Fantasy Comics You Might Not Know

The word “fantasy” is problematic to the researcher. If you are looking for Heroic Fantasy or Sword & Sorcery or even Epic Fantasy comics with only the word “Fantasy” you get a lot of stuff that just isn’t what you are looking for. Usually paired with “weird” or “dark” you get horror comics. Slipped in with “adult’ or “jungle” you get the jiggly stuff. If it is old Marvel comics you get superheroes.

Despite this annoying fact, there are some old, obscure, usually one-off comics that may have slipped past you in the rush to buy the monthly copies of Conan the Barbarian and The Warlord. Many of these were fan-funded and never had a wide circulation. Others were created in countries that aren’t English-speaking. Whatever the reason, there are some fascinating publications to be found lying around in basements and in the collections of far-flung fans.

Here is a sample:

Circa 1960, the Spencer Company of England produced six issues of Fantasy Stories. These ranged from Fantasy to Science Fiction to Horror.

Written and drawn by Alfred Alcala in the Philipines in 1963, “Voltar” made his American debut in The Rook #3-9 long after Alfred had become famous for his work on The Savage Sword of Conan and other Marvel magazines. When I read it in The Rook I thought it was a shabby version of Conan but realizing that it was done seven years before any Conan comics existed it was brilliant for 1963.

James Cawthorn, friend of Michael Moorcock, did Stormbringer in 1965. It was reprinted in 1976.

Also 1965, “Maxor” in Fantastic Exploits #21-23, it was written and drawn by John Adkins Richardson.

An independent comic in 1972, Peter A. Laird wrote and drew this single issue.

Sal Quartucchi published Phase 1 in 1971, featuring Frank Brunner’s “Sword of Dragonus”. It would later be reprinted in Monster Unleashed #2 (September 1973) by Marvel.

California Comics produced this four issue run in 1972. Being an underground comic it features nudity and swearing but it also features a young Michael Whelan, Will Meugnoit and Trina Robbins.

Windy City Publications does Elric in a single issue in 1973. Steve Grant wrote the adaptation of “The Dreaming City”.

Fantagor is an underground comic with a complex history, switching from publisher to publisher. The end result was five mismatched issues. The one shown here, #4, featured the debut of Richard Corben’s “Den”, that would be a hit in Heavy Metal in 1977. Lots of Corben, including some of his Lovecraft stuff.

Summer 1976 produced one black&white issue of The Fantasy Book. It features two S&S pieces: “The Shadow in the Star Stone” written by Steven G. Mitchell and drawn by Bob Webb, T. Lewis and Dwayne Carter, and “A Vision of Black Stars” by Mitchell and Webb.

One issue from Independent Publishers Syndicate, the debut of Wendy Pini’s Elfquest, which went onto a decades-long run with many spin-offs. The back-up was “Doorway to the Gods” by T. Casy Brennan and drawn by Dave Sim.

A German facsimile of Heavy Metal, it used work from that magazine as well as Metal Hurlant and Pilote. It ran October 1978 to February 1979.

K. G. Murray of England did this one-shot filled with DC Comics reprints including Beowulf Dragonslayer, Claw the Unconquered and Iron Wolf. It appeared in 1982.

Also in 1982 was Fantasy Illustrated with a cover by P. Craig Russell. (See above) Produced by New Media Publishing, it featured Steve Ditko, Tom Sutton, Mike Sekowsky, P. Craig Russell, Richard Howell, Steve Leialoha with stories by Steve Engelhart, Don McGregor and Mark Evanier. Too bad there was only the one issue.

February 1984 debuted this short-lived independent. It ran for 3 issues. Lots of Roy G. Krenkel in the first issue. Marcus Boas did all three covers.

One-shot from Pacific Comics in July 1984. A fabulous line-up beginning with Barry Windsor-Smith, John Bolton, Jeffrey Jones, Leila Dowling and Scott Hampton. If I remember correctly I bought a series of art prints from Pacific. This comic may have been a promotional tool for those prints.

Two issues from AC Comics in 1987. Good art but the stories by Frank W. Zenau were lackluster.

This one-shot was from Burcham Studios in 1991.

In 2003, Lost Worlds of Fantasy began, running for nine issues. The covers were painted by Mike Hoffman.

Since 2000 the European branch of Disney has been publishing Donald Duck with a difference. I have seen The Wizards of Mickey but this DD is straight out of World of Warcraft. This brand of Disney hasn’t exploded in North America and I’m not sure why.

In 2002, Egmont repackaged the CrossGen Fantasy comics into a six issue anthology comic featuring Sojourn, Meridian, Scion and Mystic.

2010 brought Fantasy Komiks from Egmont Polska, which ran for eighteen issues.

This is only a sampling, of course. The 1960s were filled with odd little comics created in basements and garages. The 1970s legitimized the idea of an independent comic. The 1980s saw the explosion of these with Cerebus the Aardvark, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Elfquest, while the 1990s saw a decline. The 21st Century has moved all this to the Internet with web comics, which is exciting, but I have a strong nostalgia for these earlier days of endless possibilities.