This post is brought to you by the Swords of Fire anthology series with the latest, Swords of Fire 4. Like the three previous collections, this one features four longer Sword & Sorcery adventures with one being “The Dragon God”, a Sirtago & Poet tale set in a country much like Japan. This is by Jack Mackenzie, of course. There is also the next adventure of Bradik the Slayer by M. D. Jackson, “the Star of Kanshalsus”. One of the other two tales is a new Arthan the Bear Man story, “The Twilight War” featuring an army of mercenaries versus giant spiders. And to round out the four, “Between the Dragon and His Wrath” by Will Parker. For the previous anthologies, go here.
Elric of Melnibone first appeared in “The Dreaming City” (Science Fantasy, June 1961) a British magazine. His comic book counterpart was still ten years away. This was for two reasons: first, Elric’s fame had to grow in the UK before expanding across the world and to America through Lancer Books in 1967. The other reason was that Sword & Sorcery comics had to establish themselves as a viable commercial comic book subgenre, which didn’t begin until 1970. Elric would not appear until over a decade after his fictional debut, in March 1972. Once on stage, the Elric saga offered five fascinating versions in the decade of the 1970s.
In 1961 John “Ted” Carnell, editor of Science Fantasy, asked Michael Moorcock for a Conan style Fantasy series for the magazine. What Moorcock brought him was nothing less than magic. In hindsight, this appears unimportant. But the timing got me wondering: why would Carnell ask in 1961? Sword & Sorcery was headed for a boom but that was still six years away with the Lancer paperbacks. If Carnell had asked in 1967, it would be a simple “Of course!” but he had the foresight to start the British wing of the S&S craze half a decade earlier.
What was the state of Sword & Sorcery in 1961? Well, that date is important since it wat that year that Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber and others discussed it in the pages of Amra, arriving at “Sword-and-Sorcery” as a name. Amra was a fanzine published by George Scithers, and featured a mighty host of contributors including Poul Anderson, L. Sprague de Camp as well as Moorcock and Leiber. But was John Carnell a reader of Amra? I don’t know. What I do know is that Carnell’s Science Fantasy and Amra were both nominated for the Hugo in 1962, for Best Professional Magazine and Best Amateur Magazine. So, I doubt Carnell was oblivious to Amra‘s existence.
Still, Sword & Sorcery was pretty quiet outside of Amra. Cele Goldsmith was publishing new Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories in Fantastic since 1958. (She would later publish tales of John Jakes’ Brak the Barbarian and Roger Zelazny’s Dilvish the Damned but not yet.) So that’s about it. L. Sprague de Camp had the occasional Pusad tale and Poul Anderson Cappen Varra back in 1957. The writers of heroic fantasy were ready but most publishing venues weren’t interested. The De Camp/Howard pastiche/rewrites appeared at Fantastic Universe, a low-paying mag.
So why did Ted Carnell ask Moorcock? He must have had some inkling. The magazine was called Science Fantasy but most of its contents fell on the side of Science (Fiction) than Fantasy. The one S&S tale that appeared before Elric was John Brunner’s Traveler in Black in “Imprint of Chaos” (Science Fantasy, August 1960). It is heroic fantasy of a sort but not much of the “Conan type”. Later issues would feature the wonderful mythology-born Fantasy of Thomas Burnett Swann, but this was post-Elric.
The solution comes from Michael Moorcock. He had been trying to get L. Sprague de Camp to allow him to write new Conan fiction for Fantastic Universe. This never materialized. (Later Sprague and Lin Carter would do this for the new paperbacks.) Ted and Mike are talking about this in a pub afterwards and Carnell asks Moorcock to write him something along those lines. Not pastiche, which suited Moorcock better, and thus, Elric.
Let’s talk about the pointy hat. When Marvel Comics gave us the first comic version of Elric he had a pointy hat that Michael Moorcock did not like. The reason for this choice was the paperback art by Jack Gaughan for Stormbringer at Lancer Books (above). Gaughan does a very Gaughanian pointed hat that the editors thought American readers would expect. Elric doesn’t go in for such fashions. If he covers his long white locks, he does it with a black dragon helm.
The plot for the two issue team-up of Conan and his albino anti-version was created by Michael Moorcock and sidekick, James Cawthorn. Roy Thomas scripted the finished pages. The artwork for the two issues was penciled by Barry Windsor-Smith and inked by Sal Buscema (though Smith did some inking on the second issue) The story appeared in Conan the Barbarian #14 (March 1972) and #15 (May 1972). As with all Marvel team-ups, the two heroes begin by fighting each other before joining to fight the baddies.
March 1972 – Marvel Comics
Windy City – 1973
Elric (1973, Windy City) was written by Steve Grant with art by John Adkins Richardson. “The Fall of the Dreaming City” adapts Moorcock’s first Elric tale.
Stormbringer – 1976
Stormbringer was written and drawn by Moorcock’s old-time, pal, James Cawthorn. (The duo worked on the script for The Land That Time Forgot in 1974 of all things!)
Star*Reach – October 1976
Star*Reach #6 (October 1976) was written Eric Kimball and Steven Grant with art by Bob Gould. “The Prisoner of Pan-Tang” was their own sequel to Moorcock’s tales. After this comic, Bob Gould became associated with Elric. Gould would do paperback cover art for future reprints.
Phillipe Druillet – 1978
Philippe Druillet and Michel Demuth teamed-up in the early 1970s to do an Elric comic. Unfortunately the project did not end in a finished comic but the artwork was sold as a portfolio, Elric: The Return to Melnibone, La Saga d’Elric, Le Necromancien (Éditions Pellucidar / Unicorn Bookshop, 1971). Technically, Druillet should be first on this list but his material appears last as Druillet did re-use some of the work to product two comics for Heavy Metal in the US (not used in Metal Hurlant).
“Urm the Mad” (Heavy Metal, February-May 1978)
“Yragael” (Heavy Metal, April 1982-January 1983) Fr more on Druillet’s Sword & Sorcery comics, go here.
Conclusion
The 1970s gave us some eye-popping versions of Elric but a look at the 1970s would not be complete without mention of Dave Sim’s Elrod of Melvinbone, an obvious parody of Elric with the pointy hat. He first appeared in Cerebus the Aardvark #4, June-July 1978, just months after Druillett’s “Urm the Mad” appeared. Cerebus chances upon a Chaos gem which Death wants. He tries to influence the aardvark but he is too strong. So Death finds another pawn, Elrod, who gets Cerebus in all kinds of trouble. Sim’s parody is brilliant, bringing the Chaos element, the sword Seersucker and poking fun at that pesky “Melnibone” name. (How do you pronounce it, anyway? I always just say “Mellon balls” in my head.)
Next time we will look at the 1980s, when Elric comics will become better organized and drawn by the amazing P. Craig Russell. Elric’s pal, Hawkmoon, (other self, really) will also get a comic as well.
The 1980s…
Sword & Sorcery from RAGE machine Books
Leave a Reply