Sword & Sorcery Comix

 

Warren Presents #13, Sword & Sorcery Comix, is the spiritual successor to Ring of the Warlords, which is to say that it’s a collection of fantasy-themed reprints from Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. Unlike its predecessor, all of the art is by master illustrator Esteban Maroto (the man who gave us Red Sonja’s chainmail bikini, for those of you who’ve been paying attention), which is a great thing, indeed. There is no other artist I can think of who has such a strong grasp on the fantastic.

 

It’s certainly true that there are a number of excellent fantasy illustrators out there, but Maroto’s work has a unique quality about it that creates a dreamlike atmosphere that draws viewers into its world. Whereas many illustrators weave fantasy realms with stark, palpable imagery, Maroto’s figures often appear to be composed of clouds or fog. His females are sensuous, their forms inviting, yet they possess a strength that defines their characters. His heroes are idealized and redoubtable, his villains angular and tenebrous, his monsters gnarled and fearsome. His backgrounds are amazingly detailed and suggest a depth that extends beyond their edges. Contemporaries Gonzalo Mayo and Alex Nino are perhaps the only other artists who come close to equaling Maroto’s evocative line work.  

The stories in this collection draw heavily from myth and fairy tales.   

The book opens with “A Scream in the Forest.” A “woodsman” (probably a dwarf or gnome) named Ussel is haunted by, well, screams echoing through the forest at night. It is well understood that these are the screams of women who have been unfortunate enough to have been abducted by “Fearies,” ogre-like monsters who dine on young maidens, but usually only when food is scarce.  This is not currently a problem, however, so it seems that the creatures have developed a taste for human flesh. On his way home after a day’s work, Ussel encounters a Fearie intent on devouring him. He is saved by the sword of a warrior who calls himself Arn. Ussel takes his rescuer back to his cottage, and together they decide that the monsters must be stopped once and for all. They set out for the Fearies’ lair, following tracks and relying on Arn’s instincts. But Arn, it turns out, is not what he seems.  

I find it hilarious that the description in the table of contents has absolutely nothing to do with this story. 

Next up is “The Kingmaker,” which appears to be another episode in the Merlin saga that we first encountered in Ring of the Warlords. Uther Pendragon requests the help of Merlin in a battle with Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall, over the love of Ygraine. Merlin’s magic turns the tide against Gorlois, and the tryst between Uther and Ygraine that follows results in the conception of—you guessed it—Arthur. I honestly don’t know if there were more installments in this series, but if there were I’d certainly like to find them one day, as I really like the way the Arthurian legends are handled.  

“Goddess in a Kingdom of Trolls,” the next story, concerns a human girl named Nonja who lives among the trolls, having been kidnapped by them as a girl. She is beautiful, and many of the trolls desire her, but she parries their advances. Though the trolls are kind to her, she wants to find others of her own kind and sets out. Hymie, a troll wizard, is undeterred and creates an illusion that makes him appear as a prince and follows her. Nonja encounters a man named Gore, who seems kind but is not quite what she expected. They part, and the wizard appears and propositions her. She is not particularly interested, sensing something is amiss, but she allows him to fetch her something to eat.   

While he is foraging, he sees a woman bathing in a waterfall and immediately forgets about Nonja. Several hours pass, and Nonja goes looking for the prince. Finding him in the company of the other woman, she confronts him, and his magical hat, which creates the illusion, falls off, revealing his true nature. Hymie apologizes and leads her to Gore, the man who will truly love her. Hymie winds up getting a happy ending of his own, but not in the way he expected.  

The fairy tale aesthetic that defines the magazine is certainly in full effect here. 

 

The next story is an adaptation of the Arabian story of Scheherazade (of One Thousand and One Nights). Two kings, Schahriar and Schahzeman, discover that their women are being unfaithful and, witnessing similar behavior from the woman of an ifrit (evil djinn), as well, conclude that all women are unworthy of trust. Schahriar, moreover, decides that a new maiden will be brought to him each night and will subsequently be put to death the following morning. To avoid this fate, a girl named Scheherazade devises a plan: she will tell the king a long story after their lovemaking, engaging his interest and preventing him from having her executed. She continues this for years, and they live happily forever more.  

This is probably my favorite in the collection because in a book full of top-notch art, the art is particularly good. There is an illustration of the ifrit emerging from the sea with a huge crystal coffer on his shoulders that is just breathtaking. The lush palace chambers and the flowing, intricate outfits of the kings and their women are likewise jaw-dropping.  

The final story, “The Sleeping Beauty,” is a familiar tale told in a new way. Unique to the collection (and unusual to comics in general), the panels are oriented sideways, requiring the reader to flip the magazine ninety degrees. It’s a bit inconvenient, but it’s easy to see why it was done this way. The narrative is mainly told through captions, and the “widescreen” panels allow Maroto to show more of the landscapes and the interiors of the cursed castle at one time than he would be able to do in a traditional layout, allowing the story to flow more effectively. The action sequences work well in this way, also.   

The best thing about this story, other than the lovely art, is that it doesn’t have a happy ending. It wouldn’t have seemed right if it did. 

 

I’m not sure that most of the material in this mag qualifies as sword & sorcery, but I enjoyed it just the same. As I stated in my review of Ring of the Warlords, I wish more of this kind of thing had been done. I realize that this book and its predecessor are made up of reprints, but they’re fantastic collections, nonetheless.  

Definitely worth picking up.