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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #1 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0719351001
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Owner Comments
My favorite magazine - a third copy came around, this time at 9.8 and I could not help myself but to buy another copy of this utterly amazing mag - especially since this mag has near-perfect cover centering and orientation. Buying CGC 9.8 magazines can sometimes be a bit of a gamble, because some magazines seem to have more marked defects than normal-sized CGC 9.8 comic books. Fortunately this was a truly beautiful mag without any easily spotted defects. The colors on the cover also appear vivid and fresh, see the cover photo.
Furthermore this mag is quite special and was published in May 1971 together with Conan the Barbarian #5. Especially the story "The Frost Giant's Daugher" in this mag was drawn by Barry Smith showing a topless girl, but when this story was reprinted in Conan the Barbarian #16 the breasts were covered. So this is the pure original and uncensored adult version ;-.) Also the first ever story about the Man-Thing is simply fantastic - the story is well-written and the art within the drawings continue to amaze.
I guess there was some strong magic in the 1970'ties that we've somehow forgotten - maybe due to atmosphere in that decade influenced by the Vietnam War, anxiety for World War 3 that maybe did create an urge for strong-spirited, but not always good-looking, male figures like Conan and the Man-Thing.
Wikipedia provides this introduction to the Man-Thing:
"The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971), and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including Adventure into Fear, which introduced the character Howard the Duck.
Steve Gerber's 39-issue run on the series[1] is a cult classic that was influential on such writers as Neil Gaiman,[2] who would later write for Swamp Thing.
Man-Thing is a large, slow-moving, empathic, humanoid creature living in the Florida Everglades near the Seminole reservation".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-Thing
In detail, in this mag Conan stars in "The Frost Giant's Daughter" (script by Roy Thomas, art by Barry Windsor-Smith). Adapted from the story by Robert E. Howard. Later reprinted in color (with one additional new splach page) in Conan the Barbarian 16.
First appearance of Man-Thing in "Man-Thing" (script by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, art by Gray Morrow). Story continues in Astonighing Tales 12.
Other stories include "The Fury of the Femizons" (script by Stan Lee, art by John Romita Sr.; story continues in Fantastic Four 151).
"Black Brother" (script by Denny O'Neil as "Sergius O'Shaughnessy, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Tom Palmer).
"The Night of the Looter" (script by Lee, art by John Buscema).
Buscema cover painting.
Cover price $0.50.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #2 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1051151013
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Owner Comments
After finishing Conan the Barbarian issue 24, Barry Windsor-Smith delivered what many fans consider to be his best Conan work in the "Red Nails" story published in this magazine. Thus, this mag contains the prime of Barry Windsor-Smith Conan stories, also including a special poem, it simply does not get any better! In June 2014 none of the CGC graded Savage Tales #2 mags were graded higher than 9.8 and only 3 mags made this grade. Of these 3 mags only 1 mag had pure White Page quality, while the other 2 had Off-White to White page qualities. During the years 2015 to 2017 three more #2 mags in 9.8 emerged, one with pure white pages, the other 2 mags are unknown to me.
Due to the great amount of Barry Smith art in this magazine, it is hard to understand why this 9.8 mag receives five times fewer points than Savage Tales 1 9.8 - I'd rate it five times higher than Savage Tales #1! ;-) Also note that this mag has near-perfect cover centering and orientation.
In detail, in this magk Conan stars in "Red Nails" (script by Roy Thomas, art by Barry Windsor-Smith); adapted from the story by Robert E. Howard. Story continued in Savage Tales 3. Conan also stars in "Cimmeria," a Howard poem illustrated by Windsor-Smith (5 pages).
King Kull stars in "The Skull of Silence" (script by Thomas, art by Berni Wrightson; adapted from the story by Howard; reprinted from Creatures on the Loose 10, plus the original unused cover by Wrightson).
Also in thie issue: "Dark Tomorrow" (script by Gerry Conway, art by Gray Morrow) and a reprint, "The Crusader" (script by Stan Lee, art by Joe Maneely; from The Black Knight 1 in May 1955).
Text feature, "A Probable Outline of Conan's Career" by P. Schuyler Miller and John D. Clark. Illustrations by Windsor-Smith, Al Williamson, and Frank Brunner.
John Buscema cover painting.
Cover price $0.75.
In an interview performed May 1998 by Jon B. Cooke at Comic Book Artist (CBA) Barry Windsor-Smith (Barry) offered these amusing answers:
"CBA: "Red Nails" is, in my opinion, your best work from that era. How long did it take you to complete that incredibly detailed work? Were you satisfied with the final production?
Barry: Oh, God—! "Red Nails"! How many time can I use the term "nightmare" in one interview? I should grab a thesaurus right now, right? How long did it take? Oh, only forever. Detail—? What detail—? There was detail in that thing? Where're my pills—? Somebody get me a doctor.
No, I'm fine. It's okay—I just need to breathe. S'okay. What was the question?
CBA: The second chapter of "Red Nails" showed a departure in your inking style from the delicate, finely rendered line to a more spotted, bold approach? Was this experimentation or the demands of the deadline?
Barry: Deadline—? There was a deadline? What do you mean "spotted'? Am I alright? Where's my medicine?"
Excerpt from "Comic Book Artist" #2.
Furthermore this mag is a good example of Roy Thomas' and Barry Windsor-Smith's approach to the fantasy genre. Barry Windsor-Smith wrote in his book Opus 2:
"Although they were not unknown to us, Roy Thomas and I tried to avoid the excesses and clichés of the sword and sorcery/adventure genre. We mostly avoided monsters; instead I'd draw actual animals on a grand scale, like a giant dog or a reptile. The Red Nails story called for a real dragon, so I created a hybrid Stegosaurus. If we used sorcery, I'd try to keep the principles credible to some extend".
So the Stegosaurus in this mag illustrates the more restricted fantasy approach (one dares not write "realistic approach", so I will not do that! :-) which I believe was indeed a wise choice.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #3 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0986755004
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Owner Comments
This magazine is one of the most amazing mags in my collection.
Many collectors seem not to know that Conan the Barbarian number 24 was not the last Conan story to be drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith in the 1970'ties.
After finishing Conan the Barbarian #24, Windsor-Smith drew the "Red Nails"-story (21 pages) in the Savage Tales issue #2 and the stories "The Lurker From the Catacombs" (25 pages) and "He Comes From the Dark" (12 pages) in issue #3. Thus, with an asthonishing 37 pages of pure and original (never printed before) Barry Smith art, Savage Tales #3 contains a similar number of pages with Barry Smith art as two issues of "Conan the Barbarian", making Savage Tales #3 a grand and generous farewell from Barry Smith.
Drawn at the top of his Conan experience, the Barry Smith art in Savage Tales #3 is as good as ever - see also the photo I have provided here of one of these pages. This gem of a magazine is the true farewell from Barry Smith to all Conan fans - the end of a truly fantastic and amazing period of Barry Smith Conan drawings.
In the start of the 1970'ties these comic books received several awards and nominations for containing the best stories and art.
In detail, Conan stars in "The Lurker From the Catacombs" (Script by Roy Thomas, art by Barry Windsor-Smith), the conclusion of the "Red Nails" story from the previous issue adapted from the story by Robert E. Howard. Also in this issue: "Fury of the Femizons" by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. reprinted from Savage Tales 1) and "The Crimson Bell" (text story starring Arquel of Argos by Ray Capella; illustrations by Al Williamson and Frank Brunner). 2-page Red Sonja pin-up by Esteban Maroto; Talon pin-up by Jim Steranko (with a one-page text feature). Pablo Marcos cover painting.
Cover price $0.75.
Just like the front, the back of the mag is perfect and free of any date stamps.
In an interview performed May 1998 by Jon B. Cooke at Comic Book Artist (CBA) Barry Windsor-Smith (Barry) offered these amusing answers in relation to the Red Nails story in this book:
"CBA: "Red Nails" is, in my opinion, your best work from that era. How long did it take you to complete that incredibly detailed work? Were you satisfied with the final production?
Barry: Oh, God—! "Red Nails"! How many time can I use the term "nightmare" in one interview? I should grab a thesaurus right now, right? How long did it take? Oh, only forever. Detail—? What detail—? There was detail in that thing? Where're my pills—? Somebody get me a doctor.
No, I'm fine. It's okay—I just need to breathe. S'okay. What was the question?
CBA: The second chapter of "Red Nails" showed a departure in your inking style from the delicate, finely rendered line to a more spotted, bold approach? Was this experimentation or the demands of the deadline?
Barry: Deadline—? There was a deadline? What do you mean "spotted'? Am I alright? Where's my medicine?"
Excerpt from "Comic Book Artist" #2.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #4 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #4 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1029886015
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Owner Comments
In this magazine Conan stars in "Night of the Dark God" (script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Gil Kane and Neal Adams, inks by Adams, Pablo Marcos, Frank McLaughlin, and Vince Colletta). Adapted from the non-Conan story "The Dark Man" by Robert E. Howard.
Reprints: "The Crusader" (script by Stan lee, art by Joe Maneely; from The Black Knight 2 in July 1955).
"The Dweller in the Dark" (script by Thomas, art by Barry Windsor-Smith; from Conan the Barbarian 12). This last story was originally intended for Savage Tales 2 before the magazine's (first) cancellation. The art was altered for its appearance in Conan 12 in order to pass the Comics Code. The story here in Savage Tales 4 is the original, unaltered version. (The muddy reprint in Conan Saga 5 is from the altered version.)
Neal Adams cover painting.
Cover price $0.75.
This mag has previously only been owned by the collector behind the Suscha News Pedigree Collection. He described this pedigree collection in these words:
"I didn’t start out as a “comic collector.” Born in 1949 and growing up in Sheboygan, Wis., in the 1950s and ’60s, I was the kind of fastidious child who always used the kickstand on his bike and dusted off his model cars and planes every Thursday afternoon without fail. Because I treated my few possessions well – and had no brothers or sisters to help destroy them – I tended to accumulate things, including comic books.
[…]
By 1970, I was married and in my own place, although the comics remained in my parents’ house, relocated to the basement. After a few close calls with relatives rifling through the collection for poolside reading and even a threat to burn it all, I bought dozens of boxes and moved everything to a duplex I was renting. Over the next 20 years, I would move nine times, and the comics were always the heaviest, most delicate and time-consuming items in my household.
Although comic books were only 15 to 25 cents each at the time, buying more than a hundred a month represented a big chunk of my tiny, $3-per-hour paycheck. The books were mainly purchased at newsstands and drug stores.
[…]
In 1978, I moved to Tucson, Arizona, and two years later was in a new home with a special feature – a large, fireproof, walk-in vault big enough to accommodate the comic book collection, which by now took up a 6-foot-wide by 5-foot-long by 6-foot-high stack. Property crimes, particularly home burglaries, are a major problem in southern Arizona, and the vault seemed a necessity to protect my comics, guns, cameras and other valuables. The arid conditions of Arizona were a godsend for storing comics.
It was now the early ‘80s. My wife at the time often tried to pressure me to sell the collection. In those days before blockbuster movie franchises based on comic books and the Internet, the books were worth a tiny fraction of what they bring today. Had I caved in and sold then, I literally would have realized just enough money to buy a used pickup truck, which would have gone to the scrap yard years ago.
Over the years, I kept track of the collection with a big piece of graph paper, about five feet long by three feet wide. This pencil-and-paper record somehow disappeared over the years, so in 1998 I cataloged everything in an Excel spreadsheet and repackaged each comic book in a poly bag with a backing board. I put the bagged and backed comics back into the 1976 boxes.
Two years later, we moved to the woods of North Idaho, far from the desert of southern Arizona. The climate here is relatively dry and crime is very low, but I missed my big secure vault. The comics were kept on industrial shelving in a large room in the lower level of the house, where I kept humidity in the mid-40 percent range with a dehumidifier. The collection was “hidden in plain sight” by turning the contents labels of each box toward the wall, and placing fake “Professor Owl Remedial Reading Workbook – Grade 5” labels on the visible side. I figured no burglar would be interested in stealing a half-ton of identical teaching aids.
When I reached 60 years old, I seriously began to consider selling the collection. I didn’t want to end up the guy with the most comic books in the graveyard".
Read the full story here: http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1809&Suscha-News-Collection?
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #5 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0501393019
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Owner Comments
Well, I already own a beautiful copy of this magazine in 9.6 WP, but hopefully this book will be a tiny bit better (yes, I know it is a bit silly upgrading, but who can say no to a beautiful 9.8 WP?).
This mag was the last of Savage Tales to feature Conan the Barbarian. Due to the huge success of the Conan stories in these books, Conan in magazine size from now on continued as "The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian". So the first 5 issues of Savages Tales featuring Conan primarily served a as bridge between "Conan the Barbarian" and the "The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian", and the latter magazine continued Savage Tales' orientation toward the more mature audience.
Conan stars in "The Secret of Skull River" (script by John Jakes and Roy Thomas, pencils by Jim Starlin, inks by Al Milgrom).
Reprints: Brak the Barbarian stars in "Spell of the Dragon" (script by Dan Adkins and John Jakes; pencils by Adkins and Val Mayerik; inks by Joe Sinnott; from Chamber of Chills 2).
Ka-Zar stars in "The Legend of the Lizard Men" (art by John Buscema; from Astonishing Tales 9). Tony DeZuniga illustration.
Neal Adams cover painting.
Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #6 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0743344012
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Owner Comments
The great cover art was done by Neal Adams. In June 2017 there were 3 magazines in 9.8, none better.
In detail, in this mag Ka-Zar stars in "The Damnation Plague" (script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Tony DeZuniga). Marok the Merciless stars in "Dragonseed" (script by Len Wein, art by Steve Gan).
Text feature about Brak.
Reprints: "The Night of the Looter" (script by Stan Lee, art by Buscema; from Savage Tales 1) and "Jann of the Jungle" (art by Al Williamson). Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #7 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #7 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1298089006
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Owner Comments
It took many years to find this amazing mag - in 2018 there's just 2 in 9.8 in none better.
In detail, in this mag Ka-Zar stars in "Stalker in a Savage Land" (script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Tony DeZuniga).
Brak the Barbarian stars in "The Unspeakable Shrine" (script by John Jakes and Doug Moench, art by Steve Gan; adapted from the story by Jakes; continues in next issue).
Ka-Zar stars in "The Dream Temple of Kandu Ra" (script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Neal Adams and others as "The Crusty Bunkers").
Article by Lin Carter.
Boris Vallejo cover painting.
Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #8 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1108729017
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Owner Comments
In June 2017 this magazine was still the single highest graded.
Furthermore this mag is considered exceptional by the Comic Verification Authority (CVA). But what does “Exceptional” mean to CVA?
"Exceptional" is defined as a comic book that possesses outstanding eye appeal and superior structure within the numerical grade assigned by CGC. CVA awards its "Exceptional" sticker only to those comic books that display these characteristics.
Source: http://cvacomics.com/
In detail, in this book Ka-Zar and Shanna star in "The Billion Year War" (script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Tony DeZuniga).
Brak the Barbarian stars in "The Unspeakable Shrine" (script by Doug Moench, art by Steve Gan; adapted from the story by John Jakes; continued from the previous issue).
Text feature about Ka-Zar's pulp magazine stories.
"Jann of the Jungle" reprint.
Steve Fabian cover painting.
Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #9 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1108729018
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Owner Comments
An amazing cover, and the magazine has pure white pages and is graded 9.8.
In this mag Ka-Zar stars in "Dark Island of Doom" (script by Gerry Conway, art by Steve Gan). Shanna the She-Devil stars in "The Golden Blood-Beasts of Daka-Jur" (script by Gerry Conway and Carla Conway, art by The Tribe).
Michael Kaluta painted the cover (retouched by John Romita Sr.).
Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #10 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0221476002
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Owner Comments
A great magazine with near-perfect centering.
In the magazine, Ka-Zar stars in "Requiem for a Haunted Man" (script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Russ Heath, inks by Neal Adams and others as "The Crusty Bunkers"). Shanna the She-Devil stars in "Blood Purge" (script by Carla Conway, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Vince Colletta). Text story, "The Running of Ladyhound" by John Jakes (with illustrations by Michael Whelan and Rick Bryant). Boris Vallejo cover painting. Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales #11 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales #11 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.6 |
| Cert #: |
0954683010
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Owner Comments
Only 4 in 9.6 and none better (Census June 2017) - and at least 3 out of 4 have pure white pages.
This mag contains the final issue of the series (although some collectors consider Annual #1 for the last issue). Ka-Zar stars in "Marauder in a Cage of Time" (script by Doug Moench, pencils by Steve Gan, inks by Rico Rival). Also in this issue, a story of the Savage Land, "Intruder" (script by Archie Goodwin, art by Russ Heath). Michael Whelan cover painting. Cover price $0.75.
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| Slot: |
Savage Tales Annual #1 |
| Item: |
Savage Tales Annual #1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0502491004
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Owner Comments
I also own the original Ken Barr cover painting to this magazine, you can see it here in better quality:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=1252534
- and I've got Don Rosa's copy too in 9.6:
http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/ComicView.aspx?PeopleSetComicID=860133
This magazine contains all reprints: "A Day of Tigers" (art by Gil Kane; from Astonishing Tales 11), "Dragonseed" (script by Len Wein, art by Steve Gan; from Savage Tales 6), "Back to the Savage Land" (art by Barry Windsor-Smith; from Astonishing Tales 3), "The Sun God" (art by Windsor-Smith; from Astonishing Tales 4), "Rampage" (art by Windsor-Smith; from Astonighing Tales 5), and "Dark Tomorrow" (script by Gerry Conway, art by Gray Morrow; from Savage Tales 2). Ken Barr cover painting. Cover price $1.25.
The story Back to the Savage Land illustrated by Barry Smith is my favorite Ka-Zar story of all time, and for the first time in this magazine it was printed in full length - and in black & white, thus you won't get much closer to seeing the inked pages ;-)
I'm quite into the Savage Tales magazines (vol. 1), and finally I found a cover that fulfilled several criteria:
1. It represents my Savage Tales CGC magazine collection. My magazine collection can be seen here: http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=34657
2. It represents Ka-Zar in my limited original art collection (have been looking for a great Ka-Zar piece for some time).
3. It's a tribute to Barry Smith's "Back to the Savage Land" from the early 1970s - and thus it's closely linked to the early Barry Smith Conan stories. Probably as close as I'll ever get to original art directly associated with a Barry Smith story from the early 1970s, sigh... I do have the CGC books too: http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=39574
4. It's quite large - 19" x 25", in color, and should work perfectly as a centerpiece.
So it's Ken Barr's Ka-Zar cover to Savage Tales Annual #1 (summer 1975), which contains Barry Windsor-Smith's "Back to the Savage Land" story, for the first time (I think) printed as the complete 30-page story and in black/white. In the early 1970s "Back to the Savage Land" was published in Astonishing Tales #3-5 (published from Dec 1970 to April 1971, when Conan the Barbarian issues 2 to 5 also were published, so maybe Barry Smith drew both in these months - at least Ka-Zar looks a lot like Conan), and it's my favorite Ka-Zar story.
In other words, to me this is a grail piece. And I do like that this is not another man-saves-woman-from-monster cover ;-)
More info about Ken Barr here:
"Born in Scotland in 1933, Kenneth John Barr was the son of a Glasgow-based sign-painter to whom he was apprenticed from the age of 15. A reader of adventure, horror and war stories, Ken Barr found post-War Glasgow full of the machinery and drama of war he enjoyed painting. His first covers appeared on Nebula science fiction magazine in the 1950s.
After his National Service—which he served with the Army in Egypt—and several years working in London, Barr moved to the USA in 1968 where he became a regular penciller/inker and occasionally writer of strips for DC's various war comics, including Our Army At War, Our Fighting Forces, Battle Album and Star Spangled War Stories in 1969-74. He also produced covers and back-up features for the Warren magazines Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella (1970-72) before becoming a regular cover artist for Marvel, working on Doc Savage, Incredible Hulk and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (1975-78). In the mid-1970s, he found more lucrative work producing books covers (Avon, Random House) and as a movie poster artist, primarily in the fields of fantasy and science fiction, although he returned to comics in the mid-1980s as the writer of Windfall, Geo-Force and Metamorpho in around 1986 (and the merged Geo-Force and Metamorpho in 1987)."
Source: http://illustrationartgallery.blogspot.dk/2011/03/ken-barr.html
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