The Complete Marvel Conan the Barbarian, Volume 2 [Paperback]

Roy Thomas (Author), Barry Smith (Author), Robert E. Howard (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace (February 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441116930
• ISBN-13: 978-0441116935
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,975,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A paperback cut & paste version of "Conan the Barbarian" 4-6, January 1, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Marvel Conan the Barbarian, Volume 2 (Paperback)

Do not get too excited by the title "The Complete Marvel Conan the Barbarian, Volume 2," because this paperback from Ace, published in the late 1970s, is not what you think. What you will find here are three early issues of the Marvel comic book "Conan the Barbarian," with the panels cut up so that they can fit close to the right size on each page. The coloring job is pretty decent, but nothing compared to the wonderful job Dark Horse did with a computer in "The Chronicles of Conan, Volume 1" last year. These Ace paperbacks, of which I believe there are six getting us through the first fifteen issues of the comic, are a nostalgic oddity for fans of the series.

Working from the pulp fiction stories of Robert E. Howard, writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith produced one of the more unusual comic books in history (and one that managed to stay outside the Marvel universe except for a strange "Marvel Team-Up" issue with Spider-Man). Most striking was the evolution of Windsor-Smith as an artist and when you compare his growth from these first issues to his final ones on "Conan," it is one of the most impressive in the history of the medium.

Collected here are #4 "The Tower of the Elephant," based on the Howard story, #5 "Zukala's Daughter," based on a Howard poem, and #6 "Devil-Wings over Shadizar," the issue where Conan finally loses this horned helmet. The first issue is inked by Sal Buscema, the other two by Frank Giacoia. Collectively they begin the start of Conan's career as a thief. Still, "The Complete Marvel Conan the Barbarian, Volume 2" is really more of a collectible than anything else, now that Dark Horse has reprinted all of the Windsor-Smith Conan stories.