking noise of the corpse rising from the chair.

The giant body lumbers toward Conan, and the Cimmerian evades it, attempting to fight back with his new-found sword. Our hero hacks off the creature’s right arm and then strikes the mid-section, causing the zombie to hit the floor.

To Conan’s surprise, the corpse lurches at him yet again. The Cimmerian wildly swings the sword, missing the corpse and allowing the living dead to claw his right shoulder. Conan chops at the head and torso of the zombie to no avail: how can one kill what is already dead?

In a desperate move, Conan slashes at the creature’s left leg then with a massive swing of the sword shatters its lower jaw. Conan stumbles back as a severed hand grabs his left ankle. The corpse seizes the opportunity, grabbing Conan’s neck. The barbarian leans back, and flips the zombie over him and into the fire. Due to its dried out clothing and skin, the beast quickly goes up in flames but still lumbers out in an attempt to get the Cimmerian. It quickly falls to the ground, nearly burned to ash.

Conan finds his way out of the caves and heads southward.

CAPSULE REVIEW: The cover and interiors of this issue are drawn by Sal Buscema, younger brother of John Buscema, and there’s no drop in quality. They both have very similar styles and I think it is more apparent with Ernie Chan’s inks. The cover reveals the unsettling, enormous corpse who attacks Conan. The interior pages show a younger Conan in a snowy forest on the run from wolves. The detail of his journey through the forest, into the cold waters then the dank caves leaves the reader empathetic to Conan’s plight and endurance in the tough climate.

Conan’s appearance indicates the story takes place in an earlier time – according to a note on the first page of the comic, the events in this story take place between Conan the Barbarian #2 and #3. The Cimmerian is dressed like the Barry Windsor-Smith version of Conan from those classic issues – sandals, necklace and the infamous yak helmet. The biggest annoyance I have with this issue is Conan’s helmet staying in place throughout the chase scenes in the forest. Even worse is the helmet staying on as he swims through the icy water. Perhaps the helmet has “magical properties” after all…

The best part of the comic is the battle between the dead warrior and Conan. The images are creepy, as Buscema and the colorist do a great job depicting rotting skin and clothes. Conan’s struggle against the creature is demonstrated through his actions and facial features. The unrelenting attack of the zombie creates an intense scene and the artistic pacing helps set the tone.

Roy Thomas effectively rewinds the timeline to present a hidden tale of Conan’s past. This issue is unique because Conan does not interact with anyone else. There are very few spoken moments, and the story is mostly told by an unseen narrator. I really enjoyed the stand alone, action packed story, and more’s the mystery as we never learn “why” the corpse came back to life.

This issue is unique based on the timeframe, delivery of the story and detailed artwork, I give it 8 Aquilonian Luna out of 10.

Living life my own way – Andy from Aquilonia