Saturday 3 December 2016

Kull and the Barbarians #3 (Marvel Magazine/1975)




Marvel launched Kull and the Barbarians as a magazine sized comic for older readers on the back of the success of The Savage Sword of Conan. This title features three other Robert E Howard creations; Kull, Red Sonja and Solomon Kane but sadly only lasted three issues.

The main feature Kull the Destroyer sees the former king sail across the seas to his former home of Atlantis in search of an army with which to bring down Thulsa Doom, the demonic mage who had usurped his throne. His only companion a loyal (and slightly irritating) minstrel. Stooping off at an island Kull sees a possible future. Trouble is that as he finally arrives in Atlantis (an finds a seemingly quite advanced civilisation the story ends.

A fourth issue is advertised but never appears.

Red Sonja meanwhile attempts to rescue a traveller and finds the captive is the man she has been seeking to get revenge on for the murder of her family. Key a flashback to her origin.

Trouble is her nameless target has lost his mind after being tortured and revenge seems pointless. Sonja moves on with her life.

Solomon Kane allies with non-Christian magic to defeat an enemy to defeat vampires in Africa. Kane of course reappears as a backup in Conan from time to time.

Kull never achieved to popularity of Conan despite being set in the prehistoric world that came before our heroic Cimmerian.  This magazine probably fell foul of Marvel's swamping the magazine market with too many titles,




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