The first Conan comic I ever read was a Savage Sword issue involving time travel and Solomon Kane.  So, I was glad to see the old issues get collected for a not to terrible price.  The black & white art translates perfectly into these big, newspaper quality books.  It’s taken me quite a while to get around to reading them, however.  And, alas, they’re not particularly good.

The quality of writing varies terribly across stories.  This is weird, because it seems to all be written by Roy Thomas, so you’d think there would be consistency.  And the problem for me, as a Robert E. Howard fan, is that most of the stories, even the ones based off Howard tales, don’t particularly capture the feel.

The art is mostly good.  Occasionally very good and occasionally not.  John Buscema’s work is probably my favorite.  But while there are some excellent images, and OK action, little stands out.  And it’s got the goofy thing where most of the time, for no reason, Conan wanders around in a fur loincloth, instead of some locally appropriate garb, like any sane person would wear (including a barbarian).

If you’re in the mood for some cheesy, 70s comics, this should fit the bill.  If you’re looking for good stories, good dialog, or a good adaptation of Howard’s Conan, this ain’t it.  The price is right.  Over 500 pages for under $20.  But if you’re looking for a good Conan comic, check out Kurt Busiek’s sadly short run from the early 2000s.  Still the best I’ve read.

If you’d like to check out my fiction, inspired by Robert E. Howard and others, go on over to my Amazon page.  Or, take a look at my Patreon page.
Otherwise, you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads.