John Buscema arrives for the finale of what Thomas later called the Hyrkanian War saga.
‘Red Nails’ (see below) was also nominated for a Shazam.
The tale won the Shazam Award for Best Individual Story in 1973. Betrayals abound and passions rise, Sonja proving to be Conan’s equal on the path to her future iconic status. ‘The Song of Red Sonja’ continues to follow the fortunes of doomed Makkalet under siege by Prince Yezdigerid and his army. Sonja is all flame hair and flashing swords, positively overdressed compared to later incarnations, but Smith presents a mesmerising character. It introduces Red Sonja, adapted from a Howard story to fit Conan’s world. ‘The Shadow of the Vulture!’ is something of a landmark in comics’ history. Volume 4 collects the first two stories of Buscema’s run, but also the last and arguably the best work Smith produced on Conan. John Buscema, Roy Thomas and Stan Lee’s first choice, would finally come on board. However, the sheer amount of effort he put into his work affected deadlines and added pressure, so he decided to leave Conan the Barbarian behind for the second time to pursue other projects. Barry Windsor-Smith ensured an enormous amount of detail and finesse in his art, something fans had come to love.
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