Hi Conan, Its Me, Phil

HI CONAN, IT’S ME, PHIL On the cover of Conan the Barbarian King-dimension Special Issue, #1, in a purple circle, it says: “SPECIAL ACADEMY AWARD ISSUE! TWO OF THE GREATEST CONAN SAGAS EVER TOLD!” A fairly compelling declare, however it wasn’t the awards that drew me in, it was Conan himself. The comic book in query was released in July 1973, so I was nonetheless eight years old when I bought it. Already a Marvel Comics fanatic, particularly enamored of the Fantastic Four (which was the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine, really), I had seen the name CONAN in the little ad strains on the bottom of the pages of different comics, had caught glimpses of him in adverts, but by no means really understood who he was, and what he represented. I knew he was an uncharacteristic break from the ever-unfolding Marvel Universe, and that was what made me skeptical of him. Then I saw that comic guide. Marvel Comics' King-Sized CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1, The cover paining by Barry Windsor-Smith is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of fantasy artwork of all time. Here’s Conan the Barbarian staring straight at meâ€"proper into my eight-year-old eyes, challenging me, threatening me, welcoming me in a way that only an eight-12 months-old boy afraid of everything around him however his own imagination could possibly be welcomed. Here is Conan, inviting me to struggle him, to battle beside him, to be him. How on Earth might I actually have accomplished something however accept? The king-dimension special accommodates two reprint stories, “Lair of the Beast-men,” which bore the badge on the title page of the story: “Nominated for finest story, 1971, by the Academy of Comic-e-book Arts.” Stan Lee is credited as Editor, however the story was written by the nice Roy Thomas, who’s name is second only to Robert E. Howard’s within the annals of the timeless barbarian. Maybe third after L. Sprague DeCamp, but we received’t break up hairs. Let’s say Thomas and DeCamp are tied for number two. †œLair of the Beast-males” was reprinted from problem #2 (December 1970) of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian. It’s nineteen pages of every thing that good sword and sorcery is all about: our hero enslaved by bestial gorilla men in a strange underground metropolis whose unique domed buildings glow with a sickly inexperienced mild, and a beautiful blonde femme fatale named Moira who lures our hero to his (momentary) destiny. Some twenty-four years later, the story was tailored for TV because the third episode of the short-lived 1997 Conan collection, which you can take a look at on hulu.com. The second story is an adaptation of one of many unique Conan brief stories by Robert E. Howard, “The Tower of the Elephant.” This one, adapted by Roy Thomas, was nominated for finest story, 1972. It was reprinted from concern #four of Conan the Barbarian. A full page longer than “Lair of the Beast-men,” “The Tower of the Elephant” needed twenty pages to retell. The authentic story, w hich I learn years later in a now-forgotten anthology, was first published in Weird Tales, March 1933. “The Tower of the Elephant” tells the tragic tale of the humanoid elephant Yag-Kosha, as soon as revered as a god, now enslaved in a crystalline tower. How did Barry Windsor-Smith make Yag-Kosha look so unhappy, so desperate, so alive? It’s a rare gem in the comedian world when an artist can deliver out emotions like that in a human character, however a inexperienced-skinned elephant man? Smith is a genius, there is no doubt. Barry Windsor-Smith was born in 1949 in London’s working-class East End and studied at East Ham Technical College with Ralph Steadman, who years later grew to become known as a compatriot of the infamous Hunter S. Thompson and was the illustrator behind the Pink Floyd album The Wall. A comic e-book fan from childhood, Barry started drawing “pin-ups” for the British editions of Marvel comedian books, then emigrated to the U.S. in 1971 the place he d iscovered his way to Marvel to attract the first run of their Conan variations. Roy Thomas, 9 years Smith’s senior, adopted Stan Lee as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He began as a staff writer at Marvel in 1965 and by 1970 had brought his love of pulp journey stories, particularly the Conan tales of Robert E. Howard to the pages of Marvel comics, breaking from their superhero mould in a classic and beautiful way. Robert E. Howard was born in 1906 and spent his life in Cross Plains, Texas. He was an everyday contributor to Weird Tales in its heyday. Howard battled despair and at last committed suicide in 1936. His writing career tended to revolve round his fascination with the noble savage, and never simply Conan. His first printed story was “Spear and Fang,” a caveman journey story that appeared within the July 1925 problem of Weird Tales. So, what’s the large deal about this thirty-six-12 months-old old comedian guide? Maybe not a lot, to all but a few collectors. I fou nd one web site on-line that says it’s price $10.00 now, but that should be incorrect. It should be price more than that. Anyway, it doesn’t matter as a result of I’ll never sell it. It was my introduction to fantasy. And not the children’ fantasy of the time, from The Wizard of Oz to The Banana Splits, but Fantasy, with a capital F. From the moment I first saw that cover I couldn’t get sufficient of Marvel’s Conan comics, and because Lee and Thomas always gave credit score where credit was due, I began studying the original Conan quick stories, then more by Howard, then DeCamp, then Burroughs (Edgar Rice, that is, William S. came much later), then newer (on the time) authors like McCaffrey and LeGuin. I don’t have a photograph of myself once I was eight. My mom might have a couple of, however I have none. I don’t want one. I have one thing higher. Thanks to Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, and the brilliant Barry Windsor-Smith I even have a comic book guide that reveal s me and anyone who cares not what I seemed like in 1973, however what I wanted to look like, who I needed to be. The fact that I drew from King-measurement Conan #1 a lifelong love of fantasy that I managed to construct right into a profession, makes it one of my most dear possessions, regardless of it’s market worth. And now, thirty-six years on, what I need is to be is the kind of man who not only held onto that comedian e-book, but the kind of man who is aware of why I held onto it, and will at all times keep it. If I did have a photograph of myself at age eight, I’d look that child within the eye and thank him for buying that comic e-book, thank him for studying it, and thank him, as much as Howard, Thomas, and Smith, for setting me on the road to being me, age forty-four, and for the remainder of my life. Thanks, Phil. â€"Philip Athans About Philip Athans Back when comic artwork was simply that…My first comedian was a FF back within the early eighties…simply at first went loopy with multiple covers and loopy excessive prices. I blame the Dark Knight for that… But, please, Make Mine Marvel! Nice submit here…. Peace, Ah, good post. My introduction to adult fantasy needed to be Clifford Simak (The Talisman) and Rbert Silverberg (Lord Valentine’s Castle) when the librarians finally let me wander out of the child’s section. I was late coming to Conan. Then there was a VERY grownup fantasy referred to as “Planet Story,” I imagine, with these unimaginable Heavy Metal type illustrations. I still don’t know what that was doing within the teen section of Meaford Public Library. BTW â€" “Lair of the Beat-men”? There’s a Conan story I’d like to see! (BTW, just googled that Planet Story book â€" I had the title proper and it’s Harry Harrison. Who knew?) That’s “Lair if the BeaSt-males,” not Beat-men. Thanks, Don! FIXED! Editor, edit thyself.