This month, Conan vs. climate change.

I swear I didn't alter that panel; and I'm willing to bet they got letters on that one. From 1982, Savage Sword of Conan #72, "The Colossus of Shem" Written by Bruce Jones, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Ernie Chan.

A humble farmhouse, and some humble farmers, are squashed flat by something giant; while Conan makes plans to ride to Zamora, in search of a rumored buried treasure. He's mildly dismayed when the countryside, which should be lush and green, is far drier than usual; then when the rabble of a small town try to kill his horse, so they can drink its blood--not in a vampire kind of way, they were just desperate to drink anything. Conan escapes into the parched land, later finding the crushed farmhouse, and saving a girl trapped within. Elsewhere, in a verdant park, a group of youngsters play ball, until they accidentally lose it over the forbidden wall...

Conan and the girl, Larna, press on, finding a footprint of a massive creature. After fighting off more thirsty bandits, Conan leaves her with a group of farmers on a search for a hidden city that might have water. Which might be Founton, a city worshipping a turtle statue, which young Sarla is starting to question: she is cast out, and Dhan jumps after her, since he didn't think she deserved that. Dhan finds himself in a desert, face to face with a god--no, just a surly Conan. Together, they later catch up with a group that's found the hidden city, which resembles Founton but Dhan thinks it couldn't be: his city never welcomed strangers. The hidden city Rhoulan is run by another hooded priest like Founton was, who had an army of demons he used to enslave workers, but lived in fear of his estranged brother, and a giant tortoise that destroyed his old city. (Conan's escape is aided by a slave girl, who I think was supposed to be Larna but is called Gina here!)

Later, Conan and Dhan find Sarla, then are set upon by a massive tortoise that makes Gamera look like a hatchling! Why its trying to kill them is unclear, they were tiny; but leading it away from the kids, Conan manages to lure it into charging off a cliff. (Hey, it worked in Tremors!) He's then further surprised to discover, within the wreckage, the now-demolished city of Founton! He finds the dying priest, who explains their city was built to wander the desert, living off the wells there, but must have gone off-course and sucked the land dry in its wake. Conan plays messiah for a bit, leading the survivors to a new life in a not-mobile city; where they might have to work a bit more, but they'd get by.