[Andrew999]

As a sword-and-sorcery fan, I was drawn to this for Crom, as far as I know the first true barbarian hero depicted in comics – and of course, the ubiquitous endangered-blonde-in-a-red-dress cover

There really was a Crom (or Krum) the Conqueror, leader of the fair-haired Bulgar Horde that swept into the Balkans from the north, tossed aside the Byzantine army and subjugated the Slavs (who were no pussycats either) in the Dark Ages - to create the First Bulgarian Empire. Krum had a little quirk – he liked to drink beer from the skull caps of his vanquished enemies. I’m prepared to bet the erudite Robert E Howard had come across Krum in his research and used him as an influence – as perhaps did Gardner Fox in creating Crom

The story is a stand-out with a blonde in distress (now wearing blue – so she must therefore have two dresses), monkey people, an evil wizard, lost city, wicked princess to die for and a giant snake with a twist in the tail – all within ten pages!

Link to the book: Out of This World Adventures 1