Title: The Complete Marvel Conan the Barbarian
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 1978
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Roy Thomas, Robert E. Howard
Artist: Barry Windsor Smith, Dan Adkins, Sal Buscema
Letterer: Sam Rosen
Editor: Roy Thomas, Stan Lee
Mass-market paperback collection reprinting the first three issues on Marvel's Conan the Barbarian. Brief introductions by Stan Lee (in typical Stan Lee hype style) and Roy Thomas (with a bit more insight into the history of the Conan character).
The three issues are each self-contained stories, although there is a reasonable attempt made at continuity with some prose that fills in Conan's travels and adventures between each of these episodes. This was actually pretty well done, and succeeded in helping the stories feel less disjointed.
The first story has Conan as a mercenary, fighting in a border war between Aesgaard and Vanaheim. Conan, on the Aesgaardian side because they pay more, saves the life of one of the leaders of his army and helps turn the tide of battle. The enemy, in full retreat, end up making a deal with the mysterious Shaman for supernatural aid against Aesgaard. This had an interesting bit of a plot twist at the end, and the characterization of Conan did a good job of setting the tone for the series.
The second story was a pretty familiar set of tropes. Conan gets captured by some "beast-men", enslaved, tossed into an arena, and manages to inspire the other slaves to rebel. There was a nice touch at the end, although the emphasis on the distinction between a "manling" and a "man" was silly and laid on a bit too thick.
The third story, an adaptation of Howard's "The Grey God Passes" was excellent. Beginning with a vision that Conan has, it follows his quest for revenge against the Hyperborians who briefly enslaved him, while telling the tale of several characters involved in a coming battle that will bring down warriors, kings, and even a god. This story juggled a bunch of characters and subplots while maintaining an air of tragic destiny unfolding.
These stories were reformatted a bit to fit the constraints of the mass-market paperback size, and Barry Windsor Smith is early in his career here. The necessary-at-the-time dancing around showing blood and gore hurts some of the action scenes a bit, but I still enjoyed the art style, especially on the costumes and the supernatural elements.
This was a fun piece of nostalgia that offers insights into how Conan was able to develop into such a long-running series for Marvel.
Rating: 7.5/10
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