Brak the Barbarian & misc.

[Col_Fury]

CHAMBER OF CHILLS #2 (January 1973)
3rd story:
By John Jakes & Val Mayerik

APPEARANCES:
Brak, Valena (witch), Jonel (village mayor’s daughter), a dragon-thing

SYNOPSIS:
Brak has been hired to kill a dragon by a small village. He gets help from a witch who casts a spell that will keep the dragon dead, but if Brak looks at anyone within an hour of killing the dragon he’ll be forced to kill them as well. The next day Brak kills the dragon, but the mayor’s daughter arrives, having been sent by the witch. Brak goes back to the witch and kills her for having sent the mayor’s daughter. Luckily he didn’t see her; he covered his eyes until he saw the witch.

SAVAGE TALES #2 (October 1973)
The second story is “Dark Tomorrow,” set in a possible future. A one-off from what I can see.

SAVAGE TALES #6 (September 1974)
3rd story: “Dragonseed”
By Len Wein & Steve Gan

APPEARANCES:
Marok the Merciless (a barbarian warrior, also in fb), his army (corpses, in fb) & his newly grown army (in fb), a wizard (“mystic of the Moondark Mount,” also in fb), a dragon

FLASHBACK:
Marok’s army has been killed, so Marok goes to a wizard for help in getting a new army. The wizrd tells Marok about planting dragon teeth in the ground which will grow new soldiers like plants, but before he can explain how they work Marok takes the teeth and leaves. He plants the “seeds” and several weeks later his new army is ready. He leads them to attack a village but they attack him instead. After killing his new army in an avalanche, Marok blames the wizard for his misfortune and goes looking for him.
SYNOPSIS:
Marok finds the wizard. The wizard says he tried to warn Marok about the dangers of the dragon’s teeth, then points out the dragon wants the teeth back. Marok turns to face an attacking dragon.

NOTE:
As far as I can tell this is a one-off, and I'm pretty sure that Marok was killed by the dragon. Also, he seems like a jerk.

There’s no Brak story in this issue, but there is an article about him by Fred Blosser.

The second and fourth stories are reprints (Jann of the Jungle #16 & SAVT 1/5).

SAVAGE TALES #7 (November 1974)
2nd story:
By John Jakes, Doug Moench & Steve Gan

APPEARANCES:
Brak, Ariane (witch), Septegundus (Ariane’s father, mentioned), Magical Blind Boys (Ariane’s followers), Kamda Kai residents, Tyresias (voice only), Friar Jerome (voice only), giant fly creature

SYNOPSIS:
Brak the barbarian is abducted and prepared for a ritual to be sacrificed to Yob-Haggoth.

NOTE:
The intro page says Brak lives in a different reality. The handbooks say this is on Earth-73012.

The first and third stories are already in the MCP.

SAVAGE TALES #8 (January 1975)
2nd story:
By John Jakes, Doug Moench & Steve Gan

APPEARANCES:
Brak, Tyresias, Friar Jerome, Ariane, Septegundus (wizard), Magical Blind Boys

SYNOPSIS:
Brak wakes up alongside two other captives. Brak is brought to a statue of Yob-Haggoth but he messes up the ritual and kills the bad guys.

NOTE:
The first story is already in the MCP and the third story is another Jann of the Jungle reprint.

SAVAGE TALES #11 (July 1975)
2nd story:
By Archie Goodwin & Russ Heath

APPEARANCES:
Clete Brandon (also in fb), soldiers (in fb), police (in fb), Swamp Men

FLASHBACK:
Clete Brandon was always a murderous jerk, in private life and later while serving in Vietnam.
SYNOPSIS:
Ex-mercenary Clete Brandon crash lands in the Savage Land and finds plenty of things to kill. He likes it. After a while he becomes a savage like the Swamp Men he used to ridicule.

* * *

Also, Blackmark appeared in some Conan comics so I did a bit of digging.

As far as I can tell, there are only two Blackmark stories. The original (“Blackmark”) and a sequel (“The Mind Demons”). “Blackmark” was originally published by Bantam Books as a paperback book sized graphic novel in 1971.

SAVSCO 1-4 is a serialized reprint of Bantam Books’ Blackmark paperback, but with a reorganized panel/page layout.

KULLB 2 is the first chapter of “The Mind Demons.” M/PRV 17 reprints KULLB 2 (but with a reorganized panel/page layout), then finishes the story.

Blackmark is not a Marvel property, and has no crossover with any Marvel characters that I can find. These aren't adaptations of something (like say, Dracula, Frankenstein's monster or Conan), so these aren't "the Marvel versions" of something. They're just the "Gil Kane version."

Chronologies!

A-Z pages:

BRANDON, CLETE
SAVT 11/2-FB
SAVT 11/2

MAROK
SAVT 6/3-FB
SAVT 6/3

Alternate realities page:

BRAK | EARTH-73012
COCHILLS 2/3
SAVT 7/2
SAVT 8/2

[vanhornluke]

Shouldn't the default be to assume Marok is 616 unless there's some partixular reason not to? That's how other Marvel anthology series have been treated.

[Col_Fury]

Good point. I edited in a synopsis of SAVT 6/3.

[Col_Fury]

Here’s one that slipped through the cracks (my fault!):

SAVAGE TALES #2 (October 1973)
2nd Story: “Dark Tomorrow”
By Gerry Conway & Grey Morrow

APPEARANCES:
Karl Linders & his challenger Christine (Karl’s chamber-mate), Prometheus (also in fb), Damian Linders, the Guardian (in fb), Wets, bystanders (all Earth-73479)

FLASHBACK:
A plague ravaged the plants on Earth; soon a famine engulfed the planet and three million people died in a month. Walled cities with hydroponic gardens were able to survive, but too many people flocked to them making overpopulation a problem. Society fell apart. A new leader, the Guardian, created the honor system: if someone is challenged to a duel they must fight to the death, and the survivor is exiled to the outdoor swamps. Chosen by lottery, people are turned into “the Wets,” cyborgs adapted to live outside in the poisoned air and run the machinery of the cities.
SYNOPSIS:
Karl Linders is challenged because someone bumped into him. Linders wins, but refuses exile. He and his chamber-mate Christine steal a plane and leave the city, but it crashes. They’re found by some Wets and brought to a council meeting where they’re charged for creating the plague on purpose, the same thing the Wets do whenever anyone is exiled. Damian Linders recognizes his brother Karl and helps them escape. Later, Karl says that his brother Damian disgusts him because of his cyborg alterations. Damian challenges Karl to a duel and kills him. Christine becomes Damian’s chamber-mate.

Chronologies!

On the Alternate Realities page:

EARTH-73479

GUARDIAN | EARTH-73479
SAVT 2/2-FB

LINDERS, DAMIAN | EARTH-73479
SAVT 2/2

LINDERS, KARL | EARTH-73479
SAVT 2/2

PROMETHEUS | EARTH-73479
SAVT 2/2-FB
SAVT 2/2