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Conan Comics
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1,125 posts in this topic

Conan was supposed to be scrawny during that time period. According to the chronicle timeline, he was supposed to be teenager with wanderlust just leaving Cimmeria. I think the problem is when Buscema took over the title with issue #25, Conan automatically looked like he was 40 years old.

 

I think that was the only thing I didn't like about Buscema's Conan. Whether Conan was 18 or 60+ as King Conan, he looked exactly the same.

Good point. I'm not familiar with the exact timelines, so that would make sense. But I still dislike that helmet and rather feminine face.

Edited by KEY ISSUES Comics
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I can transport to Ottawa if necessary.

 

Gotta say, I'll pick up Savage Swords, but won't bother with the comic. I love Buscema, but really don't like BWS, and I don't want to have to buy issues I'll hate. The mag is :cloud9:

The comics are great too!

 

Funny that you say that, but my least favourite issues are the BWS ones. I love his work, but his Conan just seems wrong to me. Kind of like THOR in JIM #83. A scrawny barbarian just doesn't work for me. (shrug)

 

While I prefer Buscema's Conan, I also like BWS.

 

+1 on Buscema but I'm sure many will think it's heresy to think this way.

 

Not sure why anyone would, Buscema is an all time great comic book artist.

 

Heresy with regards to preferring Buscema over BWS.

 

Not at all, BWS doesn't rank as a great artist for me. Although very detailed, he couldn't draw a face to save his life.

 

Buscema's Silver Surfer wipes the floor with anything BWS ever drew.

 

I agree with you that BWS doesn't rank for me either - just saying many others wouldn't agree with Buscema over BWS.

Look at who's OA for Conan brings more money - and by a lot!

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I can transport to Ottawa if necessary.

 

Gotta say, I'll pick up Savage Swords, but won't bother with the comic. I love Buscema, but really don't like BWS, and I don't want to have to buy issues I'll hate. The mag is :cloud9:

The comics are great too!

 

Funny that you say that, but my least favourite issues are the BWS ones. I love his work, but his Conan just seems wrong to me. Kind of like THOR in JIM #83. A scrawny barbarian just doesn't work for me. (shrug)

 

While I prefer Buscema's Conan, I also like BWS.

 

+1 on Buscema but I'm sure many will think it's heresy to think this way.

 

Not sure why anyone would, Buscema is an all time great comic book artist.

 

Heresy with regards to preferring Buscema over BWS.

 

Not at all, BWS doesn't rank as a great artist for me. Although very detailed, he couldn't draw a face to save his life.

 

Buscema's Silver Surfer wipes the floor with anything BWS ever drew.

 

I agree with you that BWS doesn't rank for me either - just saying many others wouldn't agree with Buscema over BWS.

Look at who's OA for Conan brings more money - and by a lot!

 

Buscema also did a ton more Conan than BWS, so there's more of his art out there.

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I can transport to Ottawa if necessary.

 

Gotta say, I'll pick up Savage Swords, but won't bother with the comic. I love Buscema, but really don't like BWS, and I don't want to have to buy issues I'll hate. The mag is :cloud9:

The comics are great too!

 

Funny that you say that, but my least favourite issues are the BWS ones. I love his work, but his Conan just seems wrong to me. Kind of like THOR in JIM #83. A scrawny barbarian just doesn't work for me. (shrug)

 

While I prefer Buscema's Conan, I also like BWS.

 

+1 on Buscema but I'm sure many will think it's heresy to think this way.

 

Not sure why anyone would, Buscema is an all time great comic book artist.

 

Heresy with regards to preferring Buscema over BWS.

 

Not at all, BWS doesn't rank as a great artist for me. Although very detailed, he couldn't draw a face to save his life.

 

Buscema's Silver Surfer wipes the floor with anything BWS ever drew.

 

I agree with you that BWS doesn't rank for me either - just saying many others wouldn't agree with Buscema over BWS.

Look at who's OA for Conan brings more money - and by a lot!

 

Buscema also did a ton more Conan than BWS, so there's more of his art out there.

 

Very fair point - can't argue it!

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I much prefer Smith's Conan to the Buscema one that followed, including for the reason Brian48 mentioned earlier. For me, Smith did some extraordinary work on other titles too, although I wish there had been more, like this work from Avengers 99 and 100:

 

Avengers+099-01+Whom+the+Gods+Would+Destroy.jpg

 

cap.jpg

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Actually, the more BWS work I see, the less I like it. Those faces are just terrible.

 

I think the only stuff of his I like was his work on Weapon X and the X-Men. He seems to have mastered his craft by then.

 

Once again, it's just a matter of taste.

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Regarding his character faces, BWS used Native American references for all his drawings which is why you have the same characteristics through out. Not sure why he stuck with this, but it seemed to work for him.

 

Unfortunately, Smith didn't really refine his style until the very tail end of his Conan run, culminating with Red Nails, which is his finest comics work bar none. Because of this, a lot of his earlier works on the title, often inked by other people, gets referenced in discussions.

 

I read somewhere [might have been an interview or something written by Roy Thomas] that BWS didn't know how to draw comics when he first started out. His earlier works essentially ape'd Kirby because he thought that's how it was supposed to be drawn. I'm a fan, but I will readily admit that his earlier works didn't look very good to me, especially on the X-Men and Daredevil titles. It wasn't until he discovered it was OK for him to draw it in his own way that he started to take off. This of course, also led to all the scheduling issues as well since the artwork needed more time to finish. Not surprising he bailed out of the Hour of Dragon project. Although I love Gil Kane, a fully mature BWS doing that story line would have been epic.

 

When I think of Barry Smith, this is what comes to mind visually for me.

 

 

Red-Nails-01.jpg

 

Savage-Tales-02%2B15.jpg

 

07-13-2011-BWS-Conan-Clear.png

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The beauty of the Conan BWS issues to me is that you can see the evolution of his art from issue to issue. If you look at the first few compared to the last few you see a young artist who was still showing his Kirby roots slowly transforming into something completely different.

 

Personally, I always find watching that type of transformation exciting.

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BWS's stuff was best when he did his own inking (and coloring when needed), where as I don't recall Buscema ever inking his own artwork. This obviously made Big John's art very dependent on whomever was his collaborator.

 

When paired with an able inker like Ernie Chan or Alfredo Alcala, Buscema's work was great. Anyone else, it was just serviceable in my opinion.

 

By the way, if no one has ever read it, I think this is Buscema's finest work on Conan (with help from Alcala and Marie Severin). "Black Vulmea's Vengeance (Revenge of the Barbarian)" which appeared in Marvel Super Special #2 (a key Conan book in my opinion).

 

http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2008/12/stocking-stuffer-marvel-super-special-2.html

 

The entire issue is posted online if you want read it or just look at the artwork.

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BWS's stuff was best when he did his own inking (and coloring when needed), where as I don't recall Buscema ever inking his own artwork. This obviously made Big John's art very dependent on whomever was his collaborator.

 

When paired with an able inker like Ernie Chan or Alfredo Alcala, Buscema's work was great. Anyone else, it was just serviceable in my opinion.

 

By the way, if no one has ever read it, I think this is Buscema's finest work on Conan (with help from Alcala and Marie Severin). "Black Vulmea's Vengeance (Revenge of the Barbarian)" which appeared in Marvel Super Special #2 (a key Conan book in my opinion).

 

http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2008/12/stocking-stuffer-marvel-super-special-2.html

 

The entire issue is posted online if you want read it or just look at the artwork.

 

John Buscema did ink his own work in some issues of the Avengers, Conan the Barbarian & Savage Sword.

 

edit: & Tarzan.

Edited by Unca Ben
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Well, for me, Adams does hold the title of best cover in both Savage Tales and SSOC in my opinion. This would be issue 4 and 2 respectively. His inking job to Gil Kane's pencils in ST #4 is great too, one of the best Conan stories published by Marvel.

 

It's too bad Adams came off the main title so soon and abrupt. In one of his interviews, I take it he was planning some sort of multi-issue epic, but it never materialized and he was off on something else. Issue 37 is a beautiful book to look at, but the story is mind-numbingly bad.

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God yes. I have posted on the boards before that Marvel Super Special #2 is totally overlooked. I may have reread this one more than any other comic in my childhood collection.

 

By the way, if no one has ever read it, I think this is Buscema's finest work on Conan (with help from Alcala and Marie Severin). "Black Vulmea's Vengeance (Revenge of the Barbarian)" which appeared in Marvel Super Special #2 (a key Conan book in my opinion).

 

http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2008/12/stocking-stuffer-marvel-super-special-2.html

 

The entire issue is posted online if you want read it or just look at the artwork.

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Cool. Another excuse to bump up thread.

 

Wasn't looking for another copy as I already have 2 very nice raw copies and a sweet 9.6 WP, but for $5, I couldn't say no. Except for the color breaking crease towards the bottom right corner, this is actually a very nice copy.

 

Found it in a box of low grade BA drek. I take it whomever bagged it, had no idea what COD 4 was all about.

 

164004.jpg

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Cool. Another excuse to bump up thread.

 

Wasn't looking for another copy as I already have 2 very nice raw copies and a sweet 9.6 WP, but for $5, I couldn't say no. Except for the color breaking crease towards the bottom right corner, this is actually a very nice copy.

 

Found it in a box of low grade BA drek. I take it whomever bagged it, had no idea what COD 4 was all about.

 

164004.jpg

 

Love finds like this!

I still need a copy, wanna double your investment real quick? lol

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