It was an off week at the comics store. No new trades or pulps required my immediate attention, so I took advantage of the lapse to pick up a few classic Conan the Barbarian tabloids that have been taunting me for many months.
I've long owned the first one featuring the spectacular Barry Smith cover. And just six months ago I documented on this very blog my acquisition of the second one featuring Red Sonja.
Now I've completed the set with a vivid color reprint of "A Witch Shall Be Born" featuring the Conan crucifixion scene, proving he's the toughest S.O.B. in all literature. The art is by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga.
The other volume features a color reprint of "A Devil in Iron" a wonderful collaboration between John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala.
The volumes come with lots of extras, one even has the Alex Nino adaptation of REH's "People of the Dark". All the stories are adapted by Roy Thomas of course.
But the real prize here is a collection of the earliest Conan comic strips. The artwork on these by Buscema is simply fantastic. I've not yet read the first continuity, but this may be the best presentation of his "origin" in comics form that I've come across.
Great volumes!
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My battered old copy of Marvel Treasury Edition no. 4 is still one of my all-time favourite comics collections. Rogues In The House AND Red Nails ( in colour! ) - fantastic!
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