Savage Sword of Conan Volume 1

I own hundreds of SSOC and Conan Saga in their original printings, and I love these versions of the books. They are perfect for re-reading the classic stories and if I may say, they also tend to cut out the superfluous stuff found in the originals (IE, Kull stories/pin ups/letter pages.. things that are fine in a monthly format but if you just want to read a bunch of Conan, those things tend to be fairly pointless). The size is not an issue, everything is legible and the art still shines through. Most people looking at these Conan trades are pretty familiar with reading standard sized comics as well, so no point in pretending this is anything new or different. We aren't talking Manga size or anything .. just the same as any issue of X-Men or Preacher or what have you. The price is incredibly low for the amount of content - 500+ pages of amazing stories and art. It's hard to imagine how anyone can complain, but I guess people find ways.

I've avoided black & white comics, but after discovering how much I loved Roy Thomas' 1970's Conan stories I decided to give this book a try. I was more than surprised at how much I love it. I read a lot of comics, but I find a quality in these older works that leave me fascinated. Roy Thomas' writing sparkles, and with every story here that I've read so far I found myself thinking, "Wow, this art is fantastic!" There's a good variety of artists and styles, including Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Gil Kane, Jim Starlin, Tim Conrad, and Pablo Marcos. Along with the eye-popping covers that are included, an added treat are a few Conan pin-ups sprinkled throughout. This is a very fun read, as well as a wonderful lesson in some comics masters. Highly recommended.

I just received this book today and am very happy with the product. This book has been ridiculously denigrated by reviewers. I dont get it. It is just like a Marvel Essential or a DC Showcase book. Since these stories were originally presented in black and white anyway, you lose nothing in this format. There is no problem with binding or margin at all. I can read every panel including those on the inside of the pages. I ordered the Predator Omnibus from Dark Horse and was surprised at the smaller size of the book. Not this book. This volume is the exact same dimensions as any standard sized TPB. Maybe my copy came from a second printing but it is larger than I expected. As far as the content goes, this is classic Conan. Some of the best writing and art in the history of Conan's existence as a comic character is found in these pages. I am pre-ordering volume 2 right now. BUY THIS BOOK if you are a fan of Conan and his adventures.

Too too many people knock this as art being too small blah blah, whatever...Conan is going thru a renaissance right now(THANK YOU ROY).I have not read these stories in years and now I am happy to have them in my hands again! Dark Horse is even doing a DOUBLE SOLID by realeasing a volume a month!!! Yeah my only complaint is that the volumes only hold what? 15 tales? So what? I look forward to next month's volume where it showcases MY favorite REH tale. 'Beyond the black river'!!!! And funny thing when I picked this book up...Lionsgate got the greenlight for a new Conan movie! THANK YOU DARK HORSE AND KEEP SSOC COMING!!!!

I have to say that I disagree with the negative reviews about this product. For the sheer volume of material vs. price, this is a great bargain. Consider the fact that the DH reprints of the "Conan the Barbarian" comic (Chronicles of Conan) are printed on high quality paper and cost approximately the same price as this volume. But they also only contain seven or eight issues per volume and run less than 150 pages. This volume reprints over 500 pages and contains material from 15 seperate issues. So, I guess DH could have just reprinted issues 1-5 on high quality paper, and made us wait two months for the next volume, or the could have charged us $40.00 to $50.00 for each volume. You do the math. Yes, the size has been shrunk from the normal magazine size, but I don't actually have a problem with that because the artwork is left completely intact. I know that one reviewer claims otherwise. Maybe he just obtained a bad copy. I don't know. But NONE of the artwork is hidden from view, at least not in my copy. The quality of the paper is the same as the original magazine, which is what I anticipated. No surprises there. Bottom line: I didn't buy this as an investment that would increase in value over the years. I bought this because I get to see great stories and artwork that I thought I would never see again. I threw out my old SSOC magazines years ago, and ever since the Howard revival that started in 2002 or so, I've been regretting that decision. Ah, the memories! For those who've never seen SSOC, in the 70s and 80s, this was the "hardcore" big brother to the comic book. It was completely unrestrained by the comics code, and the artists took full advantage of that fact. While this volume is pretty tame, in the subsequent years it became racier and racier. This is Conan the way Howard wrote Conan: R rated. Being 9 or 10 at the time, I remember hiding these from my parents. Even the covers, which often featured a well endowed female wearing only brass pasties, would have sent my mom into a hissy. There are beautifully rendered adaptions of great Howard stories: Black Colossus, The Frost Giants Daughter, Red Nails, Iron Shadows in the Moon, A Witch Shall Be Born, and Hour of The Dragon. Also included are non-Conan Howard stories adapted for Conan, including Curse of the Undead Man, People of the Dark, and The Dark Man. My only disappointment is that they didn't reprint the other material from the magazine, such as the King Kull, Bran Mak Morn, and Solomon Kane stories, as well as the excellent essays. And they only feature the last few chapters of Hour of the Dragon, but not the complete novel. But all things considered, I'm very pleased with the purchase, and look forward to volume 2. I just hope that it doesn't prove as difficult to obtain. If you're a Conan fan, this is a must have. Five stars!!!