The Curse Of The Golden Skull!

In the third volume title The Curse of the Golden Skull we have a Conan comic which has proven itself on the racks and it is with confidence that Roy tells these tales of the wandering Cimmerian. After the lengthy story about the war for the Living Tarim we get a host of shorter, one-off stories. 

As I read the Conan stories this time, I consulted the recent book by Roy Thomas where he once again illuminates from his perspective how those stories came to be shaped and how they fitted into the larger Marvel publishing scheme. It was a hectic time for comics in the early 70's and the eventual success of Conan the Barbarian helped shape it to no small degree. 

The first of these features the art of John Buscema and Ernie Chan (then called "Chua" due to an immigration confusion) in a story in which Conan finds himself in a den of thieves with a much sought after gem in residence. It's based on a non-Conan REH story. He's not there long before the bodies start dropping. As it turns out this is John Buscema's first Conan story, done originally as a fill-in possibly when Barry Windsor-Smith's tenure was uncertain. 

The twenty-eighth issue has our favorite Cimmerian in jungle where he manages to get himself into some deadly quicksand. His solution for getting out is a classic Conan move, and I'll only say if you dislike snakes you'd have been doomed. There's a stolen idol in this one which turns into a deadly golden ape. And like most Conan yarns there's a lovely dame. That dame was added by Roy as she's not in the original REH non-Conan story this comic is based on. 

It's back to civilization (if you want to call it that) for our favorite barbarian and he gets in trouble quickly when he's less than thoroughly respectful of the "Living Tarim". He finds himself trying to save a man who is having a bit of difficulty finding himself. It's a weird one, more so than normal. Again, this is based on a non-Conan REH story done originally for the Weird Tales companion magazine Oriental Tales. 

The thirtieth issue has Conan back in harness with the Turanian military but not for long as all his mates die when they are attacked by strange mystical bats. He survives, mostly by dumb luck because he has an amulet he found somewhere. That's a bit of a tired gimmick but this story is adapted from one of those REH tales finished off by Lin Carter. Once again Conan finds himself in the middle of a sorcerous battle. 

The thirty-first issue of the comic gets more complicated. Roy began adapting L.Sprague DeCamp's "The Thing in the Tomb", but then got word that DeCamp had issues with the deal Marvel had made to use these pastiches. So he shifted gears and instead of having Conan battle a skeletal creature, he confronts his own shadow. Later Roy would adapt the DeCamp story properly. 

When Robert E. Howard died, he left a void, and Weird Tales used a few writers to attempt to satisfy the appetite for the muscular sword and sorcery he'd largely invented. One such writer was Novell Page, the experienced pulp writer who had found success with The Spider. Flame Winds, collected in paperback in the 1960's (with a handsome Jeffrey Catherine Jones cover) is one story he supplied. Thomas decided to adapt that tale featuring a hero named Prester John into a Conan yarn, and it would require three issues. 

Three issues are dedicated to adapted Flame Winds and in these stories we follow Conan as he is sent as a spy to the Khaitai city of Wan Tengri where he discovers that the city has been taken over by seven wizards. Each of these wizards has a small military force which sport their specific color and these magicians hold sway. There is a princess who is being held captive and after much bother Conan rescues her, more or less. He battles an octopus monster with a woman's head and a Manticore, a lion-like creature. Sadly, the latter is not well rendered by Buscema and Chan and looks for all the world to me like the Cowardly Lion of OZ fame. Of note is that the cover for the thirty-third issue was drawn by Herb Trimpe, the only I remember him tackling the character. 

Conan was aided in the Khaitai misadventure by a dwarf named Bourtai, who as it turns out leaves with our favorite Cimmerian and takes part in the next adventure. This one is based on the REH story "The Fires of Asshurbanipal" and has the hero battling a strange shadowy monster who falls into the Lovecraft tradition more or less. One note, Roy Thomas says that often a dame was pictured on covers but that no woman appeared in the story. That's true in this issue and he had special name for these girls, he dubbed them "Miraj". 

Conan gets back to the Turanian capitol in time to save King Yildiz from a stony monster sent to him by some of the defeated Hyrkanians in his son's crusade. Conan is also making time with the wife of a superior officer and we all know that's not going to turn out well. This story is adapted from the REH tale ?

The next issue is a special one because it's the only color issue of Conan drawn by Neal Adams. (Adams did some more Conan work in black and white as this story was originally intended, and he does work on the Peter Pan record sets -- more on that later.) In this one Conan and an ally the black warrior Juma are the only survivors of a Turanian force sent into the mountains to escort the granddaughter of King Yildiz, and have to confront a creature returned from an ancient grave with golden skin golden bones. The monster de jour is an enormous slug with a taste for gold. This is based on the Carter and DeCamp story "The City of Skulls". There was some legal finagling in this one so that Roy and Neal could use Juma, a creation of the two authors. 

Conan gets thrown to the wolves almost literally when he comes under the spell of a were-woman and her mate. Turns out the husband of the woman he's been dallying with set this up, but that's not much of a surprise. What's really a joy in this one is that John Buscema inked himself and it looks grand. Ernie Chan does a fine job, but raw Buscema cannot be beat. He'd draw the next issue as well when Conan finally decides it's time to leave the service of the Turanians and head West. 

Before Conan and get clear of the Vilayet Sea he is attacked and left for dead, but he is saved by an old man and his niece. They need Conan to return with them to their town where a man is sacrificing young girls to a deadly "dragon". The dragon in question is in fact a giant crocodile. This is John Buscema at his all-time best. 

(Hal Foster)

John Buscema was an big fan of Hal Foster, so he was likely quite pleased when Roy asked him to make the "dragon" in the story look as much like a giant crocodile from the vintage Prince Valiant strip as possible. Buscema succeeds in spades giving us a very realistic battle between man and monster. There is a deadly secret that gives the story some added potency at the end. 

Roy also talks about how Marvel was able to merchandise Coan with great effect. By the time of the issues discussed here Conan had steadily increased its sales until it was one of Marvel's best. That led to Conan getting selected along with the Hulk and Spider-Man to be used in "Offical Marvel Solid-Brone Collectors Medallion-Coins". 

I've always thought these were nifty bits of business and I wished I'd ordered them. But also that was not to be the case. Eventually Marvel lost the rights to license Conan products, and he suggests this led to the Cimmerians slow decline at the company. 

The fortieth issue features what Thomas says is likely the shortest Conan story in the series. It's drawn by Rich Buckler with Chan inks and was inspired by a plot idea from Michael Resnick. The short form is that Conan stumbles across an ancient city and in that city, people are not what they appear to be, and one of them might just well be a goddess. Conan comes off a little gullible in this one. 

"Garden of Death and Life" is a story Roy seems very proud of. In this one Conan tries to help a "girl" who is being chased and nearly killed by angry townsfolk. The duo leave town and head into the desert and end up in a particular oasis. There Conan learns the terrifying secret of his companion. This story was inspired both by C.L. Moore's "Shambleau" and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. More I won't say. 

This collection wraps up with Conan getting involved with yet another dame who is having trouble. She's being forced by circumstances to try and steal a particular statue, but things get quite sticky when a living gargoyle is set upon her. Conan ends up fighting for both their lives. This one is based on the REH story "The Heart of Erlik", a non-Conan story. Roy calls it a pot boiler. 

And that's wrap on this volume. Next time we stop by Savage Sword of Conan for little visit. 

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