Sword, Reloaded! Part 1

I've made mention of the Spanish fanzine SWORD on more than one occasion around here, and took the time to (loosely) translate many of the comics created by those involved in it's publication. For a long time I've been meaning to post something a little more comprehensive about SWORD on CROM!, and that time starts now!

"Sword" is a Spanish fanzine dedicated to the works of Robert E. Howard. It emerged from a group of fans back in 1987, primarily Isabel Pazos and Carlos Yáñez. , If you want to learn more, there is a fair amount of information about this fanzine on Tebeosfera, courtesy of one of Sword’s other contributors, Manuel Barrero (in Spanish, of course).   By the way, Manuel has stopped by CROM! a few times to comment, and his supporting information is always appreciated!  Thank you Manuel!  I also had the privilege of communicating briefly with Carlos Yáñez, and I found him to be very kind, generous, and from what I've read and heard, he's an avid writer and R.E. Howard scholar!  Gracias Carlos!

Much of this information to follow comes our way directly from the Sword website (here) by way of Google translate...

Sword, 1st Era

I have never come across any information about the first era of this fanzine in my travels, other than the wee bit that is posted on the Sword website and on Tebeosfera...cover scans and some cover artist names...

#1, #2 (Neal Adams cover), #3 (José Manuel Arias cover)

#4 (José Manuel Arias cover), #5 (Jafar Cover), #6

#7 (Bart Sears cover), #8

Sword, 2nd Era

With the second era of the fanzine, the Sword website (which is all courtesy of Carlos I assume) provides us with more information about its contents, along with cover scans and artists names, and even a few samples of what's inside.  I've gone ahead and translated a few of the pages, but the original scans were pretty small so I had to enlarge them a bit to get the text to fit and still be legible (barely)...I didn't want to enlarge them too much and totally destroy one's appreciation of the artwork.

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ISSUE #1: “TERROR ON THE BLACK COAST”, 1997

Dedicated to the graphic novel "Terror On The Black Coast", an unpublished adventure about Conan and his companion Belit, written by Carlos Yáñez García and drawn by Joseba Acebes Acha. Cover and excerpt below by Joseba Acebes Acha.

If I remember correctly, I've seen a colorized version of the cover above on Tebeosfera (thumbnail only), which would surely be this same story republished at a later date!

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ISSUE #2: “A THOUSAND GODS AND A SINGLE HEAVEN”, 1997

Introduction by Grego Lorente; comic "A Thousand Gods And A Single Heaven" written by Grego and art by Loren Lorente; "Conan" (portfolio), by Loren Lorente; Cover and excerpt below by Loren Lorente.

You can read more about Loren on CROM! (here) and on his blog, http://lorenlorente.blogspot.com/.  Loren is very busy so he's on hiatus from blogging for now, but he was very kind to speak with us on more than one occasion, and with any luck he will one day provide us with a better look at the Conan tale above...and I quote:  "I'm trying to find the original pages of the comic Thousand Gods and a single heaven, as my friend Cromsblood asked me to do...".  Fingers crossed!  Hope things are well with you Loren!

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ISSUE #3: “SPANIARDS IN THE HYBORIAN ERA”, 1997

Devoted to the work of the Spanish authors of the Italian collection "CONAN THE CONQUEROR": Xavier Marturet, Mike Ratera, Paco Diaz and Rafa López . The copy includes interviews with all of them, sketches and pencils of their adventures, and materials especially made for the occasion; Cover and excerpt by Mike Ratera.

Mike Ratera was featured around here quite recently (right here), and both Rafa and Xavier have also appeared previously on CROM!..look here and here!

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ISSUE #4: “THE QUEEN OF THE RED DESERT”, 1998

"The Queen Of The Red Desert" (comic), by Miguel Fernandez and Mariano Saura; "Conan" (portfolio), by Mariano Saura; cover and excerpt by Mariano Saura.

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Coming soon on CROM!...SWORD makes the move from a "typical" fanzine to a much more polished and professional looking version!

This post originally aired on the now defunct REH Illustrated.