The Savage Sword of Conan #197
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSavage Sword of Conan #197 sits squarely in one of the later Thomas-Buscema-Chan creative collaborations on the series — a pairing that defined the magazine's visual and narrative identity through its entire run. The issue adapts Robert E. Howard's prose story 'The Dragon of Kao Tsu' under the Hyborian title 'A Night in Messantia,' demonstrating the series' ongoing commitment to drawing on Howard's wider literary catalog beyond the core Conan canon. As a black-and-white magazine exempt from the Comics Code Authority, the series consistently allowed mature, unfiltered sword-and-sorcery storytelling, and #197 upholds that tradition mid-arc within a multi-issue Red Brotherhood storyline. The issue also carries a King Kull backup by Thomas and E.R. Cruz, continuing the magazine's role as the primary Marvel venue for the Pre-Cataclysmic Age corner of the Conan mythos.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By 1992, Roy Thomas had long since returned to the series he helped define from its 1974 launch, and #197 was produced under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco during a period when Marvel was publishing the magazine in a consistent monthly rhythm under its own imprint. The lead story pairs Thomas with John Buscema and Ernie Chan — the same core team that had produced some of the title's most celebrated work across two decades — on a free adaptation of Howard's 'The Dragon of Kao Tsu,' transplanting that story's core beats into the Hyborian port city of Messantia. The cover was painted by Ovi Hondru, who contributed covers to several issues of the series during this era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Lead story title: 'A Night in Messantia' — released March 10, 1992; cover-dated May 1992.
- Lead story is a free comic adaptation of Robert E. Howard's prose story 'The Dragon of Kao Tsu,' reset in the Hyborian port city of Messantia.
- Creators on the lead story: script by Roy Thomas, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Ernie Chan, letters by Jack Morelli.
- First appearance of Bragatos, a supporting character within the Red Brotherhood storyline that runs across issues #196–#199.
- Issue also contains a King Kull backup story (also scripted by Thomas, with both pencils and inks by E.R. Cruz) set in the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, featuring the first appearances of 'Skull-Top' (an unnamed shaman, dies) and Dinaldo, prince of the great house of Atl Volante, Valusia's emissary.
- Cover painted by Ovi Hondru.
- Part of a tightly linked multi-issue arc involving Conan's time with the Red Brotherhood alongside Valeria, Captain Strombanni, Black Zarano, Zingelito, and Lady Morganis of Kordava.
- The Marvel Database records at least one reprint of this issue.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Conan Barbar #2 (1995), Conan Barbar #5 (1995), Conan #8/1996 (1996), Conan album #18 (1996), Pocketserien #7 (1996), Conan #5/2001 (2001), The Savage Sword of Kull #2 (2011), Kull the Savage: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus #[nn] (2021), Conan Barbar #4
Key issues in The Savage Sword of Conan
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