Super Blog Team-Up - What Price Immortality? A Review of Red Nails

Savage Tales #s 2-3 (October 1973, February 1974)

"Red Nails"

Roy Thomas-Barry Smith

One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive. Friedrich Nietzsche
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/friedrich_nietzsche_159186?src=t_immortality

One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive. Friedrich Nietzsche
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/friedrich_nietzsche_159186?src=t_immortality

One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive. Friedrich Nietzsche
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/friedrich_nietzsche_159186?src=t_immortality

One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive. Friedrich Nietzsche
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/friedrich_nietzsche_159186?src=t_immortality

One has to pay dearly for immortality; one has to die several times while one is still alive. 

Friedrich Nietzsche

Happy Super Blog Team-Up, everyone, and thanks for stopping by! If you've come from one of my partners, welcome - take a look around. I hope you'll like what you see. This blog posts twice each week, generally with a review of some great black-and-white comics on Mondays, followed by an artist spotlight/appreciation on Thursdays. The schedule's obviously a bit different this week, but that's a good thing - Super Blog Team-Up is always a great day!

Today I'm featuring what many aficionados of black-and-white comics, or sword and sorcery, or... shoot - of a whole bunch of genres - see as one of the all-time classics. Back in 1973, Roy Thomas and Barry Smith crafted an epic adaptation of Robert E. Howard's magnum opus (my perspective): Red Nails. Released over a four-month span and dominating two issues of Savage Tales, Red Nails took readers' breath away with the raw violence of the narrative and the highly-detailed depictions of the events therein. Truly, I'd say when the careers of Thomas and Windsor-Smith are evaluated by history, this story will stand atop the stack of work either man produced.

If you're playing along for the first time, it's my habit to give a short synopsis of the plot, followed by a 3-tier collection of my thoughts and impressions of the material. Today will be no different, so let's get on with it!

100-Word Review:

Valeria is on a quest for loot. However, she finds herself in a predicament atop a butte - her discovery of a human skeleton is a mystery. She is soon joined by Conan the Cimmerian, who then helps her avoid death by a massive reptile. The two set off for a not-too-distant city in hopes of plunder, but find it deserted. Or so they think. The plot thickens as Valeria encounters a man who relates a tale of two peoples, seeking to kill each other off - to score more Red Nails. But it’s Olmec and Tascela who enter the story that provides the greatest tension. Both have their minds set on Valeria - Olmec for lust, Tascela for… immortality.

 

 

If you've not read this story before, I hope the page samples I've provided attest to its brilliance. The level of detail Barry Smith poured into this project is simply off-the-charts. As this would be his final Conan story (John Buscema had taken over the color monthly by this time), he didn't leave quietly. Which brings us to -

The Good: No sense in venturing too far from praising the art, so I'll continue. Wow. Just double-wow. When you think where Barry Smith started, largely aping Jack Kirby (one could do worse, I know) and then arriving to the style we were treated to in his latter-day Conan stories, the metamorphosis is almost unexplainable. To read the Conan the Barbarian color series from the beginning is to have a front row seat to a master honing his craft. I'd like you to be aware, through the many page samples I've supplied, of the level of detail in each panel. There are no shortcuts here - no panels without backgrounds, each box a work of art in its own right.

The adventure at the beginning of the story, with the "dragon", was enthralling and if that's all we'd gotten it would have been a splendid read. It was long, but really proved to be only an appetizer for what was to follow. So why so much time spent? The dragons, or at least knowledge of them, would come into play later in the narrative.

Smith also did a wonderful job of varying the camera angles, creating mood and even adding tension by the way he chose to depict each panel. I know I had no difficulty maintaining my interest in what is a very long story, or in discerning the action at any point. 

Something I really enjoy about Conan is the seemingly endless possibilities. Sure, Robert E. Howard used geographic names that were familiar to those of us who've studied world history (and mythology) just a bit. But that Howard's Conan lived in a fantasy version of those familiar places opened up the opportunity to use large animals (as here), wizards, demons, all manner of weaponry, armadas and armies of all sizes and characteristics, and so on. And that the Conan mythos did not rely on continuity as did most four-color superhero comics, our hero could be dropped into any setting at any time and with any ally or enemy. Even Tarzan was confined to the jungle (before Edgar Rice Burroughs decided he needed to visit Pellucidar); not Conan. Desert, jungle, high seas, cold north, forgotten city -you name it, it could be done. And probably was. Take Valeria, for example: she's just dropped into this story. Conan knows her, but there is no evidence of her in any previous Howard-authored Conan story. I like that.

So let's talk about Roy Thomas's script. I've read the prose version of Red Nails three times, the comic version at least that many. Roy didn't have to take many chances here - Howard's original story was so solid, I think the strength of Roy's adaptation is that, for the most part, he left the story alone. Where Roy shows his skill is in the pacing - again, this is a looooong story at 58 pages. It never plays that way. Roy also gives us voices for each character in which we can believe said character would actually speak that way. And then Barry Smith made it happen, with facial expressions and body language. I know it's completely inappropriate in the age of #MeToo (or any age, truthfully), but the panels near the top of the post when Conan has become aware that the dragon is going to keep them on that butte for quite some time, and intends to pass the time with a little hanky panky, read as if watching a film. It's just perfect - the dialogue, pictures, camera angles... I said it previously - masterpiece.

Two tropes that appear in most Conan tales, sort of like bad guys using burner phones and good guys checking traffic cams on cop shows, are the protagonist getting ready to sleep with his/her eyes open and the use of a black lotus for mind-altering effects. Both of those are present in this story. I wore them like a pair of comfy bluejeans!

It's been said - not sure by who, but I'm sure we've all heard this - that a hero is only as good as his/her villain. That's probably true here. The menaces are many, from the dragon and the possibility of starving on the butte - to the forboding city and it's mysterious denizens. The Crawler adds to the "Holy...!" feelings, and then we meet Olmec and Talesca. Olmec is a big and scary dude. That beard is the envy of the boys in ZZ Top, for sure. But Talesca - she is the baddie that actually serves as the inspiration for today's review. As the SuperBloggers are discussing immortality and the thought that sometimes characters don't die, Talesca presents an interesting problem. Howard's plot, as mentioned above, had those who dwelt in the dark city fighting as two factions, killing each other to the point of extinction. Remember I said that the dragons would play a part later? They do and they don't - only because the creepy guys think they cannot leave their city. So they're stuck there. Which puts Talesca in a particular predicament. She needs to be rejuvenated with the blood of a supple young beauty. Enter Valeria.

The Bad: Well, Olmec doesn't look like he smells so good. I'd also, just thinking as a parent for a moment, definitely treat this story as being rated R. I'm not sure I'd have let my sons get their hands on this before they were at least 13 or 14. And to think this would have hit the magazine racks when I was only 7! There's a reason I never owned any of these black-and-white beauties as a kid!

But seriously now, I've only seen scans online of the colorized version of Red Nails from Marvel Treasury Edition #4. I do own the Dark Horse Chronicles of Conan, volume 4 trade, and that has Red Nails in a computer-colored version. I can more easily take the four-color treatment than I can the computerized version, but I'd overall say that this story was meant to be read in beautiful black-and-white and it should only be enjoyed in that manner. Anything else, in my mind, detracts from the lines of the artist, which are splendid.

The Ugly: I don't have anything much to add in this section - in fact, I rarely do. But in regard to the quote by Nietzsche atop this post - Talesca had no relationships with any of the humans with which she lived. They existed in her sphere based on utility alone. No emotion, only self-preservation and self-renewal dominated her daily thoughts. At first we're led to believe that Valeria is the object of Talesca's intense gaze due to some romantic infatuation; we then learn that it is indeed because of Valeria's looks and physical prowess that Talesca has set eyes upon her, though not in the way we might have forecast. Like all those who seek to live beyond their prescribed times, Talesca eventually met her end. Unlike other characters in literature, however, Talesca found no release in death - only failure of goals unreached.

I've one more set of page samples, and then below that you'll find links to the other bloggers and podcasters taking part in today's festivities. Give 'em a click and leave a comment at their space. I know they'll appreciate it as much as I have this visit from you today. Come back next Monday, when I'll feature a review of some Bat-Manga!

Two Staple Gold: Jim Henson Presents- The Soldier and Death

Comic Reviews By Walt: TMNT and Highlander

The Superhero Satellite: Mephistos Whisper: The Immortality Of Peter and Mary Jane (One More Day)

Comics Comics Comics Blog: Dr. Fate 

Between The Pages Blog: Doctor Who @ Big Finish Productions

The Unspoken Decade: Opposites Attract - Archer and Armstrong

DC In the 80s: Young Animals Bug

Black, White and Bronze: What Price Immortality? A Review of Red Nails

The Daily Rios: Arion The Immortal (1992 Six Issue Mini Series)

Chris Is On Infinite Earths: Podcast Episode - Resurrection Man 1997 & 2011

In My Not So Humble Opinion : It Came from the 1990s: Ivar the Timewalker

The Retroist Via Vic Sage: I am Legend

The Source Material Comics Podcast: Vampirella - Roses for the Dead

Dave's Comic Heroes Blog: Multi-Man

Magazines and Monsters: Podcast episode - Kang/Immortus: Avengers-Kang: Time and Time Again TPB (Avengers 69-71)

Radulich Broadcasting Network: TV PARTY TONIGHT - Jupiter Ascending commentary

Happy Birthday to Me - Please Allow the Indulgence!

The big 5-3 today (if that's a commemorative birthday, which I think it is not).

I thought today I'd just give myself the present of some art by some of my favorite artists - black & white or otherwise. So I hope you'll allow me to entertain you with some stuff that entertains me. Enjoy!

Neal Adams draws the best of two worlds (for the background on the nifty piece, check out Dan Greenfield's blog, 13th Dimension):

John Buscema Conan sketch. Funny thing is, I used to own this and sold it a few years ago. I found this image laying around the Web! Guess someone else liked it, too!

John Byrne does the Avengers - nuff said!

John Romita's Spider-Man cast - absolutely nothing NOT to love here.

Curt Swan's Superman - the way I "see" the Man of Steel in my mind's eye.

Dave Cockrum drew the X-Men and the Legion of Super-Heroes, launching them to renewed stardom and immediately preceding memorable runs by John Byrne and Mike Grell, respectively.

 

And to round things out today, how about a little Gene Colan Daredevil - with some assorted nasties, no less?

"Child of Sorcery" - a Review from Savage Sword of Conan 29

Savage Sword of Conan #29 (May 1978)
"Child of Sorcery"
Roy Thomas-Ernie Chan

Sometimes when you're a so-called blogger, you read a story and just know you're going to review it. This is one of those stories. I recently read this for the first time, from the Dark Horse collected edition Savage Sword of Conan, volume 3. Those are wonderful books, and I'm happy to own the first four volumes. Long out of print, I should pick up whichever copies in the series on which I can lay hands. Just like Marvel's Essentials and DC's Showcase Presents lines, they are a super-affordable way to get a ton of material as reprints.

This story was of course written by uber-Conan scribe Roy Thomas, based on a story originally conceived by Christy Marx. I did some minor digging to find out about Marx (I'm certain I'd not heard of her before or since), and here's what I discovered:

Christy Marx (born c. 1952) is an American screenwriter, author, and game designer, best known for her work on various TV series including Jem, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Conan the Adventurer, G.I. Joe, Hypernauts, and Captain Power. She is also known for her original comic book series Sisterhood of Steel as well as work on Conan, Red Sonja, and Elfquest. Marx has also authored several biographies and history books (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_Marx).

Further, from an interview on the Things From Another World site, back in 2012:

TFAW.com: How did you break into the comics industry?

Marx: It was a combination of luck and preparation, as these things usually are. I lived in L.A. at the time and Roy Thomas had just moved to L.A. while still working for Marvel. I found out that he’d be speaking to a group of fans in a small setting (not a convention), so I showed up with a Conan story I’d written, listened carefully to the questions being asked, and then at the end asked him the question nobody else had the bothered to ask. While I still had his attention, I asked him if he would read the story. He did and he bought it and that was my first sale.

So there you have it. Who knew? Not me - that's why I looked her up!

NOTE: Our friend Pete Doree gave some thoughts, as well as scans, of the complete story just a few months ago. You can check that out here. But since you came to this space today, you must also be curious of my thoughts. Well, away we go!

100-Word Review:

A priestess, nay - a goddess - sits staring at the northern mountains. Her solace is interrupted by the clamor of other priestesses bringing a teen before her. The teen is accused of being found in the embrace of a man, something that is apparently forbidden. After an argument the goddess wins, the priestesses depart, and the older woman spins a tale of her own youth to the girl at her feet. She tells of a wizard who once entered the nunnery, and who spirited her away via a winged demon. Able to send an astral form in search of a champion, she found... Conan the barbarian.

 

The plot is slightly thicker than that, but hey - I only give myself a measly hundred words to whet your appetite. Onward.

The Good: I really liked this story. It's not perfect, and seems to borrow from other sources - sources as disparate as the fairy tale about Rapunzel and Meat Loaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Light. But it ends in a twist that I suppose we should all have seen coming; to my admittedly limited knowledge on all things Conan, the man had no known offspring before becoming king of Aquilonia. Apparently, not so - he did! And I think that's what I liked best about this. It sort of blew the lid off an issue many of us probably suspected all along - let's face it, Hyborian birth control ain't the pill, IUD, or condom! So why wouldn't Conan have a daughter? Or 23?

Ernie Chan's art is as we'd expect - it's just vintage Ernie. It's his own, yet as you read through the 20 pages, you can see elements of Barry Smith, of George Perez, and of course of John Buscema. The final product ends up being a nice stew of all of the above, with Ernie's lush inking of his own pencils to ice the cake. I found the art very comfortable, as I do most work I see between the covers of Savage Sword. There is the occasional odd fit (Carmine Infantino's story in SSoC #34 was better than expected, but I think Alfredo Alcala had a hand in that), but overall the Filipino masters and of course Big John always gave us a treat.

I'll get to a few of the aforementioned plot elements in my next section, but here I'll flip a kudo Roy Thomas's way. The man consistently gave Conan the voice we'd expect, and also wrote the nasties wonderfully. The wizard in this story is no exception. Shoot, even the uppity priestesses near the beginning of the tale seem perfectly voiced. Roy's dialogue smooths some of those plot head-scratchers.

 

The Bad: OK, it's not bad, really. But the plot device where our protagonist animates a few strands of her hair such that they form a very long braid, strong enough for Conan to climb, seemed a bit of a rip-off. I also felt that the whole "the girl was seen in the embrace of a man!" was not sufficiently explained. Were these women like the Amazons of Paradise Island? Was the encounter with the wizard when our narrator was a young woman the catalyst for this man-hate? Sure, I could infer either of the two scenarios and feel good about it. But maybe the story's small length of 20 pages hindered the revelation of such details. But my imagination is good enough.

I'd actually have liked to witness a goddess/sorceress cat-fight somewhere in the narrative. That might have been cool.

I found Chan's wizard evil, but not Buscema-esque over the top evil. He fit the bad guy bill, if underwhelmingly. Conan, after many trials, gave the fellow his just desserts.

The Ugly: Ah, this isn't horrible, either... probably falls more into the "Really?" category. But I had to laugh when I read Roy's exchange between the goddess and Conan the morn following their post-coital bliss.

She: If -- if I come with you, will you stay with me forever? Will I turn to you... and always find you there?
Conan: No. I cannot promise that.

Paradise by the Dashboard Light was also released in 1977. Witness this:

She:

Stop right there
I gotta know right now
Before we go any further
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
I gotta know right now
Before we go any further
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?

He:

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I'll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I'll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
I'll give you an answer in the morning

Now our Conan was a bit more emphatic than that, but the message was the same - "Nope". So it's not at all the worst part of this story, but it did make me smile.