Fantasy comics? Dragons, sorcery, elves?

[ociebieda]

I am interested in public domain comics that are in Fantasy theme (dragons, sorcery, elves)
What titles I should check out?
I could not find anything like this.
Thank you for any help.

[Yoc]

Hi Ociebieda,
It might not be exactly what you mean but one of the most charming series with a fantasy theme is the PETER WHEAT series of giveaway comics.

Click on this link and give them a try.  I think they are Great!

[ociebieda]

Thank you for your reply.
I checked it out, but yes, this is not what I am looking for.
It is more kids.
Is there something else, lets say similar to Conan or some Mythology comics?

[Yoc]

Hi O,
Unfortunately that's not a genre I have paid much attention to.
I can't think of anything specific right now. Maybe someone else can suggest something.
If you wanted Tarzan Jungle types you would have a ton to choose from. Fiction House specialized in the genre.

-Yoc

[John C]

This struck me as odd, but on doing a little bit of research, it turns out that "high fantasy" barely existed at all until Tolkien, and wasn't considered more than juvenile (hence Peter Wheat as the best bet) until The Lord of the Rings became popular.  So, while you might find the occasional bit of scantily-clad men protecting scantily-clad women from scantily-clad monsters (admit it, you've never seen a comic book story with a monster in a suit or a turtleneck sweater...), most of it is Edgar Rice Burroughs-y stuff set on other planets, probably mostly published by Fiction House, like Yoc suggests.

[SuperScrounge]

And when was the first sword and sorcery story published? Probably just before or at around the same time as the birth of modern comics. Most writers & artists and editors would be more familiar with the older genres and probably wouldn't imagine there'd be much of an audience for some guy in loincloth swinging a sword and fighting monsters... unless it was on another world and could be passed off as science fiction (or planetary romance/scientific romance/romantic adventure/etc.)

I can think of series that feature knights (I believe Dell had a series about the Black Knight set during the Crusades), I can think of stories where dragons appear (an old Batman story with an imaginitive/fairytale setting), but the only thing I can think of that features a knight fighting dragons are reprints of the humorous Oaky Doaks comic strip. The closest I can think of when it comes to a Conanesque tale of blood and thunder would be a comic book version of John Carter of Mars.

[Yoc]

Foster's Prince Valiant reprints might be close to what is wanted but they can't be found here.

[bchat]

The Golden Knight appeared in Fox's "Fantastic Comics", with at least one of the stories featuring a dragon.

[darkmark (RIP)]

Crom the Barbarian was in Avon's Strange Worlds

[ociebieda]

Thank you all for your help.
I will check all this out.
Is "Prince Valient" in Public Domain?
At least, it can be on other planet (world) if civilization is not more advanced than this in medieval times.
What about mythology?
There were no comics based on or similar to greek myths?

[Yoc]

No, Prince Valiant is not PD.  Reprint collections can likely be found at a local library.
Not sure on the myths.  Anyone else?