114 CONCRETE
adventures faithful to the spirit and
tone of the Howard stories. With
the success of the mainstream
series, Marvel introduced an adult-
oriented series, Savage Sword of
Conan in August 1974. Th e stories
in Savage are based on Howard’s
work. Th is series lasted until July
1995 with issue #235. Another se-
ries, Th e Conan Saga, ran 97 issues
from June 1987 to April 1995.
Th e Conan stories, regardless
of medium, usually take place
in what Howard envisioned as
the post-Atlantean “Hyborian
Age,” a fi ctional period of history
near 10,000 b.c.e. In these sto-
ries, Conan’s adventures fi nd him
meeting a variety of supernatu-
ral antagonists, such as wizards
and monsters, as well as wenches,
princesses, and a number of other
fantasy genre staples.
Th emes that arise in Conan tales deal with materialism, greed, and amoral ugliness.
Countering this world is the characterization of Conan as the essential outsider evoking
the hero archetypes, yet antiheroic in that he lacks moral clarity or a fi rm code of honor.
Th e sword-and-sorcery genre of fantasy writing traditionally draws heavily from vari-
ous mythological conventions, but Conan stories often end in an ambiguity that leaves
little resolved and reinforces a worldview devoid of moral dualism or ethical absolutes.
Th e tone and style of Conan are infl uenced more by the horror tales of H. P. Lovecraft
than mythology or the Homeric epic. Th e original Howard tales and the comics that
came after refl ect a questioning of tradition in the overall Depression-era culture of the
1930s. Of note is that the popularity of the character peaks in the late 1970s and early
1980s (with a well-known movie adaptation in 1982 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger),
with its cancellation of the comics coming during economic upturn of the mid 1990s.
Th e character would then reappear in comics less than a decade later, in 2003, after
another economic downturn.
D. R. HammontreeCONCRETE. Writer/artist Paul Chadwick’s comic is one of the most original and
mature contemplations of the consequences of superhuman power on the everyday
life of its bearer. From its fi rst appearance in Dark Horse Presents #1 ( July, 1986) toArnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, in the 1982 film Conan
the Barbarian, directed by John Milius. Universal Pictures/
Photofest