The Unsung Sword of Conan - Conan the Barbarian #175: "The Scarlet Personage"

With The Unsung Sword of Conan, I'm trying to highlight under-appreciated works in the Conan canon.

Do me a favor: take a look at the two comic pages down below. Compare them for a second. How do they feel to you? Which one do you like better?

The left page is taken from Conan the Barbarian #172. It was written by Christopher Priest, penciled by John Buscema, inked by Bob Camp, and colored by George Roussos. The page on the right is from Conan the Barbarian #175. It was once again crafted by Priest, Buscema, and Roussos, but with Ernie Chan doing the inks.

If you're like me, you probably think the page from issue #175 is a better final product. It might even be hard to nail down why it's better, but I'll propose a few ideas. The content isn't too dissimilar: there are some action packed panels at the top (and both have an open panel in the upper-right), as well as a few dialogue-focused panels, with a mix of close-up and wide shots. They have the same number of panels and even a similar flow. But there's something about the one on the right that is leagues better than the one on the left. While I like that the panel in #172's upper-right is an open panel, helping it feel less moored to time, it seems to come out of nowhere. It's not exactly clear what happens next. Do the two Picts get hit by the flying axe? How? They don't look like they're standing close enough together. They drop their weapons, and then there's a beat, and then they fall over dead? The action is just not clear, making it hard to follow. Plus, the backgrounds are extremely basic. some green grass, some blue sky. It looks generic and boring. Even Conan's face looks empty and generic, with pupils that seem to be crying out to be filled in black. 

The page on the right does so much better at all these things. The action takes place between different skirmishes on a battlefield, but the unified backgrounds and poses helps them feel tied together. The faces are more detailed and unique. Even though the red-headed Delmurio is a rugged rapscallion like Conan, they both have totally different vibes and face shapes. The inking feels darker in the shadows and more complete. Everything is more competently done here.

I chose these panels to illustrate the difference between the first few issues of Christopher Priest's run on Conan the Barbarian and how it eventually comes together. Priest, writing then under the name Jim Owsley, has a rough couple of first issues, and it's really not his fault. He picks up from the previous writer at #172, and the first three books he writes just feel terrible. Instead, I feel the need to lay the blame at comic legend John Buscema.

Perhaps the crew was still figuring out how to work together. Priest has said that he didn't really like Conan all that much. Buscema very famously didn't even like comic books that much... maybe they needed some time to gel.

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When Buscema pencils a page that doesn't turn out ideal, most people lay the blame at the foot of the inker, including Buscema himself. While there were some sub-par inkers that really change John's work for the worse, and this was even a time in which he did more "breakdowns" while an inker provided the "finishes," he's got to bare some of the blame here. The breakdowns in these first few books just suck. They have unclear action and a lack of backgrounds, rendering the action inert and the stories somewhat lifeless. The covers (mostly also by Buscema) seem phoned-in as well. Conan's fighting someone in an empty space. Ish #174 is a small step up from the first two, with an improvement to the story but still sub-par art. When the team gets to issue #175, suddenly things just lock into place. Buscema bounces back and Priest's writing takes a huge step forward.

Conan's been on the western side of the continent for a couple of issues, fighting some Picts, occasionally aiding some Zingaran armed forces, gathering companions. One of Christopher Priest's foremost goals was to "Marvelize" Conan by giving him a supporting cast and maybe even some Clint Eastwood-style line reads. Issue #175 represents the first time that would really work out.

From the first page of the issue, things feel different. Our splash page is more lush and detailed than anything the past several issues. By this point, Conan is with his longer-term travel buddies, Tetra and Delmurio. Not only is there brief exposition, but we get to see some comedy and fun character bits. Giving Conan a regular cast allowed Priest the chance to do more character work than other Conan writers.

​Our three protagonists are looking to charter a ship from the Zingaran coast; they end up aboard a dinky little vessel headed by a cloaked captain with a creepy aura about him. If you've already guessed that he's secretly the villain, congratulations, you win nothing since everyone else saw it coming too. 

But that's not the fun part!

Conan and co. are sail into a creepy rock face inlaid with a human maw at which point Conan is apparently back home in Cimmeria. Howard purists might bristle at this depiction of Cimmeria, which seems more akin to the snowy wastes of Vanaheim than the leaden clouds and rolling hills of Conan's youth, it's not exactly paramount to the story. Conan gets "the Line" in a way that really works for the first time: "I am a son of Cimmeria. For me, there is no other way."

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Warned of "the Scarlet Personage" by other trapped Cimmerians, Conan fights a ninja-like dude with a great design. He rips off his mask, revealing the Scarlet Personage underneath. Conan takes his enemy down, of course. Priest saw Conan as not quite a hero, but more of a problem-solver, and Conan's no-nonsense, let's-get-this-shit-over-with attitude here represents Priest's version of the character perfectly. 

Eventually, Priest's track record on Conan would even out a little bit. He actually figures himself out even faster than Roy Thomas had in 1970 and 1971. As Conan fights Imhotep the Ravager of Worlds, Wrarrl the Devourer of Souls, and even his companion Tetra, fun times were to be had by all. By the time Conan arrives in the Shemetish city of El Shah Maddoc in issue #179, Conan the Barbarian was on a serious upswing.

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