CREATOR EXCLUSIVE
Savage Sword Of Conan returns in all its black and white glory
AFTER THE SUCCESS OF CONAN THE Barbarian, Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are now reviving its black and white companion title, Savage Sword Of Conan. Described by Conan The Barbarian writer Jim Zub as “the premier magazine for bold sword and sorcery comics from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s”, the bi-monthly anthology will feature a selection of comics and prose stories.
“At its height, Savage Sword Of Conan reached a massive audience hungry for amazing art and uncompromising pulp-fuelled storytelling,” says Zub, whose short fiction piece “Sacrifice In The Sand” is inspired by Joe Jusko’s cover. “It’s essentially a nasty extended combat sequence as Conan brings his brutality to bear on a set of skilled Stygian soldiers who are escorting a prisoner through the desert.”
Scripted by John Arcudi and illustrated by Max Von Fafner, the self-contained “Conan And The Dragon Horde” forces the Cimmerian to choose between the comforts of wealth and battling an ancient monster. “Conan is now leading a mercenary army against a walled city that has more than just walls protecting it,” explains Arcudi.
“He doesn’t trust the man who has hired him, but he’s not going to let a crappy boss keep him from getting paid – although he may wish he had.”
“I’ve a lot of experience with these topics. Because of John’s story I had to develop new page layouts and push the boundaries,” adds Von Fafner. “The challenge was to paint fantasy into reality, and I had to develop new skills on the fly, as it’s a very challenging story.”
Written and drawn by Patrick “Patch” Zircher, Savage Sword also sees the return of another of Robert E Howard’s famous anti-heroes, 17th century Puritan Solomon Kane. “I’m a big fan of Conan, Kull, El Borak and a
