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The Chronicles of Conan
The Chronicles of Conan, Volume 6: The Curse of the Golden Skull and Other Stories
In the years that have passed since prolific pulp writer Robert E. Howard created his seminal sword-and-sorcery adventurer Conan, many other scribes have tried to re-create the passion and energy Howard infused into his stories. Few have come as close as comics writer Roy Thomas did during his long and influential run on Marvel's monthly Conan the Barbarian series back in the 1970s. Collaborating with the most acclaimed and talented artists of the time, Thomas wove a narrative tapestry of action, intrigue, and heroism that's as powerful today as it was when it was first published.
This volume features completely remastered color and text corrections.
This volume features completely remastered color and text corrections.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 30, 2004
3 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,482 books272 followersRoy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 19, 2020
Volume 6, similar to volume 5 of the series is another mixed bag of Conan fare featuring a lot of free, adapted, and very few original stories that Thomas dolloped onto the Conan story path trying to go from point A to point B in some semblance of order. All well in good despite other artists working on the series besides Buscema and Chan. Great artists like Neal Adams and Rich Buckler, but making the continuous read a bit more jagged.
In other words, to me, the book wasn't running full steam ahead just yet, but still way better than most books at that time. Opening the trade is "The Hell-Spawn of Kara -Shehr"which Thomas freely adapts from Howard's story "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" featuring his American hero Steve Clarney. A tale I finally read a year or so back in a collection of Howard's El Borak stories and like characters. A good, but typical REH comic adapted story. The second story explains the De Camp bit about Conan fooling around with a Turanian soldier's wife and shows Conan getting better using the bow, spear and riding horseback which was cool. The third story has Conan's pal Juma in it ( created by De Camp ) and is drawn by the always amazing Neal Adams. The fourth story, "The Warrior and the Were-woman" was one I had some problems with in that Conan utters "I renounce my former spell...in the name of Rama, Vramma and Kulthas!" and as far as I know this is the only time I ever heard Conan go on like this. Granted, it was to remove a curse on him, but Conan and spell-casting never go together. Yet another free adaptation by Thomas from the REH penned "The House of Arabu" and to me it was more like a round peg trying to fit in a square hole. I felt the last two stories were among the best in this volume. "The Garden of Death and Life" has it all from a beautiful Buscema drawn woman, to a two page spread of action, a mystery, nasty brigands, and a rather Lovecraftian look and feel to it all to challenge our hero. And yet another free adaptation closes the volume with a gorgeous Buscema drawn opening page that could tell a whole story itself which also goes on to involve a woman, a mystery, a few evil doers, a gargoyle, and a pretty decent story all wrapped up in one.
In other words, to me, the book wasn't running full steam ahead just yet, but still way better than most books at that time. Opening the trade is "The Hell-Spawn of Kara -Shehr"which Thomas freely adapts from Howard's story "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" featuring his American hero Steve Clarney. A tale I finally read a year or so back in a collection of Howard's El Borak stories and like characters. A good, but typical REH comic adapted story. The second story explains the De Camp bit about Conan fooling around with a Turanian soldier's wife and shows Conan getting better using the bow, spear and riding horseback which was cool. The third story has Conan's pal Juma in it ( created by De Camp ) and is drawn by the always amazing Neal Adams. The fourth story, "The Warrior and the Were-woman" was one I had some problems with in that Conan utters "I renounce my former spell...in the name of Rama, Vramma and Kulthas!" and as far as I know this is the only time I ever heard Conan go on like this. Granted, it was to remove a curse on him, but Conan and spell-casting never go together. Yet another free adaptation by Thomas from the REH penned "The House of Arabu" and to me it was more like a round peg trying to fit in a square hole. I felt the last two stories were among the best in this volume. "The Garden of Death and Life" has it all from a beautiful Buscema drawn woman, to a two page spread of action, a mystery, nasty brigands, and a rather Lovecraftian look and feel to it all to challenge our hero. And yet another free adaptation closes the volume with a gorgeous Buscema drawn opening page that could tell a whole story itself which also goes on to involve a woman, a mystery, a few evil doers, a gargoyle, and a pretty decent story all wrapped up in one.
February 24, 2019
Another good collection of stories, including a rare Conan story illustrated by Neal Adams. I really like the way Roy Thomas mined Howard's non-Conan stories for adaptations. This volume didn't seem quite as good as previous volumes as we had shorter storylines and things seemed a little disjointed. Still a good read and a great series.
October 11, 2021
This volume actually had me thinking after the first three tales "okay I'm seeing some of the better Conan stories and I get why everyone holds this series in such high esteem" and then the second half of the volume reminded me why I don't like it as much as everyone else.
The first few issues actually had an overall plot holding them together - Conan is in the army of a king and having an affair with the Captain of the army's wife. We get some good adventures that flow together and we get one EXCELLENT adventure with art by Neal Adams. Look, John Buscema is rightfully hailed as THE Conan artist of this time - he is an exceptional artist and story teller and his style is particularly suited for tales of sword and magic but (you knew there was a but) his art has never fired off my dopamine like certain artists (John Byrne, George Perez and...of course...Neal Adams). It is a thrill to see Neal take the reins and elevate a Conan story beyond its usual menace of the month.
My main complaint with other volumes (besides the fact the COVERS are not included in these reprints...come ON Dark Horse) is the stories blend together and there is no narrative drive from one issue to the next, no character growth and no world building of friends and side characters - so it was nice in these issues to see that happen. Conan learns to use a bow and arrow :) and there is the subplot of his affair...that does end with a boring conclusion but nonetheless it does add a lot to the stories.
Then for the last issues we get some good adventure stories that are fun but (for me) pretty forgettable. In this volume, at least, I have to say the stories Thomas came up with all on his own are MUCH better than the ones his wrote based on other people's plots.
I do love Roy Thomas' story behind the stories at the end and it is interesting (he mentions) that Buscema, tired of Ernie Chan "ruining" his pencils tried to ink his own stories for a few issues. Maybe it's because I don't love his art but I can't see a huge difference between the stories he inked and didn't inked. I think this speaks of how great an inker Ernie was (different style yes, but still great in his own way).
Overall - if you like Marvel's Conan this was one of the better volumes I read so far. I think if I had read them when young I might have been a bigger fan but as an adult they are enjoyable but will not make a lasting impression on me.
The first few issues actually had an overall plot holding them together - Conan is in the army of a king and having an affair with the Captain of the army's wife. We get some good adventures that flow together and we get one EXCELLENT adventure with art by Neal Adams. Look, John Buscema is rightfully hailed as THE Conan artist of this time - he is an exceptional artist and story teller and his style is particularly suited for tales of sword and magic but (you knew there was a but) his art has never fired off my dopamine like certain artists (John Byrne, George Perez and...of course...Neal Adams). It is a thrill to see Neal take the reins and elevate a Conan story beyond its usual menace of the month.
My main complaint with other volumes (besides the fact the COVERS are not included in these reprints...come ON Dark Horse) is the stories blend together and there is no narrative drive from one issue to the next, no character growth and no world building of friends and side characters - so it was nice in these issues to see that happen. Conan learns to use a bow and arrow :) and there is the subplot of his affair...that does end with a boring conclusion but nonetheless it does add a lot to the stories.
Then for the last issues we get some good adventure stories that are fun but (for me) pretty forgettable. In this volume, at least, I have to say the stories Thomas came up with all on his own are MUCH better than the ones his wrote based on other people's plots.
I do love Roy Thomas' story behind the stories at the end and it is interesting (he mentions) that Buscema, tired of Ernie Chan "ruining" his pencils tried to ink his own stories for a few issues. Maybe it's because I don't love his art but I can't see a huge difference between the stories he inked and didn't inked. I think this speaks of how great an inker Ernie was (different style yes, but still great in his own way).
Overall - if you like Marvel's Conan this was one of the better volumes I read so far. I think if I had read them when young I might have been a bigger fan but as an adult they are enjoyable but will not make a lasting impression on me.
July 6, 2019
Enjoyed it. Mostly.
Oddly, the only story in this volume that I didn't like was "The Curse of the Golden Skull." It was a longer piece, cut down to fit the original page limits for the issue, and it felt exactly like something cut down to meet page limits... rushed, important bits left out. Odd that it was chosen as the title piece for this volume.
Anyway, silly to overthink and overcriticise. Conan stabs bad people with swords, meets lovely young ladies, encounter scary monsters, and so on. It is what you'd expect, and if that's what you want, you'll like this.
Oddly, the only story in this volume that I didn't like was "The Curse of the Golden Skull." It was a longer piece, cut down to fit the original page limits for the issue, and it felt exactly like something cut down to meet page limits... rushed, important bits left out. Odd that it was chosen as the title piece for this volume.
Anyway, silly to overthink and overcriticise. Conan stabs bad people with swords, meets lovely young ladies, encounter scary monsters, and so on. It is what you'd expect, and if that's what you want, you'll like this.
March 27, 2025
I would say this is probably where Roy Thomas and John Buscema really hit their stride producing Conan stories.
Here we have Conan end his time in Turan and then head back toward the Hyborian nations. The stories here are very well drawn and solid. One could argue they are overly tropey, but those tropes are tropes for a reason.
Here we have Conan end his time in Turan and then head back toward the Hyborian nations. The stories here are very well drawn and solid. One could argue they are overly tropey, but those tropes are tropes for a reason.
December 28, 2018
Brutish justice and Adventure! :D Brilliant Review to Come! :D
November 15, 2021
Great classic Conan from Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
January 29, 2023
Peak sword and sorcery
November 7, 2023
Some weirdly cool stories here but overall, just typical Conan of the era with the usual awful recolouring.
February 24, 2013
Ein harter Schädel ist besser als einer aus Gold
Vor kurzem hatte ich The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 4 ausgelesen und war übermäßig enttäuscht. Nachdem ich nun "The Curse of the Golden Skull" nocheinmal gelesen habe, weiß ich auch wieder, warum - wenn man das Team Buscema/Chan(Chua) mal in Bestform gesehen hat, kann es danach nur noch Enttäuschungen geben. Und hier sind die beiden in Bestform. Es gibt im Bereich Fantasy-Comics nichts besseres, gerade mit der neuen hervorragenden Kolorierung, die inzwischen eine bis dahin ungeahnte Atmosphäre erzeugt.
Neben den beiden Meistern hebt sich der Band aber auch durch eine schöne Mischung hervor: Die titelgebende, toll gezeichnete Neal-Adams-Geschichte, und eine, obwohl Roy Thomas das im Nachwort abstreitet, sehr sehenswerte Buckler/Chan-Zusammenarbeit.
Enthalten sind die Geschichten, die die Ausgaben 35-42 der "Conan the Barbarian"-Comicreihe bei Marvel ausmachten:
"The Hell-Spawn of Kara-Sher"
"Beware the Hyrkanians Bearing Gifts"
"The Curse of the Golden Skull"
"The Warrior and the Were-Woman"
"The Dragon from the Inland Sea"
"The Fiend from the Forgotten City"
"The Garden of Life and Death"
"Night of the Gargoyle"
Die Stories selbst, wie üblich in routinierter Manier von Roy Thomas geskripted, lassen mich nicht vor Freude hüpfen, sind aber solide und glänzen durch die Zeichnungen wie Diamanten.
Vielleicht der beste Band der gesamten "Chronicles of Conan"-Reihe.
Vor kurzem hatte ich The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 4 ausgelesen und war übermäßig enttäuscht. Nachdem ich nun "The Curse of the Golden Skull" nocheinmal gelesen habe, weiß ich auch wieder, warum - wenn man das Team Buscema/Chan(Chua) mal in Bestform gesehen hat, kann es danach nur noch Enttäuschungen geben. Und hier sind die beiden in Bestform. Es gibt im Bereich Fantasy-Comics nichts besseres, gerade mit der neuen hervorragenden Kolorierung, die inzwischen eine bis dahin ungeahnte Atmosphäre erzeugt.
Neben den beiden Meistern hebt sich der Band aber auch durch eine schöne Mischung hervor: Die titelgebende, toll gezeichnete Neal-Adams-Geschichte, und eine, obwohl Roy Thomas das im Nachwort abstreitet, sehr sehenswerte Buckler/Chan-Zusammenarbeit.
Enthalten sind die Geschichten, die die Ausgaben 35-42 der "Conan the Barbarian"-Comicreihe bei Marvel ausmachten:
"The Hell-Spawn of Kara-Sher"
"Beware the Hyrkanians Bearing Gifts"
"The Curse of the Golden Skull"
"The Warrior and the Were-Woman"
"The Dragon from the Inland Sea"
"The Fiend from the Forgotten City"
"The Garden of Life and Death"
"Night of the Gargoyle"
Die Stories selbst, wie üblich in routinierter Manier von Roy Thomas geskripted, lassen mich nicht vor Freude hüpfen, sind aber solide und glänzen durch die Zeichnungen wie Diamanten.
Vielleicht der beste Band der gesamten "Chronicles of Conan"-Reihe.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews