The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 3: The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories [Paperback]

Roy Thomas (Author), Barry Windsor-Smith (Illustrator), Gil Kane (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2004

This is the third volume in a series collecting the early Conan comic book stories by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. Originally created in the 1930s, Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian has survived to emerge as one of this century's most powerful and popular characters. Even more impressive than the character's lasting appeal over the past seven decades, is the caliber of talent involved in all of the various Conan incarnations. Of those, there are few that speak as clearly and as uniquely as artist Barry Windsor-Smith. Over the course of these early stories, Windsor-Smith's stunning evolution from comic-book cartoonist to full-fledged artist is apparent and thrilling to behold.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics began publishing its versions of Robert E. Howard's 1930s pulp-magazine tales of Conan the Barbarian, thereby launching a sword-and-sorcery fad that rivaled the popularity of its superhero titles. In the third in a series reprinting Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's entire run with Conan, the barbarian faces wizards, witches, demons, and even a band of everyday pirates. Burdened with convoluted plots and excessive dialogue, most of it in various shades of purple, the vintage stories lack the comparative sophistication of today's comics; however, most of that lack derives from Howard's original conception, which Thomas adapted too faithfully, perhaps. The main appeal, now as then, lies in Windsor-Smith's elegant, meticulous artwork (obscured here by sometimes-murky recoloring). His Conan possessed an underlying nobility that subsequent artists have failed to capture. This collection also includes two fill-in stories by veteran artist Gil Kane, which serve mostly to play up Windsor-Smith's indispensability. The stories may have lost luster, but Windsor-Smith hasn't, and his fans will welcome this volume. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Roy Thomas wrote classic runs of The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, Avengers, Captain Britain and, of course, various Conan titles. Barry Windsor-Smith's beautiful artwork has graced the pages of such titles as The Avengers, Weapon X, Uncanny X-Men and various Conan titles. Gil Kane began his career in comics in the 60s and went on to draw the likes of Superman, Teen Titans, Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil, to name but a few. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (February 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593070241
• ISBN-13: 978-1593070243
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conan's encounters with Elric and the Hyrkanian War, February 9, 2004

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Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 3: The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories (Paperback)

"The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories," Volume 3 in "The Chronicles of Conan" reprints issues #14-15 and 17-21 of Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian." Actually, the term "reprint" is not exactly accurate because beyond allowing us to enjoy these classic comic books without taking them out of the protective plastic in which they are sealed, these issues have been recolored using computers to make them even better (clouds and shadings are not big time fun). True, I thought they went a bit too far when they colored the epilogue of "The Black Hound of Vengeance" (#20), but overall the effects are quite impressive, especially since the paper stock in this Darkhorse publication is of vastly superior quality to what these stories were printed on back in the early 1970s.

Basically "The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories" can be divided into three sections. First, there is the two-part adventure involving Robert E. Howard's Conan of Cimmeria and Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone. Conan meets up again with Zephra and her father, the wizard Zukala from issue #5. The two sword and sorcery heroes from different words meet and after fighting each other in the first issue fight together against the Green Empress of Yagala in the second. Gil Kane's first pair of "Conan" stories is adapted by Thomas from Howard's story "The Gods of Bal-Sagoth." At the start of issue #6 there had been a quick little homage to Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser when Conan interrupts a couple of thieves named Fafnir and Black Rat (the story was originally about Howard's hero Black Turlogh O'Brien and his pirate captor Wulfhere). Conan learns Fafnir is still alive and after their initial fights the two become brothers in arms for most of the rest of this volume. This first adventure has them helping the goddess Aala (a.k.a. the young girl Kyrie) regain her thrown and then dealing with the inevitable monsters and volcanic eruption.

The last trio of stories represents the beginning of Barry Windsor-Smith's final run on "Conan the Barbarian." "Hawks from the Sea" finds Conan and Fafnir involved in the siege of Makkalet by the armies of Tur1n, under the command of Prince Yezdigerd, son of King Yildiz. Conan gets to experience the Hyrkanian War from both sides, doing a mission to the Turanians in "The Black Hound of Vengeance" and then switching sides to encounter "The Monster of the Monoliths," which is inspired in part by REH's "The Black Stone." The prime interest, however, is how Windsor-Smith's artwork continued to evolve, and the marked differences we seen after a few months off of drawing "Conan," especially knowing what is yet to come in the Volume 4 is even better. Thomas' storytelling has improved as well and one of the chief joys of reading these volumes has been to see how well these stories have stood up over time.

Thomas writes a "Behind the Swords" essay that appears in the back of this volume and which talks about the history of each of these issues. He also points out the Kane's issues of "Conan the Barbarian" actually outsold what the celebrated Windsor-Smith issues had done to that point. More interesting are the recollections of how Windsor-Smith would draw things and then Thomas would have to make it work with the story and how the final pages of issue #19 were colored without being inked (which explains why they look so inferior). Thomas spends about as much time explaining the reasons why, for example, the last issue is inked by Dan Adkins, Craig Russell, Val Mayerik, and Sal Buscema, as where they got the ideas for various stories. The only serious complaint with these trade paperbacks is that the original covers are not included, which will be a particular shame when we get to the next volume and the conclusion of Barry Windsor-Smith's run on this landmark comic book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hither came, Elric, of Melnibone., December 8, 2004

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Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 3: The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories (Paperback)

"The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories (Chronicles of Conan, Book 3)" continues the amazing Roy Thomas/Barry Windsor-Smith (and now Gil Kane) run on Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian." This collection presents issues #14-15 and #17-21.

The most exciting aspect of this volume is the infamous Elric of Melnibone crossover, that arcs through issues 14 and 15. The originals are quite hard to find, and having them collected is a treat. Elric, a dark creature of magic and Conan, a straightforward earthbound barbarian, make strange bedfellows, but the story is one of the best, bringing back Zukala and his daughter from issue #5, although they are now much changed as Thomas and Windsor-Smith have matured far beyond the early Kirby-influenced style of storytelling.

When Gil Kane takes over the artwork with issue #17, it is a jarring change from Windsor-Smith's delicate pencils. While an excellent artist, his work is more suited to the superhero genre than Conan. Adapting a Turlogh Dubh O'Brien yarn, "The Gods of Bal-Soggoth," into a Conan story works very well, and the Irishman easily becomes a Cimmerian. The giant Vanir Fafnir, who is an occasional player in the Conan series across the years, makes his first appearance here, and the two tackle an ancient city ruled by falsehoods and old gods.

Windsor-Smith reappears in issue #20, taking Conan and Fafnir into a Hyrkanian war, where Conan shows that he is much more than brute strength and sword-skill. His intellect is allowed to come out to play, as he navigates a castle raid.

All three story arcs are top-notch comic book storytelling, with the writer and artist working together in seamless harmony. They really have the "feel" of Robert E. Howard's Conan, more so than any other adaptation or pastiche. Any fans of Conan or just good comics should have this volume in their collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Conan!, August 16, 2005

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gunman42782 "Life Member of the NRA" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 3: The Monster of the Monoliths and Other Stories (Paperback)

As in my previous reviews of this series, my only complaint is that they did not reprint the original comic book covers. Other than that, the art and storys are great!