Bloodstar
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''Bloodstar'' is an American fantasy comic book published in 1976. Possibly the first
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
to call itself a “
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
” in print (in its introduction and dust jacket), it was based on a short story by
Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
, the creator of
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
, and illustrated by
fantasy art Fantastic art is a broad and loosely defined art genre. It is not restricted to a specific school of artists, geographical location or historical period. It can be characterised by subject matter—which portrays non-realistic, mystical, mythi ...
ist
Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...
. The book was published by The Morning Star Press in a limited signed and numbered edition.


Status as first self-described graphic novel

The front flap of its dust jacket reads: "BLOODSTAR is a new, revolutionary concept – a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
, which combines all the imagination and visual power of
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
art with the richness of the traditional
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
." Two other books published the same year (1976) also called themselves graphic novels, but one is a reprint collection of a serialized underground comic (
George Metzger George Metzger (born 1939) is an American cartoonist and animator. He was an underground comics artist during the mid-1960s and early 1970s in California, eventually relocating to Canada, where he worked in animation. Biography Born in rural Illi ...
's ''Beyond Time and Again'') and the other is really an
illustrated An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
(
Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comics artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, Illusionist, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with th ...
's '' Chandler: Red Tide'') Unlike ''Beyond Time and Again'', ''Bloodstar'' is a long story that had not been previously published episodically. It was first printed as a luxury hardcover edition and subsequently reprinted in several trade paperback editions.


Background and creation

The story is an adaptation of
Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
's original short story " The Valley of the Worm", which appeared for the first time in ''
Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...
'' (February 1934 issue). This story had been previously adapted to comics in a version written by
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
and
Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...
, pencilled by
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
and inked by
Ernie Chan Ernesto Chan (July 27, 1940 – May 16, 2012), born and sometimes credited as Ernie Chua, was a Filipinos, Filipino-Americans, American comics artist, known for work published by Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including many Marvel issues of series ...
for ''
Supernatural Thrillers ''Supernatural Thrillers'' was an American horror fiction comic book published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s that adapted classic stories of that genre, including works by Robert Louis Stevenson and H. G. Wells, before becoming a vehicle for a su ...
'' #3 (1973). This version gave the name "Helga" to the unnamed character of a "naked tousle-headed girl" described by Howard. In ''Bloodstar'' she became "Helva" and is the romantic interest of the protagonist. Since he pencilled this first comics version, it may have been
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
's idea to turn "The Valley of the Worm" into a longer format sequential adaptation. Originally ''Bloodstar'' was going to be titled "King of the Northern Abyss". The first chapter of ''Bloodstar'' appears to be inspired by
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
' short story, '' The Star''. According to an interview with Corben in ''Heavy Metal'' magazine, Armand Eisen and
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
contacted Corben and asked him if he wanted to work on the book.
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
changed the hero's name from "Niord" to "Bloodstar" and then created the design for a star mark on his forehead. Kane edited the book with Armand Eisen. Originally ''The Morning Star Press'' was going to publish adaptations of two other
Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
stories: ''Skull-Face'' and ''Swords of the Red Brotherhood.''
John Jakes John William Jakes (March 31, 1932 – March 11, 2023) was an American writer, best known for historical and speculative fiction. His American Civil War trilogy, '' North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He was also the author ...
expanded the story adding much material to it and then
Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...
revised, rewrote it and added further content. A latter edition (1979) was rewritten by John Pocsik. Although Corben stated in 1981 that ''Bloodstar'' was his favorite story up to that point, he initially hesitated to take the assignment, finding the characters in "The Valley of the Worm" lacking in depth. Corben's adaptation of the story adds humanity and romance to Howard's brutal fights and action sequences. ''Bloodstar'' is a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...
tale of the life of a mythical hero and his heritage. It is illustrated in black and white in mixed media in startlingly three-dimensional looking images rendered in airbrush, markers and colored pencils and features some ground breaking narrative sequences. The artwork took about nine months to complete, and according to
Berni Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...
, Corben painted the cover in less than 24 hours, while Wrightson and Bruce Jones were visiting him in Kansas City. Corben was later commissioned to color the story, but had assistants do it following his method, probably Herb and Diana Arnold. This color version appeared serialized in '' Heavy Metal'' 45–52, but was never collected in English.


The influence of film on Richard Corben's comic art

The introduction from the original 1976 hardcover edition of ''Bloodstar'' discusses the influence of the visual arts and especially filmmaking on Richard Corben's work in ''Bloodstar''. "''Bloodstar'' marks a great leap forward for the art of the comic strip through its revolutionary synthesis of ideas and art forms. In this book, the imagination and visual power of comic art are wedded to the complexity and depth of the traditional novel, producing an enthralling hybrid which might best be labeled – the graphic novel." The introduction continues, "The dazzling illustrations of artist-adaptor Richard Corben imbue the hero, Bloodstar, with the throbbing, tormented life force of a Rodin sculpture and animate each panel with the visual intensity of an Orson Welles film." The introduction goes on, "Just like a cinematographer, the cartoonist pans, tilts, and zooms from angles which best accomplishes his dramatic purpose ... Corben employs "camera movement" to give his narrative a rhythmic flow and a tension. Conversely, the influence of animated film can be seen most strongly in Corben stories which contain a great deal of violent, physical movement. His drawings leap, run, and fight with an extraordinary feeling of authenticity which, undoubtedly, arises from his study of the principles of movement in film animation."


Critical reception

Some writers have commented that ''Bloodstar'' is the most successful adaptation of a
Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
story. James Van Hise wrote, "...I believe that it is the only time someone has rewritten Howard and retained the atmosphere and the subtext while also transforming it in to something as good as the original, however different it is in substantial ways." D. Aviva Rothschild agrees, calling ''Bloodstar'' "pulp adventure fiction brought to life by a master illustrator... much more interesting, both textually and artistically, than the insipid ''
Conan Conan may refer to: People * Saint Conan (died 684), bishop of the Isle of Man * Conan of Cornwall (c. 930 – c. 950), bishop of Cornwall * Conan I of Rennes (died 992), duke of Brythonic Brittany * Conan II, Duke of Brittany (died 1066), duke ...
'' adaptations by
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
." Comics historian
Maurice Horn Maurice Horn (June 28, 1931 – December 30, 2022) was a French-American comics historian, author, and editor, considered to be one of the first serious academics to study comics. He was the editor of ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', ''The ...
believes that ''Bloodstar'' is "A bizarre commingling of Greek and Norse mythologies, with a light admixture of science fiction, it embodies the sum of Corben's fantasies and nightmares in its fantastic array of repulsive-looking monsters, incredibly muscled heroes and impossibly big-busted maidens. ''Bloodstar'' also embodies Corben's peculiar vision of heroic sex and heroic death as the twin saviors of mankind." In contrast, critic Agustín Oliver comments regarding ''Bloodstar'' that "sexual activity is infrequent in Corben's work; when it appears it is usually depicted as delicate and tender." Alberto García Marcos, who wrote a long analysis of Corben's career, considers ''Bloodstar'' his masterpiece.


Editions in English

* First edition: 1976. ''The Morning Star Press'', Leawood, Kansas.
Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...
. Story by
Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
. Adaptation by
Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...
and
John Jakes John William Jakes (March 31, 1932 – March 11, 2023) was an American writer, best known for historical and speculative fiction. His American Civil War trilogy, '' North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He was also the author ...
. Art by
Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...
. Edited by Armand Eisen and
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
. Design by
Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...
. The Morning Star Press Ltd. broke up shortly after this edition was published.Bissette, Stephen R.; Wiater, Stanley (1993). Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of New Comics. Donald I. Fine, Inc.. . Page 55 * Second edition: Sept. 1979. ''Ariel Books'', New York.
Paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
. Same credits as the first edition, except new lettering:
James Warhola James Warhola (born March 16, 1955) is an American artist who has illustrated more than two dozen children's picture books since 1987. Early life A native of Smock, a coal-mining region in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, he is the ...
, associate editor: Joe Kelly and design: Bruce Jones. This edition is rewritten by John Pocsik. This second edition features a more contrasted reproduction inferior to the first one, but it contains a new double page spread in the title page featuring the main characters that was not present in the first edition.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite book , last = Van Hise , first = James , year = 1997 , title = The Fantastic Worlds of Robert E. Howard , publisher = James Van Hise


External links


A detailed publication history



Review of Bloodstar and discussion of it as 'the first graphic novel'

Review of Bloodstar
1976 graphic novels 1976 comics debuts Fantasy comics Comics based on works by Robert E. Howard Sword and sorcery comics Post-apocalyptic comics