Savage Sword of Conan: REFORGED #3 review

48 restored and fully colored pages of barbaric savagery!

Inside this magnificent full-color magazine you will find the following:

Classic remastered art pin-ups in stunning color:

Conan the Barbarian by Frank Brunner & Steve Leialoha from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #14

Conan ad by Gary Groth & Bob Kline from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #7

SHADOWS IN ZAMBOULA by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, Neal Adams and the Tribe. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it)

In the desert city of Zamboula, Aram Baksh offers a sleeping Conan to his business partners... a group of starving cannibals from Darfar. Conan kills four cannibals and saves Zabibi/Nafertari whose lover Alafdhal/Jungir Khan (who is wearing the ring with the jewel called the Star of Khorala) has been drugged by Totrasmek. Conan strangles Baal-Pteor the Strangler. We learn that Nafertari wants the ring for herself. Conan kills Totrasmek. Jungir Khan gets cured. After rearranging Aram Baksh's face and voice, Conan offers Aram Baksh to the Darfari man-eaters. Conan the Cimmerian departs with Jungir Khan's ring (which he swiped the minute he saw it).

THE GODS OF THE HYBORIAN AGE part One: The Homes of the Gods an essay by Robert L. Yaple, illustrated by Alex Nino and Mike Vosburg from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #6

What I did like:

Page 28. Fans of Tetsuo Hara (Fist of the North Star) will understand why the Japanese manga artist is an admirer of Neal Adams.

A NEW "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula" cover by Alex Horley! Hanuman the accursed Ape-God never looked more terrifying.

A vintage "Shadow-God of Zamboula" cover by Earl Norem from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #14.

Page 34 will remind you of the Margaret Brundage cover for Weird Tales (November 1935).

Zabibi appears on both covers!

A fabled Robert E. Howard adaptation from the 1970s!

What I did not like:

I prefer my sword-and-sorcery comics magazines in black-and-white.

No essay by Roy Thomas!

Only reprints. I wanted at least one new exclusive story in color.

I give it a 9/10. Alex Horley completists, you absolutely need to get this!

Transformers #28 (2023) review

Kirkman Kills The Transformers! Well, not all of them, yet! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, he now takes the writing reins of the flagship Transformers comic series as well, with Dan Mora now on pencils and Mike Spicer still on colors. In this twenty-eighth issue, Megatron has a freakout, Arcee gets a promotion, Miles Mayhem tries his darndest to get a spin-off, and SOMEONE DIES. FOR REAL. PERMANENTLY. Whut-oh. Yeah, Kirkman finally gives in to his Walking Dead and Invincible pedigree and brings on the gore here, for both human and Transformer alike! After I felt like he was being remarkably restrained for his first three issues, he really goes for it here and it’s... I dunno... kind of on the nose, maybe? I guess he wanted to show that his run will be chock-full of consequences too, but I feel maybe his choice of victim was a little flawed and a real shame. The victim is a Transformers character that is known for getting the shaft usually...

Solomon Kane: The Original Comics Omnibus Vol. 1 review

Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane, the dour English Puritan Swashbuckler, gets a revised complete collection of his classic Marvel suggested for mature readers sword and sorcery adventures. The omnibus is available in two versions: with a Mike Mignola dust jacket (available everywhere) or with a direct market Howard Chaykin dust jacket (only available from comic book stores). Inside this magnificent hardcover you will find the following: Stories in full color: Kane versus looter Le Loup (Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin) Kane versus looter Le Loup (Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard, Ralph Macchio, Steve Carr and Bret Blevins) Kane versus a werewolf (And Faith, Undying... by Ralph Macchio and Bret Blevins) Kane versus kidnaper Sir George Banway (Blades of the Brotherhood by Robert E. Howard, Ralph Macchio, Bret Blevins and Al Williamson) Kane versus Prince Ali-Ben Ar (The Prophet by Ralph Macchio, Mike Mignola and Al Williamson) Kane versus vampires/zombie...

Savage Sword of Conan: REFORGED #1 review

64 restored and fully colored pages of barbaric savagery! Inside this magnificent full-color magazine you will find the following: Classic remastered art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Alfredo Alcala from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #1 Conan the Barbarian by John Buscema from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #17 Conan ad by Jeff Aclin from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #24 THE FROST GIANT’S DAUGHTER by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) The uncensored version. Atali, Ymir's daughter lures Conan into an ambush, the barbarian cuts down Atali's brothers and the frost-giant retrieves his offspring. OGRES, NYMPHS, AND ROCK STARS. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN by Patrick Zircher (Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring) The Z-Man waxes lyrical about The Tower of the Elephant and The Frost-Giant's Daughter. CIMMERIA (a poem) by Robert E. Howard, Barry Windsor-Smith and Tim Conrad. (New Colors by Jão Canola) Conan wrestles a wol...

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