Thongor



Thongor of Lemuria is a fantasy novel written by Lin Carter, the second book of his Thongor series set on the fictional ancient lost continent of Lemuria. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1966. The authorafterwards revised and expanded the text, in which form it was reissued as Thongor and the Dragon City, first published in paperback by Berkley Books in 1970. This retitled and revised edition became the standard edition for later reprintings. ====Plot and storyline==== To rescue Princess Sumia and save her city, barbarian adventurer Thongor of Valkarth challenges Xothun, who has ruled the lost city of Omm as its vampire-king for a thousand years. ====Setting==== The Thongor series is Carter's premier creation in the Sword and Sorcery genre, representing a tribute to both the Conan series of Robert E. Howard and the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He pictures the lost continent of Lemuria as a prehistoric land mass existing in the South Pacific Ocean during the Ice Age, on which Mesozoic lifeforms persisted after the catastrophe which wiped them out elsewhere. An intelligent reptilian-humanoid race descended from dinosaur forebears reigned supreme as the dominant life form, but was partially supplanted by humanity as the continent was colonized by fauna from outside Lemuria. Humans have gradually thrown off the subjection in which they were initially held by the older civilization. Culturally, Lemuria is a mixture of civilization and barbarism, but overall is precociously advanced over the outside world, boasting a magic-based technology that even includes flying machines. The Thongor books relate the struggle of the titular hero to unite the humans of Lemuria into a single empire and complete the overthrow of the "dragon kings." ====Influence==== The Thongor books helped reestablish the Sword and Sorcery genre in the 1960s. Thongor was a successful ongoing series, paving the way for an explosion of similar works by other hands. It inspired such spin-offs as a comic book series and a rock group. After Carter was recruited by L. Sprague de Camp to assist in continuing Howard's original Conan series, however, his interest in Thongor waned. Ultimately the Thongor saga remained unfinished, and was already out of print well before the author's death. There has been no revival of interest in it to date. ====Marvel Comics Adaptation==== The book was the basis for the beginning of a Marvel Comics' storyline in the comic book Creatures on the Loose. Thongor debuted in Issue 22 in March 1973 and the storyline ran through Issue 29 in May 1974.

Marvel Comics
THONGOR Real Name: Thongor Identity/Class: Human (Pre-Cataclysmic Era) Occupation: Ruler of Patanga;    former galley slave, pirate, thief, and assassin, warrior, adventurer, slayer of monsters and demons Group Membership: Formerly the Black Hawk tribe (all deceased) Affiliations: Father Gorm, Jomdath, Karm Karvus, Kora, Sarkaja, Shangoth, Sharajsha the Wizard, Sumia of Patanga, Ald Thurmis, Kaman Thuu, Enemies: Adamancus, Cult of Slidith the Red, the Demon of Zangabal, the Dragon Kings, Archdruid Yelim Pelorvis of Tsargol, Athmar Phong, Numadak Quelm, the Pirate King, Yelim Pelorvis, Arzang Pome, Archdruid Vaspas Ptol of Patanga, the Slorgs, the Snow Bear tribe (deceased), Sssaaa, Tengri, Sark Drugunda Thal of Tsargol, the Thieves Guild of Zangabal, Hajash Tor, Yamath, Zandar Zan Known Relatives: Sumia (wife), Tharth (son), Thumitar (father) and other members of the Black Hawk tribe (all deceased), Valkh (ancestor?) Aliases: Warrior of Lost Lemuria, Thongor of the House of Valkh Base of Operations: Patanga;    formerly he flying craft known as the Nemedis, the various lands of the Lemurian continent;    originally Valkarth, later Zangabal, Thundis and Chush First Appearance: (Historical) The Wizard of Lemuria (1965);    (Marvel) Creatures on the Loose#22 (March, 1973) Powers/Abilities: Thongor is a highly skilled warrior, pirate, and thief. Proficient in all the abilities such occupations entail, Thongor possesses peak to enhanced human strength and endurance, superior climbing ability, exceptional skill with sword and shield, and a solid enough grasp upon seamanship and navigation to successfully pilot a flying ship. Thongor has no true superhuman powers, but performs many feats ordinary people would judge to be miraculous. Weapons: Thongor's chief weapon early in his career was Sarkozan, the sword of his forefathers, once wielded by Thongor's sire, Thumitarr. Ultimately he became the bearer of the second Starsword, the successor of a magical weapon broken in man's battle to free himself from the evil Dragon-Kings of prehistory. History: (Creatures on the Loose#26 (fb))- In the dim past of earth (see comments), giant reptiles ruled the earth. From among these reptilian beings, the greatest among them arose to become kings and necromancers, conducting weird and cruel rituals from behind the monolithic black walls of their stone cities. Despising the Dragon King's evil, the Nineteen Gods of Lemuria created the first man, Phondath the Firstborn, and his mate, Evalla. Man grew ever stronger, building the great city of Nemedis and making war on the Dragon Kings. Thus began the Thousand Year War, and events turned against the race of men, as the Dragon Kings drove them back behind the walls of their puny cities, Nemedis and Althaar, Yb and Yaddar. They cried out to the gods to deliver them form their reptilian overlords. Then one night during a ferocious storm, Father Gorm appeared to Lord Thungarth above the towers of Nemedis and bestowed upon him the Starsword, a mystic blade in which were bound up the power, of the Nineteen Gods for all eternity. The final battle was fought at Grimstrand Firth and the Dragon Kings were defeated, shattered by the power of the Starsword, but the life of Lord Thungarth and the breaking of the Starsword was the price. Some of the Dragon Kings escaped destruction on the point of that sword of the gods and lurked in darkness, awaiting the chance to summon their demonic masters back to earth once more. (Creatures on the Loose#22 (fb))- Centuries later, Thongor's people, the Black Hawk Tribe, fought their final battle with their sworn enemies, the Snow Bear Tribe, in the aftermath of which the fifteen year old Thongor was the only survivor. Taking up Sarkoxzan, the sword of his father, Thumitarr, Thongor made his way across the Mountains of Mommur and Lemuria's rocky spine to become an assassin and a thief in the lush cities of the south. He was eventually captured and made a galley slave on one of the ships of Shembis. Leading a slaves' mutiny, Thongor captured the ship on which he had toiled and become one of the pirates of Tarakus, claiming power, glory, and treasure for himself, only to lose it all by one day slaying their leader in a duel. Barely escaping the pirate horde with his life, Thongor fled to greener pastures. (The City in the Jewel) - In the year 6999 of the kingdoms of man, a young Thongor, not yet 17, run away from a couple of predator dragons. He had crossed the continent, leaving his land after his tribe, the Black Hawk, extincted in the war against the White Bear clan, till reaching the tropical regions of the world, in the plains at south of the Mommur mountains. Casually, Thongor found a circle of seven, dark, human chiseled, volcanic stones, tall twice a man, which cold shadows scared even the dragons, saving him. At the centre of the circle Thongor was attracted by a gem, a crystal carved in a cube of stone. Captured by the crystal's enchantment Thongor was transported in the world of the City in the Jewel. There he was captured by Ornithowarriors, soldiers dressed like birds, and taken to Ithomaar the Eternal, the city built and ruled by Zazamanc, the veiled enchanter, a powerful sorcerer. Thongor's life was spared by the tyrannical Zazamanc, only to be enslaved and sent to fight as gladiator. Thongor learnt from Yllimdus, a slave, that time didn't pass in that universe created by Zazamanc, where Orichalcum stood instead of bronze, and Death couldn't enter in that realm. Yllimdus, had entered in the crystal in the year 4971 and explained how the tyrant was powerful. Zazamanc communicated with a philosophic insect on the dead heart of a moon, with a fungoid intelligence of Mercury, and with a mineral-crystalline sentient being of one of Saturn's moons. Thongor was horrified by the Avathquars. They were living dead, so transformed because the crossing of the border between the Lemurian world and Ithomaar had gone bad. Thongor also met Jothar Jorn, the gamesmaster, entered in the jewel 20 years before, when the Sark of Tsargol was Sanjar Thal. Thongor found that the life as gladiator wasn't so bad. After having defeated Zed Zomis, chief gladiator, Thongor became well-accepted and succeeded in having back his sword: Sarkozan. He remembered the stories about his clan, how his ancestor, Valkh of Nemedis, founder of Thongor's nation, was Phondath the firstborn's descendant of the 20th generation. And he remembered that Valkh had fought against the Dragon Kings and that Sarkozan had drunk their blood. The legend told that his sword had been blessed by the 19 gods, when they still walked on Earth, among the men of the first kingdoms. With Sarkozan in his hand, Thongor started to planning his escape. In the meanwhile, Zazamanc, in his Tower of Skulls, was performing a summoning. The blood had been spilled from the heart of a young slave-girl. The Veiled Enchanter pronounced the name of Alzarpha, then enunciated the awful names of the Djinns that ruled the 28 Houses of the Moon: Zargiel, Maldruim, Phonton, Ziminar... till it appeared Xarxus Slithering Eye. The demon, who could predict some futures, warned Zazamanc that Thongor was dangerous for him, and that it should be better to send the warrior back to his world. But Zazamanc was conceited and planned to kill the gladiator by other means. Thongor had found a passage underneath the Tower, and reached Zazamanc's rooms. The sorcerer surprised Thongor, and pointed his magic wand, Bazlimoth the Lightning Sceptre, to his chest. It was Yillmdus' intervention that saved Thongor. The thunderbolt killed the old man: Death, banished for so many years, entered in the Jewel! Thongor wielded his sword and slashed Zazamanc. Thousands of enchantments protected Zazamanc by death and rendered him invulnerable to steel, but a glimpse to the blade had him understand: those chiseled glyphs weren't made by mortal hand! Zazamanc died and Ithomaar was free. Leaving his friends, Thongor entered in the swirling fogs outside the city and was back in the external world, striding toward the southern lands. (Creatures on the Loose#22)- Arriving in the city of Zangabal roughly nine years since he first left his homeland, the young Valkatrthan warrior stole food to fill his hungry belly, thus incurring the wrath of the city guard sent to capture him. After a brief scuffle, Thongor outran the guardsmen and scaled a wall where he ran afoul of two members of the Zangabal Thieves Guild, who bore a grudge against him for not joining their ranks. Kicked down from the top of the wall, Thongor was almost overtaken by the guards once more until he fled into a section of the city where the guardsmen feared to follow. Shortly thereafter, Thongor encountered Kaman Thuu, a priest of the Seven Gods of Zangabal, who enlisted the young barbarian's services in order to steal the Mirror of Zaffar from the magician Athmar Phong. Provided with an amulet known as the Shield of Cathloda, created a thousand years ago in Zaar the Black City, to protect him from Phong's magic, Thongor was sent on his way down a subterranean passage that would lead him beneath the wizard's house. Sneaking into Athmar Phong's opulent mansion, Thongor searched for the mirror, but found a beautiful slave girl instead. Thongor agreed to free her from Phong after he had accquired the mirror of black glass. Taking time to steal a quick kiss before continuing his search, Thongor did not notice the slave girl break the cord on which the Shield of Cathloda hung about his neck. Stripped of the amulet's protection, the girl's form shimmered before Thongor and transformed into that of a malformed demon. (Creatures On the Loose#23)- Thongor leapt into battle with the Demon of Zangabal, but his sword had little effect on its iron-hard body. Even the eldritch runes upon his father's blade had no effect on the tusked and taloned monster. Growing bored with the barbarian, the Demon of Zangabal delivered a stunning blow, knocking his opponent to the ground. It didn't notice Thongor's hand creep toward the brazier nearby as it charged in to finish the human off. Blinding the demon with burning oil hurled in its face, Thongor leaped to where the fallen Shield of Cathloda lay on the floor, only to be caught in the demon's vise-like grip and choked into unconsciousness. Awakening in a dungeon, Thongor met Ald Thurmis, the last dupe hired by Kaman Thuu to steal the magical mirror of Athmar Phong. Swiftly shattering their bonds, Thongor escaped, intent on finding both the mirror and his father's sword. Ard Thurmis went with him and soon the two found a room full of breeding vats full of twisted, half-formed creatures created by Athmar Phong. Entering the wizard's throne room, Thongor and Ald were confronted by the Demon of Zangabal once more. The demon handily made a mockery of the two warriors until Thongor found the Shield of Cathloda and, bolstered by its power, delivered a killing blow. Just as the demon was defeated, Athmar Phong mystically appeared, returned from the midnight revelry of his unholy order. Reading Thongor's mind, he saw the barbaric youth was to steal the Mirror of Zaffar, just like Ald of weeks ago. Freezing the two in place with a ray that would slowly transform them into stone, Phong held all the cards...until he decided to gloat. He showed the two warriors the Mirror of Zaffar, in which Aqquoonkagua the Prince of Hell was bound, hidden in plain sight all along beneath a dark cloth. Thongor, protected by the Shield of Cathloda, unerringly threw the talisman at the mirror, shattering it and releasing Aqquoonkagua. The demon lord crushed Athmar Phong in his talons even as the wizard begged for Thongor's help, which was of course denied. Smashing through the roof of the wizard's mansion, Aqquoonkagua soared off into the heavens, "I return to the ultracosmos and let him beware, who would call me back again!" As the sun rose, Thongor and Ald Thrumis parted ways after filching a few of the precious baubles laying about the deserted abode of the dead wizard. Thongor left Zangabal, feeling some force calling him, pulling him onward. (Creatures On the Loose#24)- Eight months later, Thongor was employed as a mercenary in Thurdis, the Dragon City, but a friendly round of gambling quickly went sour. Jeled Malkh, a prince of Thurdis and a captain in the army, refused to pay up, claiming the young barbarian cheated him. Heated words followed a thrown goblet of wine and soon the two were brawling, then fighting with swords. Thongor bested Jeled Malkh, only to be tripped as he left and attacked while he was down. Forced to kill Jeled Malkh, Thongor asked if any other would bar his way. None offered any resistance, but a guardsman coming through the door behind Thongor clubbed him unconsciousness. Thongor awoke in a dungeon cell where he awaited being tossed to the vampire-flowers. Suddenly, Thongor found himself face to face with Ald Thurmis once more, who, having subdued the guard returned Sarkozan to Thongor and freed him. Thurdis was Ald Thurmis' home city, so he could not be seen with a fugitive, and once more the two went their separate ways. Running afoul of the city guard, Thongor fled and happened across the Sark (King) of Thurdis' new flyer. The barracks' rumors of a flying machine were true! Deciding there was no reason the only such ship of its kind shouldn't belong to him, Thongor scaled the tower to where the ship was moored intent on stealing it. Slaying the guard, Thongor stole the ship and cast off. Puzzling out the controls, he set out for the city of Kathool. Making sure the motors were fully wound, he took a nap. When Thongor awoke, he discovered that when the motors wound down, instead of hovering over Kathool, the ship drifted westward with the air currents. He now floated above the impenetrable jungles of Chush. Soon enough he was attacked by a Graak (pterodactyl). Tying himself to the ship so as not to be pulled away by the claws of the 'lizard-hawk', Thongor loosed arrows into its leathery hide, but a blow from the beast's powerful wings flipped the floating ship and dashed Thongor's head against the hull, knocking him unconscious. The Graak perched atop the upside down ship, its weight slowly sinking it to the ground, bringing the unconscious Thongor, dangling from his hastily tied rope, ever closer to the ravening jaws of the Dwark (Tyrannosaurus), jungle-dragon of the lost ages! (Creatures On the Loose#25)- Thongor awoke and climbed back up the rope attaching him to the ship. Reaching the hull, the first lizard-hawk fall from the sky, the arrows in its throat finally killing it. A second Graak struck Thongor, snapping his safety rope and knocking him from the ship into the dense interlocking bowers of the forest below. Thongor (of the Thick Skull it seems) awoke from unconsciousness once more and made his way through the jungle, encountering aggressive vampire-plants. Hacking his way through the carnivorous flora, Thongor ran afoul of quicksand. Tying the remaining half of the rope about the pommel of his sword, Thongor hurled the blade, embedding it in a nearby tree. Pulling himself free, he stood proud and defiant once more...before collapsing unconscious AGAIN! When Thongor awoke, it was to the growls of the deadly Dwark. Fleeing the beast, the young nomad encountered more vampire-plants, this time the kind that breathe noxious fumes. Hacking down the evil plants Thongor turned on the advancing lizard. In a last act of defiance, he hurled his blade, piercing its throat, but still the beast would not die. Suddenly a purple robed stranger appears, bidding him to hold his breath. The bearded stranger hurls a cloud of dust at the the monster's gaping maw, and it collapsed to the ground. The stranger was Sharajsha of Zaar, an enchanter, and he offered Thongor the hospitality of his home. The two rode Sharajsha's Zamph (a domesticated giant prehistoric rhino) to the wizard's home hidden beneath a stone slab in the foothills of the Mountains of Mommur. As they went further into the shadowy corridors and over bridges spanning rivers of flowing lava, Thongor pondered what use a Black Druid of Zaar might have for a warrior such as he. Attended by unseen servants and eating the wizard's food, Thongor looked over a map with Sharajsha, discussing plans to find and repair his flying ship. Thongor was suspicious, but he owed the wizard for saving his life and Sharajsha had said he needed a warrior. He demanded to know Sharajsha's reasons, to which the wizard replied that he had gazed into his magic mirror and seen the future, seen the fire and ruin that would destroy mankind. Thongor angrily drew his blade from its scabbard, unimpressed with 'parlor tricks' until he gazed into the mirror himself and saw himself lying cold and dead. (Creatures On the Loose#26)- Thongor was a trifle more concerned with his own death than with the destruction of the entire human race Sharajsha had prophesied. Sharajsha introduces his serving girl, Slissa, and Thongor mellowed a little once she started pouring the wine. Sharajsha told him the tale of ancient Lemuria and the wars of the first men with the Dragon Kings. Convinced of the threat to mankind, Thongor agreed to aid the wizard. Two days later the flying ship, redubbed Nemedis in honor of the first city built by men, was repaired and they set out to steal the mythic Star Stone from the Scarlet Tower of Tsargol. With the magic stone they could reforge the broken Starsword and destroy the last remnants of the Dragon Kings still lurking in dark corners of the world. Climbing a rope down from the Nemedis, Thongor stole into the tower and soon encountered snakelike guardian creatures akin to the Man-Serpents thought to have long been extinct, the Slorgs! Battling his way to the topmost floor of the tower, Thongor seized the Star Stone and tied it to the waiting rope dangling outside a nearby window, but as he went to climb to freedom the Slorgs seized his legs in their coils. Battered half insensible, Thongor was dragged before Drugunda Thal, the Sark of Tsargol, and the evil archdruid Yelim Pelorvis. Thongor refused to talk and was beaten unconscious then tossed in the pits to await death in the arena for his troubles. In the pits he made the acquaintance of Karm Karvus, a prince of Tsargol and the commander of the palace guard until Thongor had managed to break free and threatened the Sark Drugunda Thal, who used this as an excuse to rid himself of a hated enemy and rival for the throne. At noon the next day, the two warriors entered the arena where a girl was bound to a stake before the Gates of Death. Their duty was to save the sacrifice if they could. The gates opened and a rare Zemadar slithers onto the sands. The Zemadar's scales being impervious to his sword, Thongor drove his blade into one eye, and when it reared upward in pain, Kark Karvus stabbed it in its soft underbelly. Drugunda Thal was furious and commanded Thongor's death, but a speedily hurled sword from the young barbarian's hand pierced his heart and ended his threat forever. (Creatures On the Loose#27)- Archdruid Yelim Pelorvis immediately seized power as the new Sark of Tsargol and exhorted his warriors to slay both Thongor and Karm Karvus. So began a red slaughter with the two warriors carving a bloody circle on the arena sands. Scores of Tsargol's ghoulish soldiers fell under their swords until, suddenly, a darkling mist swirled thorugh the arena, blinding Thongor's opponents. Freeing the girl, the three of them climbed a rope trailing down out of the blackness and board the Nemedis. The next day Kora, the girl rescued from the arena, was dropped off at her village, and the others traveled onward to the city of Patangan, seeking to enter the crypts beneath the ancient Altar of Yamath. Only there would they find the pillar of Eternal Fire in which they must cast the Star Stone to reshape it. It was vital the process not be interrupted, so, of course, a yellow druid and his company of guardsman promptly came down to the sacred crypts with gifts for Yamath. Battle ensued and Thongor wreaked bloody havoc until a reinforcement of temple guardsmen a hundred strong arrived. The high priest prepared to make Thongor pay with his life for violating the crypts, when suddenly he and his guardsmen fled in superstitious terror, leaving their captive to the tender mercies of a blasphemous horror crawling up out of the dark. Thongor slashed at it, but it proved to be an illusion cast by Sharajsha. Thongor bought the wizard the time he needed and was presented with the newly forged Starsword, only for both wizard and warrior to collapse from mysterious narcotic fumes moments later. (Creatures On the Loose#28)- Tossed into the dungeons of Patanga to await ritual sacrifice to Yamath, Thongor and Sharajsha meet Sumia, the Sarkaja of Patanga, and a prisoner in her own dungeons. Did I mention she was beautiful? I suppose it wasn't necessary. In this kind of story sacrificial captives are ALWAYS beautiful. Anyway, it seems the yellow druids led by Vaspas Ptol killed her father and usurped the rule of Patanga. Seeking to further his conquest, Vaspas Ptol tried to wed Sumia, but three times she refused, so had her sentenced to the altar rather than the harem. Unable to cast spells with his hands bound, Sharajsha said they must await a chance to escape. Dragged to the altar, Sumia was offered one last chance and she spit in the archdruid's face. While the guards were occupied with Sumia, Thongor broke free of his bonds and seized the blades which were to be immolated with him. Sharajsha freed, the two rescued Sumia, but found themselves surrounded until the superstitious Patangans were driven to their knees by the Nemedis, piloted by Karm Karvus, soaring down from the heavens to rescue the trio. With Sumia accompanying them the heroes made their way to the fog-shrouded peak of Sharimba, the Mountain of Thunder. Only there could the Starsword be infused with the holy lightnings of Sharimba, and only a sorcerer such as Sharajsha could do it safely. The wizard scaled the peak alone, and while the others waited, they were attacked by a Graak, one of those monstrous Lemurian lizard-hawks (looking considerably more monstrous this go around) that nest among the crags. Thongor battled the beast, ordering Sumia and Karm Karvus to board the Nemedis and fly to safety. They rushed to the ship while Thongor fought a desperate holding action. Suddenly felled by a blow to the head by the Graak's tail, Thongor fell from the peak, only to be caught in the claws of the hungry Graak. (Creatures On the Loose#29)- Thongor came to in the claws of the Graak, which promptly dropped him into a nest so its young could feed. His sword lost in the battle with the mother Graak, Thongor seized up a bone of one of the previous victims and stabbed the jagged end into one lizard-chick's throat. Thongor kicked another Graaklet to its doom and stabbed the third. Aware the mother could return any moment Thongor began to climb down from the lofty nest. Meanwhile, his conjurations finished, Sharjsha descended from monolithic Sharimba only to learn his chosen champion had been carried by a Graak. The hour grew ever later, the Dragon Kings preparing the dread ritual that would summon to Earth their god, the Lord of Chaos. There was no time to search for Thongor. Sharjsha, Karm Karvus, and Sumia piloted the Nemedis out over the great inland Sea of Neol-Shendis, above fog-enshrouded waters unseen by men for centuries. They landed upon the largest of the four Dragon Isles at the heart of the inland sea, and snuck into the Castle of the Dragon Kings. Sharajsha had Karm Karvus and Sumia wait outside the courtyard as he scouted ahead, seeking to determine if life stirred in the mist-shrouded ruins. He knew for certain when he was struck down and the Starsword slipped from his hands. Karm Karvus, rushing to Sharajsha's aid, was also quickly subdued by a bolt of mystical energy. Sumia was captured seconds later. All of this is the work of Sssaaa the High Priest of the Dragon Kings. At the appointed hour of the equinox, the three captives were to be sacrificed to the Lord of Chaos and provide the life energy he needed to cross the intercosmic gulfs. Elsewhere, Thongor's downward climb ended at a river into which he gladly leaped. Swimming with the current he followed the river to where it emptied into the mystic Sea of Neol-Shendis. The mother Graak carried him closer to the Dragon Isles than he had hoped. Waylaid by a huge armored lizard, Thongor was without a weapon and showed the better part of valor by hiding in a nearby cave. The mouth was too narrow for the beast to enter, but Thongor was trapped. Tasting salt water dripping from the ceiling, Thongor realized the cave was a tunnel that ran beneath the inland sea. Racing through the cavern at a breakneck pace when Thongor reached the surface he was upon one of the Dragon Isles. Spying the Castle of the Dragon Kings on the neighboring island Thongor swam to its dismal shores. Attracted by an ice blue glow in the waters at the castle's edge, Thongor discovered the Starsword and knew evil had befallen the others. Now armed with the sacred weapon of the ancients, Thongor crept into the forbidding castle. Fully a score or more of the Dragon Kings still lived. Even Sharajsha had not suspected so great a number. They bound the three captives to the Altar of Monoliths, preparing to bring the Lords of Chaos (suddenly plural for some reason) into the world of men once more. Sssaaa the High Priest held aloft a triple bladed sword and cried out the unholy name of a Lord of Chaos, "Iao Thamungazoth!" Just as the blade fell towards Sumia's breast, Thongor struck with the Starsword, destroying Sssaaa's blade and disrupting the sacrifice. Sharajsha was quickly freed so he could employ his spells, and then followed the slaughter of the evil Dragon Kings. Finally, even Father Gorm, the god of Thongor's people, popped in for a piece of the action, blasting the Dragon Kings' castle into dust. The heroes were happily reunited, and they hied away to the Nemedis. (Thongor: Against the Gods) - Thongor married Sumia, becoming Sark of Patanga, and after one year she gave him a son: Tharth. (Thongor: Against the Gods) - After another year, Thongor's new empire counted three formidable cities: Thurdis, Patanga and Shembis. But many were also his enemies. In Tsargol, the priest Numadak Quelm was ordered in dream by his god Yamath to kill Thongor. He joined with the red archdruid Yelim Pelorvis, with Arzang Pome (who had been exiled by Thongor), and with Hajash Tor (Daotarkon (commander) of Thurdis' armies). The four hired Zandar Zan, the best thief of Tsargol, to kidnap Sumia and Tharth. Zandar Zan's mission succeeded only in part. He managed to kidnap Sumia, but was pursued by Thongor in a long flight to the Eastern, unknown plains of Nianga. There, their ways split. Sumia escaped and met Shangoth, a Rmohal, one of the giant, blue nomads, while Thongor met Jomdath, Shangoth's father and exiled king of the Jegga clan. The kidnapping and Sharajsha's suggestions led Karm Karvus, Ald Thurmis and Thongor's army to move with their floating fleet against Tsargol. Tengri, the Jegga sorcerer who had seized power at the detriment of Jomdath, managed to capture Thongor and the old chief. In the same moments, in a southern area, Sumia and Shangoth were abducted by Adamancus' sorcerous power. In his castle, they learnt about his belonging to Zaar, the black city, and about his worshipping the Gods of Chaos. Sumia also understood that Thalaba the Destroyer was one of the nine lords of Zaar, and his machinations had led the Yellow Druids to the war against Patanga and to her father's death. Jomdath and Thongor were unwittingly helped by Zandar Zan's apparition in the skies of the dead city of Althaar. Jomdath reclaimed his ruling power, and Sharajsha aided Thongor in reaching Adamancus' castle and freeing his love. An alliance was clenched between the blue nomads and Patanga, so the giant blue warriors were a great help in the short war against Tsargol. During the siege Hajash Tor, Arzang Pome and Numadak Quelm were killed, and the West was safe. (Thongor: Against the Gods) - In the days after, Thongor extirpated the cult of Slidith the Red from all the Tsargol region and claimed his companion, Karm Karvus, Sark of the people of the coast. And the Three Cities became Four. And the Gods were pleased... Comments: Created by Lin Carter. Adapted by George Alec Effinger, Val Mayerik, and Vince Colletta.. According to the letter column of Creatures on the Loose#27, "Thongor's adventures... take place almost half a million years ago, eons before Conan or Kull, when Lemuria was the only continent on which modern man dwelt. The rest of the world - apparently at any rate - was still in the Pleistocene period and inhabited by Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal man." This means Thongor's world existed a little under 500,000 years B.C. They gave this as the reason for why there would be no crossovers with Conan or King Kull, but then go on to make a big deal over that "apparently" they slipped in there. "Let us add considerable emphasis to that 'apparently', however. Without giving away too much of what we have in mind... we think it safe to say that in other similarly isolated parts of the planet, a civilization or two may have sprung up at that time." Since (as far as I am aware) no further Thongor comics were made after the end of the Dragon King saga in CotL#29, one can only speculate what those plans for the future were. Any ideas, people? What other Pre-Cataclysmic civilizations were active around that time period in Marvel Comics? The Savage Land?http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/starseed.htm reveals that (Marvel Premiere#28 [fb]) - During a primitive era of man, around the age of the Neanderthals, a group of more intelligent, peaceful people built their own society on an unnamed mountain. This society developed into an age comparable to that of the Roman empire, many hundreds of thousands of years before the rest of the world. Also, I seem to recall the Dark Rider storyline in Marvel Team-Up revealed the presence of an Age of Wizards. Olshevsky in his Marvel Team-Up Index stated that he was not sure where the Age of Wizards fell with relation to the visit of the Celestials, but he presumed that it happened thousands of years before the time of King Kull.---Per Degaton     The dating employed in the CotL#27 lettercol makes it problematic to place Thongor's adventures within the greater framework of established Marvel history. The mentioning of Hyperborea as existent before Lemuria also further muddies the waters. If the Hyborian Era runs from roughly 17,000 B.C. to the beginning of recorded history, and the Pre-Cataclysmic Era predates that from about 18,000 to 100,000 B.C. this would mean that Thongor's Lemurian Era predates the vast bulk of events on Marvel's prehistoric earth, including Varnae's transformation into a vampire, the sinking of Atlantis, the destruction of the Deviant's empire by the Celestials, the rise and fall of the Hyborian Era, and the Stone and Bronze Ages. Moreover, it mentions a previous Hyperborean Age (which might or might not be connected to Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborean Era which emerged between Ice Ages). It would likely be safest to just say Thongor's adventures occurred outside the normal Marvel Universe (Earth-616), but with the true love of the obscurantist fanboy I can't help but want to fit it in somewhere. It could be that while the rest of the world was populated by Cro-Mags and Neanderthals, the progenitors of the Lemurians, Phondrath and Evalla, represented highly evolved creations of the Nineteen Gods' that were later absorbed into mainline humanity which the Celestials had allowed to evolve normally.There is evidence that the Clark Ashton Smith version of Hyperborea could be a part of the Marvel Universe. In Doctor Strange III#8, Doctor Strange was shown as having The Book of Eibon, a magical book from Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborea stories. Roy Thomas also adapted some stories of Clark Ashton Smith in Conan the Adventurer (the comic book, not the cartoon). Other Pre-Cataclysmic societies include Nincenno (from Conan the Barbarian I#124) and Bal-Sagoth. Not much was revealed about Nincenno in that Conan story, but I guess it is possible it predated the Thurian Age. Bal-Sogoth was mentioned in Conan the Barbarian I#17.--Per Degaton     The entire run of Thongor from Creatures on the Loose#22 - 29 (March 1973 - May 1974) is an adaptation of two separate Thongor adventures, the story Thieves of Zangabal and the novel Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria. Presumably, Marvel was attempting to cash in on the popularity of other sword and sorcery successes such worthies as Conan the Barbarian and King Kull when they threw Thongor into the fray. Overall his brief appearance in the comics arena is a mixed bag. Roy Thomas had his hand on the wheel as editor and I can imagine he was only too glad to have another of the savage heroes he loved so well come to life in the pages of comics. Indeed, while not being unoriginal or a blatant clone, even the art reflects an attempt to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the debut of Conan the Barbarian. If memory serves this one was one Val Mayerik's first gigs in comics. Can anyone corroborate or deny? For one reason or another Thongor must not have caught on, for while we still see Conan comics getting made to this day, Thongor has disappeared into the mists of obscurity. Maybe it was his looks - - Thongor was drawn a bit more brutish looking than Conan, and yet, perhaps he still looked a bit TOO similar. In fact, they must have looked SO similar that somewhere along the line someone screwed up and had Thongor calling on Conan's god Crom instead of his own Father Gorm - - three separate times! For more on the confusion of the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Era with other deities click HERE or HERE. Maybe that was behind the sudden and unexplained change in hair color from black to red in CotL#25. I've provided images of both so I leave it for you to decide. In his first appearance, I thought he looked rather like certain depictions of Brule the Spear-slayer. Perhaps the initial fluctuations in the creative team as the character tried to find his feet in the world of comics was what bogged him down. Gardner F. Fox replaced Effinger as writer in CotL#26 only to be replaced in turn by Steve Gerber in CotL#28. A letter column mentions Effington's departure to pursue other projects in the field of science-fiction. Val Mayerik left with CotL#28 to be replaced by Vincente Alcazar. Creatures on the Loose#22-23 was an adequate and entertaining introduction to the Thongor character, even if both the writing and the art were a little stiff in comparison to Conan's earlier debut. But later with the adaptation of Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria, the first extended story for the character, every time it started to build up steam, there was some sort of grinding gearshift making it to lose momentum. Even the dreaded Dragon Kings didn't look quite as menacing as one thought they should. The best picture of the infrequently seen main villains of the story is on the cover of the last installment in CotL#29. The comics are by no means terrible, and I consider them a damn sight better than over half of the stuff getting made today, warts and all. Any fan of Conan, Lin Carter's work, or just the sword and sorcery genre in general should check them out. Most likely you'll be able to snap them up for cheap. Depending on where you stand in the spectrum of Conan, Robert E, Howard, Lin Carter, and general sword and sorcery fandom, you either love his stuff, think he's a hack, have only seen his work on Conan, or have never heard of him at all. For my own part, I have always enjoyed Lin Carter's work and felt he made some worthy additions to the Conan canon, but have only a vague understanding of him as a solo act. I have read a whopping three of his original novels, two in the Callisto series which always struck me as borrowing heavily from John Carter of Mars by ERB. With that in mind, perhaps I am not entirely qualified to comment on Thongor as a whole, but from his comic book adventures alone he strikes me as living very much in the shadow of Howard's Conan. Both youthful barbarian warriors making their way as thieves and mercenaries in the soft and civilized south, both fighting wizards and demonic pre-human monsters, both destined to become kings, both living in Prehistoric ages now forgotten by mankind. Thongor is Conan for Conan fans who have run out of Conan stuff to read. Lin Carter will likely always be inseparably linked in my mind with REH and L. Sprague De Camp. This isn't a bad thing, but it does make it harder for him to stand out on his own as a fantasy great, which he undoubtedly was. It seems to be some blasphemous and inalterable cosmic law that every H.P. Lovecraft must have his August Derleth and, yes, e'en every Robert E. Howard must have his L. Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter. I was recently surprised to learn that one of the first Conan tales I had ever read, one of my favorite non-Howard Conan tales, and just plain one of my favorite Conan stories, The Thing in the Crypt by Lin Carter was in fact originally intended to be a Thongor story. Who knows what Thongor might have been if Carter had directed more of his creative juices towards his own creation rather than Howard's? That is a question I often find myself asking as I reread Thongor's adventures in Creatures on the Loose - - "What might have been?" There is a wonderful site all about Lin Carter, his life, his work, Thongor, and other interesting stuff, right HERE. Check it out, I can't recommend it enough! Thongor starred in various fantasy stories written by Lin Carter b/t 1965 and 1976 (Wizard of Lemuria (1965; expanded and published as Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria in 1969), Thongor of Lemuria (1966; expanded and published in 1970 as Thongor and the Dragon City), Thongor: Against the Gods (1967), Thongor in the City of Magicians (1968), Thongor at the End of Time (1968), Thieves of Zangabal (1969), Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970), Black Hawk of Valkarth (1973), The City in the Jewel (1975), Black Moonlight (1976) ). Two of these stories were adapted in the pages of Creatures on the Loose#22-29. They featured adventures in Lemuria, and there is some debate whether these occurred on Earth-616, primarily because of how advanced the technology was in those stories. If these adventures did take place on Earth-616, then they would probably shortly before 18000 BC and the first Great Cataclysm which razed the civilizations of the world and plunged them back into barbarism. At that point in time, the Atlanteans had reached a pinnacle of technology which in some ways is still superior to that of the modern era. In Conan of the Isles, he encounters Orichalum, a metal used by the Atlanteans in their flying ships--similar to the metal Urlium of the flying ship seen in Thongor's story. Lemuria was at least partially controlled by the Deviants, who created advanced technology who may have been occasionally usurped by the humans. Still, there's been no mention of Thongor or any of his characters in any other series definitively linked to Earth-616. Alternatively, the Dragon Kings and the Slorgs might have been alternate dimensional counterparts of the Serpent Men and the Man Serpents. However, like Greg, I would definitely love to keep Thongor on good ole Earth-616. The Marvel Comics Index to Conan and the Barbarians claims that Thongor was active in Lemuria one million years ago, while the letter page of Creatures on the Loose#27 mentioned him as being active one half million years ago. I guess there's nothing to rule that out, but it does seem a bit excessive. I'd lean towards my chronological estimation, but perhaps that's because I'm me. --Snood. Per Degaton: In his Sub-Mariner Index, Olshevsky also stated that Thongor took place on Earth-616 (well, he did not use that term, which had yet to be coined). Verbatim; "A million or more years ago, Marvel Earth was the scene of a vast struggle between humanity on the rise and a race of Serpent Men. Little of this titanic conflict is known with certainty, and only a few Marvel stories (most notably the Thongor of Lemuria series inCreatures On the Loose) are set in that remote time. We can infer that humanity won its war, for Serpent Men are rare (if not entirelynonexistent) today." Although they did not get around to adapting it, in other works Lin Carter did explain how Thongor's world tied in with the Kull/Conanhistory. He did this in a novel called The Black Star (which is still in print). Before Lemuria was the First Reign: Nemedis, flanking the Unnamed Sea.Some broken and dead cities still lied in the south: Althaar and Quar.The language spoken was almost the same, also between far regions. The human race was too recently created from the 19 Gods' will in order to have big differences between the different languages.The blue nomads would have disappeared millions of year before the written history.Some Slorgs, the Terrors of the Sands, still lived and lurked in the depth of the dead cities of the south, craving for human flesh.--Spidermay   Profile by Greg O'Driscoll, with a clean-up by Snood and Prime Eternal. CLARIFICATIONS: Thongor, Warrior of Lost Lemuria, should not be confused with... Thog the netherspawn, a demon lord, @ Adventure Into Fear#11Thog the Ancient of the Hyborian Era, of the Old Ones, @ Savage Sword of Conan#20Thoth-Amon, the Stygian wizard, @ Conan the Barbarian#7Sharajsha of Zaar was a powerful Lemurian sorcerer capable of firing bolts of mystic energy, creating shrouds of impenetrable darkness, casting realistic illusions, levitating objects, and scrying the future in his mystic mirror. He also used a harmless looking power to knock out a Tyrannosaurus Rex (though they called 'em Dwarks back in those days). However, Sharajsha suffered from a common enough malady in comics: Wonder Woman Syndrome, wherein he was effectively powerless when his hands were bound, unable to cast his spells. He had a groovy hideout in the foothills of the Mountains of Mommur near Chush. Thongor's guide and mentor, it was he who repaired the flying ship, and bathed the Star Stone in the Eternal Fire to recreate the Starsword. --Creatures On the Loose#25, 26, 27, 28, 29 In the comics Sharajsha's cloak was purple and had no hood, and was friendlier looking in general, but this cover by the great Gil Kane is my favorite image of him. Karm Karvus was a prince of Tsargol and would have been rightful Sark of that city if not for the evil Drugunda Thal and his chief druid Yelim Pelorvis. A captain of the royal guard, he was thrown into the dungeons after Thongor escaped capture and threatened Drugunda, but the real reason was the evil Sark of Thargol had long hated Karm Karvus's family and seized the opportunity to be rid of his young rival. Fighting side-by-side with Thongor in the arena, the two of them rescued the girl Kora and escaped in the Nemedis. From then on he assisted Thongor and Sharajsha in defeating the Dragon Kings, often piloting the Nemedis. Sarkaja Sumia seemed attracted to him even though he was sort of bat-like and ghoulish looking. --Creatures On the Loose#26, 27, 28, 29           Sarkaja Sumia of Patanga inherited her father's kingdom upon his death at the hands of the Archdruid Vaspas Ptol, but was unable to rally her people against the evil Yellow Druids. Vaspas Ptol attempted to force Sumia to marry him three seperate times in order to consolidate his rule even to the point of physically coercing her, but Sumia remained steadfast. She met Thongor and Sharajsha in her own dungeons where they were prisoners awaiting sacrifice. Escaping with them in the Nemedis and nothing left for her in Patanga, Sumia decides to accompany them to fight the Dragon Kings. --Creatures On the Loose#28, 29            Ald Thurmis was a native of the Dragon City of Thurdis and fellow thief and mercenary of Thongor. Weeks before the evil priest Kaman Thuu hired Thongor, Ald had been hired to sneak into the wizard Athmar Phong's mansion and steal the Mirror of Zaffar only to get captured by the Demon of Zangabal and tossed into the dungeons. Forgotten and left for dead, Kaman Thuu hired Thongor to do the job, but he also wound up in the dungeons. Thongor escaped and Ald went with him, the barbarian later saving his life by killing Athmar Phong. Eight months later Ald repaid the favor by springing Thongor from the dungeons of Thurdis after being arrested for murder of a captain in the army. --Creatures On the Loose#23, 24       Archdruid Yelim Pelorvis and Drugunda Thal, Sark of Trasgol sentenced Thongor and Karm Karvus to death in the arena. Drugunda was ruler of Tsargol and likely an usurper to the throne. Yelim Pelorvis wasted no time in declaring himself the new Sark of Tsargol before Drugunda's body was even cold after Thongor killed him with a hurled sword. The people of Tsargol, including the somewhat more human-looking Karm Karvus, all have a ghoulish appearance. I'd hate to see what their women look like. --Creatures On the Loose#26, 27             Kaman Thuu was a priest of the Seven Gods of Zangabal and rival of the evil wizard Athmar Phong. He hired both Ald Thurmis and Thongor to steal the Mirror of Zaffar from Phong for reasons unknown. However, judging from his general level of creepiness and the fact that the mirror contained the essence of a Prince of Hell, his motives can't have been honorable. He presented Thongor with the Shield of Cathloda, a protective mystical charm, which he ultimately (and contrary to Thuu's wishes) used to destroy the mirror. --Creatures On the Loose#22               Athmar Phong was a corpulent wizard capable of teleportation (or assuming gaseous form, it's hard to say), reading thoughts, summoning and commanding the Demon of Zangabal, and slowly trasforming people to stone for his amusement. He attracted the ire and the jealousy of the priest Kaman Thuu due to is possession of the Mirror of Zaffar. Thongor managed to break the mirror with a magic amulet and the enraged demon within the mirror escaped to have its revenge on Athmar Phong, crushing him into nothingness. --Creatures On the Loose#23             Kora was a peasant girl used by the people of Tsargol as bait to lure out the dreaded rare Zemadar in the arena of death. It was the duty of condemned men to fight in the arena and attempt to save the sacrificial victim if they could. After escaping from the arena in the Nemedis, the heroes kindly dropped Kora off at her village. I suppose she had gotten enough excitement in the arena and decided to sit out the whole clash with the Dragon Kings. --Creatures On the Loose#26, 27          Aqquoonkagua was a gigantic skull-faced, red demon, wreathed in fire. Appropriate enough for a Prince of Hell. According to him he had only been a prisoner in the Mirror of Zaffar 'long decades' but even such a tiny ammount of time imprisoned by the sorcerer Athmar Phong was enough to enrage him beyond all measure. After Thongor destroyed the mirror he swiftly closed his titanic claw about Phong, crushing him. When he opened his taloned fist, Phong's charred body fell to the ground. I'd imagine Aqquoonkagua just sent Phong on the express elevator to hell for further prolonged torture rather than instantly destroying him in a fit of rage. That done the demon soared off into the heavens to return to the 'ultracosmos'. --Creatures On the Loose#23           Lemuria in the days of Thongor, when the lost continent was one of the only major landmasses to rise from a world-spanning ocean. Perhaps in the wake of the massive tectonic upheavals which forced other continents such as Atlantis and Valusia to the surface, the last remnants of the Lemuria's human culture were trapped on the island chain that would come to be known as the Lemurian Isles off the coast of what would one day become Asia. Those humans who remained behind on the Lemurian subcontinent became the slaves of the Deviants and were destroyed centuries later by the Celestials in the Great Cataclysm which reduced the world to savagery and preceded the Hyborian Era. --Creatures On the Loose#26 (fb), 22 (fb), 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 Images taken from:Creatures On the Loose#27, page 3, panel 2Creatures On the Loose#28, page 26, panel 1Creatures On the Loose#29, page 31, panel 2Creatures On the Loose#25, cover (Sharajsha)Creatures On the Loose#27, page 6, panel 3 (Karm Karvus)Creatures On the Loose#28, page 3, panel 2 (Sarkaja Sumia)Creatures On the Loose#27, page 7, panel 3 (Kora) Creatures On the Loose #22, page 6, panel 8 (Kaman Thuu)Creatures On the Loose #23, page 7, panel 8 (Ald Thurmis)Creatures On the Loose#23, page 12, panel 2 + 3 (Athmar Phong)Creatures On the Loose#26, page 17, panel 4 (Pelorvis + Thal)Creatures On the Loose#23, page (Aqquoonkagua) Appearances:Wizard of Lemuria (1965) - Lin CarterThongor of Lemuria (1966) - Lin CarterThongor: Against the Gods (1967) - Lin CarterThongor in the City of Magicians (1968) - Lin CarterThongor at the End of Time (1968) - Lin CarterThieves of Zangabal (1969) - Lin CarterThongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970) - Lin CarterBlack Hawk of Valkarth (1973) - Lin CarterCreatures on the Loose#23-25 (May-September, 1973) - George Alex Effinger & Tony Isabella (#25) (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)Creatures on the Loose#26-27 (November, 1973 - January, 1974) - Gardner Fox (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Wayne Howard (#26) & Vicente Alcazar (#27) (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)Creatures on the Loose#28-29 (March-May, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Vicente Alcazar (pencils/inks), Roy Thomas (editor)The City in the Jewel (1975) - Lin CarterBlack Moonlight (1976) - Lin Carter

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