Sha-na-na-nara

 

The year was 1978. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks had come out just the year before (1977, the same year as The Silmarillion and Lord Foul’s Bane, by the way; Shannara was the first book published under the Del Rey imprint). It was the beginning of the next wave of Fantasy, probably kicked off by the success of the Science Fantasy of Star Wars at the movies.  Anyway, the newspapers started a feature in 1978 called Best Seller Showcase, which was to print comic adaptations of best sellers, and they chose Shannara for their first sample, drawn by Gray Morrow (there's a fantasy name for you!).

Best Seller Showcase did not last long, probably because they had to change genres so often. Anyone who read it for Fantasy at first would probably drop it when they switched to a Romance.  They could not build up a dedicated readership.

There were black-and-white dailies and colored Sundays; our paper did not carry the dailies, but I had a vague interest in the Sundays, even clipping out a few individual panels and saving them (I still have at least two of these). I even drew a ‘Skullbearer’ based on the comic’s interpretation. I don’t think I was more involved in collecting them because I saw the strips themselves as too commercial and stereotypical in most of their depictions of the characters, and the book itself as being a shameless clone.

But I am interested in them as an element of nostalgia. Bits and pieces can now be gleaned from over the internet (which I have done here); I suppose if one had the patience they could be stitched together in their proper order. More appealing would be a small book reprinting the entire story. With all Terry Brooks’ merchandising I’m surprised that hasn’t happened, but perhaps he is not too proud of these humble beginnings.

Still, I suddenly feel a little urge to go back and read The Sword of Shannara novel again, if only to cast a more mature eye over it. It must be forty years or so since I read it last. I cannot believe it has gotten any better over time, although they do say Brooks himself has improved as a writer That may be so, but I’ve not been quite able to digest that first lump (though I did buy the next two sequels – never read) and proceed to the rest of the meal. Still, nostalgia …