"There must be a better way..."

"...to avoid missing an issue of Savage Sword of Conan!" From the subscription ad in Savage Sword of Conan #34, and the signature reads Steve Adams. I wasn't expecting to see Conan versus a bunch of Howard the Duck-style warriors, but here we are. Local comic and game shop Merlyn's had a ream of Savage Swords at cover price, and I think I showed a little restraint in not pillaging all they had. I settled with a pile about the thickness of your average phone book...

Between that pickup, and a "Three for a dollar" pile from another store called Time Bomb, it almost made up for a slow week of comics for me at the regular Comic Book Shop: a couple cheap books to go with the new issue of B.P.R.D.

Back to the Conans: there was maybe an issue or two that I had previously seen, reprinted in the 80's in Conan Saga, but most were new to me. These were earlier issues than I read as a kid: I know I started around #112. Several were Roy Thomas adaptations of original stories by Robert E. Howard or L. Sprague de Camp; and just from the issues I had there, it struck me how hung up Conan seemed about becoming king, like that was a goal he was very much working towards. In a lot of later issues, although Conan's heard prophecies about his destiny that hint at it, he seems highly doubtful about the prospect. On occasion, he also gets involved in fakeouts, like a land that only has queens and Conan would just be a royal consort, or a dead kingdom, or something.

Also, there were backup features with Solomon Kane, Red Sonja, Kull, and others. I've been interested in Solomon Kane a little since there's a movie adaptation that I don't think has gotten a wide release or DVD yet here. Still, Kane's puritanical ways also make him a bit of a dick; and definitely less fun than Conan. But there's still a few good stories featuring him; and recently there's been a few new novels, with cover art by Mike Mignola. May have to look into that when I finish this pile. (Kane page from "Moon of Skulls, part 2" Written by Don Glut, art by David Wenzel and Bill Wray.)