Steranko: The Man, the Myth, the Legend.

The birthday of the mighty Jim Steranko has rolled around again. A living legend of pop culture, I’ve written previously about Mr. Steranko here and here. Tonight, I’m gonna look specifically at Jim’s awesome legacy of Sword-and-Sorcery/S&S-adjacent art.

Most fans of heroic fantasy art are unaware that Steranko was a pioneer when its Golden Age began during the 1960s. His first drawings of Talon--the S&S hero he created-- are from around 1968-69. This was after the publication of the first Thongor novel and the Lancer Conans in 1966, but comfortably before Marvel's first issue of Conan the Barbarian.

Images of Talon would appear widely across various venues over the next seven or eight years. However, this post isn't focused on him, since he deserves his own dedicated blog entry. This post will feature some Talon art, but also covers for non-Talon paperbacks and projects like the 'Hercules' covers Steranko crafted for Radical Comics.

A very early sketch of Talon. Rough, but plenty of energy. I dig the flamberge, which demonstrates Steranko’s lifelong interest in edged weapons.

Steranko’s cover painting for Moorcock’s Masters of the Pit.

An illo from Steranko’s Comixscene. I have heard that this was originally a Talon pic.

I have heard this is also a Talon drawing. It illustrates one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about Steranko’s heroic fantasy art: lots of incidental gear. That’s something a wandering mercenary would have. Visual ‘easter eggs’.

Jim’s iconic painting of Eric John Stark. Leigh Brackett hand-picked this art for The Ginger Star almost exactly fifty years ago.

Jim’s concept art for Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Below is the art Steranko did for Radical Comics’ Hercules comics back in 2008.

Well, there you have it. For those unaware of it, Mr. Steranko can still be found on X/Twitter, tweeting feisty comments now n' then. So, sword-brothers, raise your mead-horns high in honor of Jim Steranko, a living legend!