From a previous Halloween comics topic, a bit more on Chan's run in SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN :
I took a look through my SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN issues, where I think Chan did his best work. I was surprised, most of the early issues were inked by Alcala or Nebres, or Buscema himself. Chan pencilled and inked issue 29, and did inks or full art on issues 62, 63, 64, 68, 71, 72, 77, 78, 79, 81, 87, 93, 95, 99, and 100 (roughly 1982-1984). Of those, I liked his inks best in issues 77-79, that latter two issues in particular I liked both the story and art. And with the monsters in those issues, quite Halloween festive.
Beyond that point I think Chan lost whatever artistic merit he had, and was just hacking it out from that point forward. An artist named Gary Kwapisz began doing some outstandingly nice stories in scattered but frequent issues from 96-179 (1984-1990), and unfortunately Chan inked about 20 of the 40 or so stories Kwapisz did. And in those issues Kwapisz's style is completely blunted, all you see is Chan.
I'd say I was most enthusiastic about SSOC from 60-100 in the period I began reading.
And Dixon, Kwapsisz and a few others breathed new life into the series in the mid/late 1980's.
Of 235 issues of SSOC, my single favorite issue is the Robert E. Howard adaptation "The Haunting of Castle Crimson" in SSOC 12 (and reprinted in CONAN SAGA 36), adapted by Roy Thomas, with art by Buscema/Alcala.
![[Linked Image from milehighcomics.com]](http://www.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/72444977912.12.gif)
A haunted castle, the dead rising for revenge, a beautiful slave girl who may or may not be a princess, a king ready to wage war to have her back, peppered with romance, humor, and some clever ironies. Great reading anytime, but also Halloween-atmospheric.
Full story online:
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Conan-Saga/Issue-36?id=96565#3As prolific as Ernie Chan was on SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, it was still less than expected when I first explored these issues.
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=93191Chan actually did a lot of issues of the CONAN THE BARBARIAN color comic series, starting with issue 26, May 1973, up to issue 43,
Then back again from issue 70 (Jan 1977) to 77 (Aug 1977) , and 79-115 (Oct 1980). And 117 (Dec 1980) - 118 (Jan 1981), and 131 (Feb 1982), 134 (May 1982), 144 (Mar 1983), 147- 153, 156-157, 175, 178, 181-185, 187-190 (Jan 1987), which was John Buscema's last pencilled issue.
And Docherty//Chan art in issue 250 (Nov 1991), and 252-253, and the final issue 275, long after Buscema had moved on.
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=80561Plus a number of CONAN ANNUAL issues, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11.
And KING CONAN / CONAN THE KING 1-11 .
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=80661Aside from that, the work I like best by Chan are his early 1970's work on DC mystery titles like HOUSE OF MYSTERY, HOUSE OF SECRETS, GHOSTS, WEIRD WAR and others.
And his work on CLAW, in the same period that he became DC's main cover artist, circa 1975-1976, before and after which he seemed to do most of his work at Marvel, after initially breaking in at DC in 1972.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Chan
