I wasn't entirely satisfied with my original entry.
Which is why five years later, I've created the definitive version.
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The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian #5 (April 1975)
Although signed Boris, cover is actually a joint effort by him and John Buscema.
Buscema painted Conan on saltire, huge skull (human skulls on the ground) and flying vulture, while Vallejo added tree and vulture perched on it. |
50 years later.
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The Savage Sword of Conan #8 (May 2025)
Cover A by Joe Jusko. |
Description of Conan lunging forward, his teeth snapping like those of a wolf, locking on vulture's bare, wattled neck; is taken from
A Witch is Born, first published in Weird Tales, December 1934.
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| Chapter III - The Tree of Death |
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| Conan the Barbarian (1982) |
Yummy, but needed garlic.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
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| Merc with a Mouth explores the multiverse. |
Crucified Wolverine is a direct reference to:
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The Uncanny X-Men #251 (November 1989)
Wolverine is captured and tortured by anti-mutant extremist group the Reavers. |
I think Mark Silvestri and Dan Green had something else to hand.
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| Shard of Inovar (1987) |
Woman and man are lifted from two sources.
National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) and Heavy Metal (1985)
Storm (1986) vs Barbarian (1983) aka Corkscrew
Golden Axe - Master System (1990) vs Exorcism (1984)
Golden Axe III¹ (1993) vs Silver Sword (1993)
¹Sega hired Vallejo for the second exclusive Mega Drive sequel, but publishing restrictions meant it couldn't be used, so
Sohhei Oshiba aped original for the Japanese release.
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| Conan the Triumphant (1984) |
It's all about the
minotaur guys.
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| Athena (1987) |
Rastan
The reverse of front cover is a two-side comic and unique to the North American C64 version (1988).
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| In the ancient land of Lograth (Ceim in arcade), Graton, one of the Castle King's evil henchmen, summons the invincible beast Giga to annihilate Rastan. |
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Tim Hildebrandt's cover (also used for Apple II and DOS versions), was surely lifted from how comic ends.
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| Dragon Tattoo (1981) |
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| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - Tantras² (1989) |
²Book Two of the Avatar trilogy. Art by Clyde Caldwell.
And most obscure of all.
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| Global Champion³ (1994) |
HILARIOUS.
³Title screen (and high score table) is unique to the North American version of Kaiser Knuckle.
And no, character doesn't exist in Fatal Fury wannabe.
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| National Lampoon's European Vacation |
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| Smash T.V.⁴ - Spectrum (1991) |
⁴Same principle as Amstrad CPC.
Others decided to just use 'Chevy Chase'.
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| Ghouls 'n Ghosts - Mega Drive (1989/1990) |
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| Death Brade⁵ - Super Famicom (1993) |
⁵Known as
Mutant Fighter outside of Japan.
Late Night Double Feature (2014) vs National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Yeah, an obvious parody.
However.
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| Curse of Babylon⁶ (1989 or 1990) |
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| Draconus (1988) |
⁶Originally released for the PC-88 in 1986.
More specifically.
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| The Magic Candle II: The Four and Forty (1991) |
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| Fears⁷ (1995) |
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| Kobyashi Naru (1987) |
⁷Alternative cover by Ugurcan Yüce.
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| Shinobi II: The Silent Fury (1992) |
Devious bastards.
Topping the lot though.
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| Gremlins (1984) |
You see it too, right?
Jordan Mechner's cinematic action platformer Prince of Persia was originally released for the Apple II in 1989.
A shitload of others followed, but I only care about two versions, both released in 1993.
Mega Drive, Domark⁸ (Europe)
Genesis, Tengen⁹ (North America)
Yeah, there are differences.
⁸intro is partially animated, has in-game music and 16 stages.
⁹longer intro (albeit static), no in-game music and only 12 stages.
Both feature the following:
Transfiguration (1978) aka Dreamsnake
Medusa (1984)
Vampire's Kiss (1979)
But after crystal balls, these are exclusive to Tengen game.
Profile (1982)
HA HA HA!
Stay tuned for Part 2.
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