Staff Pick (September 10): Michael Moorcock’s Elric Of Melnibone Volume 1

After devouring every Conan and related character by Robert E Howard (those Frazetta covers were great… shame he missed doing Conan the Freebooter), I was hooked on everything “swords and sorcery”. Then one day I came across Michael Moorcock’s books and became a fan of Elric, Dorian Hawkmoon, and Jerry Cornelius. The mix of swords and sorcery along with the visuals of the albino adventurer with the soul-stealing rune-sword, Stormbringer, was unique among all the Conan wannabes.

Once Conan entered the world of comics (thanks to Roy Thomas and Barry Smith), I knew it was just a matter of time before Elric would join the Cimmerian… And that time came in Conan # 14-15, featuring an Elric based on the visuals from the Jack Gaughan paperback covers. Despite the goofy hat, it was still a very special Marvel team-up!

When Elric finally was to be given the treatment he so richly deserved, it was once again Roy Thomas handling the scripts, but this time with art by P. Craig Russell and Michael T Gilbert. Their treatment of Elric brought the character to a level on par with that of Thomas and Smith’s legendary, “The Song of Red Sonja” from Conan #24.

Now Dark Horse re-presents Elric in their new collection, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone Volume 1, collecting the original stories of Elric of Melnibone (originally produced for Pacific Comics) and Sailor on the Seas of Fate (originally produced for Eclipse Comics). As an added bonus, the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s short story, “One Life”, which ran in the short-lived Topps Comics, shows Russell again at his best.

This is a perfect companion to the Conan and Robert E. Howard titles being done by Dark Horse, and with Roy Thomas on board for new adventures of Conan, maybe we can hope for his return to Elric and the rest of Moorcock multiverse of Eternal Champions.

See PREVIEWS page #43