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Post by Taurus on May 9, 2019 12:15:19 GMT -5
Agreed, Marvel 2019 is awful. There has been nothing great in the new series since its beginning. The only great thing about Marvel Conan this year are the Savage Sword Omnibuses (is "omnibuses" correctly spelled?). The first volume is great, apart from the relatively short size. I am not capable of discussing Conan on a high level because English is not my native language and many times I feel this is sort of a problem. I have ideas and opinions about subjects, but I don't feel like writing it down many times because it costs some effort and I am a lazy forum member that is here just for fun. But there are many around here that have a profound knowledge when it comes to Conan and I enjoy hearing from them. They are always around and I don't think the level of this thread is low or anything like that.
I would also like to add that I know the original Savage Sword of Conan very well and I got spoiled by its quality, specially the Roy Thomas run. Anything below that is questionable and I am not willing to spend my money on comics that are acceptable, but not great.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on May 9, 2019 12:42:51 GMT -5
My own introduction to Conan of the comics came from my uncle, who loved SSOC. It was also through him I saw my first porno mags; go figure.
So I read a lot of SSOC as a kid (late 70s/early 80s), and all through high school (late 80s and beyond).
I lost my own collection of SCOC when my house burned in '91.
I didn't bother replacing the collection, and really haven't kept up with the comics since.
I did begin buying the paperback re-release of the SSOCs from Amazon a few years ago, but only bought the first 3-4 issues. Not sure how many there were?
They were a little bit disappointing in that they were much smaller format, and were missing all the extraneous stuff -- they only had the main Conan story from each issue, as I recall. I may be wrong.
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Post by mindboggled on May 9, 2019 19:55:35 GMT -5
I mainly became a member because I figured there would be a lot to discuss with Conan returning to Marvel. But as it turned out, all their new stuff is shitty and mediocre, so there are only complaints! I also would like to have more discussions about the original Marvel comics, and Howard's original works. But these areas of the forum aren't very popular. You could simply make a thread for the classic Marvel comics, this would solve a portion of the problem you are having with the forums
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Post by buxom9sorceress on May 9, 2019 23:35:27 GMT -5
Hi all, I am an old member of the previous forum and connected to several old ones. To precise, I only talk of Comics I believed to find here some continuation with high level discussions on Conan comics but after some time I am consterned by the level of threads. Discussing here of 2019 Marvel issues is so poor, there is nothing in when you have been loving Conan for xxx years. There is nothing here, nothing at all... Is it decided by the mods or almost nobody here knows what was Conan is in Comics? Marvel 2019 is awful Threads are only on new releases, posts of announcements by Marvel, links to reviews. Nothing else Any way to see this change? We can see that the old ones with the memory have left, do not contribute. Sorry to say that Jb Hi. create a new thread /topic called CLASSIC CONAN COMICS and off you go. [ list your faves? covers? stories? artists?, etc... ] this forum is only as good as the efforts /posts made by its members. i am interested in art /covers from the comics. but i do not collect comics. Have fun.
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Post by robp on May 10, 2019 12:56:05 GMT -5
Comics is only one small part of the REH Experience. Don't get me wrong, I love my SSOC's, the early Dark Horse and some others. But there's also other characters, films, REH scholarship, etc, etc
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Post by stubbs on May 13, 2019 9:45:01 GMT -5
My exposure to Conan in comic form started with the Dark Horse run. I've read a fair few issues from the Marvel run but there's still a huge amount of stories which I haven't read. With hundreds of issues across several books it's hard to know what to seek out (and going all in on the new omnibuses isn't really an option for me right now).
Does anyone have suggestions for must-read issues or arcs from the classic Marvel run? I'm particularly interested in pastiche stuff, I've read a lot of the REH Conan adaptations.
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Post by Char-Vell on May 13, 2019 10:06:41 GMT -5
These two SSOC issues had really weird and memorable tales in them:
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Post by wolfshead on May 13, 2019 11:41:53 GMT -5
The War of the Tarim arc. Conan the Barbarian 19-26, Some of the best art by BWS (probably better than Red Nails, as it was here that BWS hit his stride) and greatest, most intricate, story-line by Thomas, including the introduction of Red Sonja and the slashing of Yezdigerd's face (which is what pisses me off about the new #6 ignoring this fact). A richly involved story as Conan switches sides, fighting first for Aghrupur, then Makkalet and a surprise ending. A near perfect saga on every level.
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Post by Taurus on May 13, 2019 12:35:03 GMT -5
The War of the Tarim arc. Conan the Barbarian 19-26, Some of the best art by BWS (probably better than Red Nails, as it was here that BWS hit his stride) and greatest, most intricate, story-line by Thomas, including the introduction of Red Sonja and the slashing of Yezdigerd's face (which is what pisses me off about the new #6 ignoring this fact). A richly involved story as Conan switches sides, fighting first for Aghrupur, then Makkalet and a surprise ending. A near perfect saga on every level. Barry's best work up to this date is Red Nails. It is a shame he stopped right there when he was at his best.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 13:16:22 GMT -5
In SSOC, beyond the Thomas run, I like some of the issues by Chuck Dixon and Gary Kwapisz (around 133 to 180's). In CtB I also liked the Jim Owsley run 171 onwards. Especially issue 175. Sorry, I previously posted all the ol' SSOC adaptations.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 14:56:29 GMT -5
The issues with the pirate BorAqh Shoraq. He is introduced in issue 75 and really hates Conan, he comes back again in issues 82 & 83 and few more times. A couple of pages from SSOC 75 with the beautiful artwork of Alfredo Alcala:
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Post by emerald on May 13, 2019 15:41:52 GMT -5
See my post on interest of this forum recommending CtB 19-26 and why Wolfshead nails it. This arc was Roy Thomas's first attempt at a full-on novel-length pastiche in the comic, and it's great. I think it's missed some acclaim because Smith's work was so astonishing and he left so suddenly that the story arc was broken by an abrupt shift in the art. Buscema's work in #25 is good but a bit sparse. It kicks into gear in the final issue, #26, which really delivers a fine Howardian climax.
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Post by emerald on May 13, 2019 16:30:28 GMT -5
Okay, this is kind of lame, but it's hard not to recommend the entirety of Thomas and Buscema's sweeping depiction of Conan's life with Belit. We're talking about Conan the Barbarian #57-#100. This was the Marvel Conan in full flower and featured loads of ongoing sub-plots and themes that backed up the swashbuckling action so well that a regular reader could feel like a shipmate on The Tigress.
If you have to pick and choose, #60-#63 feature Conan facing off with with a Tarzan-inspired character called Amra. This is just so Roy Thomas-- showing us how Conan got his pirate nom de guerre and also who he thinks would win in a showdown between the Lord of the Jungle and the Cimmerian.
Aw hell, there's so much going on it's hard to focus. You got your time-tangling adventure with King Kull, Belit claiming her throne from the most sniveling King in the history of sniveling Kings, battling Stygian nagas in subterranean tunnels in Stygia, and so much more. If I had to pick a single favorite issue of Conan it would be #73, but the story would lack impact unless you read some of the comics before it, which neatly foreshadow a mutiny, which Conan deals with here in a most memorable fashion. #74, The Hawk-Riders of Harakht, is a good story but features some of the finest choreographed action Big John ever got down on a page. The last nine pages of this issue are cinematic action poetry. #94-#97 feature Conan and Belit going up against the Beast King of Abombi in a saga packed with action and Easter eggs. Buscema lays down another battle scene for the ages in #95 in which Conan goes one on one with a man-sized dinosaur for five brutal pages. And Thomas slyly slips in tributes to both Beyond the Black River and The Scarlet Citadel.
This was a long arc and it wasn't perfect, but I think it showed the creators at the peak of their abilities and reveling in it. For me, this is Marvel Conan at its best.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 17:12:45 GMT -5
Okay, this is kind of lame, but it's hard not to recommend the entirety of Thomas and Buscema's sweeping depiction of Conan's life with Belit. We're talking about Conan the Barbarian #57-#100. This was the Marvel Conan in full flower and featured loads of ongoing sub-plots and themes that backed up the swashbuckling action so well that a regular reader could feel like a shipmate on The Tigress. If you have to pick and choose, #60-#63 feature Conan facing off with with a Tarzan-inspired character called Amra. This is just so Roy Thomas-- showing us how Conan got his pirate nom de guerre and also who he thinks would win in a showdown between the Lord of the Jungle and the Cimmerian. Aw hell, there's so much going on it's hard to focus. You got your time-tangling adventure with King Kull, Belit claiming her throne from the most sniveling King in the history of sniveling Kings, battling Stygian nagas in subterranean tunnels in Stygia, and so much more. If I had to pick a single favorite issue of Conan it would be #73, but the story would lack impact unless you read some of the comics before it, which neatly foreshadow a mutiny, which Conan deals with here in a most memorable fashion. #74, The Hawk-Riders of Harakht, is a good story but features some of the finest choreographed action Big John ever got down on a page. The last nine pages of this issue are cinematic action poetry. #94-#97 feature Conan and Belit going up against the Beast King of Abombi in a saga packed with action and Easter eggs. Buscema lays down another battle scene for the ages in #95 in which Conan goes one on one with a man-sized dinosaur for five brutal pages. And Thomas slyly slips in tributes to both Beyond the Black River and The Scarlet Citadel. This was a long arc and it wasn't perfect, but I think it showed the creators at the peak of their abilities and reveling in it. For me, this is Marvel Conan at its best. You gotta love Kawaka, he almost got away with it. I love the splash page for issue 73 - John Buscema's Belit looks incredibly beautiful. Here's a link to the action sequence found in CtB 75: swordsofreh.proboards.com/post/10126/thread
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Post by emerald on May 14, 2019 8:48:42 GMT -5
Wolfshead nails it. This arc was Roy Thomas's first attempt at a full-on novel-length pastiche in the comic, and it's great. I think it's missed some acclaim because Smith's work was so astonishing and he left so suddenly that the story arc was broken by an abrupt shift in the art. Buscema's work in #25 is good but a bit sparse. It kicks into gear in the final issue, #26, which really delivers a fine Howardian climax. The jump from Smith to Buscema was a bit jarring, true, but the fact is the art wobbles badly on #21 and 23 because, I assume, Smith was unable to get it done on time and the inking duties weren't handled by himself or Dan Adkins - a shame as Sonja was introduced there. The splash pages for #19, 20 and 24 show how good Smith had become, and it's just a pity he wasn't able to complete the others himself. The issues from #41-45 are probably my favourites. #41 was the first colour Conan I bought, and it has a wonderful last page by Buscema and Chua, and #45 is probably best of all - Thomas' story is clever and the combination of Buscema and Adams on art is unbeatable, featuring another outstanding splash page. ...... Smith's irregular performance seemed to lead up to the basically peerless #24. I showed my art teacher Dad my copy, he looked at it and said, "Wait, this comes out monthly?" Well, Dad, they don't all look like that one does. In fact, none of them really do. Seriously, is there a more beautifully illustrated issue of any Marvel comic to date? After that Buscema's start really made it feel like a whole new magazine. The problem with all this is that it drew attention away from the story, which was excellent and remains one of my favorite pastiche tales in any medium. Yeah, those issues in the 40s are fine. #41, with it's show-stopping double page spread. #42 with it's awesome winged demon battle. And #45 which not only looks beautiful, but has a genuinely moving story.
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