This post is brought to to you by the upcoming Bearshirt #5, The Beacon House and Other Stories by G. W. Thomas. This collection of six stories are from Arthan’s youth when he was only a were-bear of seventeen, recently from his training at the Mountain. He encounters many terrible monsters including the green warriors in “Green With Envy”. You can download the story free here.
The Sinbad franchise did comic book adaptations first with several from the movies. I wrote about them earlier, here. As with so many things Sword & Sorcery, Ray Harryhausen was there first, at least in Hollywood, anyway. But the Fantasy film boom of the 1980s produced a crop of film comics, all from Marvel Comics, that allowed fans to relive those silver screen experiences. Marvel had a deluxe comic called Marvel Super Special. Most were released as comic mini-series as well. Later Masters of the Universe and Willow were featured as standalones and part of their graphic novel line.
I should say here, for the purists like myself, I have included at least two comics here that aren’t strictly S&S but get lumped in with the real stuff. Heroic Fantasy or Sword & Planet might be better used but film-goers aren’t picky.
Dragonslayer (1981)
Marvel Super Special#20, 1981 begins with an adaptation by Denny O’Neil. This film came out of nowhere and the comic adaptation is spot on. I think we can thank Marie Severin for that. This special was the first to present the story in a big color magazine then again in a normal comic book mini-series. This model would become the norm, allowing Marvel to double their profits. Because, I, like many bought both.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Marvel Super Special #21, Summer 1982 adapted by John Buscema and Michael Fleisher is an odd mix of the film and what John was doing on the comic books. As an adaptation it is not that good if you want the movie version, not having such classic scenes as the vulture snack. John inked his own pencils, which in my opinion, is always weaker than when he inked by others. (It would have been so cool if Ernie Chan had inked this one. For more on Buscema inkers, go here.) This film is the first of a feedback loop that we will see several times here, where a comic book helps in the making of a movie. All those years on Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan certainly helped the movie producers to go forward with a Conan film. And it is only proper that John got to draw it. The special was reprinted in Conan the Barbarian Movie Special #1-2, October-November 1982.
The Dark Crystal (1982)
Marvel Super Special#24, February 1983 adapted by David Anthony Kraft. I have to admit I was disappointed with this one but could hardly have been anything else. When you have a designer like Brian Froud involved, any comic drawn by another is going to feel less than his originals. Trying to look past that, I don’t think Blevins did a terrible job. In fact, he will show up again, and this might be the one of his I like the best. The color is a little muddy at times but this may have been an attempt to capture Froud’s watercolor world. It was reprinted in The Dark Crystal #1-2, April-May 1983.
Krull (1983)
Marvel Super Special#28, 1983 adapted by David Michelinie. This is the first of two films that aren’t really S&S. There is a definite SF of the lowest variety type in Krull. I think I enjoyed the comic more than the movie. Scenes like the one above look pretty good with Bret Blevins at the helm. In the movie, this is much cheesier. I include it because of the Cyclops and because some readers will insist I do. Reprinted in Krull #1-2, November-December 1983.
Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Marvel Super Special#35, December 1984 adapted by Michael Fleisher. Like Conan the Barbarian, this movie was part of a feedback loop that fed the films. This one perhaps more than the first because the film was written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Thomas had been straw boss on the Conan machine since 1970 and it was only fair he get a shot at writing a movie. Was it great? Pretty comic-booky most critics thought. Somehow that’s appropriate. Again Buscema does his own thing with the art, not too accurate to the film. And again, he inks it himself. Reprinted in Conan the Destroyer #1-2, January-March 1985.
Red Sonja (1985)
Marvel Super Special#38, 1985 adapted by Mary Wiltshire and Louise Simonson. What can you say about a film this awful? You try to look past what was one of the first truly terrible “barbarian” knockoffs that would fill the 1980s with thud and blunder and try to gauge the adaptation. Mary Wiltshire has another insurmountable mountain to climb. For fans like me, the art of Frank Thorne became so identifiable with Red that anything else seems less. (Along with the steel bikini.) A little of the “Blevins Effect” happens, in that the comic is no worse (maybe better) than the original. I like that two women wrote and drew this one, though they deserved better source material. Reprinted in Red Sonja: The Movie #1-2, November-December 1985.
Labyrinth (1986)
Marvel Super Special #40, October 1986 adapted by Sid Jacobson. This one surprised me. John Buscema? I suspect the editors were hoping for a little of Warriors of Shadow Realm‘s popularity to rub off. John drew that one with Rudy Nebres back in 1979 for Marvel Super Special# 11-13. This adaptation is far from that but is fairly accurate compared to John’s Conan stuff. That being said, the art looks like anyone could have drawn it. Again, Brian Froud designed the movie and I wish he might have had more to do with the comics. The good news is both The Dark Crystal and Labryinth got several more comics later on. Reprinted in Labyrinth: The Movie #1-3, November 1986-January 1987.
Masters of the Universe (1987)
Masters of the Universe The Motion Picture, 1987 adapted by Ralph Macchio. This is the second not-really S&S comic I have included here. That old feedback loop took a ton of toys then comics and made a bad movie out of it. It never was going to be Shakespeare, was it? The portal fantasy elements ruined the whole thing for me both in the theater and in the comic. We could have at least got some Alfred Alcala on this one.
Willow (1988)
Marvel Graphic Novel #36, July 1988 adapted by Jo Duffy. I loved this movie back in 1988. It was the first one I ever owned on VHS. Willow was The Lord of the Rings in live-action until we got the real thing. (I really wanted to like the recent TV show but ultimately, disappointed. As with so many reboots, not enough newness.) This adaptation is surprisingly good. Both accurate and drawn well, I have to wonder if the film’s quality helps me enjoy the comic more? Whatever the reason, this is the first one I really liked since Dragonslayer. It was also the last as the 1980s and Sword & Sorcery films bled into the direct-to-video market. Not until the Xena comics of the 1990s would Sword & Sorcery adaptations rock again. Reprinted in Willow #1-3, August-October 1988.
Conclusion
I have to applaud any comic book creators who adapt a film to comics. Usually these professionals don’t have the luxury that we do now of having seen the films (sometimes multiple times) but have to work from an early script and some movie stills. The inconsistencies that creep in are usually later edits to the film that remove elements. I can recall Al Williamson’s excellent adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back with the snow monsters attacking the base as the Rebels flee the Empire. That didn’t make it into the film so it was a nice addition. Even harder was Howard Chaykin’s adaptation of the first Star Wars film, which bears some very odd-looking Darth Vader helmets. Again, Howard was working at a great disadvantage (on a film everybody thought would be gone in a flash). Things like Vader’s helmet are so iconic now that the old comics make you flinch a little.
Just a quick mention of “Conehead the Barbituate” from Mad #235, December 1982. Written by Dick DeBartolo and drawn by Don Martin, it was the only parody for any of these fantasy films. The original cover was done by Boris Vallejo but got demoted to the back cover for a Rocky cover instead. Boris would appear again in Hollywood on the poster for National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and in the film Dodgeball (2004).
Sword & Sorcery from RAGE machine Books
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