Sword, Reloaded! Part 2

I got a little sidetracked on the whole Sword/Sword Studio thing (part 1 here) after most unexpectedly being contacted by Sword contributor Joseba Acebes Acha a while back, but am committed to passing along everything I've learned, so on we go with the 3rd Era of Sword!

In 1998, Sword made the jump from your typical fanzine to a much more professional version, published by Chameleon Publications, and later by The Factory of Ideas. It consisted of 8 issues in total, although the 8th and final issue was never published.

It's been a long time since I first began researching all of this, and if I remember correctly have made some (pretty safe) assumptions as to the contents based on the cover art and descriptions from the Sword website.

Issue #1: “Spaniards in the Hyborian Era”, July 1998

Cover by Rafa Lopez

This first issue of the third era of Sword was a fully updated re-issue, with the addition of new materials, and the special "Spaniards in the Hyborian Era ". For the second time it was entirely dedicated to the adventures of Conan, created for Marvel Italy by scriptwriter Xavier Marturet and artists Mike Ratera, Rafa Lopez and Paco Diaz. 

Issue #2: “Featured Artist Benito Gallego”, November 1998

Cover by Benito Gallego

 

Issue #2 was dedicated to artist Benito Gallego and a new character who, for the first time, sees the light of day in the world of comics, "Sword The Barbarian".

Benito's been featured and/or mentioned on Crom! on more than one occasion (for example here, here, here, and here), he's a fabulous artist and incredibly nice guy.  Sadly, he's not working on anything Conan specific these days, but his Buscema influenced artwork is always a delight!  I encourage you to visit Benito's blog here (http://benitogallego.blogspot.com/) to keep up with his most recent creations (primarily APAMA The Undiscovered Animal these days).

Issue #3: “The Origins of Conan”, September 1999

Cover by JAFAR (José Antonio Fernández Agüera Rojo)

Issue #3 was dedicated to the genesis of heroic fantasy comics in the U.S. and to the images of Conan that existed before Marvel Comics obtained the rights to the character. Also reproduced for the first time in Spain, a comic from the Mexican series of the 1950’s “la Reina de la Costa Negra” (Queen of the Black Coast ).

Yup, it's blond Conan yet again!  We've seen quite a bit of him around here (link, link, link, and link)  but I have yet to lay my eyes upon an entire comic book from this series...man oh man, that's right near the top of my wish list!

Issue #4: “Presents Francisco Nájera”, November 1999

Cover by Francisco Nájera

#4 was dedicated to the artist Francisco "Paco" Nájera, and featured three new adventures in the world of the barbarian Sword..."Alliance of Blood" and "Oasis" (both written by none other than Carlos Yáñez) and "Larj" (written by J.C. Cereza).  Also from Issue #4, Francisco's portfolio from this issue, as indicated on his website (here)!

(click to enlarge)

One more picture from Francisco's website, which he indicates is the poster in the center of issue #4, drawn by him and colored by Castillo...

(sorry, this is as big as it gets)

As an aside, Francisco (Paco) is also responsible for the Conan parody "Gañán, El Bestiajo"...here's the cover of one of these issues (sent my way by Joseba) and featuring the artwork of both Paco and a Frazetta Death Dealer/Gañán parody by Joseba...

(click to enlarge)

Much more can be learned about Gañán by visiting Francisco's website (link above).

Issue #5, July 2000

Cover by Rafael Vargas

Again dedicated to the the Barbarian Sword, with three adventures written by Carlos Yáñez and Jose Miguel Pallarés, and drawn by Rafael Vargas, Manuel Garcia and Antonio Vazquez.  The cover makes it clear that one of the stories is "The Sands of Death" (drawn by Vargas, scripted by Yáñez).

Issue #6: "Barbarian Comics", September 2000

Cover by the beyond talented Juan Jose Ryp! More about Juan HERE!

Issue #6 was a dedication to the history of heroic fantasy comics with a comprehensive study on the subject by Manuel Barrero.

ISSUE #7, date unknown

Cover by Jafar (José Antonio Fernández Agüera Rojo)

Dedicated to the spectacular artist JAFAR, and included, among other things, the adventure “Fury of the Lion” written by Carlos Yáñez and drawn by Jafar.

ISSUE #8, unpublished

Cover by Benito Gallego

(and again, sorry, but that's as big as it gets)

Again devoted to Benito Gallego, but never published despite the fact that all the material was ready for printing. Based on the cover, it undoubtedly included Benito’s “The Creature of the Lake”.

Well, I'm going to wrap things up for today.  I could go on, but this post is already getting way too long (and blogger tends to get a little unruly with these lengthy posts). 

In closing, many thanks goes out to Joseba Acebes Acha (a.k.a. Jose Manuel Acha) and Carlos Yáñez for all that they've shared with us up till now, as well as to all the artists and writers involved with Sword!  In Part 3 of this series of posts, I'll provide more details about many of the stories mentioned above, and still lots more to come courtesy of Joseba!

This (now revised) post originally aired on the now defunct REH Illustrated.