Crom the Barbarian

KNOW, oh prince, that between the years when the comic book industry drank up the Pulp magazines and their gleaming stories, and the years of the rise of the sons of Marvel and DC, there was an Age very much dreamed of, when shining characters lay spread across the newsstands with shimmering glossy covers—Golden Knight, Silver Knight, Black Knight and Prince Valiant with his black-haired bowl cut; fancy speak and Arthurian charms. None of these gallant characters would lay claim to being the first Sword & Sorcery story to appear in Comic Books. Hither came Crom, the Aesir, blonde-haired, cunning in wit, Skull-Biter in hand, a spider slayer, a womanizer, a Usurper, with gigantic attitude and gigantic-er swagger, to tread on the jeweled throne of Ophir under booted heel. Crom the Barbarian is the FIrst Sword and Sorcery Comic Book character. Created in 1950 by Gardner F. Fox and John Giunta for Avon Comics. It first appeared in a Pulp Magazine called Out of This World Adventures. Includes all four original full-colour Crom stories by Gardner Fox, John Giunta, and Jack Gatz, as well as four new black-and-white Crom stories by Kurt Brugel.