Bits & Pieces (Well, more like a bit and a piece…)
Remember yesterday, when I said that I’d be surprised if any reading happened? Well… No reading happened and I wasn’t surprised in the slightest. As much as I will happily take any opportunity to lose myself in a good book, there’s nothing better than hanging out with my daughters, especially watching my youngest play ‘GTA Vice City’ when she decides to go ‘off mission’ :o)
Anyway…
Where does that leave today’s blog post? Well, it’s going to be a short one but I’ve got my fingers crossed for a day involving nothing but books so things will balance out over the next week ;o) Just a couple of very short reads that I thought had fallen through the cracks; turns out they were being saved for today…
‘The Savage Sword of Conan Reforged’ #1 – Various (Titan Comics, Heroic Signatures)
REFORGED revitalizes the legendary black-and-white magazine with vivid, all-new color restorations, bringing new depth and intensity to Conan’s celebrated adventures.
This new series kicks off with two of Conan’s most iconic stories: Tower of the Elephant featuring art from the legendary John Buscema and Alfred Alcala, and The Frost Giant’s Daughter from the incomparable Barry Windsor-Smith, now recolored to fully capture the brutal majesty of Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age.
Each oversized issue presents the genre-defining tales that helped shape sword-and-sorcery comics as we know them.
The sword is drawn, the battles rage, and the legend is reforged.
I used to have a couple of the old ‘Savage Sword’ collections, way back in the day, but other than that, missed the original run as, well… I’m not quite that old (yet) ;o)
I’ve already had things to say about ‘The Frost Giant’s Daughter’ and ‘Tower of the Elephant’ so I’m not going to repeat myself here. And that really says a lot about these adaptations :o) Roy Thomas does a superb job of re-telling the stories, really capturing the atmosphere and energy of the originals to the point where there’s nothing more for me to add. Barry Windsor Smith, John Buscema and Alfred Alcala are ideally suited to the demands of the tales that they work on here.
I’m ‘half and half’ about the ‘Cimmeria’ poem but that’s on me; I’ve never got on particularly well with poetry…
‘Death’s Toll’ – Jon Flindall (Black Library)
Page Count: 34 Pages
On Dispassion, a world conquered by the t’au, Master Marahn is part of the last dregs of Imperial leadership who call for aid from the wider Imperium. The call is answered by Space Marines of the Iron Lords Chapter, who are ruthless in their efforts to purge Dispassion of the xenos taint. As Marahn witnesses the terrifying brutality of the Adeptus Astartes first-hand, it begs the question – who are the real monsters?
I read Alex’s thoughts on ‘No Peace Among Stars’ and while I’ve already read most of the stories in that collection (thanks Kindle App!), ‘Death’s Toll’ was one that I hadn’t so… It didn’t quite justify buying the collection, I was able to grab it on the App instead. And…
‘Death’s Toll’ wasn’t a bad read, and certainly doesn’t hold back, but the ending stretched credibility a little too far for me, at least as far as my understanding of the setting goes. I just didn’t buy it and that killed it for me. Nice ‘Marines vs. t'au’ action though and maybe a little reminder that the t'au are no pushovers on the battlefield.
Anyway…
Where does that leave today’s blog post? Well, it’s going to be a short one but I’ve got my fingers crossed for a day involving nothing but books so things will balance out over the next week ;o) Just a couple of very short reads that I thought had fallen through the cracks; turns out they were being saved for today…
‘The Savage Sword of Conan Reforged’ #1 – Various (Titan Comics, Heroic Signatures)
REFORGED revitalizes the legendary black-and-white magazine with vivid, all-new color restorations, bringing new depth and intensity to Conan’s celebrated adventures.
This new series kicks off with two of Conan’s most iconic stories: Tower of the Elephant featuring art from the legendary John Buscema and Alfred Alcala, and The Frost Giant’s Daughter from the incomparable Barry Windsor-Smith, now recolored to fully capture the brutal majesty of Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age.
Each oversized issue presents the genre-defining tales that helped shape sword-and-sorcery comics as we know them.
The sword is drawn, the battles rage, and the legend is reforged.
I used to have a couple of the old ‘Savage Sword’ collections, way back in the day, but other than that, missed the original run as, well… I’m not quite that old (yet) ;o)
I’ve already had things to say about ‘The Frost Giant’s Daughter’ and ‘Tower of the Elephant’ so I’m not going to repeat myself here. And that really says a lot about these adaptations :o) Roy Thomas does a superb job of re-telling the stories, really capturing the atmosphere and energy of the originals to the point where there’s nothing more for me to add. Barry Windsor Smith, John Buscema and Alfred Alcala are ideally suited to the demands of the tales that they work on here.
I’m ‘half and half’ about the ‘Cimmeria’ poem but that’s on me; I’ve never got on particularly well with poetry…
‘Death’s Toll’ – Jon Flindall (Black Library)
Page Count: 34 Pages
On Dispassion, a world conquered by the t’au, Master Marahn is part of the last dregs of Imperial leadership who call for aid from the wider Imperium. The call is answered by Space Marines of the Iron Lords Chapter, who are ruthless in their efforts to purge Dispassion of the xenos taint. As Marahn witnesses the terrifying brutality of the Adeptus Astartes first-hand, it begs the question – who are the real monsters?
I read Alex’s thoughts on ‘No Peace Among Stars’ and while I’ve already read most of the stories in that collection (thanks Kindle App!), ‘Death’s Toll’ was one that I hadn’t so… It didn’t quite justify buying the collection, I was able to grab it on the App instead. And…
‘Death’s Toll’ wasn’t a bad read, and certainly doesn’t hold back, but the ending stretched credibility a little too far for me, at least as far as my understanding of the setting goes. I just didn’t buy it and that killed it for me. Nice ‘Marines vs. t'au’ action though and maybe a little reminder that the t'au are no pushovers on the battlefield.
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