Not quite Conan ~ "The SAVAGE AXE of ARES"

Sounds a lot like something CONAN would say if he were surrounded. Under the Christmas tree this year in a shirt box was a bunch of comic books my wife went down to the local shop and purchased at random to present to me on Christmas morning. In that little pile of comics was an issue of "CHAOS WAR ARES" the cover was absolutely an HOMAGE to CONAN THE BARBARIAN # 1 from way back when.

Now I noticed a little something about the use of ARES in comics as of late and could not help but notice the CONAN-ESQUE style in which he was portrayed. Last year or perhaps the year before Marvel put out a bunch of 70's style black and white comic books designed to look like their line of magazines from that era.  OF COURSE...they no longer publish CONAN ....so they cleverly came up with something else.

THE SAVAGE AXE OF ARES...we all know that the name itself is a tribute to the long running and awesome magazine series THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN (all available in reprint form from Dark Horse comics who currently publishes our favorite unabashed barbarian hero).

I of course have one of the SAVAGE AXE comics. It is a bit lackluster and does not really have the bite of what one would expect from a title with SAVAGE in it.  But for all intents and purposes I went ahead and purchased me a copy anyway. Hell it's an Homage to SSOC!!! A must have in my humble opinion. Included here are copies of the covers for said mentioned comics. If you like go hunt 'em down.

Borrowing the Not quite Conan introduction in an Homage of my own to Reis and Cromsblood.  Enjoy the little gallery here of THE SAVAGE AXE OF ARES! By MARVEL comics.

You Can Own Conan's Actual Sword!

It was reported on the website Cool & Collected, that the premiere Hollywood movie props auction company, Profiles in History (who have their very own show on Syfy, titled Hollywood Treasure, which I strongly suggest checking out just to see all of the cool movie props, although the people on the show are cringingly smarmy and unlikable) are going to be auctioning one of the actual "Atlantean" swords used by Arnold himself during the filming of Conan the Barbarian!

The auction takes place this weekend, Dec. 17-18, and includes all kinds of hero (props used in close ups during filming) pieces, like one of the evil rocket-firing penguins from Batman Returns and Marty McFly's hoverboard from Back to the Future II.

But if you're still in the mood for swords, you may want to get your hands on this movie-used William Wallace sword from Braveheart.

To read more about all of this sheer awesomeness, click the links above. Happy bidding!

Just a Little Conan Art...

I just saw this little piece of art, done in an inspired Kubert-ian style in watercolor, on deviantART and simply had to pass it on here. It never ceases to amaze me how artists continue to be inspired by Conan. Enjoy...

You can see more art by Cinar on their deviantART gallery right HERE.

CONAN writer - Sean A. Moore...RIP

Hello, My name is Mike and I am proud to be a part of CROM the Ultimate CONAN fan blog. I've been following CROM since I discovered it in late 2008. I've sent Reis and Cromsblood many items that were used here and there and directed them a time or two to some interesting CONAN stuff which they used. I was thrilled to say I was happy just to be recognized and to have some of my art and comments here on the blog.

This is my first posting and I hope it will be informative and enjoyable or entertaining in some way. I am going to tell you about Sean A. Moore a writer who produced three official CONAN novels.

I was reading an issue of Savage Sword of CONAN and on the inside back cover was an ad for CONAN the HUNTER. I ran out the next day to my local book store and found it in trade size. A good size. Easy to hold and turn the pages. As I read along I got immersed in the story and found Moore's writing style was very similar to REH's. While many people do not care for overly descript writing I find it artful and thought to myself..." Wow Moore is really capturing the spirit of REH in his writing style. " I finished that book and went on to search out other Sean A. Moore CONAN books and at that time could only find that he wrote one prior to The HUNTER. "CONAN and the Shaman's Curse " it was out of stock and nobody could order it for whatever reason. So I went on a used paperback book store search . No luck I never found the book.

Then One day..."CONAN and the GRIM GREY GOD" was staring me in the face at the book store. A third Moore CONAN novel. WOW!! I picked it up bought it and ran home to begin getting lost in the world of CONAN once more. I was immediately taken back to the first time I read an REH story and finished the book in record time..OVERNIGHT.

Sean A. Moore weaved words in his CONAN stories that would make REH proud. STATUES , GARGOYLES , SORCERY , NECROMANCERS , Walking skeletal giants whose flesh grew back with each step across a desert wasteland. I finally recently found "CONAN and the SHAMAN'S CURSE" on EBAY in a lot of CONAN BOOKS and needed to purchase them all in order to get my hands on the book. I have not read it. But soon I will hunker down and rip through that book in one night as I did with The GRIM GREY GOD!

It is terrible to have to tell you that Sean A. Moore died in a car accident. I recommend that you find these books and you read them. By hook or by crook or wheel and deal on EBAY if you must get hold of these books and read them. If you love CONAN as we do here at CROM ( so cool to be able to say that. ) BUY THEM BOOKS.

I looked up Sean A. Moore on the internet and found a Wiki page for him. I have copied and pasted some of his bio here. ( See Below ) Along with some pics of the covers of the books you should get. Read on and enjoy.

"Sean A. Moore (April 20, 1964 - February 23, 1998) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer, and computer programmer. His primary significance as a writer is for his three pastiche novels featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan and for his work on the screenplay of the movie Kull the Conqueror, and novelization of the same film.

Moore was a resident of Boulder, Colorado, where he worked in the field of computer programming in a number of different capacities, including programmer, systerms operations specialist, and writer of computer games. He was employed as a programmer by Aspen Systems, Inc. He was also a designer of board games. His hobbies included paying computer games and fencing.

Moore died in a car crash. He was survived by his wife. Services were held five days after his death.

Moore was active as both a fan and a professional writer in the community of Colorado fantasy and science fiction enthusiasts. Initially writing part-time, he had become a full-time writer at the time of his death, primarily for Tor Books. His last work was an unfinished science fiction horror novel, provisionally titled Diggers. He was a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Among Moore's works are three Conan novels and the novelization of the film Kull the Conqueror, all published by Tor Books. He also contributed in an uncredited capacity to the screenplay of the film, and wrote the novelette "10585," published in the anthology " It Came from the Drive-In ".

Moore has been both praised for his "strengths ... in crafting a clever, dense plot with immense, epic scope, and populating it with an imaginative flood of action and monsters," and criticized for "overwrit[ing] to an incredible degree" and "choppy ... start-and-stop structure."

Long live CONAN .....Long live REH and Long live Sean A. Moore.

Custom Conan Heroclix: Temple of the Serpent Edition!

I was going through my Conan folder (oh, like you don't have one) and I came across these shots of this badass little custom Conan Heroclix game figure that I spotted on eBay ages ago. I love how this is the war-painted Conan from the first movie's Temple of the Serpent scene.

Enjoy...

CROM! Welcomes Mikeyboy!

Hail you Hyrkanian dogs! I just wanted to drop a quick note to officially welcome long-time CROM! reader and commenter, Mikeyboy, to his new position here on the blog as a full-fledged CROM! contributor!

So, expect to start seeing even more Conan news, reviews, art and whatever else Mikeyboy has up his sleeve.

And speaking of what's up his sleeve, anyone who has this tattooed on them...

... just has to be worthy enough to join our team!

So join me, everyone, on welcoming Mikeyboy the Mighty! HAIL!

My Conan Collection!

Hail Fellow Conan Fans! Well, as some of you may know, I just recently moved into a new house with enough space to give me my very own room, which I have dubbed "The Nerdatorium". The best part of having my own space (it's actually a home office, since I'm starting to work from home in 2 weeks) is that I finally get to dig out all of my collectibles from their Rubbermaid prisons and get them out in the open on a shelf where they belong.

Foremost in my collection of toys, comics and books is, of course, my prized Conan collection! No longer is it sealed up in storage! Finally, my collection can see the light of day and take up its rightful place of honor!

And since I had it all out on some shelves, I thought I'd snap a few pics and share with you all.

On the lower shelf we see my collection of Conan novels and pastiches. And yes, I have read all of these (well, most of them). Standing guard over my beloved paperback collection are my various Conan figures. More on them in a bit.

The upper shelf contains my larger Conan books; a couple of retrospectives, hardback novels and trade paperbacks. Sadly, I know for a fact that some are missing, so there must be another bin somewhere. probably in the garage. Good grief.

By the way, you see the two big books on the left? I highly recommend both of them to any Conan fan!

The first of the figures is my NECA "I'm gonna kill all your slave bitches" Conan, as seen in the first movie. I love this figure despite its utter lack of articulation. Also, note the missing index finger. Again, must be rolling around at the bottom of a bin.

Here we have a small Conan statue originally released by Dark Horse comics. This is a repainted special promotions piece originally seen in the "Frost Giant's Daughter" PVC set. I got this bad boy at a discount bookstore for $2. They had a pile of them and I'm now kicking myself for not buying them all and having a give-away or something. Sorry, gang.

Ahhhh, yes... the Comic Book Legends Conan! He came with his Marvel Comics arch nemesis, Wharrl: the Devourer of Souls!

And, of course, my prized Mego Conan. A gift from my homie Greg and still one of my very most beloved toys in my entire collection. Thanks Greg!

While I was digging through another bin, I stumbled across a few Marvel Comics Treasury Editions. I've found these here and there over the years and actually forgot that I had a couple of these. The last one appeared on this very blog after I found it at the Emerald City Comic Con and had it signed by the great Ernie Chan himself! (Look in the center "N" in CONAN)

Well, that's the collection so far, minus a book or two. And I also have to track down an original piece of Conan trading card art from my good friend, Bubbashelby. It's around here somewhere.

And of course, this also does not take into account the hundreds of Conan comics I have, which are all sitting in a giant stack right now. I'm picking up some comic book long-boxes this weekend and plan on putting them all in order and then making a list of which ones I need. I'm sure I'll have a ton of doubles, so I think I smell a CROM! give-away on the horizon! ;)

Thanks for checking out the collection!

In Memoriam...

Dino De Laurentiis

1919-2010

To read more about the legendary producer of Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer, among many other incredible films, click HERE.

You Can't Be a Barbarian Without Some Barbarian Babes

Just sayin'. Cromsblood has treated us to several fantasy realm hotties, so I thought I'd contribute a few I found as well. ;)

(click images to view full size)

"The Riddle of Steel" by Dan Hipp!

If there's one thing I love, it's big boobs. But if there's another thing I love, it's killer Conan art! I stumbled across this awesome piece of work by artist, Dan Hipp, an illustrator with several comics and graphic novels under his belt and his unique look, with his chunky shading, sharp angles and inspired color schemes deserve a solid shout out here on the blog.


(click to view full size)

Swing on by Dan Hipp's blog (click HERE) to fill your eyeballs with even more awesomeness!

Conan in Japan!

Hail fellow barbarians and savages! It's really great to see the CROM! blog back to it's former self (and then some) with the return of Cromsblood and the addition of our newest blogging brother, Atom Kid. And to hold up my end of things a bit, i wanted to take a quick moment to tell you all about an email I received from a Conan fan all the way from the land of the rising sun.


A blogger called "Banjin" （蛮人）, which means "barbarian" in Japanese, set me a link to his website, which is all devoted our favorite sword-swinger Conan!

You can visit Banjin's site, "Conan the Oblivioner" (???) by clicking HERE. It appears that Banjin has combined two of his favorite things: Conan and the popular sandbox style video game (which I have sunken many hours into myself), Oblivion.

And good luck navigating the site because it's all in Japanese. Maybe Cromsblood can help us out with some sort of translator?

Anyway, check it out and, as always, make sure to die not in hunger... but in combat!

This is a Crusader Miniatures Dark Age Irish figure that I painted. The Cimmerians were based on Dark Age Irish and Scottish culture along with Robert E. Howard's own ideas.

Royal Armies of The Hyborean Age: Army List (Argos)

(Image used from The Hyborian Age)

Black Amazons 500 points

No Banner

Though not a true nation, the Black Amazons could field a force large enough that it should not be overlooked. Their army would be all infantry and it would include elite light archers. The Black Amazons would have uniforms in the sense that all women in a given unit would wear the same animal skins or colors. Below is the breakdown for their army:

Regular Infantry - -MI- -B- -36- -50-100
Light Archers- -LI- -B- -18- -25-50
Elite Archers- -LI- -A- -18- -0-25

Black Amazon Medium Infantry would be able to move as lights in rough terrain and would not suffer the usual medium penalties.

EVEN MORE Conan Art by Rodney Buchemi!

One of the blog's favorite artists, Rodney Buchemi, who's work was showcased HERE, was kind enough to drop me a quick note and send us a couple of new pieces of art for us to share here on CROM!

Rodney is one seriously top-notch artist as clearly evidenced in these two pieces. Have a look and see for yourself!

 

 

Thanks for sharing Rodney!

Conan Lego Minifig!

Here's another cool little custom I spotted on eBay. This custom Conan Lego minifig wins for cutest Conan custom ever!

 

Conan And The Songs Of The Dead - A Review

Conan And The Songs Of The Dead from Dark Horse Comics by Joe R. Lansdale with art by Timothy Truman is, as you have guessed, another Conan story. But Joe Lansdale writing a Conan story?!!! How awesome is that, and he's a Texan to boot. Who better to understand Robert E. Howard than another fellow Texan!

Conan meets an old aquaintance, Alvazar the thief, who was hired to find a particular magickal tome known as "The Book Of Nameless Cults" (Ring any bells)? On their quest they join forces with a female warrior named Ohala who is also looking for the book. Husbas, an evil sorcerer and student of Thoth-Amon, is also looking for the scroll so he can use it to call forth the Elder Gods. Conan and his companions fight their way through mummy warriors, Picts, demons and even The Worms Of The Earth to obtain the scroll.

Joe R. Lansdale's writing style has been described as "Gonzo", and this story is no exception. The story itself was decent but at times the anachronistic language got a bit old. And it is a bit risque in parts, just incase you were planning on letting your 10 year old read it.

Timothy Truman's artwork is superb! He's well known for illustrating Grim Jack. His depiction of Conan is spot on! He's a battle hardened roque, not a hollywood pretty boy.

Over all, I really enjoyed the graphic novel and would highly recommend it to Conan fans. Some of the anachronistic language and situations seemed out of place.

The Great White Barsoomian Ape gives it 3 thumbs up!

Conan The Cimmerian miniature

Here's a mini I did a while back using parts from historical wargaming miniatures. I wanted to do a mini of young Conan to go along with my Crusader Miniatures dark age irish miniatures (which I was using for Cimmerians). I decided to use Wargames Factory's Numidian bodies mixed with ancient Germans arms, head, shield and sword. Then I used some Pro-Create to make the cape and the hair.

I wanted him to look like a basic rank and file character, but still very Conan like. So I gave him plain, drab colored clothing that a Cimmerian tribesman would probably have worn. After all, he didn't become a king until his late 40's.

I think it turned out pretty decently.

Royal Armies of The Hyborean Age: Army List (Argos)

(Image used from The Hyborian Age)

Striaght from the army lists from Royal Armies Of The Hyborean Age.

Argos 1500 points

Banner: Purple Field with three gold balls up and down center of flag.

Most units in the army of Argos are hired from Ophir, Koth and Shem as there are very few native units. These Mercenary units should be treated as native as opposed to hiring Free company Mercenaries which could be up to 20% of an Army for Argos.

As all cavalry was hired abroad their uniforms would be similar to similar units in their countries of origin. The same applies to the infantry with the exception of the Royal Guard, which was seldom used in battle. All units use the banner of Argos.

The Royal Guard was a unit composed of members of nobility who favored the use of gold armor and shields. Their golden shields would have three purple balls as a device.

Cavalry is all hired and is B class heavy cavalry in units o ftwelve figures. Cavalry was 25-33% of the army.

Infantry is broken down as follows:

Unit Designation-----Type----Class--No. of Figures-----% of Infantry

Hired Spearmen ------HI-------B--------24-----------50-90
Shemite Archers ------LI-------B--------18-----------10-25
Royal Guard ---------HI-------A--------30-----------1 unit

Conan Mego!

I spotted this minty carded vintage Conan Mego figure and just had to post the pics. You can practically smell the 1970's coming off this thing...