.jpg)
(The dates for 1975 and 2025 are identical.)
Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith grew by leaps and bounds stylistically as he produced the earliest issues of Marvel's surprise hit Conan the Barbarian. It was the birth of a franchise that would reap benefits for Marvel for decades. Smith left the title several times during the course of its run, sometimes by his own choice.
Norman the Barbarian is a satire with true bite. That's because frankly it's produced with such vitality and informed accuracy by the very artist whose style is being lampooned in the production. National Lampoon was an up-and-coming satire magazine at about this same time. And the confluence of events allowed for the creation of an exceedingly potent satire on all things Conan though the target is the controversial 60's and 70's writer Norman Mailer I won't comment on the story itself, save to caution one and all that National Lampoon was a magazine that held back few if any punches, especially in its early days. This is a prime example of what the magazine could do when it was operating on all cylinders. For what it's worth the Dojo presents "Norman the Barbarian".
Satire should never ask forgiveness and never beg for mercy. So whatever opinion you hold of the story above is valid. It makes its points and moves ahead. So will we.
I'm struck by the sheer craftsmanship that Smith brings to this work, right down the detailed imitation of Marvel's house style.
Rip Off
Conan may have seemed like a "surprise hit" for Marvel but apparently it was touch and go to begin with because the first few issues were selling less and less every month and by around #7 Stan Lee decided to cancel Conan but Roy Thomas persuaded him to change his mind which turned out to be a wise decision as Conan's sales started to take off soon afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI think that surge in sales was indeed the surprise. Roy believed in what he and Smith were doing and saw the need to push on if he could. Good on him.
Delete