Of Once And Future Kings!

Conan the Barbarian is firmly established and as such has prompted several spin-offs such as Kull the Conqueror (later Kull the Destroyer) and Red Sonja. These stalwarts are poised to play a big part in Conan's life which has itself gotten somewhat more complicated since he hooked up with the dazzling pirate-goddess Belit. Tarzan will also encounter another world-famous hero, if only by proxy. 

As I read the Conan stories this time, I consulted the recent book by Roy Thomas where he once again illuminates from his perspective how those stories came to be shaped and how they fitted into the larger Marvel publishing scheme. It was a hectic time for comics in the early 70's and the eventual success of Conan the Barbarian helped shape it to no small degree. 

Roy, John and Steve (Gan) begin the three-year odyssey with Belit by establishing just how things seem to work aboard the pirate ship The Tigress. Belit is the captain and Conan is at once her lover and her loyal second-in-command. This of course creates a bit of tension among the exclusively Kushite (black) crew. Conan must establish his authority and takes steps to do so by suggesting greater teamwork among the crew as well as some new weapons strategies. Belit is not amused but comes to see the wisdom in her well-traveled lover's opinions. The Tigress sails south to seek tribute from the black tribes along the river and it is here that Belit ends up getting kidnapped by Riders of the River Dragons and later attacked by a "Killer Moth".

Roy thought it would be a nifty idea for the famous Conan to meet the even-more-famous Tarzan of the Apes. But he couldn't do that for real and didn't want to. What he did want to do was dream up a solid explanation why the crew of The Tigress called Conan "Amra" which supposedly meant "Lion" or somethng like that. 

And so Belit is kidnapped by the original Amra, Lord of the Lions. This is pretty much Lord Greystoke, but cast in Hyborian terms. A young boy is raised by lions and comes to be their master. But Amra unlike Tarzan is a pretty nasty guy and is more than capable of keeping women against their will and has so created a harem for himself in a remote hidden city. The red-haired chap very much wants Belit to take over as head of the harem which makes the current holder of the title upset when she's summarily cast out into the jungle. She finds Conan who is looking for Belit and that sets the stage for a ferocious battle only one her will win. Throw in some truly creepy underground dwellers and this a hopping advetnure yarn. 

Underneath the new cover for the next issue is a classic Savage Tales reprint with art by Jim Starlin. This was prompted by Steve Gan who so loved the Buscema pencils for the story he was tracing them before inking, which was a much slower process. This is a really strange anecdote, and I cannot remember any similar tale. I rather like this story as I'm a Jim Starlin fan generally, though his Conan doesn't really gel with the overall look the title had established. The story was one which Roy wrote from a John Jakes plot and it's a dandy, pointing out some of Conan's more human characteristics. 

The belated Buscema pages were liberated and turn up in the next issue with "The Tribe" having replaced Steve Gan. Under an indifferent Gil Kane cover we get a story developed from a non-Conan REH tale which falls under the James Allison group about a guy who relives experiences form past lives when he was a lusty barbaric type. "The Valley of the Worm" was one such story. This one has Belit and Conan and the crew find a remote island on which they find a legendary dead pirate and a wizard who masters pygmies and a deadly feathered serpent. 

The Red Sonja stories I've pictured in this little section are not included in the Epic volume as Dynamite has the rights to this character, though I guess Marvel could use the Conan issues. It's weird. But I dug out my Red Sonja reprints and added these to my reading as I wandered through this barbarian team-up spectacular. It begins when Sonja is hired by Karanthes (a name from "The God in the Bowl") to find a page looted from the mysterious Book of Skelos. 

Conan and Belit are hired to get that same page of the Book of Skelos by a different party and that of course will lead to conflicts. 

A small in this issue is that Conan runs into his old allies Tara and Yusef and helps them out of a jam. The latter is in prison and Conan gets him out so that he and Tara can leave Messantia at long last to raise the child which is percolating in Tara's tummy. I'm not sure this sidebar story helped the overall saga but it was good to find out more about these two. 

Back in the pages of Marvel Feature, Red Sonja and Conan slash it out with but ultimately decided to work together when a weird priest turns into a bizarre bat-creature and flies away with the desired page. Frank Thorne's art is always a treat. 

The saga comes to a conclusion when Conan, Belit, Red Sonja join up to follow the flying priest and find themselves in a weird territory where they find a city which turns out to be the time-lost capitol of Valusia. They quickly encounter the royal court of King Kull and Kull and Conan face off in a legendary swordfight. It's great fun and especially so since John Buscema inks himself this time. I always loved when he did his inking, though I get the sense Roy was less enthused. This "Battle of the Barbarians" was a load of fun and not without precedent in the stories of REH since he had Kull meet Bran Mak Morn in "Kings of the Night". But it does make this feel more like a Marvel Universe comic than is probably wise. 

Val Mayerik steps in to illustrate a fill-in issue in which Conan tells Belit of an adventure he had long ago when he was just a youth in Cimmeria involving some Vanir who captured him and a strange escapade in which a dead body from the sea turns out to be something quite more dangerous. This is adapted from an obscure REH horror tale. Sadly, it's not all that good. 

Roy and Big John then adapt "Marchers from Vahalla", another Howard tale not about Conan. This one involves a remote island, a strange damsel in a tower who turns out to be a goddess and a repugnant and thoroughly decadent society which deserves the ignoble end it comes to by the conclusion of this two-parter. The bigger news is Ernie Chan returns as inker and to my eye is even better than before his departure. The art looks rock solid. 

That's less the case with the second Conan annual which is drawn adequately by Vincente Alcazar and  Yong Montano, but even then seems less potent than the full-blooded Buscema we've come to expect. The cover by Rich Buckler is one of his worst and I'm sure he was forced to produce it with little time. The story is an important as Roy finally adapts "The Phoenix on the Sword", the very first Conan story which was adapted from "By this Axe I Rule" featuring King Kull. (That story had recently been adapted by Roy and Mike Ploog in Kull's regular comic.) It's a decent tale and has allusions to its Valusian origins, but didn't wow me as I thought it ought. 

In the third annual we get two tales, though only one is in this collection. That's a Conan yarn set after the events of "The People of the Black Circle" and has Conan rescuing a captured prince and dealing with a very deceptive dame. The art by John Buscema and Pablo Marcos is uneven, sometimes fantastic, sometimes just average. 

The lead Conan story in this annual is a reprint of the black and white story from the third issue of The Savage Sword of Conan. A look at the original art in black and white and it works better there than in this second use in color.  

There is a second story in this annual starring King Kull, but it's not in the Epic volume. I had to dig out one of my Dark Horse Kull volumes to read the story "Beast from the Abyss" adapted by Steve Englehart and drawn by Howie Chaykin. Kull finds himself in a castle filled with bizarre libertines who worship a strange enormous slug. But that's not the end of giant slugs. 

Next up in this epic collection with a Neal Adams classic in which Conan must confront not one, but two giant slugs. This comic was produced for a very special reason -- the Power Record operation. These nifty old-time classics blended sound with comics in a most memorable fashion. To experience this particular "Book and Record Set" where the "The Action Comes Alive as you Read!!" just follow this YouTube link to read "The Crawler in the Mists!"

This was not the only recording from Power Records to feature REH's burly barbarian. This volume has all the dope in an essay about the curious cross-promotion and a lot more in the item below. 

And finally, we have a very special issue of Marvel's fan magazine FOOM. The fourteenth issue featured all things Conan. Under a very exotic, blue-colored John Buscema cover we get a summary of how the character came to comics and how that run had been to that time, as well as an insightful interview with Roy Thomas himself. 

Next stop is Asgalun! 

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Kull Exile Of Atlantis!

I've said before that of all of Robert E.Howard's creations, King Kull is perhaps my favorite. Having recently re-read the slim canon of adventures from the pen of REH titled Kull - Exile of Atlantis, I can confirm that opinion. There's something magnificent about Kull, that alas never quite attaches to the personality of the more realistically portrayed Conan. Kull is a cooler head by a mote, and while of barbaric origins seems a bit more comfortable in his royal persona. If I had to separate the two, I'd say that Kull is smart and even reflective, while Conan is savvy with sharp instincts,  Kull is noble while Conan is brave.You might even refer to Kull as a Philosopher-King, but you'd never hang that tag on Conan.

Perhaps the best story Howard ever wrote was "The Shadow Kingdom" which appeared in Weird Tales and debuted Kull, and created (in the minds of many) the genre of sword and sorcery. If so, it's a mighty beginning and remains at least the most atmospheric of Howard's S&S stories. Kull's adventures.  This story along with "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" and "Kings in the Night" are the only three Kull stories published in Howard's lifetime and the unpublished "By this Axe I Rule" became the template for Conan's debut story "The Phoenix and the Sword". The former is a better story I think, though with little or no magic but fuller characterization for the conspirators.

A lot of Kull's canon didn't find an audience until the 60's in the Lancer paperback which appeared after the enormous success of the Conan series. Under an evocative Roy Krenkel cover these yarns have a real potency and are rife with potential.

Years later, I read them in this Bantam collection which largely reprints the earlier Lancer effort. Ballantine's collection from 2006 is handsome and sturdy and offers up more fragments and drafts. The artwork by Justin Sweet is exquisite and runs throughout the book.

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The King Is Dead! Long Live King Kull!

Marvel had blundered into a real success with Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. The Bronze Age was blooming and with the now mostly defunct Comics Code having eroded somewhat, the time was ripe for new and old genres to return among the cavalcade of superheroes. Conan was a spearhead in the move for diversity. But with success the desire to imitate is quickened and so Marvel cast about for a copy of their highly successful (ultimately) sword and sorcery star.

(Roy Krenkel)

Lin Carter's Thongor of Lemuria, and John Jakes Brak the Barbarian would be given the nod. But clearly the best first choice was found in Howard's own works, specifically the hero who had preceded and was in many ways exceedingly similar to Conan, the answer was King Kull.

They tried him out in one of their monster comics. The title had been Tower of Shadows and it had debuted alongside its companion Chamber of Darkness a few years previous as EC-style horror mags featuring new stories and art from the Marvel Bullpen. But that didn't seem to be successful, so the decision was made to turn Tower of Shadows into the Creatures on the Loose and feature reprints of vintage Marvel/Atlas monsters from the classic days.

But during that transition, there had been plans apparently to feature a King Kull story written by Roy Thomas and drawn by the young talent Berni Wrightson. Wrightson would make his reputation a year later at DC when he and Len Wein co-created Swamp Thing, but at that moment he was doing covers for Marvel, specifically the aforementioned horror mags Tower of Shadows and Chamber of Darkness. Wrightson was graduated from covers to a complete story with King Kull.

This story was an adaptation of a Howard story which had only recently been uncovered and published. It speaks for itself, and you can read the adaptation of "The Skull of Silence" in its entirety here.

But what's curious is how Wrightson's original cover for the story was shelved in favor of the Marie Severin version eventually used. Marie's is more kinetic in a classic comic book way, but Wrightson's is the better cover, more obviously in keeping with the story it advertises. Maybe it was the title change that prompted the new Severin cover, as it seems to have been made very quickly, since ads about Kull being in Tower of Shadows had already been published. Maybe Kull's back is too much to the reader, but whatever the cause, the cover was changed, and Wrightson's Kull was hidden behind a rather "superheroesque" cover.

I've always liked Kull. Robert E. Howard's other sword and sorcery hero, the prototype to the much more financially successful Conan is at once the same and different from his more famous glowering brother-creation. He is a King of Valusia, and with that comes age and maturity and a greater comfort with the supernatural than Conan ever displayed. Conan as King of Aquilonia is familiar with dark magic but it still makes him bristle, while Kull battling black magic always was opposed but never quite dismayed by it. Kull was a bit more learned perhaps than Conan, at least I always imagined it so. Kull's Atlantis was less barbaric by a small bit than Conan's Cimmeria maybe. His was a civilization soon to crash which Conan's is one still gathering its strength. 

Above you can get a great look at two very distinctive takes on a fantastic debut cover for the debut of Kull the Conqueror. 

Howard's surly king got his own title with scripts by Roy Thomas and art by Ross Andru and Wally Wood. But that team didn't last as while Thomas lingered a bit, the art was taken on by the brother-sister act of Marie and John Severin. This duo is what makes these early issues of Marvel's Kull the Conqueror so memorable.

Marie offered up some muscular pencils in the brawny Marvel style while John inked them in a way that evoked more classic comics like the work of Hal Foster and others. The synthesis of these two was remarkable and made for good comics. Gerry Conway took over for Roy after a short time and Kull rumbled along with a hiatus here and there. The sales weren't great, and Kull became a sidebar in Marvel's black and white line where sword and sorcery could really show its stuff. 

Dark Horse reprinted those Marvel comics, though I have to say the artwork was not as clean as I'd have hoped. Maybe it's the original materials but the work seems a bit muddy to me compared to the other volumes Dark Horse has reproduced. The stories are still great though, and they offered up many fine moments of pleasure and dallied with the trade for a few days.

A very good sword and sorcery read. But that's not all. 

Dark Horse has done a pretty dang good job collecting up Marvel's REH material. The run of Conan trades has been pretty awesome and now that the series is into issues, I didn't get off the stands, I have beautiful "new" John Buscema artwork to look forward to a few times a year.

One of the runs I yearned for them to get to was the King Kull material. The first volume featured great comics by Marie and John Severin, even if the reproduction was a bit muddy in places. The second volume caps off that classic run.

But the big news is it gives us the lush revision by Mike Ploog. It's a shame Ploog couldn't do more of these, as issue eleven of the newly dubbed "Kull the Destroyer" is as good as S&S comics get. But with the very next issue, the inking by Sal Buscema while perfectly fine lacked the luster of the earlier installment and things go downhill from there.

Ploog and Steve Englehart left the book after a handful of issues and are replaced by Doug Moench, Ed Hannigan and the great Alfredo Alcala. But while all of those talents are great in other times and places, the final result here looks rushed and muddled.

It doesn't help that there is a two-year break in the run between issues fifteen and sixteen. Kull had some B&W adventures in between there and they are key to understanding the subsequent stuff. It's not included though there are some obligatory explanations.

Marvel apparently thought that the failure of Kull was due to his being a King, as they cast him down off the throne and make him a wannabe again. This served to make him more like Conan, but it sadly also took away much that made him distinctive. In the later issues of this run, it might as well be Conan in the mix as the distinctive personality of Kull, reflective and less reflexively violent is gone.

It's a shame, but I'm still glad this material is finding a new audience. I just hope that audience is a forgiving one.

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