Conan

Rediscovering The Savage Sword Of Conan through the reprints that Dark Horse are putting out.

Conan was one of my first introductions to a more adult orientated comic, I would have been seven years of age or thereabouts at the time. This in fact even predated my introduction to 2000AD which didn't come into my sights(for some strange reason)until Prog 86. I was of course still buying my Beanos, Dandys, Whizzer and Chips, Whoopees, Beezers, Krazys, Look ins and the odd Marvel UK on a regular basis at that time -so based on that rather tame content, a few billion neurons must have exploded on contact as these stories were filled with violence, blood and even a little hint of sex.

The art was masterful, usually handled by the late great John Buscema and inked by Alfredo Alcala. Alcala must have been channeling Gustave Doré as the inking is just immaculate, beautifully rendered.







The Black Colossus story above is still one of my all time favorites.

Alcala was also an artist in his own right. I remember he did some Swamp Thing and Hellblazer issues in the late eighties and also a two issue Nightmare on Elm Street comic for Marvel amongst other things. However in regards to inking, Conan must be among his finest works.

There is also some great Jim Starlin art in this vol, along with Barry Windsor Smith, Neal adams, Mike Kaluta and Alex Nino.

To be honest I had forgotten how good the art was on Savage Sword and found myself thirty years later once again lost in those fantastic visuals.

Well worth picking up.