In preparation for this weekend’s next session of the Dark Worlds Quarterly Sword & Sorcery Round Table, I am looking over my favorite comics, games and other items that sprang from the fiction of Howard, Leiber, Anderson, etc. So here is my top ten Sword & Sorcery stories of the 1970s (as opposed to full comics or runs of titles). I tried to stick to the ones that were important to me back in the day instead of the ones that I know were significant to the genre. I have read a lot of great Eurporean and underground comics since but back in the 70s it was all about marvel and DC. Not surprising most are from 1973. What a year! (Most of these comics are available online.)
“The Valley of the Worm” in Supernatural Thrillers #3 (April 1973) is (IMO) Gil Kane’s masterpiece. A great Robert E. Howard story drawn to perfection. I got this comic later on without a cover but prized it all the same.
“Where Broods the Demon” in Creatures on the Loose #23 (May 1973) was the first Sword & Sorcery comic i ever bought. Of course, I included it here. I was sent to the dime store by my older brother to buy a Superhero comic (Avengers I think) but i returned with this gem. He wasn’t happy about it but I was a life-long S&S fan. It is the second half of “Thieves of Zangabal” by Lin Carter.
“The Prophecy” in Sword of Sorcery #4 (September-October 1973) was not one of the Fritz Leiber adaptations by Howard Chaykin (those were also great). This was Walt Simonson’s solo tale about Fafhrd and a dragon. It stuck with me for decades.
“King Kull Must Die!” in Kull the Destroyer #11 (November 1973) was an adaptation of an unpublished Howard story but it introduced me to Mike Ploog. “The Shadow Kingdom” did a similar fight scene at the end (and better) but this issue stuck with me.
“Flame Winds” in Conan the Barbarian #32-34 (November 1973-January 1974) is the adaptation of Norvell W. Page’s novel (not that I knew that back in 1974). When I read that book a few years ago I recognized elements in it and had to go look into the comic. Of course, it was Page’s story with monsters added, The one-eyed dragon thing gave me a weird nightmare one night…
“The Curse of Castle Hrothgar” Beowulf Dragonslayer #1 (April-May 1975) is first episode in my favorite comic book of all time. That’s a pretty big statement but I love this one by Michael Uslan and Vicente Alcazar. The first episode is closest to the original poem before Beowulf and his companion wander off to fight new monsters. I think it was this comic that made me love Arak, Son of Thunder in the 1980s.
“Worms of the Earth” in Savage Sword of Conan #16-17 (December 1976-February 1977) was my introduction to Barry Smith. I missed all the original Conan the Barbarians so I found him here first. And again IMO his best work. I read ever issue of SSOC from about #9 to about #120 and this is my fav. There were lots of other great ones but his is the top.
“Cerebus the Aardvark” Cerebus the Aardvark #1 (December 1977) was the best parody of S&S to appear in the 1970s. And I think it was because you could tell Dave Sim loved the sub-genre even as he poked fun. Sim was inspired by Barry Smith.
“People of the Dark” in Marvel Treasury #19 (1978) was actually a reprint from Savage Sword of Conan #6 but the color version is the better of the two. Alex Nino exploded my John Buscema-infused idea of what an S&S could be.
“The Lord of Tyndall”s Quest” in Marvel Premiere #38 (October 1978) was S&S in a more Tolkien mode with elven-type heroes. Doug Moench claims he was not inspired by The Hobbit or Tolkien. Perhaps it was cultural osmosis? Either way, this comic prepared me for the less Howardian comics like Elfquest. (Love the sound effect joke.)
Well, there is my very personal list of Top ten sword & Sorcery Stories of the 1970s. There are literally a hundred others but these were the brightest gems for me. Let me hear what you would have picked…
My introduction to Conan and Sword and Sorcery in general was Marvel Treasury 15 with Song of Red Sonja, Night of the Dark God, and Black Colossus. They set the standards for me, and to this day I think the art of all 3 stories is amongst the best ever in the comics medium. For something more obscure I’ll mention the Marvel Limited series Black Dragon by Chris Claremont and John Bolton. Just a tightly written, beautifully drawn tale with a unique premise.
Always happy to see BEOWULF get mentioned as it’s a seriously underrated S&S book of the 70s. That and HERCULES UNCHAINED. Which was actually more science fiction than S&S actually but I like to mention that one every chance I get as well.
I remember reading all of those bar Cerebus and Weirdworld back in the 70’s and early 80’s. I devoured every S&S comic and paperback I could get my hands on in those days. Those images certainly bring back some memories. Standout memories for me are Barry Windsor Smiths work on those early Conan tales, particularly his version of Red Nails. I first discovered Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser through issue 5 of Sword of Sorcery, the one with the sunken land which I still think was the best of that run. I also have fond memories of Claw the Unconquered.
Great list. My first Conan was #32 (Flame Winds) when I was 9 but I didn’t start collecting religiously until a year later with Savage Sword #2 with the great Neal Adams cover and “Black Colossus” adaptation. I would perhaps add Kull #3, my first REH comic that had the classic “Death Dance of Thulsa Doom”. I also really liked Wulf #1 from Atlas in 1975, but that went downhill. In addition to Beowulf, DC had Claw but that wasn’t very good although I still bought it. Jack Kirby’s Atlas was dreadful, I recall.