u/Man_Out_Of_Time_2

REH: Lone Star Fictioneer #1 is a rare collectible Robert E. Howard fanzine published in Spring 1975 by editors Byron L. Roark and Arnie Fenner under Nemedian Chronicles. The publisher, Nemedian Chronicles, only printed 500 hand-numbered copies. Very few of those original 500 copies have survived in good condition.

The Issue Includes editorials, essays, artwork & Portfolios with illustrations by artists including Roy Krenkel, John Severin, Steve Fabian, and others. Thought I would share a few pics of my numbered 459 of 500 Fictioneer #1 addition to my S&S Barbarians Among us Collection. I'm a huge Fabian, Severin fan.

The closing line on the back cover is taken from an incomplete literary fragment written by Howard.

Interesting note: When comparing the line on the back cover to the Howard's original fragment it appears the line was altered from the original fragment.

"They" to "He", "have" to "has", "their" to "his" and punctuation was also altered.

Back cover of fictioneer 1 - "He has given his breath to grey old Death, and yet, he cannot die." - I read it as a tribute to Howard the man himself, perhaps Implying even after Howard's death his body of work continue to thrive. Perhaps that was the publishers intent.

Fragment -

The hangman asked of the carrion crow, but the raven made reply:
"Black ride the men who rode with Death beneath the midnight sky,
"And black each steed and grey each skull, and strange each deathly eye.
"They have given their breath to grey old Death, and yet they cannot die."

- Death's Black Riders -Robert E. Howard

Not sure when the change occurred. will be reaching out to Gary Romeo to inquire.

Chamber of Chills Issue 2 offered us reader two great stories.

The first story was "The Monster from the Mound" adapted from Robert E. Howard's "The Horror From The Mound". It was scripted by Gardner Fox, art by Frank Brunner and Roy Thomas as Editor. Set in Texas, the story involved a cursed burial mound and a vampire.

The second story in the issue was John Jakes "Brak the Barbarian" - "Spell of the Dragon".

John Jakes first created the pulp fantasy character Brak the Barbarian for a short story published in the March 1965 issue of Fantastic Magazine. Jakes was a dedicated fan of Howard who specifically wanted to write stories in the same spirit as Conan. Jakes stated he created Brak because "There just aren’t enough stories of this kind to go around any more; not enough, anyway, to please me” - John Jakes.

Brak was both a tribute to Howard’s Conan, and a response to the scarcity of heroic fantasy available to readers during the early 1960s.

Brak was depicted as a blond broadsword wielding barbarian from the frozen north who was cast out and banished by his own people for questioning the existence of traditional war gods. Unlike his kin, Brak was an unbeliever who does not worship any gods. The comic story, was plotted and scripted by Brak’s creator John Jakes, with art by Val Mayerik and Joe Sinnott.

In July of 1974 Savage Tales Issue #5 reprinted "Spell of the Dragon", and Savage Tales issues 7-8 featured a two-part adaptation of John Jakes’ Brak story "The Unspeakable Shrine," with Doug Moench scripting and Steve Gan illustrating. After Savage Tales #8, there were no further Brak comic adaptations or appearances.

I love having this comic in my Sword and Sorcery Barbarians among us collection. - You find Barbarians in the most peculiar of places.

“The Lion banner sways and falls in the horror-haunted gloom; A scarlet Dragon rustles by, borne on winds of doom. In heaps the shining horsemen lie, where the thrusting lances break, And deep in the haunted mountains, the lost, black gods awake. Dead hands grope in the shadows, the stars turn pale with fright, For this is the Dragon's Hour, the triumph of Fear and Night.”

Howard's only full-length Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon first serialized in Weird Tales pulp magazine ran as a five part serial from December 1935 to April 1936. Unfortunately Howard did not live to see his full novel published. Readers themselves would have to wait until 1950 to read Howard's work published in book form.

In 1950, Well after Howard's death, A small press company - Gnome Press released The Hour Of The Dragon retitled "Conan the Conqueror" in a hardcover book for the first time. Cover design was credited to David Kyle (with John Forte providing the illustration of the sword-wielding Conan figure), while Kyle handled the overall design, including the Hyboria Map used as end-papers.

Now titled Conan the Conqueror; The Hour of the Dragon made it's paperback print debut with ACE publishing house In December 1953, The edition was published in a "Toe-to Toe" Double Novel format (Two distinct novels bound together with each novel ending in the middle of the single bound book) The bound companion was Leigh Bracketts' The Sword of Rhiannon. Norman Saunders contributed the Cover art for both and ACE described the publication as "Complete and Unabridged" - ie: Exactly as Howard originally wrote it.

January 1967 Lancer Books picked up mantle and published Conan the Conqueror in paperback with a first printing cover price of 60 cents. For alot of us kids of the 60's and early 70's the Lancers was our entry ticket into the Hyborian age and all the adventures of Conan at the time.

September 1974 was a milestone for us comic fans; Roy Thomas began to work his magic. Thomas was deeply invested in bringing Conan to life in the comic medium, and The Hour of the Dragon being the only full Conan novel presented a unique opportunity to adapt a longer cohesive narrative rather than just short stories. The project to adapt The Hour of the Dragon initially began in the Giant-Size Conan The Barbarian issues #1-4 Beginning in September of 1974. However, With Giant-Size Conan issues being shelved early - Thomas concluded The Hour of the Dragon in SSOC issues #8 and #10 with us readers having to wait for the story's conclusion until as late as February 1976 until issue #10 arrived on the shelves.

In 1977 Berkley/Putnam restored the original title and text; dropping the Conan the Conqueror title and Howard's The Hour of the Dragon was published as originally serialized back in 1935/36 Weird Tales. Berkley first released their hardcover publication of the story in November of 1977, and quickly followed up with their paperback that same year.

The paperback was released under the Berkley Medallion imprint with an awesome fold out poster created by Ken Kelly titled "The Eve of Legends". Kelly who had studied under Frank Frazetta early in his career was also related to Frazetta through marriage. He was the nephew of Eleanor "Ellie" Frazetta, Frank Frazetta's wife.

Last year I added to my collection "The Complete Chronicles of Conan". The Complete Chronicles of Conan Centenary Edition was published in 2006 specifically to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert E. Howard. Howard's The Hour of the Dragon verse is found on page 574, followed by Howard's Novel The Hour of the Dragon beginning on page 575.

So there we have it by Crom! .... a trek of Howards' classic tale The Hour Of The Dragon through a bit of my own personal collection. (I hope someday to collect all 5 weird tales issues that published the original story in serialized form) - But that is indeed for another day - Hope you all enjoyed.

The collaboration between Thomas, Buscema, and Alcala within the comic industry was nothing short of epic. During this Trio's collaborative Era the stories and artwork created just resonated off the pages. Their creative collaboration teleported me as a kid to another time when Barbarians were among us, and adventures awaited between each issues cover. I'd like to share some of Alcala's truly exceptional artwork with the S&S community of folks here created prior to his more well known work with Thomas and Buscema.

This is my set of 1979 Signed Alfredo P. Alcala Plates.#997/1000. - Alfredo P. Alcala - A true Sword and Sorcery Barbarians among Us GOAT

Proud to have these in my collection

The flyer was created By Alfredo Alcala for the 1980 show. It depicts Mr. Alcala's creation "Voltar" who's first appearance predated Marvel’s versions of Conan by seven years. Flyers such as these were never intended to last. - Glad someone had the presence of forethought to preserve this bit of history. Pleased I had the opportunity to add this original Flyer as a unique addition for my Sword and Sorcery Barbarians Among Us collection.

You find Barbarians hanging out in the most peculiar of places.

Steve (Stephen) Fabian became a professional artist at age 44. He graduated from high school in 1948, went to work in a factory, then Joined the Air Force. While serving Steve began reading how-to books by illustrator and art instructor Andrew Loomis and began sketching teaching himself to draw.

After he left the Air Force in 1952 Steve worked as a Lab technician for DuMont Laboratories, and later for Curtiss-Wright and Simmonds Precision Products. When Simmonds laid Steve off at the age of 44 in 1974 he found himself at a crossroads.....

He decided to try and make a living with his art work, and it soon took off. He went on to create illustrations for fiction magazines like Witchcraft & Sorcery, Amazing Stories, and Galaxy publications. He created hardcover art for a reprint of Robert E. Howard's "The Vultures".

Fabian became well known for his detailed black and white illustration art in the science fiction and fantasy genres, contributing cover art for major publishers, magazines, and comics. He worked extensively with pen and ink, using cross-hatching and fine line-work to create dramatic, moody compositions.

At Marvel, Fabian worked as a freelance illustrator, providing interior and cover art with specific illustrations in "Savage Tales" and "Savage Sword of Conan" and pencil work on various comics during the 1970s. During his lifetime Fabian published collections of his artwork to include The Howard Collection.

Though sometimes overlooked in Conan artist discussions Steve's distinctive art left an impression on SSOC collectors like myself. Though Steve was quite prolific in the art industry (everything from Heavy Metal Mags, to Spider-Man, to Dracula lives) his legacy in comics will always be largely tied to his elegant contributions for SSOC.

In his lifetime Fabian won numerous Art awards - The British Fantasy Award for Artwork 1978 for his illustration “The End of Days,” that appeared in Chacal #2. Nominated three times in the Best Artist category, winning a second time in 1985. Nominated for seven World Fantasy Award for Best Artists between 1975 and 2000, eventually winning a Life Achievement Award from the organization in 2006. He was nominated for the Best Fan Artist Hugo in 1970 and 1971 and for the Best Professional Artist Hugo seven times between 1975 and 1981. Fabian was also nominated for the Balrog Award for Best artist each year from 1979 to 1982. Fabian beat out Dave Carson and Rowena Morrill for the British Fantasy Award for Best Artist in 1980.

Here is my collection copy of SSOC 6 showcasing Fabian's work.

Stephen Fabian - one of the great self taught (yet sometimes overlooked) Artists who entered the profession late in life, but left an indelible mark in the world of Science fiction, Sword and Sorcery, and Fantasy genres with his artistic contributions.

Proud to have Fabian's artwork as part of my Sword and Sorcery Barbarians Among Us Collection.

Note 1: I digitally doctored Steve's RBCC back cover covering up the women breasts to get past Puritan Reddit flagging Autobot.
Note 2: For those unfamiliar with RBCC, It was a way Comic collectors could buy, sell, and trade vintage comic books via mail. Think Pre-internet, Pre-online comic stores, Pre-Ebay.

Federico Mele (F. Mele) Graduated from the International School of Comics in Pescara and then from the Roman School of Comics. In 2022 he published his first comic book as a sole author, The Fall of Macbeth, with Fanucci Editore. Shortly Thereafter he began a collaboration as an interior and cover artist with Todd McFarlane Productions / Image Comics for the US market on titles such as Spawn, and Knights vs Samurai *(*Which I have not read as of Yet). Mele currently teaches color, painting, inking, and storytelling at the Roman School of Comics.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #8, was published by Mirage Studios in July 1986. The Issue is considered a famous crossover amongst the TMNT community of folks with issues selling roughly 135,000 copies and featuring a guest appearance by Cerebus the Aardvark.

The F.Mele Frazetta homage cover was created in 2023 showcasing Mele's artwork without logos or barcodes, and was strictly limited to a low print run of only 250 copies. Though a Frazetta Homage, Mele's style composition and use of color also reminds me of another great Sword and Sorcery master artist's Covers (Vallejo) who contributed covers to Curtis Savage Sword of Conan when I was young.

You can find Barbarians in the most peculiar of places!!! - I greatly enjoy having this Frazetta Homage addition in my Sword and Sorcery Barbarians Among Us collection.

Edit / Fellow Reddit'r Captain Corum provided a comment referencing this Mele Homage cover to a Frazetta John Carter painting. - (Perhaps Swordmen of Mars?) The Captain did not mention which painting in response was referring too, so I am unsure.

Since I see a Barbarian in Mele's Frazetta Homage , AND since Cerebus the aardvark himself was a barbarian , mercenary parody of Conan the Barbarian. I will still keep this issue in my S&S Barbarians Among Us collection where (for me) it just seems to fit quite nicely . - Thanks Capt.

I love the comic Book collecting Reddit crowd!!! - I recently posted my 1979's Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) issue #147 Cover Art illustrated by Marc Hempel featuring Batman fighting Captain America created Lonnnngg Before the big two allowed them to "officially" meet up in Byrne's '96 Cross-over. - https://www.reddit.com/r/batman/comments/1vulbuw/1979_rbcc_issue_147_cover_art_bat_battles_cap/#lightbox

Fellow redditor Aasemoon responded to my original post and shared with me Marc Also did an Interior RBCC Batman Piece I was totally unaware of. After some digging I was able to ascertain it was from an Issue not yet my collection. - So the Hunt began. Today I am now the proud owner of RBCC issue 142 with Marc's interior Batman magnificently displayed on page 28. . (Marc created this interior piece while still in college at the request of James Van Hise). Mr. Van Hise was RBCC's editor/publisher from 1974 to 1983.

If it wasn't for this community of folks I would never have known this interior piece existed. Thank you Aasemoon and all who share their knowledge here. Great bunch of folks.

Robert Dennis Crumb - Born August 30, 1943. My Zap 0 from my collection.

Robert Dennis Crumb - Born August 30, 1943

Thanks for the childhood Memories

1979's Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) issue #147 Cover Art was illustrated by artist Marc Hempel and features artwork depicting Batman fighting Captain America.

Marc was only 22 years old at the time created this cover in 1978. He went on in future years working as a professional artist. He collaborated with Neil Gaiman on the climactic story arc "The Kindly Ones" in "The Sandman". Apple Comics "Blood of Dracula" Comico Comics "Johnny Quest", Malibu Comics "Tarzan the Warrior", DC's Swamp Thing (and a plethora of other DC / Marvel Titles).

The cover was Published in 1979 (long before DC and Marvel officially allowed the characters to meet) Making Marc's RBCC #147 cover historically one of the earliest, and most famous, high-profile pieces of published "what-if" fan art covers pitting the two heroes against each other.

Thank you Marc for an Awesome Cover.

Note: For those unfamiliar with RBCC, It was a way Comic collectors could buy, sell, and trade vintage comic books via mail. Think Pre-internet, Pre-online comic stores, Pre-Ebay.

Mikes first Professional Break came in 1974 at Charlton Comics.

This is my Copy of RBCC issue 109, 1974, Mike Zeck cover. An iconic, gritty depiction of Conan the Barbarian created right around the time Mike caught his first professional break with Charlton. I enjoy having this in My "Barbarians Among Us" collection.

Will eventually get around to picking up missing issue #5 to complete the set. I must have bought it back in the day, Perhaps I traded it amongst my friends when I was a kid.

This is the Captain America / Invaders/ Avengers Movie I would live to see.

Avengers #71 (1969) Written By Roy Thomas featured the World War II-era Captain America, Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner in a time-travel clash with the Avengers. Once The Invaders series was created a number of years later Roy Thomas used the opportunity within the pages of Invaders King-Size Annual #1 (1977) to reflect back on the original story plot within the pages of Avengers #71 and re-present the time-travel clash from the Invaders point of View.

Even though Avengers #71 was written first, and never used the teams name “Invaders” within the original story, Marvel continuity later firmly treats Avengers #71 as the first appearance of the Invaders.

Thomas providing the overlapping story within Invaders Annual #1 years later allowed the Avengers #71 story to come full circle.

A story conclusion 7 years in the making - Now That's Just Damn Cool. Thanks Roy!!

Was going through some old boxes today. This is the only "What If" I own. I traded a few old Subby comics for it a while back to add to my childhood Cap full Run Collection. It came from the Mile High Collection. Don't know what previous owner paid for it. I was never a big "What If" Fan, so I never collected them as a kid. However, this does display nicely with my Cap collection. Think I will display it for a bit- And it does pose a serious question within the world of Comics. - WHAT IF Captain America Hadn't Vanished During World War Two?

Think of the Ramifications for all the story Lines.

Some Here asked if I could post the Story. - Enjoy

Star-Studded Comics Issue 14 December 1968

Front Cover by Sam Grainger, Back Cover by Howard Keltner, Scripted by Larry Herndon, Pencils by Steven Kelez (and a host of others). Inks Alan Hutchinson.

Now if I can only find that very very Scarce and more than likely ever elusive Green Cover 2nd Printing :) (even more scarce than the red cover) - The searches for my "Barbarians Among Us" collection never ends.

Grossly overpaid (Don't care).... I have been searching for this scarce issue for years. (They rarely come up for sale).

Star-Studded Comics was a 1960's fanzine published by Larry Herndon, Howard Keltner, and Buddy Saunders known collectively as the "Texas Trio". The fanzine's first Issue was published in September 1963 and the run continued for 18 issues until the summer of 1972. The fanzine published mostly original superhero / team-up stories. During the fanzine's publication run it garnered several comic Awards.

Issue #14 of the Fanzines run contains the first legal comic adaptation of Robert E, Howard's "The Frost Giant's Daughter". The adaptation was re-titled "Gods of the North" and Conan was renamed Amra due to copyright concerns.

However this does place Star-Studded Comics #14 as the very first legal comic adaptation of a Conan story in any form.