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La Reina de la Costa Negra!!!

Look! Not one, not two, but three exclamation marks, and for good reason. It’s Conan the blond Conquistador in the unauthorized, unabashed, unbelievably cool Mexican comic book La Reina de la Costa Negra (Queen of the Black Coast)!

Reproduced in issue #3 of the Spanish fanzine Sword (Sept. 1999, look here), and featuring the artwork of Salvador H. Lavalle and a script by Silvaquiros, it’s here for your viewing pleasure (link below)!

Coincidentally, Marvel’s The Savage Sword of Conan #44 (Sept, 1979) has a article with fairly in-depth coverage of this particular issue of “La Reina…” by one Douglas Menville, including several scans, so there are a few things that I can safely say about this comic:

1. This is indeed issue #16, originally published by Ediciones Joma on Dec 8, 1965.

2. Although some of the stories in other comics in this series have a title, that is not the case with this particular issue.

3. This advertisement appeared on the back cover:

Interestingly enough, these same guys were also responsible for another comic book at the very same time, a Tarzan parody entitled Chango'o El Rey De Los Monos (Chango'o King of the Apes?)…now I'm no comic book artist, but can you imagine pumping out two 32 page comics (plus covers) every week? I'm getting carpal tunnel syndrome just thinking about it.

Just for fun, here's the cover from issue #9 of Chango’o, from Nov 27, 1965...

Also just for fun, I needed a break while translating this comic into English, so I colored this here picture of Lavalle's Conan (taken from one of the panels of the comic)…

Now point your pointy thing right HERE, and check out La Reina de la Costa Negra #16!

Once again, we have Joseba to thank for all of this, so…THANK YOU JOSEBA!

Gods of the North!

From Star-Studded Comics #14 (1968), comes this old-school adaptation of Robert E. Howard's "Gods of the North"!

Well...sorta.

This particular comic is actually here by way of the Spanish fanzine Sword (link), which cites Fandom's Finest Comics (Hamster Press, 1998) as the source. The Hamster Press version is indeed a reprint from the Texan fanzine Star-Studded Comics. Adapted by Larry Herndon, penciled by Steven Kelez, and inked by Alan Hutchinson!

Star-Studded Comics #14 (left), Fandom's Finest Comics Volume 2 (right)

So the translation has come full circle (English, Spanish, English), and has probably taken a bit of a beating along the way, but it will NOT disappoint!

Download it right HERE, you venomous serpent of Set!

May Mitra grant all that you desire, Joseba, including an Atali with a friendly disposition!

More from Joseba Acebes Acha!

Not only was Joseba kind enough to fill in a lot of blanks with respect to the Spanish REH fanzine Sword of late, but he's also shared a whole lot more of his very own Conan creativity with us! This time round, it's a look at Joseba's unpublished (but simply delightful) Conan comic that's a must-see for any self respecting Conan fan!! But before we get to the English translation, let's take a quick look at the evolution of this comic...

The first sample below shows three variations of a page from the story, Joseba's original page on the left (which was published in issue #3 of the first era of Sword, entitled El Túmulo del Monstruo Gris), his reworked page in the middle, and a Benito Gallego/Jafar rework on the right. Interesting that Joseba's updated version of the comic was done entirely in pencils and black and white watercolors!

(click to enlarge)

And here's another page for comparison, this time Joseba's original work on the left, the Gallego/Jafar version in the middle, and Joseba's final rework on the right.

(click to enlarge)

Not my intention to offend either Benito or Jafar, but I've got to admit that Joseba's redesign of that page is far and away my favorite of the two! Oh, if those Gallego/Jafar pages look familiar to you, it's because we've already seen that variation of this comic on Crom!, that being the Carlos Yáñez scripted, Benito Gallego/Jafar drawn "The Mound of the Grey Giant". Here's Benito's way cool cover to refresh your memory...

Next up, a couple of variations of Joseba's version of the cover for this story, both of which were rejected (but undoubtedly worth a look)...

All of Joseba's hard work culminated in his 19 page Conan comic retaining the original title...El Túmulo del Monstruo Gris! Check it out now by downloading the English version...

"THE TOMB OF THE GREY MONSTER"

HERE and NOW!

We've seen the cover once before on Crom!, but damnit, it's worth another look!

To wrap things up, check out this "El Tumulo" inspired Christmas card by Joseba, which he put together after the completion of the comic! I attempted the translation of this too, but my feeling was that simply too much was lost in translation to really appreciate it, so here's the original in Spanish...

(Click on images to enlarge)

Still more to come from Joseba, so stay tuned...by CROM!

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.

Terror On The Black Coast!

Printed as issue one of the second era of the Spanish fanzine Sword (which has been unavailable for some 15 years now) and undoubtedly an incredible find for any Spanish fan of Robert E. Howard as it's so rare that even the artist, Joseba Acebes Acha, has never seen a copy other than the one he owns, it's Terror En La Costa Negra (Terror On The Black Coast), a 48 page Conan adaptation of REH’s “Pigeons from Hell”!!

This REH classic totally gives me the hebejebes every time I read it, so you can imagine my joy (yup, a big s**t eating grin) when I first laid eyes on this particular Conan comic!

If Joseba’s memory serves him correctly, there were but 500 copies printed (a small number using the colored version for the cover), but it was never republished. Terror en La Costa Negra was his last (published) collaboration with Sword, and although Joseba now finds his artwork quite naive (it was, after all, only his eighth or ninth comic), he was still kind enough to share it with us. Joseba candidly explains:

“The second era of Sword began with "Terror en La Costa Negra" that took me over 3 years to finish because by the time I didn't have too much free time and I was determined to do a good job. I think it is better than my previous work and especially the backgrounds, but the characters are still rigid and change their appearance from page to page; and of course I had serious problems drawing tigers and lions (it looks like I didn't know their real size).”

Featuring a script by the one and only Carlos Yáñez García, an introduction by the immensely literate Manuel Barrero (as I quickly discovered while attempting to translate said introduction), and sent to us by none other Joseba himself, it's here for your viewing pleasure, and in English of course!

Download ALL 48 pages of Terror On The Black Coast via Megaupload by clicking HERE and NOW, you flea-ridden Pict!

Personally, I consider Joseba’s contributions to Conan fandom to be both a hidden treasure and an utter delight, so Mitra’s blessings to you sir, both for sharing with us, as well as for your assistance with the English translation!

Oops, i almost forgot this: a card for the new year,
at the end of Terror On The Black Coast!

One last thing...Joseba's work has evolved greatly since this comic, as witnessed in my previous post, and as you’ll see for yourself soon enough!

Conan/Red Sonja Comic from Serbia!

Another fun little Conan comic, this one from an unknown artist and originally in Serbian, yet again thanks to the efforts of our good friend Marek!

(click for big)

And here is the original, on the off chance that you are fluent in Serbian...and perhaps you'd like to poke fun at the inaccuracies in my translation!

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"El Reino..." Double Shot!

A couple more Spanish Conan comics freshly translated into English, once again featuring a whole lotta Spanish artists!

Barrel #1: A highfalutin tale of whoring, drinking, rescue and reanimation, straight from the pages of El Reino Salvaje de Conan #7, it's Captain Conan!

Cover by Jesús Merino, script by Jesus Cano Santacruz, illustrations by Juan Román Cano, back cover drawn by Jesús Sáiz and colored by Fernando Blanco!

(click images to enlarge)

Barrel #2: A story featuring Valeria, Conan, and a cast of less skilled warrior types with one foot in the grave...from the pages of El Reino Salvaje De Conan #7, it's Rescue in Messantia!

Front cover by team Sáiz/Blanco, script by Juan Carlos Cereza, pencils by Manuel Garcia, ink by Eduardo Alpuente, and a bonus illustration by Javier Almazan!

(click images to enlarge)