This post is brought to you The Masterless Apprentice series by T. Neil Thomas. The Masterless Apprentice and The Masterless Assassin (and soon the final volume Masterless Apex!) aren’t parodies but they are fun romps in a world of wizards, swords, assassins guilds and dracons. If you like your Fantasy with a good dose of humor, then this series is for you. Thomas writes these books as if you were part of a great RPG group, laughing and fighting your way through adventure after adventure.
Now long term fans of this blog are going to notice this is not a new post. It is a very old one in fact, and one that needed a complete overhaul. So, it may feel new to some. I have added some new information so it isn’t all old stuff.
Sword & Sorcery has not always been seen as the rightful prince to the Heroic Fantasy crown. During the Lancer boom of the 1960s, some people weren’t big fans of Conan and his muscles. Michael Moorcock deconstruction the Cimmerian to create his anti-hero Elric (in the pages of Science Fantasy). Harlan Ellison demolished S&S fans as a bunch of sexual repressives in “Delusion For a Dragonslayer” (Knight, September 1966). Larry Niven wrote “Not Long Before the End” (F&SF, April 1969) to invert the barbarian-wizard duel. Conan the Barbarian, especially the comic book of that name that first appeared in October 1970, has drawn a lot of fire. You can tell because people almost immediately began to parody it. Here are some of my favorite parodies. (Let’s be clear here, these are directly relatable to the Cimmerian and related characters. I have not included humorous Fantasy of the Myth Adventures type or funny S&S comics that aren’t parodies.)
“Testicles the Tautologist” (Skull Comics #3, November 1971)was written and drawn by Jaxon. It may have the distinction of being the first.
“Norman the Barbarian” (National Lampoon, May 1972) was written by Sean Kelly and drawn by Barry Windsor Smith still employed by Marvel to drawn the comic it parodies. It was also parody of articles by Norman Mailer wrote in 1971. For the complete thing go here.
“Delusion For A Dragonslayer” (Chamber of Chills #1, November 1972) was adapted by Gerry Conway, based on the story by Harlan Ellison. In Ellison’s story, he portrays the average S&S fan as an incel. The comics version left out most of the sex stuff.
“Who?” (Midnight Tales #5, September 1973) was written by Nick Cuti. The image of Keen killing the dragon is a swipe from “Spell of the Dragon” (January 1973). The comic may have been intended as a parody of Brak? Sword & Sorcery tales with bummer endings where the barbarian loses were not new in 1973 since Warren Publications had been doing them since the 1960s. This one is more heavy-handed in its failure.
Barbarian Killer Funnies #1 (1974) was written and drawn by Tom Bird. Another early Conan parody comic from Independent comix, before Cerebus, Thrud or Groo. Not that funny.
“A Tale of Sword & Sorcery” (Star*Reach #1, April 1974) was written by Ed Hicks. It was drawn by Walt Simonson, who would go on to do more in Sword & Sorcery. This strip may have partly inspired Dave Sim (Cerebus the Aardvark) who also published with Star*Reach. Ralph Bakshi used a similar ending in the film Wizards (1977).
“My Furry World — And Welcome To It” (Witzend #10, 1976) was written by Nick Cuti. This is an early Furry S&S before Cerebus’ first appearance but in the same year as Howard the Duck. The comic was published by Wally Wood, who knew a thing or two about Heroic Fantasy comics and parody.
Howard the Duck #1 (January 1976) was written by Steve Gerber. The story continued from Giant-Size Man-Thing #3, February 1975. Most of the issue is a Sword & Sorcery send-up with Spider-man in the mix just in case.
“The Rabbit Wonder Meets the Barbarian Bunny” (Quack #3, April 1977) was written and drawn by Steve Leialoha and Alex Nino. The first Elric parody with his sword Soulsucker. Elric had appeared in Conan the Barbarian #14-15, March-May 1972.
Cerebus the Aardvark (December 1977- March 2004) was one of the independent comics of the 1970s, written and drawn by Dave Sim, Cerebus was a vehicle to parody Sword & Sorcery then moved onto Marvel superheroes and eventually became a complex world in its own right. The early issues were drawn in a mock Barry Smith style and poked fun at Red Sonja, Elric, Bran Mak Morn and S&S cliches. Collected in The Swords of Cerebus in the 1980s.
Roldo the Barbarian (1978) was an obscure Canadian S&S Spoof from Manitoba. It was written and drawn by Roldo (J. W. Lake).
“Quimby the Barbarian” (Creepy #106, March 1978) was not the first barbarian to fail in a Warren comic, but the parody edge is stronger here. Written by Bob Toomey, the story was drawn by Marvel inker, Pablo Marcos.
“Bruce the Barbarian” (The Unexpected #205, December 1980) written by J. M. DeMatteis using a trope that was not new in 1980. The portal Fantasy elements go all the way back to Chamber of Chills #1. DeMatteis would go on to write Conan the Barbarian around this time.
“Thrud the Barbarian” appeared in the RPG magazine White Dwarf (1981-2002) written and drawn by Carl Critchlow. Later Critchlow did color and more sophisticated stories.
“Advice to a Barbarian” (Epic Illustrated # 11, April 1982) was an illustrated fiction parody written by Robert Rodi and illustrated by S&S master, Joe Jusko. Fiction parodies go back much further than comic book ones, to at least the 1950s. Personally, I would have preferred a Jusko comic version.
Groo the Wanderer, first appearance in Destroyer Duck #1 (May 1982) May 1982, fifty years after Conan stepped onto the Sword & Sorcery stage, Groo the Wanderer appeared for the first time in the back pages of Destroyer Duck #1. This four-page battle scene between Groo and a four-armed dinosaur ninja goes badly for the princess Groo is attempting to save. The strip bears only Aragones name as he had yet to team up with writer Mark Evanier. This he would do for a back-up in Starslayer #5 (November 1982). A five-pager this time, announcing the coming of Groo’s own comic. And so it went. First Pacific Comics, then Marvel’s Epic line, then Dark Horse. (He is Groo “the Wanderer”, after all.) One day Groo and Conan would meet…
“Cronan the Incorrigible” (Crazy #86, May 1982) written and drawn by Joe Abelo, done in a “Hagar the Horrible” style.
“Bow-zar the Barbarian” in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #7 (September 1982) was written by Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw. Thomas got to parody his own story in What If (Conan Walked the Earth Today?) #13 (February 1978).
The movie Conan the Barbarian came out in 1982 and the parodies became more about Arnold and less about Conan. “Killjoy the Nasty” (Crazy #90, September 1982) was first, written by Paul Kupperberg.
Next we got “Conehead the Barbituate” (Mad Magazine #62, December 1982) written by Dick de Bartolo and drawn by Don Martin. Theback cover by Boris was originally intended to be a front cover but was bumped for a Rocky parody.
“Arnold the Isshurian” Epic Illustrated #16, February 1983) was a fun two-pager written and drawn by Dave Sim, parodying both Conan and Little Nemo.
“Archie the Barbarian” (Everything Archie, 1984) For the whole scoop, go here.
Equine the Uncivilized (November 1985-August 1990) was written Richard Konkle. Drawn by Jim Groat, Phil Morrissey and Mark Wallace through its run. This anthropomorphic S&S comic featured Rowrbrazzle members.
Gonad the Barbarian (1986) is another obscure one, written and drawn by Rurik Taylor (aka Madman).
Corban the Barbarian (April 1987) was written and drawn by Phil Greene. Sword & Sorcery has become the domain of the independents again as books and comics are abandoning S&S into the 1990s.
Red Shetland (August 1989-October 1996) was written Richard Konkle and Alan Dean Foster. Artists include Richard Konkle, Monika Livingston, Terrie Smith, Kjartan Arnorsson and Jim Groat. Alan Dean Foster made a guest appearance in issue #8.
Ack the Barbarian (1991) is another hard-to-find comic written and drawn by Mario D. Macari. A completely computer-generated comic book that features the adventures of the typical brave but not too bright, half-elven warrior who speaks like a Neanderthal. Also featured the TMNT parody the Tinage Mutilator Ninjer Ducks.
“Moanin’ the Bavarian” (What the? #12, May 1991) was written and drawn by Bill Wray. For the whole thing, go here.
“Cronan the Beerbarian” (What the? #12, May 1991) appeared in the same issue and was written by Barry Dutter.
“Book Two” (Samurai Cat #2, September 1991) was written by Ralph Macchio. The first issue parodied Tolkien and the second Conan.
Santa the Barbarian (December 1996) was written by Dan Fraga and Robert Loren Fleming. No indication of being inspired by Seabury Quinn’s “Roads” (Weird Tales, January 1938) which could have been called by the same title.
Barack the Barbarian (June 2009-2010) was written by Larry Hama and drawn by Christopher Schons. Just when you think comics have finished with the parodies, politics draws us in for one last kick at the barbarian cat.
Fangbone (2012) was written and drawn by Michael Rex. The comic was made into a Netflix cartoon.
Conclusion
It is easy to parody anything that makes a clear mark on popular culture. I think Robert E. Howard would be surprised to see that he left such a legacy.He might also be surprised at how much some people hate the sub-genre. I think we can laugh, even those of us who love S&S, because sometimes the jokers aren’t wrong. Having critics to point out when any work of art is resting on its laurels or has lost its point is healthy. Reminding new writers that repeating the same Conan-Brak-Kothar tropes is a fail is alright. Same with the Frazetta swipes. Innovation is something to look forward to.
I am sure there are more out there, like the one pager “The Same Old Sword of Gonad” that I remember but not where. Let me know which ones I missed.
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