Matthew Sunrich Presents... Marvel Super Special #9
By Matthew Sunrich
By the 1970s, Marvel, once a fledgling publisher of forgettable "monster
of the month" comics, had become a force to be reckoned with. Having
achieved massive success with superheroes such as Spider-Man, Thor, Captain
America, and the Hulk, the company had taken the industry by storm and proven
that comics unwilling to take risks, rendered in a bland house style (it's
tough to argue that DC's Silver-Age look was particularly engaging), were yesterday's
news.
Even though the Comics Code Authority had revised its standards after
the publication of a defiant story arc in The
Amazing Spider-Man that featured a subplot concerning drug abuse, there
were still things that were simply not allowed. When Marvel began publishing Conan the Barbarian, for example, it was
impossible for the creators to explore the character completely because the
violent and sexually-charged aspects of Robert E. Howard's original stories
were considered too extreme for the comic page. This was, in some ways, unfair
to older readers.
In order to get around this, Marvel followed the example of Warren (publisher of Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella) and introduced a series of black-and-white magazines, the first of which was Savage Tales. Magazines were safely off the Code's radar, so they could show things like blood, severed heads, and the occasional pair of breasts. Savage Tales, an anthology, spotlighted various characters, including Conan, and featured the debut of the sensational swamp-dwelling Man-Thing. Several other magazines, published under the Curtis imprint, were soon introduced, most of which didn't last long. The most enduring was The Savage Sword of Conan, which endured until 1995.
In order to get around this, Marvel followed the example of Warren (publisher of Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella) and introduced a series of black-and-white magazines, the first of which was Savage Tales. Magazines were safely off the Code's radar, so they could show things like blood, severed heads, and the occasional pair of breasts. Savage Tales, an anthology, spotlighted various characters, including Conan, and featured the debut of the sensational swamp-dwelling Man-Thing. Several other magazines, published under the Curtis imprint, were soon introduced, most of which didn't last long. The most enduring was The Savage Sword of Conan, which endured until 1995.
Labels: comics, Conan, Marvel Comics, Matt Sunrich, Red Sonja