Those Dark Horse Chronicles books have pretty crappy reproduction for the most part, and I didn't like the recoloring. At least the stories are good—certainly worth the $5.
Ha... just being nitpicky... and I think Conan deserves to be on the list... after all, it isn't really a household name due to the novels, it's due to the Marvel comics and magazines.
I would argue with that and say the Frank Frazetta covers on the Lancer/Ace editions published in the late ’60s and ’70s pushed Conan into the spotlight much more than the comics ever did. Those covers sold a ton of Conan books that otherwise probably would have sat on the shelf. In fact, they were so popular that the first volume first published in ’67, had to be reprinted in ’68, ’69. ’70, ’71, twice in ’72, and ’73—then it got reprinted several more times once Ace took over after Lancer’s bankruptcy.
Despite that, I don't think Conan really become a household name (at least, not the way I think of the term “household name”) until the first movie in ’82.
I can agree with the book legacy, but I don't think you would have had a Conan movie, if it were not for the mainstream "everyman" name recognition afforded it by the comics. Marvel put him on Slurpee cups, in newspaper strips, and Mego figures... the type of things the property would not have attained without the comics.
According to Wikipedia, Roy Thomas was the first writer involved in writing the screenplay, because of the success of the comics and magazines.
Maybe so, but Roy also has said that the reason Marvel did a Conan comic in the first place was because readers kept asking for it. And actually, Roy was brought in as a story consultant on the first film—he wrote up several pages of notes for the director, but had no input on the script. He was brought in not simply because he wrote the comic, but because he met the original producer, Ed Pressman, through a mutual friend. Roy put Pressman in touch with the Howard estate, and then Pressman brought in Roy as a story consultant. It wasn’t just because Roy was writing the comic, but also because Roy knew—and had adapted for the comic—the original stories.
The main reason Roy was asked to co-write (with Gerry Conway) the script for the second Conan film was because of the fact that he had already co-written (also with Conway) four other screenplays—by that point Roy was in L.A. working almost exclusively as a screenwriter. If he hadn’t had those screenplays under his belt, he might have been used as a consultant again, but he most likely wouldn't have been asked to write a script.
As for the Mego figure, the Conan and Tarzan figures were two of the worst sellers and both were discontinued relatively quickly. I don't know how widely circulated the Conan newspaper strip was, but I don't think it was a very large number of newspapers that carried it, though I could be wrong about that.
I'm not saying the Conan comic and mags made no impact—at its peak the comic sold about 250,000 copies, a pretty good number—but people painted those Frazetta covers on the sides of their vans. One of the original paintings sold for $1 million. Those paintings are credited as being largely responsible for the popularity of the sword-and-sorcery genre in the late ’60s and ’70s. I believe that without those covers, Conan never would have be made into a comic, and therefore never made into a newspaper strip, or a Slurpee™ cup, or a Mego doll. Or a movie.
I tried like hell to find a picture of the Conan comics art painted on someone's van, but alas, I could not. :)
I appreciate your insight into all of this. Very interesting.
I had the Conan Mego figure, and it was hilarious.
The 7 Eleven Marvel Super Heroes Collectible Cups were quite awesome though...
I'm not convinced that the 60's/70's custom van craze is what put Conan in the minds of the general populace... I tried very hard to find an example of one, this is all I could find... may not even be Conan.
Not exactly a Conan van, but here is Thor...
I think from Boris Vallejo and Frazetta and the popular Molly Hatchet album covers to Roy Thomas's Conan for Marvel, it's hard to say what made the movie worth doing. I'm still leaning towards the comics.
Those Dark Horse Chronicles books have pretty crappy reproduction for the most part, and I didn't like the recoloring. At least the stories are good—certainly worth the $5.
They could've been better reproduced, but when I hold the originals in my hands the Chronicles actually shine. They aren't as bad as the original newsprint floppies, though I would've preferred more traditional coloring. I agree that for $5 I couldn't pass them up (issues 10 - 12 covering most of the Bêlit era).
I'm not convinced that the 60's/70's custom van craze is what put Conan in the minds of the general populace... I tried very hard to find an example of one, this is all I could find... may not even be Conan.
I should clarify that I was using the van example to show that the Frazetta book covers were influencing pop culture, not that the vans themselves were, though they did contribute in some small way I suppose.
Those Dark Horse Chronicles books have pretty crappy reproduction for the most part, and I didn't like the recoloring. At least the stories are good—certainly worth the $5.
They could've been better reproduced, but when I hold the originals in my hands the Chronicles actually shine. They aren't as bad as the original newsprint floppies, though I would've preferred more traditional coloring. I agree that for $5 I couldn't pass them up (issues 10 - 12 covering most of the Bêlit era).
In general, I don't like a glossy stock when reading comics. With only a scant few exceptions, I prefer a matte finish. I'm not saying I want comics to go back to the old cheap newsprint, but there are plenty of other options available.
The reproduction quality I was referring to was the actual line art. It's very obvious they weren't using the original art or the film shot from the original art for the reproductions.
Those Dark Horse Chronicles books have pretty crappy reproduction for the most part, and I didn't like the recoloring. At least the stories are good—certainly worth the $5.
They could've been better reproduced, but when I hold the originals in my hands the Chronicles actually shine. They aren't as bad as the original newsprint floppies, though I would've preferred more traditional coloring. I agree that for $5 I couldn't pass them up (issues 10 - 12 covering most of the Bêlit era).
In general, I don't like a glossy stock when reading comics. With only a scant few exceptions, I prefer a matte finish. I'm not saying I want comics to go back to the old cheap newsprint, but there are plenty of other options available.
The reproduction quality I was referring to was the actual line art. It's very obvious they weren't using the original art or the film shot from the original art for the reproductions.
Totally agree on the paper stock.. I hate glossy. I love the paper the Fourth World collections were printed on, and most of the Vertigo books are printed on. It has a soft, newsprinty warmth, but allows for crisp reproduction and color.
Those Dark Horse Chronicles books have pretty crappy reproduction for the most part, and I didn't like the recoloring. At least the stories are good—certainly worth the $5.
They could've been better reproduced, but when I hold the originals in my hands the Chronicles actually shine. They aren't as bad as the original newsprint floppies, though I would've preferred more traditional coloring. I agree that for $5 I couldn't pass them up (issues 10 - 12 covering most of the Bêlit era).
In general, I don't like a glossy stock when reading comics. With only a scant few exceptions, I prefer a matte finish. I'm not saying I want comics to go back to the old cheap newsprint, but there are plenty of other options available.
The reproduction quality I was referring to was the actual line art. It's very obvious they weren't using the original art or the film shot from the original art for the reproductions.
Totally agree on the paper stock.. I hate glossy. I love the paper the Fourth World collections were printed on, and most of the Vertigo books are printed on. It has a soft, newsprinty warmth, but allows for crisp reproduction and color.
Yep. The Y the Last Man Deluxe Edition hardcovers are my ideal—slightly oversized with fairly heavy weight, matte white paper stock with just a bit of tooth.
I can appreciate why Conan would be debated, but Red Sonja was created by Roy Thomas for the comic book and should be included in the list. Howard's Red Sonya (note the spelling) was a very different character in a "modern" time period.
Literally everyone forgets about not only the best Korean movie, but the best comic book movie ever made, in my opinion.
It's based on a manga (which isn't very good TBH) but the original 2003 Korean film is utterly unforgettable to anyone who has seen it. I wholeheartedly recommend it to any fan of cinema or crime fiction.
Comments
In a Theater
300
American Splendor
*The Avengers
*Batman
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin
Batman Begins
*The Dark Knight
*The Dark Knight Rises
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Blade
Blade II
Blade: Trinity
Captain America: The First Avenger
*The Crow
*Daredevil
Elektra
Fantastic Four (2005)
Flash Gordon
*From Hell
*Hellboy
*Hellboy II: The Golden Army
*Howard the Duck
*Hulk
The Incredible Hulk
The Mask
Men in Black
Sheena
Sin City
*Spawn
Spider-Man
*Spider-Man 2
*Spider-Man 3
*The Amazing Spider-Man
Supergirl
Superman
Superman II
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Swamp Thing
*The Return of Swamp Thing
Tales From the Crypt
Tank Girl
*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
Thor
Timecop
V for Vendetta
*Virus
Watchmen
*X-Men
*X2
*X-Men: The Last Stand
*X-Men: First Class
*X-Men Origins: Wolverine
*The Wolverine
Haven't seen.30 Days of Night
300: Rise of an Empire
Art School Confidential
*Barb Wire
Batman Returns
Bulletproof Monk
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Cowboys & Aliens
The Crow: City of Angels
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Ghost Rider
*Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
*Green Lantern
I, Frankenstein
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 3
Son of the Mask
Men in Black 3
Oblivion
R.I.P.D.
Red
Red 2
Richie Rich
Road to Perdition
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The Smurfs
The Smurfs 2
The Spirit
Steel
Superman Returns
Man of Steel
Surrogates
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
TMNT (2007, animated)
Thor: The Dark World
Whiteout
Saw on DVD/VHS/CableCaptain America (1990)
*Catwoman
Constantine
*Fritz the Cat
*-Saw this at a revival showing,but they just projected a DVD so I don't count that.Heavy Metal (1981)
*Heavy Metal: 2000
A History of Violence
*Iron Man
Jonah Hex
Josie and the Pussycats
Judge Dredd
Dredd 3D (2012)
*Kick-Ass
*Kick-Ass 2
*The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Losers
Men in Black II
Monkeybone
Mystery Men
The Punisher (1989)
The Punisher (2004)
Punisher: War Zone
*The Rocketeer
The Shadow
Wanted
*I appreciate your insight into all of this. Very interesting.
I had the Conan Mego figure, and it was hilarious.
The 7 Eleven Marvel Super Heroes Collectible Cups were quite awesome though...
I'm not convinced that the 60's/70's custom van craze is what put Conan in the minds of the general populace... I tried very hard to find an example of one, this is all I could find... may not even be Conan.
Not exactly a Conan van, but here is Thor...
I think from Boris Vallejo and Frazetta and the popular Molly Hatchet album covers to Roy Thomas's Conan for Marvel, it's hard to say what made the movie worth doing. I'm still leaning towards the comics.
edit: I also remember seeing lots of "Wolf Vans" (also in brown, I guess thats the only color vans came in in the 70s and 80s).
The reproduction quality I was referring to was the actual line art. It's very obvious they weren't using the original art or the film shot from the original art for the reproductions.
Will be interesting to see what the Geeks think about some of these movies. It's been a while.
It's based on a manga (which isn't very good TBH) but the original 2003 Korean film is utterly unforgettable to anyone who has seen it. I wholeheartedly recommend it to any fan of cinema or crime fiction.