This week, we get the rare opportunity to look at two takes on the same story, as we examine Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics’ adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s “The Slithering Shadow.” We also review Savage Dragon #267 from Image Comics, Red Sonja #7 from Dynamite Entertainment, and Charred Remains #2 from Mad Cave Studios.
Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at http://patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure the Major Spoilers Podcast continues far into the future!
Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF)
REVIEWS
STEPHEN
RED SONJA #7
Writer: Torunn Gronbekk
Artist: Walter Geovani
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 24, 2024
In this issue: The source of “His Master’s Voice” stands revealed, and now Sonja is face-to-face with the greatest threat Hyboria has ever known. Will the She-Devil kneel before [REDACTED]? Don’t bet on it!
[rating:4/5]
MATTHEW
SAVAGE DRAGON #267
Writer: Erik Larsen
Artist: Erik Larsen
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: January 17, 2024
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF THE ONGOING SAVAGE DRAGON SERIES!
Savage Dragon’s adopted daughter Angel gets married to Frank Darling, Jr. at long last! Paul Dragon gives away the bride! Malcolm Dragon is the best man! Maxine is the maid of honor! But no superhero wedding is complete without a looming menace hellbent on making the happy occasion a living nightmare!
[rating:4/5]
RODRIGO
CHARRED REMAINS #2
Writer: Anthony Cleveland
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 31, 2024
Vic’s dreams of the Fire Man are becoming more and more real, but he refuses to admit to Amy what he saw in the flames. Meanwhile, Amy is searching for her friend who was nearly lost to the blaze, but there’s something Patricia Lefeu isn’t saying about Hope’s House. Secrets spread nearly as quickly as fire in this town…
[rating: 4/5]
DISCUSSION
CONAN: Xuthal of the Dusk
“The Slithering Shadow” is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine. “The Slithering Shadow” is the original title, but the story is also known as “Xuthal of the Dusk” in further publications. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, and concerns Conan discovering a lost city in a remote desert while encountering a Lovecraftian demon known as Thog.
The story was republished in the collections The Sword of Conan (Gnome Press, 1952) and Conan the Adventurer (Lancer Books, 1966). It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) as “The Slithering Shadow” and in Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) (Wandering Star, 2002) and The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Del Rey, 2003) as “Xuthal of the Dusk.”
The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala in Savage Sword of Conan #20, then by Fred Van Lente and Guiu Vilanova in Conan the Avenger #13-15 (2015).
CLOSE
Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com
Call the Major Spoilers Hotline at (785) 727-1939.
A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends!