" An age undreamed of "

I am totally fascinated and would love to one day own one of these.  A few would be cool...being they are scarce I doubt I'll ever find one.
  Go to:
http://www.anageundreamedof.com/2013/05/la-reina-de-la-costa-negra-mystery-of.html

The blog " An age undreamed of " and read more about these fantastic predessesors to The CONAN the Barbarian comic books we all know and love today!!!
Props to Cromsblood for regularly sharing each and every time he comes across new UNDREAMED OF material and shares with us!!!

Robert E. Howard the American Tolkien...

I was visiting my local comic book store this past Saturday and picked up a few things.  As I was paying I noticed on the wall behind the register a copy of " Famous Monsters of Filmland"  # 265 to be precise.  I noticed Gollum...I asked to see it and the store owner handed it to me and I noticed it was a Sanjulian painting.  So I bought it expecting a nice article on the new HOBBIT film that was out recently.  When I got it home I was totally surprised to see upon reading the table of contents if there were a Magazine to buy by accident or chance it is this one.

                                    
There were articles about Quentin Tarantino,The Hobbit,Bakshi's LOR,Forrest J. Ackerman,PSYCHO and of all things that made my purchase even more of an unexpected treat...ROBERT E. HOWARD in an article called The "AMERICAN J.R.R.  TOLKIEN"  for many years I have always compared Howard to Tolkien myself.  I have had many a conversation with Tolkien fans about CONAN and how they should read a true HOWARD CONAN yarn. 
           One instance I can remember...I was talking with someone who was talking about how intellectual Tolkien's stories were and how his stories are discussed by Professors of lierature at great Universities around the world.  I told him that in my opinion Tolkien's writing was verbose and too descript to hold my attention ( His descriptions of forests and hills and mountain sides and ornate castles were a bit overly descript and I got bored and had to slog through the story to get to the faster moving parts of the tale only to find there was actually no faster moving parts of the tale.  It was like having a discussion with an Ent about whether or not to have a discussion ) 
            Bottom line...there really is no better writer at all in this great world and in the history of literature or written fiction.  It is all preference. 
          About two years later the guy I had this discussion with told me he bought a CONAN pastiche and read it and really enjoyed it. He also noted that the pace was more even and steady...I was pleased to give him an I told you so.  ( There is only so much description one can put into something before you begin to lose interest )  My point of view on the subject is this...Tolkien...Like Howard created a world people could get lost in.  Tolkien's world is full of magic and magical peoples...HOWARD's world...was full of grit and realism and strayed away magic.  Like CONAN who hated magics.  Tolkien wrote stories where magic played a major part.  Howard wrote stories where magic was just a tool and the hero always had to overcome great obstacles with his wits and bare hands.  Who is better?  I am not qualified to judge.
      For those of you who are CONAN completists...I recommend you go out and obtain this magazine.
Expand your Horizons and read more by CROM!!!

- In Memorium - Dan Adkins -

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I inform the followers here at CROM that another great comic book legend and master draftsman Dan Adkins has passed away.  I never knew the man nor have I ever met him but his work always left me reeling. His skill was incredible and I always loved the work he did whether he was inking someone's work or creating his own work he always came through ( Never in doubt ) with beautiful art. 
     Dan had been around the Marvel comics offices contributing to the creations we all know and love since the inception of the Marvel Age.  His Conan portfolio is one of the long sought after pieces I long to add to my collection.  One day perhaps I will obtain it.
     Below is some text that I copied from wikipedia :

In 1964, during the period comic-book fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comics, Adkins joined the Wally Wood Studio as Wood's assistant. Wood and Adkins collaborated on a series of stories for Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics magazines Creepy and Eerie. Adkins was among the original artists of Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, for Tower Comics, drawing many Dynamo stories during his 16 months in the Wood Studio.^[1]
His work as a penciler and inker appeared in 816 comic books, and he inked over 70 artists in the comics industry. He drew 132 covers for Marvel Comics, in addition to his many pages for Doctor Strange and other Marvel titles. Adkins has worked for a variety of comics publishers, including Charlton Comics, DC Comics (Aquaman, Batman), Dell Comics/Western Publishing, Eclipse Comics, Harvey Comics, Marvel, and Pacific Comics.^[1]
In addition to penciling and inking, Adkins has also done cover paintings, including Amazing Stories, Eerie (issue 12) and Famous Monsters of Filmland (issues 42, 44). His magazine illustrations have been published in Argosy (with Wood), Amazing Stories, Fantastic, Galaxy Science Fiction, Infinity, Monster Parade, Science-Fiction Adventures, Spectrum, Worlds of If and other magazines

As you can see Mr. Adkins was a well rounded and experienced professional - You will be missed sir...God bless...Rest in peace.    ( March / 1937 - May / 2013 )