Conan Saga #8: "The Song of Red Sonja"

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Conan the Barbarian hit the newsstands in the fall of 1970. Scripts were by Roy Thomas, and the art was by transplanted British artist Barry Windsor-Smith. Although he initially worked in a variation of the Marvel house style, Smith soon developed his own approach. His work became more personal, more intricate, and demonstrated distinct pre-Raphaelite touches.

Thomas's adaptations drew much praise at the time. Smith, too, attracted attention and was soon winning awards from both his peers and his fans. He left the character in 1973 and was followed by several other artists, among them John Buscema, Ernie Chan, and Gil Kane. The shaggy hero continued for decades. The original Conan the Barbarian title ended with the 275th issue (July 1995). The black-and-white Conan Saga ended with the 97th issue (April 1995). These were followed through the late nineties by a series of Conan miniseries. While Conan seems to go on leave from time to time, there is little doubt of his eventual return.


Credits

Script: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Barry Windsor-Smith
Inks: Barry Windsor-Smith

Reprinted:

• from Conan the Barbarian (Marvel, 1970 series) #24 (March 1973)

• In Marvel Treasury Edition (Marvel, 1974 series) #15
• in Savage Sword of Conan (Marvel, 1974 series) #82
• in Conan Saga (Marvel, 1987 series) #8
• in Essential Conan (Marvel, 2000 series) #1

Red Sonja story continues in Conan Saga #31.

Supernatural Thrillers #3: Robert E. Howard's "The Valley of the Worm!"

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Although his mature style made him one of the field's top professionals and has influenced many younger artists, Gil Kane was never satisfied with it. Just about every day before starting on a job, he would devote an hour or two to sketching, practicing to improve. No matter how well a story or a cover turned out, he always had the suspicion that it could have been better.

In his long career Gil Kane drew a vast amount of material. In addition to designing and drawing the Silver Age Green Lantern, he drew Hopalong Cassidy, Spider-Man, Johnny Thunder, Brain Boy, Batman, Undersea Agent, Daredevil, Teen Titans, Tomahawk, Conan, Superman, Ka-Zar, Blue Beetle, and one issue of Blue Devil. He also illustrated DC's four-issue adaptation of Wagner's Ring of Niberlung. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Kane drew two syndicated newspaper strips—Star Hawks, written by Ron Goulart, and Tarzan, with scripts by Archie Goodwin. In addition, Kane produced over seven hundred covers for Marvel and a considerable number for DC.

Born in Latvia, Kane grew up in Manhattan and entered the comics field while still in his teens. He freelanced for MLJ, assisted Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and worked in Bernard Baily's shop. Very early in his career he signed his real name, Eli Katz, to a few of his stories, but then began trying out pen names. For a time he was Gil Stack until he finally settled on Gil Kane. Much of his early work wasn't that good. "I don't think my triumph was that I was lousy early on," he once explained, "and it wasn't until I really started to work out systems, to really question the work" that it improved.

He first worked for DC in 1947, drawing Wildcat in Sensation Comics for editor Sheldon Mayer. Long a fan of the Western genre, Kane was pleased when DC assigned him such heroes as Hoppy and Johnny Thunder. He prided himself on his ability to draw animals, especially horses in action. In 1960, DC editor Julius Schwartz selected him to bring the Green Lantern back to life. Kane was also entrusted with the updated Atom a couple of years later. In the middle 1960s, he worked on Thunder Agents for the Tower comics line headed up by Harry Shorten. Kane's style changed drastically on this assignment, moving closer to its mature form. "I began to become interested in structure, placement," he said of that period. "Everything that had to do with understanding how things worked and what they looked like underneath." Kane also inked the Tower material, something he hadn't always been able to do at DC.

He shifted to Marvel in the 1970s, turning out stories and a great many covers. Back with DC in the 1980s, he worked again on the Atom and drew some of the Superman annuals. Moving to the Los Angeles area, Kane was hired by an animation outfit, Ruby-Spears Productions, to draw character designs and presentation pieces. Slowed down by illness in his final years, he was still able to turn out work. His last drawings, covers for Legends of the DC Universe, appeared the year of his death.


Credits

Script: Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway (Adaptation); Robert E. Howard (Original Story)
Pencils: Gil Kane
Inks: Ernie Chan (as Ernie Chua)
Colors: Glynis Wein

Reprinted:

• in Kull and the Barbarians (Marvel, 1975 series) #1 (May 1975).

The Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #11: "Bruce the Barbarian!"

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“	Vic Catan Jr (Vicatan) 1948-2004: Probably the closest of all Redondo's followers, Vicatan shared the great man's beautifully lush brush strokes but married that style to an ever-so-slightly humorous sensibility. Although his first strip to DC appeard in House of Secrets #101 in 1972, it was not until much later in the decade that he began to get any substantial commissions from that company. However, making up for lost time, he went on to contribute fully 60 strips for DC's horror and war books, including runs on Sgt. Rock and "The Mercenaries" (in GI Combat). At Warren, he drew 10 strips, primarily for 1994, which, if anything, are even more impressive than his DC period.	”
	—Comic Book Artist Magazine V2 #4

Credits

Script: J. Marc DeMatteis
Pencils and inks: Vicente Catan, Jr. (as Vicatan).


Reprinted:

• from Unexpected, The (DC, 1968 series) #205 (December 1980).

• in The Best of DC (DC, 1979 series) #11.
• in Haunted Tales (K. G. Murray, 1973 series) #43.