''The Savage Sword of Conan'' is a black-and-white magazine-format

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published beginning in 1974 by

Curtis Magazines Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

, an imprint of American company

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, and then later by Marvel itself. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' starred

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 most famous creation,

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 has the distinction of being the longest-surviving title of the short-lived Curtis imprint. As a "magazine", ''Savage Sword of Conan'' did not have to conform to the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

, making it a publication of choice for many illustrators. It soon became one of the most popular comic series of the 1970s and is now considered a cult classic.

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 ...

was the editor and primary writer for the series' first few years (until issue 60), which featured art by illustrators such as

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

Barry Windsor-Smith Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best-known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian (comics), Conan t ...

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 8, 2000) was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. ...

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

Al Milgrom Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book artist (penciller and inker), writer, and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of '' Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penci ...

Pablo Marcos Pablo Marcos Ortega, known professionally as Pablo Marcos
at the

Walter Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

. Painted covers were provided by such artists as Earl Norem, Bob Larkin,

Joe Jusko Joe Jusko (; born September 1, 1959) is an American artist known for his realistic, highly detailed painted fantasy, pin-up, and cover illustrations, mainly in the comic book industry. Jusko painted the 1992 Marvel Masterpieces trading cards, the ...

, and

Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous novels in the science fiction, sword ...

. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' was published under the Curtis imprint until issue 60, when it became part of the Marvel Magazine Group. Stories from the comic were reprinted in the

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...

title of the same name. The original run of ''Savage Sword of Conan'' ran until issue #235 (July 1995). Marvel Comics reacquired the publishing rights in 2018, and started a new run of ''Savage Sword of Conan'' collected editions beginning in February 2019. In 2022, Titan Comics acquired the license to reprint the magazine in new collected editions. In April 2019, Marvel also started a new run of Savage Sword of Conan with new material. This title ran for 12 issues until February 2020.

Publication history

The adventures in ''Savage Sword of Conan'' are not always consecutive (as they are in the color Marvel title ''

''), and they cover different eras of Conan's life. The ''Savage Sword'' stories mostly feature an older Conan, and adapt Robert E. Howard stories and pastiches starting from "

stories in ''Conan the Barbarian''. The first issue leads off with Thomas and

's adaptation of one of Howard's shortest but most well-known Conan tales, "

The Frost Giant's Daughter "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is one of the original fantasy short story, short stories about Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Cimmerian, written by United States, American author Robert E. Howard. The story is set in the pseudo-historical Hybor ...

". This is one of Conan’s earliest tales chronologically. Still a teenager, he encounters a beautiful woman in the frozen north who leads him into an ambush by her giant brothers. Issue #2 featured another Howard adaptation, "

Black Colossus "Black Colossus" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine, June 1933.Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous novels in the science fiction, sword ...

painting of Conan being crucified, from the story "

A Witch Shall Be Born "A Witch Shall Be Born" is one of the original sword and sorcery novellas by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in only a few days in spring of 1934 and first published in ''Weird Tales'' in December 1934. A book edition ...

". This story features Conan at his most resilient, surviving a desert crucifixion to get revenge on the man who put him there. Issues #6-10 included "People of the Dark", a 30-page tale scripted by Thomas and drawn by

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early l ...

; the continued adaptation of Howard’s only full-length Conan novel, '' The Hour of the Dragon'' (the first parts having been printed in ''Giant-Size Conan'' #1-4); and the adaptation of "

Iron Shadows in the Moon Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's oute ...

", by Buscema and Alcala, where Conan goes from chief of the Zuagirs to pirate captain of the Red Brotherhood. The next three years of the title featured numerous adaptations of Howard stories (many by the art team of Buscema and Alcala), including " Shadows in Zamboula", " The Devil in Iron", " The People of the Black Circle", " The Slithering Shadow", " The Pool of the Black One", "

The Tower of the Elephant "The Tower of the Elephant" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard. Set in the fictional Hyborian Age, it concerns Conan infiltrat ...

", "

Jewels of Gwahlur "Jewels of Gwahlur" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard. Set in the fictional Hyborian Age, it concerns several parties, including ...

", "

Beyond the Black River "Beyond the Black River" is one of the original short story, short stories about Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine, v. 25, nos. 5-6, May–June 1 ...

", " The Scarlet Citadel", " The Flame Knife", " Hawks Over Shem", " The Treasure of Tranicos", and "

Wolves Beyond the Border "Wolves Beyond the Border" is one of the original Conan stories by American writer Robert E. Howard, a fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard's lifetime. It is a peripheral story in the canon in that while it takes p ...

Collected editions

In 2007, Dark Horse Comics began issuing a series of trade paperbacks, collecting and reprinting early issues of the title, as well as stories which originally appeared in ''

Savage Tales ''Savage Tales'' is the title of three American comics series. Two were black-and-white comics-magazine anthologies published by Marvel Comics, and the other a color comic book anthology published by Dynamite Entertainment. Publication history M ...

''. By 2016, the complete series had been reprinted in 22 volumes. In 2018 when Marvel resumed the rights it began publishing its own collected editions of original Marvel material. In 2022,

Titan Comics Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...

acquired the license to reprint the magazine in new collected editions.

Marvel Omnibus Collected Editions

Awards

The comic won the "Comic"

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of ...

in 1975 and 1976.

Notes

References