(May 1974)

Marvel, 1971 Series
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Volume
1
Price
0.75 USD
Pages
68
Indicia Frequency
bi-monthly
On-sale Date
1974-04-02
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
Marvel Comics Group
Brand
Marvel Magazine Group
Editing
Roy Thomas (editor); Marv Wolfman (associate editor)

Issue Notes

On-sale date from Comic Reader (Street Enterprises, 1973 series) #105, April 1974.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents)

Conan / cover / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Neal Adams (painting)
Inks
Neal Adams (painting)
Colors
Neal Adams (painting)
Letters
typeset
Genre
sword and sorcery
Characters
Conan
Reprints
Cover Thumbnail for Savage Tales (Marvel, 1971 series) #4
Edit cover
Cover gallery

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1)

Conan / illustration / 2 pages (report information)

Pencils
P. Craig Russell (signed as Craig Russell)
Inks
P. Craig Russell (signed as Craig Russell)
Letters
typeset
Genre
sword and sorcery
Characters
Conan
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Conan illustration on inside front and inside back covers.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 2)

table of contents / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Neal Adams (signed as Neal Adams)
Characters
Conan
Reprints

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3)

Conan / foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Script
Roy Thomas ?
Pencils
? (photograph)
Inks
? (photograph)
Letters
typeset
Genre
sword and sorcery
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Introductory page to "Night of the Dark God".

Night of the Dark God (Table of Contents: 4)

Conan / comic story / 21 pages (report information)

Script
Robert E. Howard (original story); Roy Thomas (adaptation)
Pencils
Gil Kane; Neal Adams
Inks
Neal Adams (as diverse hands); Pablo Marcos (as diverse hands); Frank McLaughlin (as diverse hands); Vince Colletta (as diverse hands)
Colors
Pablo Marcos (tones)
Letters
John Costanza
Genre
sword and sorcery
Characters
Conan; nameless fisherman; Mala; Hagfar (in flashback); Mala's mother (in flashback); Tostig; Thorfel the Fair; Vanir; nameless Mithra priest; Brogar (Pict chief); Picts; Yag-Kosha (in flashback); Man-Serpent (in flashback)
Synopsis
Conan travels home to Cimmeria only to discover that his childhood sweetheart, Mala, has been abducted by a band of Vanir raiders. He pursues them by boat and comes across a ship with dead Vanir and Picts next to a dark idol. Conan takes the idol and heads for the Isle of Swords, where Thorfel the Fair is about to marry Mala. But rather than giving herself to Thorfel, Mala kills herself. Conan kills Thorfel and receives unexpected help from a band of Picts who have come to the island looking for their dark idol.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Adapted from Robert E. Howard's story "The Dark God" (a non-Conan story).

Diverse Hands identification by Roy Thomas in the letters page of Savage Sword of Conan #2.

Star-Crossed Swords (Table of Contents: 5)

Conan / text article / 2 pages (report information)

Script
Roy Thomas
Pencils
Al Williamson (illustration)
Inks
Al Williamson (illustration)
Letters
typeset
First Line of Dialogue or Text
We're back again -- and this time we mean it.
Genre
non-fiction; sword and sorcery
Characters
Conan
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Thomas discuss the return of Savage Tales to the publication schedule.

Jason and His Electric Argonauts (Table of Contents: 6)

Heroic Fantasy in the Films / text article / 5 pages (report information)

Script
Roy Thomas (foreword); Erwin Stevenson
Pencils
? (photographs)
Inks
? (photographs)
Letters
typeset
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) is generally given credit for crating the genre called "sword-and-sorcery"...
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Article includes movie stills from Jason and the Argonauts.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7)

The Crusader / foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
? (photograph)
Inks
? (photograph)
Letters
typeset
First Line of Dialogue or Text
From the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, the shining knights of Christendom launched a series of Crusades...
Genre
adventure

Indexer Notes

Introduction page to the Crusader.

[Origin of the Crusader, Part 2] (Table of Contents: 8)

The Crusader / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Joe Maneely (signed as Joe Maneely)
Inks
Joe Maneely (signed as Joe Maneely)
Letters
?
Editing
Stan Lee (original editor)
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Like sand drifting over the desert, the savage hordes slipped unseen around King Richard's camp!
Genre
historical; adventure
Characters
Crusader [El Alemain]; Saladin (villain, introduction); Sir Guy De Montfort (villain, introduction); Richard the Lion-Hearted (introduction)
Synopsis
Upon learning that he is actually Frankish nobility, the Saracen warrior known as El Alemein joins the Crusaders. Saladin appears and challenges King Richard the Lion-Hearted to a duel, but El Alemein offers to fight in the king's place and defeats Saladin. King Richard knights El Alemein and names him Lord O'Dare.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Stan Lee writer credit removed based on information from the Timely/Atlas discussion list.

The Hour of the Gnome (Table of Contents: 9)

The Artists of Conan / text article / 5 pages (report information)

Script
Roy Thomas
Pencils
Barry Windsor-Smith (illustration); John Forte (illustration); Kelly Freas (illustration); Ed Emshwiller (signed as EMSH) (illustration)
Inks
Barry Windsor-Smith (illustration); John Forte (illustration); Kelly Freas (illustration); Ed Emshwiller (signed as EMSH) (illustration)
Letters
typeset
First Line of Dialogue or Text
By now, nearly everybody knows the story by heart:..
Characters
Conan
Reprints

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 10)

Conan / foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Script
Roy Thomas ?
Pencils
? (photograph)
Inks
? (photograph)
Letters
typeset
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Green to civilization and entirely lawless by nature...
Genre
sword and sorcery
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Introduction to "The Dweller in the Dark".

The Dweller in the Dark (Table of Contents: 11)

Conan / comic story / 16 pages (report information)

Script
Roy Thomas
Pencils
Barry Windsor-Smith (signed as Barry Smith)
Inks
Barry Windsor-Smith (signed as Barry Smith)
Letters
Gaspar Saladino (splash); Sam Rosen
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Ho, desert-rat!
Genre
sword and sorcery
Characters
Conan; Yulek; Queen Fatima; Yaila
Synopsis
Conan becomes Captain of the royal guard in the small city-state of Zahmahn as well as the lover of Queen Fatima. When the Queen catches Conan with the servant girl Yaila in a delicate situation, she leaves them in the dungeon to be devoured by the Dweller in the Dark. They manage to escape, however, and Conan throws the Queen to the monster. According to tradition, Zahmahn can only be ruled by a female sovereign, so Conan nominates Yaila as the new queen.
Reprints
Keywords
Corinthia; Zahmahn

Indexer Notes

Barry Smith confirmed as inker in letters page of Conan the Barbarian #16.
Pages 3, 4, 5, and 14 appear here in their original uncensored form (they were partially redrawn due to Comics Code objections when first published in Conan the Barbarian #12).

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12) (Expand) /

Conan / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 13) (Expand) /

Conan / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Editing
Issue at my.comics.org
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. [no title indexed]
    Conan
  2. 1. [no title indexed]
    Conan
  3. 2. [no title indexed]
  4. 3. [no title indexed]
    Conan
  5. 4. Night of the Dark God
    Conan
  6. 5. Star-Crossed Swords
    Conan
  7. 6. Jason and His Electric Argonauts
    Heroic Fantasy in the Films
  8. 7. ["From the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, the shining knights of Christendom launched a series of Crusades..."]
    The Crusader
  9. 8. [Origin of the Crusader, Part 2]
    The Crusader
  10. 9. The Hour of the Gnome
    The Artists of Conan
  11. 10. ["Green to civilization and entirely lawless by nature..."]
    Conan
  12. 11. The Dweller in the Dark
    Conan
  13. 12. [no title indexed]
    Conan
  14. 13. [no title indexed]
    Conan
This issue was modified by, among others
  • Valmiki Annamanthadoo
  • Nick Caputo
  • Steve Coates
  • Jason Czeskleba
  • Steve Dasinger
  • Merlin Haas
  • David Haglund
  • Glenn MacKay
  • Darrel McCann
  • Donald Dale Milne
  • Mike Nielsen
  • Per Sandell
  • Jim Van Dore
  • L. Jámal Walton
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