"Savage Sword of Conan 200"

SSOC 200 : A special story written by Roy Thomas and art by John Buscema and Ernie Chan the dynamic duo of the Hyborian age!!!

" Barbarians of the Border " Is a cleverly interwoven tale of Conan on an amazing adventure with all the trappings and fixings you’d expect , Giant bats , Sorcery , Wizards of course , action , swordplay , battle scenes and damsels in distress paired with the fictional account of how REH was inspired to create Conan…
On one of his day trips to San Antonio Texas REH happens across an antique store and decides to go in and peruse the shop. While he is checking out the guns,swords and knives a Mysterious stranger begins a conversation with him.
A little history lesson ensues about the ALAMO and TWO GUN BOB informs Mr. Topi ( The stranger ) that he is a writer having a dry spell and looking for inspiration by taking a little time off from writing to clear his head.
Then the two continue their conversation on the bus to the other side of the border where they part ways. I liked this exchange because TWO GUN talks about the magazines his YARNS appear in and mentions characters he’s created and you feel like this could actually have been part of REH’s life as it is quite possible he did sit down with a stranger one day and fill them in on who he is and what he does to put bread on the table. I felt like for a brief moment I had a glimpse into Howard’s life and it made me adhere to the character of REH playing out on paper and reeled me in. Clever writing at it’s finest. You see it is tricks and deliberate plot contrivances like that which writer’s use as a common tool to get the readers enraptured and enmeshed in the story. Something we are aware of going in.
Now back to the story : Later on we see Bob wearing a sombrero and Poncho about to walk into a Cantina where it clearly states on the wall outside Gringo’s are not welcome.
He goes inside anyway and sits down to sample some of the local cuisine. Not long after that he overhears some of the locals speaking English and talking about making an exchange and a tradeoff and he has been privy to some privileged information. The Waitress blows his cover to the bad men and they escort him forcefully outside and pull a knife on him to ask him just exactly how much he heard. One of the crooked dudes is Mr. Topi , Bob’s new friend from the antique shop. A scuffle , a knife and Bob winds up in the drink!!!
The bad guys take off and head off to their rendezvous. Bob drags himself from the water and heads out to figuratively cut them off at the pass. It’s a story you should all read and an issue of Savage sword of Conan you should all own.
All wrapped up in a fantastic Joe Jusko cover with righteous pin ups by Dave Simons and Mike Docherty!!! The articles within , the Story behind the story and a History of Savage sword as well as a write up titled “ The Father of Conan” by Glenn Lord of all people make the issue priceless. The entire package is worth your time and energies and I highly recommend everyone going out and getting hold of their very own copy of “Savage sword of Conan 200” It’s guaranteed to be a great yarn!!!