Friday, September 16, 2011

Conan & The Thing in the Cave!

When I think of Conan, that enemy-beheading, jewel-stealing, wench-loving, blood-soaked barbarian from the Cimmeria, I think of children's books. And apparently that's what Golden Books thought of too in 1986, when they released this adorable little bedtime tale of a savage warrior running from wolves and battling an undead being in a cave.

The story is clearly taken from the classic scene in the Conan the Barbarian movie. Why they made a children's book at all is odd (but then again, they made a cartoon), but the fact that it came out a few years after the movies is even odder.

Note the other books listed on the back cover. I have several of the Master's of the Universe books, and will be posting them eventually.

So, enjoy this odd and rather simplistically-drawn tale of Conan & The Thing in the Cave!














Anyone recognize the artist that did the cover? Their initials are "G.D." The art is gorgeous, and very reminiscent of the great Earl Norem. If anyone knows, fill us in in the comments section.
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10 comments:

  1. Mike D.September 16, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    WOW where the heck did you find this? It's awesome I want one! BY CROM I WILL HAVE ONE!!

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  2. Reis O'BrienSeptember 16, 2011 at 3:48 PM

    I scored this on eBay a few weeks ago. I've never seen a copy before, so good luck finding one. In the meantime, you can just save these images for your very own digital copy! :)

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  3. rozumSeptember 16, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    On the bottom of the back cover it says "Cover Art by Gino D'Achille".

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  4. CromsbloodSeptember 16, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    Incredible Reis, thanks for this! It was mentioned on the REH Comics Group not long ago, but with little info to go on, I couldn't find any evidence that it even existed. Until now!

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2011 at 1:09 AM

    'The story is clearly taken from the classic scene in the Conan the Barbarian movie'

    Ahem... it's not. It's based on the short story 'The Thing in the Crypt' by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, writers of several Conan pastiches, first published in 1967 (that is, long before the movie).

    The makers of the movie simply drew inspiration from this source; the scene was not their own idea.

    For a normal-comics version of this tale, see Marvel's Conan the Barbarian issue #092 from 1978 (again, long before the 1982 movie).

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  6. The Grey ElfSeptember 17, 2011 at 4:35 AM

    "anonymous" beat me to it ;). Good find, though!

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  7. Reis O'BrienSeptember 17, 2011 at 6:15 AM

    Good eye Rozum! I didn't even look there.

    And yes, Anon, I'm well aware of The Thing in the Crypt, and you're quite right. They probably did take this from the same sources as the movie-makers.

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  8. Mike D.September 17, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    The appearance of the creature resembles Sal Buscema and Ernie Chan's design from the comic book. But That monster was a Mummy....this one is a statue or something. Perhaps a Guardian of something lost forever now.
    I found myself a copy of this story book on Ebay...it's on the way...by the way folks...remember the Shadow in the Tomb story...in like CONAN by Marvel # 31 or 32 ..not sure right now. A very similar story...Great awesome stuff. Man, CONAN rules!

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  9. WIll KeatonApril 14, 2013 at 2:08 PM

    I actually had this book when I was a little kid. Don't know where it is now though. It always left me wondering what happened before and after the events described in the book.

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  10. AnonymousMarch 20, 2016 at 11:03 PM

    Actually the cover artist is mentioned on the back cover: Gino d'Achille. Could be a pseudonym too.

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