Art by Richard Corben
Art by Richard Corben

Hot Stuf’: Independent Sword & Sorcery

Hot Stuf’ was an independent comic published by Sal Quartuccio in eight issues from Summer 1974-Summer 1978. Like most underground comics it has swearing, nudity and liberal politics. Not all the stories were Sword & Sorcery but a good number were. The comic allowed up-and-comers as well as seasoned pros to try more adult material. Artist like Rich Buckler, Richard Corben, Neal Adams, Mike Vosburg, Gray Morrow, Tim Kirk, Ken Barr, Alex Toth, Ernie Colon, Jan Strnad, Mike Kaluta and Terry Austin. Covers by Ken Barr and Richard Corben.

Issue 1 (Summer 1974)

Art by Ken Barr
Art by Ken Barr

“Shadow of the Sword”

Art by Rich Buckler
Art by Rich Buckler

Written and drawn by Rich Buckler. Rich went on to do some Conan and the Warlord. he also did S&S for Warren and Seaboard.

“Uncle Sal and Cousin John Go Planet Tripping”

Art by George Perez and Bob Garrison
Art by George Perez and Bob Garrison

Written by Robert Keenan/Art by George Perez and Bob Garrison. One of many un-funny S&S parodies.

“The Thought and the Egg”

Art by Ernie Colon
Art by Ernie Colon

Written by Doug Moench. Art by Ernie Colon. Ernie would co-author and design the Sword & Sorcery comic, Arak, Son of Thunder with Roy Thomas. Ernie drew S&S for Warren and Skywald as well.

Issue 2 (Winter 1975)

Art by Ken Barr
Art by Ken Barr

“Voluptas”

Art by Richard Corben
Art by Richard Corben

Written by Herb Arnold. Art by Richard Corben. these two would dominate Hot Stuf’, working together and alone.

“Orion”

Art by Gray Morrow
Art by Gray Morrow

“Orion” originally appeared in Witzend #2 (1967), published by Wally Wood. It would appear again in Heavy Metal Magazine #12-19 (March-November 1978).  Written and illustrated by S&S grandmaster Gray Morrow.

“The Champion’s Match”

Art by Bob Kline
Art by Bob Kline

Written by Bob Keenan with art by Bob Kline.

Issue 3 (Winter 1976)

Art by Richard Corben
Art by Richard Corben

“Eirvthia”

Art by Tim Kirk
Art by Tim Kirk

Written by Herb Arnold. Drawn by Tim Kirk. This is the first segment in a two-part series.

“The Pawn”

Art by Stan Dresser
Art by Stan Dresser

Written and Drawn by Stan Dresser.

“The Dweller in the Dark”

Art by Richard Corben
Art by Richard Corben

Written and Drawn by Herb Arnold and Richard Corben. A good look ahead for Corben, who would adapt Clark Ashton Smith and draw other extreme comics.

“The Feast of Souls”

Art by Herb Arnold
Art by Herb Arnold

Written and Drawn by Herb Arnold. You can see how Corben’s style affected Herb Arnold, who was his assistant.

Issue 4 (Spring 1977)

Art by Ken Barr
Art by Ken Barr

“The Kenshi Blade”

Art by Bill Stillwell
Art by Bill Stillwell

Written and drawn by Bill Stillwell. Another early Manga inspired comic. Both Quartuccio and Gary Friedrich at Star*Reach introduced early manga-type fantasy. It didn’t catch on for a decade or more though.

“Orion Part 2”

Issue 5 (Fall 1977)

“Tales Out of Eirvthia”

Art by Tim Kirk
Art by Tim Kirk

Written by Herb Arnold. Drawn by Tim Kirk in a different style than part 1.

“The City of the Black Idol”

Art by Stan Dresser
Art by Stan Dresser

Written and drawn by Stan Dresser.

“Chard”

Art by Richard Corben
Art by Richard Corben

Written and drawn by Herb Arnold and Richard Corben.

“Crown of Fear”

Art by Herb Arnold
Art by Herb Arnold

Written and drawn by Herb Arnold. More in a Solomon Kane vein than Conan.

Issue 6 (Winter 1977)

Art by Rich Larson and Steve Fastner
Art by Rich Larson and Steve Fastner

“12 Parts”

Art by Mike Wasser
Art by Mike Wasser

Written and drawn by Mike Wasser.

Issue 7 (Spring 1978)

Art by Mike Kaluta
Art by Mike Kaluta

“All The King’s Man”

Art by Sonny Trinidad
Art by Sonny Trinidad

Written by Howard Hill. Art by Sonny Trinidad. Lenka is, of course, reminiscent of a certain red-haired Marvel character. Trinidad would later work on strips for Savage Sword of Conan. Read the whole comic here.

Issue 8 did not feature any Sword & Sorcery comics. I guess by 1978 even Sal Quartuccio was getting a little tired of the heroic fantasy that had been popular since the late 1960s in undergrounds by Wally Wood or the early Warren magazines. Sal moved into even more porny publishing, leaving the swords and sorcery behind…

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