| Savage Tales #4 | |
| |
| Date: | May, 1974 |
| Cover: | Neal Adams |
| Writer: | Various |
| Penciller: | Various |
| Inker: | Various |
| Colorist: | |
| Letterer: | Various |
| Editor: | Roy Thomas |
| Title: | "Night of the Dark God" "Origin of the Crusader, Part 2" "The Dweller in the Dark" |
Night of the Dark God[]
Creators[]
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Gil Kane & Neal Adams
Inker: Diverse Hands
Major Characters[]
- Conan (Previous chronological appearance in CB-164; next chronological appearance in first story of ST-1).
Minor Characters[]
- Mara (First and only appearance to date; dies in this issue). Cimmerian maiden.
- Thorfel and his men (First and only appearance to date; all die in this issue). Vanir brigands.
- Brogar and his men (First and only appearance to date). Pict sailors.
Location[]
- A lake in Vanaheim, near the Cimmerian border.
Time Frame[]
- Several days. It has been about four years since Conan left his home.
Synopsis[]
Conan, feeling a longing for home has ridden straight through to Cimmeria and his home village, which he discovers has recently been raided by Vanir and a childhood friend taken. He tracks the Vanir and borrows a boat from a fisherman to finish the journey to the Isle of Swords. He finds an boatload of dead Picts floating on the sea, and takes a surprisingly lightweight statue he finds on board with him on his journey. Finally, he reaches the Isle of Swords and begins to spy on the Vanir encampment. The Vanir find his boat and take the statute to their camp, but for them, the statue is impossibly heavy. Conan makes his way into the camp, killing witnesses, nutil he finds the drinking-hall, where Mara is about to be an unwilling bride to the brigands' leader, Thorfel. Before ayone to act, though, Mara steals Thorfel's dagger and plunges it into her chest. Enraged, Conan bursts from hiding and begins to slaughter the brigands. The odds begin to turn against the barbarian, until the doors burst open and the hall is full of the dead Pict sailors, resurrected by the Dark God statue that sits in the hall. Conan is free to find and kill Thorfel, then he sails quietly away.
Notes[]
- Freely adapted from the Robert E. Howard story "The Dark Man."
- The inkers of this issue, called Diverse Hands, are Neal Adams, Pablo Marcos, Frank McLaughlin, and Vince Colletta.
- The Dark God statue is the image of King Kull's friend Brule the Spear-Slayer.
Reprinted[]
- Conan Saga #10
- The Savage Sword of Conan Volume One
| Conan Chronology | ||
| Previous Appearance: Conan the Barbarian #164 |
Savage Tales #4 | Next Appearance: Savage Tales #1 |
The Origin of the Crusader, Part 2[]
The Dweller in the Depths[]
Notes[]
- Reprinted from CB 12.
| Savage Tales | ||
| Previous Issue: Savage Tales #3 |
Savage Tales #4 | Next Issue: Savage Tales #5 |