Set Description:
A collection of Conan the Barbarian issues 1 to 24 plus Annual 1. As I upgraded my primary Conan Set, this set contains some of my older books.
As a personal note I find it regrettable that a few collectors have obscured their collections. Some of these books in high grade are so rare that quoting Mr. Indiana Jones seems to be in order:
"This should be in a museum!"
And what better way is there to display rare books than using scans on Collectors Society - without exposing the books to light, oxygen or changes to humidity or temperature?
So I do feel some responsibility to share such rare books with others - this is not just a hobby, but small projects trying to preserve important parts of comic book history.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 1 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0626964009
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Owner Comments
A nice book with acceptable cover centering and orientation. BTW, I never understood, why 9.6 with "off-white to white" pages or worse is rated higher than 9.4 with pure white pages at Collectors Society. Personally I believe that the page quality is very important and any book close to mint should have pure white pages. Otherwise it is showing signs of aging, and such signs are incompatible with mint status. Furthermore, it is hard to understand that this book is awarded many more points than for example Conan the Barbarian #4 at 9.8 - the latter has much higher worth than a CGC 9.4 of Conan the Barbarian #1 in my opinion, since #4 9.8 is much more rare and contains the first R. E. Howard adapted story.
Well, maybe Conan the Barbarian should have a short introduction, and according to Wikipedia:
"Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian, from the name of the character's homeland, Cimmeria) is a fictional character. He is a hero, a well known and iconic figure in American fantasy, and the most famous barbarian in fiction.
Conan is often associated with the fantasy subgenre of sword and sorcery and heroic fantasy. He was created by Texan writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories sold to Weird Tales magazine. The character has since appeared in licensed books, comics, films, television programs, video games, roleplaying games, and even a board game, all of which contribute to the hero's long-standing popularity.
Conan the Barbarian is also the title of a Gnome Press collection of stories published in 1954, a comic published by Marvel Comics beginning in 1970, and a film and its novelization in 1982".
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian
Furthermore the first 24 issues, except issues 17 and 18, were drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith and became especially popular due to his great and very elaborate drawings. According to Wikipedia:
"Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith (born 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. His international acclaim came as the original artist for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian from 1970 to 1973, where he rapidly evolved a sophisticated and intricate style, introducing elements from diverse artistic influences to graphic storytelling".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Windsor-Smith
So this book is the comic book origin of Conan the Barbarian, which marked the beginning of "the most obsessively detailed monthly comic book the market had ever seen", according to Barry Windsor-Smith (excerpt from his book Opus 2).
Conan the Barbarian issues 1 to 24 received the following awards:
1. 1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Continuing Feature: Conan the Barbarian".
2. 1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards
for the "Best Writer (Dramatic): Roy Thomas".
3. 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards
for the "Best Individual Story (Dramatic): Song of Red Sonja".
More info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian_(comics)
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 2 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0032248007
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Owner Comments
Although only rated at 9.4 this is a beautiful book with very vivid cover colors, near-perfect centering and orientation, and pure white pages.
This book contains the story "Lair of the Beast Men" which was nominated by the Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards in 1970 for the Best Individual Story.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 3 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1041668002
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Owner Comments
An extremely beautiful book with simply perfect cover centering, perfect cover orientation (very rare for a Conan the Barbarian #3 book), perfectly centered staples and pure white pages. I have photos of 9 of the current (August 2013) 11 Conan the Barbarian #3 9.8 books, and not one of these books has perfect centering, perfect orientation and pure white pages. Also this is the most perfect Conan the Barbarian #3 9.6 book I have ever seen (and I have seen quite a few 9.6 books). Thus depending on your preferences, this book may be very hard to top. Furthermore, as seen in the photos, this book has less visible damage than many of my 9.8 books, very sharp corners, no visible spine stress, and I have no idea why this book was not graded higher (I do realize that many owners of 9.6 books whine about not getting a higher grade, but I do believe such thoughts indeed are warrented for this book, but do check the photos and see, if you agree! :-).
Rumor has it that Conan the Barbarian #3 books should be very rare or be in "supposed low distribution", but there is little evidence to support that idea in the CGC census. For example Conan the Barbarian issues 6, 11, 12 and 18 are at least just as rare, so Conan the Barbarian #3 books do not seem to be in a more limited supply or more scarce than several other Conan the Barbarian books.
Furthermore this is not really Conan the Barbarian #3, but actually #5 (corresponding to how Barry Smith and Roy Thomas chronologically made these stories). In 2010 Roy Thomas wrote the following explanation:
"I realized it worked better from a chronological point of view to make 'Grim Grey God" #3, then to utilize "Tower of the Elephant," and to save "Zukala's Daughter" for #5. So that's what I did, and the publishing order of Conan #3 and #5 was thus reversed. And it shows, with the latter being a bit cruder than #3 and #4, more in line with what Barry had drawn in #2."
Excerpt from "The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Volume 1" 2010 (the foreword by Roy Thomas).
So enthusiasts wanting to collect Barry's first three Conan stories need to collect issues 1, 2 and 5 instead of 1, 2 and 3.
The unique feature of this book is that it contains the first published adapted Conan story from Robert Ervin Howard*, and had Marvel not acquired these rights, my guess is that Conan the Barbarian would never had reached similar popularity. As Roy Thomas explained in the extra material on the 2011 Conan Blu-Ray movie, when Marvel Conan comic books were selling at their best, Marvel Conan earnings were twice as high as Marvel's earnings on The Amazing Spider-man and The Fantastic Four combined.
*See my description regarding Conan the Barbarian #4 for further details, when Marvel acquired the rights to use Robert Ervin Howard's original Conan stories.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 4 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 4 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0096990017
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Owner Comments
The crown of my collection - in my opinion "The Tower of the Elephant" marks the first of many great Conan tales by Barry Windsor-Smith. Sure Barry Windsor-Smith did also draw issues 1 to 3, but the stories in issues 1 to 3 are of a very weak and poor quality compared to the imaginative power of "The Tower of the Elephant" in Conan issue 4. So for me, Conan the Barbarian number 4 is the true beginning for all great Barry Windsor-Smith Conan tales.
In 1971 the story "Tower of the Elephant" by Roy Thomas & Barry Smith in this book was nominated by the Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the Best Individual Story.
Furthermore, Barry Windsor-Smith mentioned in an interview May 1998 that Conan 4 also was quite special to him:
"Roy had sent me all of the Lancer paperbacks some months prior to our beginning the first issue, so my prior affinity was merely months old but, as it happens, that made my perceptions energetic and fresh because I was utterly hooked by Howard's writing style. "The Tower of the Elephant," in particular, was a real head trip, to use the vernacular of the time". (Excerpt from "Comic Book Artist" #2.)
In 2010 Roy Thomas confirmed that Conan #4 also was quite special to him:
"For #4 I decided to do something different. From the beginning I had wanted to adapt Robert E. Howard‘s storles as well as make up so my own, but our contract with the REH estate gave us rights only to use Conan, not any particular stories. Now I got permission from Glenn Lord in a letter to adapt the story in which the Cimmerian is chronologically youngest—"Tower of the Elephant," which had quickly become my favorite Conan tale of all-as an issue of Conan. Either Marvel or I-I suspect Marvel-paid a little extra for the rlght to adapt the story, but at thls point I‘ve totally forgotten how I swung that or how much it cost. Working with Howard's actual prose, not just my couple of pages of accompanying notes, apparently turned Barry on, and he did a wonderful job. From the time Barry drew "Tower of the Elephant," there was no looking back for either of us."
Excerpt from "The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Volume 1" 2010 (the foreword by Roy Thomas).
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 5 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0790679005
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Owner Comments
One of my first CGC books, today I probably would not have bought this book (it is extremely beautiful though, as you may be able to see on the picture, but I now stick to pure white pages). The story is also not among my favorites, but that is of course a matter of taste...
Furthermore the secret of this book is that this is really not Conan the Barbarian #5, but this is actually the true #3! In 2010 Roy Thomas made the following explanation:
"For issue #5 I made up a tale that used a Robert E. Howard name from a poem—Zukala-for a wizard—villain. It was a fair—to—middling story, and Barry drew it well, even if tigers weren’t his strong point and though Zukala wound up looking a bit like a refugee from a Steve Ditko Dr. Strange. I did have Barry redraw some things near the end of the story. He had a winged, flying demon suddenly become "tired"—at least that was the explanation he gave me—and fall to his death when pushed out a lower window. Possible, perhaps, but not satisfying. Also, we decided that Zukala‘s changeling daughter shouldn't die at the end. As it turned out, though. "Zukala‘s Daughter became Conan #5, not #3 [...] I realized it worked better from a chronological point of view to make 'Grim Grey God" #3, then to utilize "Tower of the Elephant," and to save "Zukala's Daughter" for #5. So that's what I did, and the publishing order of Conan #3 and #5 was thus reversed. And it shows, with the latter being a bit cruder than #3 and #4, more in line with what Barry had drawn in #2."
Excerpt from "The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Volume 1" 2010 (the foreword by Roy Thomas).
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 6 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0091113005
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Owner Comments
A great-looking copy of Conan #6 - note that both the cover centering and the cover orientation are close to perfect. As all of my CGC books, this book is placed inside a "high quality 200-gauge super-clear polypropylene bag" made especially for CGC comics (this is probably the first time I was lazy enough not to remove the bag before taking a photo - well, I forgot :-)
In 1971 the story "Devil Wings over Shadizar" by Roy Thomas & Barry Smith in this book was nominated by the Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the Best Individual Story.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 9 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0002310022
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Owner Comments
Well, maybe I should not have bought this book. I already have one copy of this book, although unslapped, but rated at 9.6 WP and quite ready for CGC. But I am weak - and could I bear the agony of getting my unslabbed book back rated at 9.4 off-white or even worse? I guess I just took the safe road as it came along. Furthermore this is simply the most perfect centering of a cover I have seen in a long time, and the cover orientation is also simply perfect. This book is extremly beautiful with razor-sharp corners and mint-like appearance that it must be so close to 9.8 that I smell a 9.69999999 ;-)... Actually I have seen several similar books at 9.8 (WP), but few have seemed worthy of replacing this amazing book.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 10 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0162719002
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Owner Comments
Actually this book is very close to perfection - the cover including gloss, vivid colors and centering is even better than my other Conan 10 at 9.8! So the important lesson to learn is that the CGC grade does not tell the whole story - the CGC grade primarily describes the physical deterioration and damage to the book, but there are many more aspects to consider. So far this is the most beautiful copy of Conan #10 that I have experienced and until something better (if likely) shows up, this book is simply my priceless Conan 10 reference regarding color saturation and cover centering. The book was purchased for US$ 5 at a flea market in Castro Valley, CA in 1980. For the next 30 years the owner kept the book stored at his parents house in the attic - until it was found a sent to the CGC.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 11 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 11 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0775520004
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Owner Comments
This book is off-white and only 9.2, but still it is a beautiful book.
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 13 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 13 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1013922013
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Owner Comments
This book is extremely beautiful and my very first Pedigree (Rocky Mountain). The Rocky Mountain pedigree, so named based on its Colorado roots, contains over 5,000 comic books in high grade runs of Marvel and DC titles from the 1960s and up.
Actually Conan 13 contains my favorite Conan story featuring a giant spider. Besides this book’s pure white pages it has great cover-centering and orientation, making this book truly stand out. CGC has described the Rocky Mountain pedigree collection in these words:
"The comic books were stored meticulously for decades in a cool, dry basement, and have bold, newsstand-fresh colors and white or off-white to white pages. There are many Rocky Mountain examples that are the highest certified for their issue [...] Mark Haspel, CGC President and Primary Grader comments, “One of the unique things about the Rocky Mountain pedigree is that there are photographs of it in its original state, making it one of the most thoroughly documented pedigrees. It has long runs of Marvel and DC, and because of their high grades and their market acceptance, this collection certainly has special merit.”
Read more here: http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1148
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 14 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 14 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0137093007
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Owner Comments
Hmmm, a nice book with great cover gloss. It was one of my first, and I may look for a replacement at 9.6 WP or better...
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 15 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 15 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0782343001
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Owner Comments
A very nice copy of the key issue Conan #15 with near-perfect cover centering and orientation. Actually I do not really like these Elric stories (as in #14), so this is not one of my favorite Conan stories, but still this book is considered a key issue being the second comic book to contain a story of Elric of Melniboné:
"Elric of Melniboné[1] is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later novels by Moorcock mark Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion [...] Elric first appeared in comics in 1972, in Conan the Barbarian issues 14–15, an adventure in two parts entitled "A Sword Called Stormbringer!" and “The Green Empress of Melniboné”. The comic was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith, based on a story plotted by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_(comics)
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 17 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 17 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1250301003
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Owner Comments
Another raw book gets encapsulated :-)
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 19 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 19 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0149535022
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Owner Comments
Fantastic colors and near-perfect registration show that this book is indeed close to perfection. And who can resist a bondage cover, especially when done by Barry Windsor-Smith? ;-)
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 20 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 20 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0157846009
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Owner Comments
A very nice and great-looking copy with nearly perfect cover centering. Must be at least 9.5 ;-) I have some 9.6's that look very similar to this book...
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