Customer Reviews

The Essential Conan, Volume #1 (Conan the Barbarian #1-25)

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I remember when Barry Smith drew his first comic for Marvel Comics. It was an issue of the X-Men that we all thought was THE WORST DRAWN COMIC BOOK IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. It turned out that Smith, newly arrived from England, drew the issue on park benches in NYC. When the first issue of Conan the Barbarian arrived it was clear he was not that bad. By the time his run as artist on "Conan" ended it was even more clear he was something special and the fact that the illustrative style that had evolved in those two-year span was not feasible within the demands of producing monthly issues of a comic book was a depressing irony.

Barry Windsor-Smith has long been my favorite "comic book artist," and this collection traces his evolution as such quite admirably. Indeed, not other collection could better serve that purpose. A simple comparison of the covers from Conan #1 and Smith's swansong issue #24 ("The Song of Red Sonja") evidences the transformation from artist to illustrator. For that matter you can also consider Smith intermediary style (e.g., #13 "Web of the Spider-God"). This transformation is as impressive because of how quickly in took place while he was drawing Conan as it is for the artistic growth. But even in his work today you can see how it is grounded in the style he developed while working on this comic.

These reprinted stories are presented in black and white, which is certainly better than nothing, but I look forward to Smith's work being presented in color as it originally appeared. I notice this most particularly in the Epilogue to Conan #20, "The Black Hound of Vengeance," which was originally presented in muted tones of gray, blue and brown. Smith abandoned panels in an interesting change of pace that underscored the emotional impact of the sequence. Without color that impact is most decidedly lost. One of the things that is still discernable is the increase in the number of panels per page from issue to issue through Smith's tenure as he became more comfortable with using art rather than dialogue to advance parts of the story. The best example of this is the hanging sequence on page 14 of Conan #10.

From a writing stand point it should be noted that there is a nice balance between stories adapted from Robert E. Howard's Conan work and original stories by Roy Thomas. For the former "The Tower of the Elephant" (#4) is usually considered the high point. The appearance of Michael Moorcock's Elric in issues #14-15 seems a bit forced, while the Fafnir character (original a quick tribute to Fritz Leiber's famous pair of thieves) becomes a wonderfully integrated character into an ongoing story line.

Of the 25 issues included in this collection not all are drawn by Smith. Several issues are drawn by Gil Kane because Smith had missed a deadline or took a hiatus from working on Conan. Thomas' ability as a storyteller capable of crafting bigger and longer storylines would continue to grow, and while John Buscema's artwork on Conan was quite excellent (especially when inked by Ernie Chan), Barry Smith's work will always stand on a plateau. Jim Steranko cracked open the door on stylized illustration in color comics, but Barry Smith was the one who gets credit for busting all the way through.

The essential Conan is a collection of the first 25 issues of the Conan the Barbarian comics released by Marvel back in the early seventies. Although this book is in black and white, a format which seems to have gone out of style, this book often manages to capture the spirit of the original Conan stories. The plots aren't usually too dumb, and as the book advances the comics go from a bunch of individual stories to big story-arcs, making it more readable and giving it more of a sense of continuity.

While this book doesn't always stick to the Conan stories continuity-wise, for the most part it fits in, filling little gaps in between those stories. Also, several of howard's better stories are adapted to comic format here; Tower of the Elephant, Frost Giant's Daughter, and Rogues in the House to name a few. We get the first comics' appearance of Red Sonja as well.

Overall, this is a fun, quick read, and although it's only in B&W, for the sheer amount of materiel included herein it's definitely worth the cover price.

When Marvel, without much fanfare took a chance and gave an unknown Character named Conan his own title in 1970, it was quite a risk. Ok...so he wasn't unknown. The pulp character of the savage barbarian warrior had been around since the 1930's when created by Robert E. Howard and had undergone a revival in the 1960's with the release of the Ace/Lancer paperback editions of the Howard Stories.

Still, it was an interesting decision to give him his own title..Wow..and what a decision! The Conan title ran for nearly 30 years, and also included the companion titles King Conan, and the B & W magazine Savage Sword of Conan.

This huge trade paperback collects the first 25 issues of the conan comic written by Roy Thomas and drawn by a newcomer, British artist Barry Smith. Smith began as an artist heavily influenced by Jack Kirby, but over time began to develop own distinctive, and very detailed style.

His Barbarian differed than that of Frank Frazetta's in that Smiths was a younger, leaner, even skinny type, as opposed to Frazetta's heavily muscled giant. This image tended to turn some people off a bit but Smith has gone on to become such a renowned master that I think his work now gets the praise it justly deserves.

The first 25 issues are a mix of original stories by Roy Thomas as well as Howard adaptions such as "The Tower of the Elephant" and "Rogues in the House" as well as the first appearance of Red Sonja. There was also a silly teaming with Michael Moorcocks Elric which was way out of place.

it's nice to see Marvel's Essential collection put out at such an affordable price even if they are in B&W. This Conan collection is a must for any conan fan.

A great buy! I am a huge Conan fan, and this is an ideal way to peruse his early Marvel comics run at a reasonable cost.

This is the Black and White reprint -- MUCH better than the new "Full Color" "Chronicles" version.

The "Chronicles" version has been very badly colorized--nothing like the original colors, very muddy.

This has long been out of print. i was so happy to be a able to get a copy. In really nice condition. Thank you

If you're a comic-book fan whose overwhelming proclivity for great artwork is of a magnum opus nature, and you possess an affinity for even greater story telling then look no further then this volume of Conan Essentials.
In this volume comic-book artist, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, and Gil Kane manage to deliver the goods. You will discover some of the finest artwork in the business plastered in these very pages. Also, Roy Thomas' masterful writing skill is impeccable. He successfully adopts Robert E. Howard's mythical Hyborian age novels, translating them into comic format, making it a simpatico piece of literature for the entire family.

In this volume you will witness savage creatures/monsters, thaumaturgist, damsels in distress, and sword and sorcery action that will take your breath away. And trust me it's better than anything you'll ever watch on TV now days.

As a child growing up I thought Conan comics were well done, but to envisage this magnificent artwork in its rawest form (black and white,) Marvel Comics manages to draw out the intensity of the comics that much clearer.

What I like the most about this collection of comic stories is that we get to see Barry Windsor-Smith's art style evolve.
So, my suggestion is turn off the TV and introduce your children to some eclectic art and literature that they will treasure for a lifetime.

The Essential Conan collects the first twenty-five issues of the series and that is fine because the series did not progess beyond this dazzling start. Barry Windsor-Smith's gorgeous art is the reason to buy this volume (even without the great colouring that originally enhanced them). The stories themselves relied a little too heavily on the original pulpy adventures of Robert E. Howard's stories which quickly develop a sameness as Conan battles an often interchangeable group of monsters and wizards. It is only near the end of this volume that the stories are developed beyond the one-issue format and contain recurring characters (such as the comic book debut of Red Sonja). Still, in the end, those first issues are a wonder and a great example of 1970s comic book art at its most creative. Worth picking up.