In honor of the legendary Jim Steranko’s eighty-eighth birthday, I’m going to look back at one of his projects that has fascinated and haunted me for six decades. I’m referring, of course, to Talon—the coolest sword-and-sorcery hero that never (quite) was.

I'm pretty sure the first time I ever read about Talon was in a back issue of Comixscene in the late 1970s. I was already a Steranko fan and ran into a stash of his Comixscene/Mediascene magazines. In it was a big ad for Talon, saying that a "visual novel" was coming at some point in the future. I lost all of those mags in the Flood, but I'm pretty sure the ad below was at least one of the ads I saw for Talon. Check it out:

"From across the centuries: TALON...the Mightiest Barbarian Adventure Ever Told!"

Coming from Jim Steranko, that'll get your blood pumpin'. I immediately signed on to Team Talon--to the extent that was possible.

As I recall, there were a few other pics of Talon in those various magazines. There was definitely a poster for sale...and a fine poster it was:

Other than that, I never really heard much more about Talon. Jim would go on to do occasional swordly stuff through the Eighties and beyond, but nothing new regarding Talon ever saw the light.

So, what happened? Who was Talon supposed to be and what stories did Steranko plan to tell about him? Well, I’ve had to delve into ancient, crumbling scrolls from the Aquarian Age to puzzle out a few hints. That was an age long before the Fall of the Towers, before the Day When the Wall Came Down. Those were the Days of Grooviness and Disarray.

The first clue lies within Marvel Mirror #3, a Marvel Comics fanzine from 1968. In it, Steranko tells Tony Isabella that he's been talking to Stan Lee about a new character, "Talon the Timeless--a sword and sorcery epic! Yeah!". Jim was excited about this project.

That interview was published in 1968, as I said. Judging from the clues, I'd say it was done in early 1968. When Steranko refers to him pitching 'Talon the Timeless' to Stan, that was probably in '67. I've pointed out elsewhere that 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. As always, Steranko was a visionary.

Publication-wise, the next Talon-related stuff to get published were three very cool pin-ups from 1968's Witzend #5, an underground magazine founded by the great Wally Wood.

Above is the first illo from Jim’s ‘Prevue’. The copyright appears to be ‘1968’. All three of the pin-ups are high-grade, finished works. That date puts an upper limit, chronology-wise, on when Jim got serious about Talon. This brings us to the strange case of Gary Groth's Fantastic Fanzine #11, published in early 1970. Groth interviewed Steranko. As usual with Jim, the interview is enlightening and entertaining. He remains one of the greatest raconteurs in all of mass media. Groth's tape recorder screwed up, so we lost part of Steranko's answer to the question about 'Talon the Timeless'. Here is most of what survived:

“Jim: I'm publishing my own TALON strip. I was saying that the Comics Code --- no strip could be produced under the Comics Code and still have the force of the original. There's got to be enough sex and blood in every Sword £ Sorcery story to carry the formula through. Like the Tarzan stories [in the comics] were really terrible. They were juvenile stories; they were adolescent material. And in order to keep any interest, you've gotta have enough blood and sex in the stories. The Comics Code would never let us do it. TALON was originally slated for Marvel publication, but they couldn't take it. I'm publishing it myself now with Rich Hauser. Do you know Hauser?

Groth: I've never corresponded with him, or anything like that. I've seen some of his work, and read his 'zine, though.

Jim: Well, I've talked with him this morning as a matter of fact. TALON will come out in a 30 to 40 page book; the size of Life Magazine, in comic book format--full color, wrap-around cover painting, and it will sell for five dollars. If it's successful, there will be others.
Check your local fanzine for time and place. It will be announced...soon. Next question."

Notice something interesting about that? Steranko never calls his character 'Talon the Timeless'. Instead, it's simply 'Talon'. Previously, Groth did refer to 'Talon the Timeless' but Steranko didn't follow his lead.

I'm thinking—judging from internal clues—that the interview was done in 1969 at the latest. There's a good chance that it might've even taken place late 1968. Whenever it was, the Witzend 'Prevue' gallery and this interview seem to indicate that the 'Timeless' had been dropped off of 'Talon' by Steranko by late ‘68.

Maybe it's just me, but 'Talon the Timeless' sounds a lot like some unknown '60s Marvel character from Lee/Kirby/Ditko. Steranko deeply respected Jack Kirby back then--and still does. If Jim was pitching Talon to Stan Lee, it's easy to see him slapping that Kirbyesque moniker on the end. However, when Stan shut down the idea--as he later tried to do with Conan--maybe Steranko decided to drop that appendage.

Getting back to the Fantastic Fanzine interview…as was the case with many such early interviews, Jim gave his interviewer/fanziner permission to publish some art. In this case, two early sketches from the ‘Talon the Timeless’ phase. Here they are:

Crude but vigorous. If I’m right and Steranko came up with the ‘Talon’ concept in 1967 or perhaps late 1966, this isn’t surprising. He literally started doing pro work for comics in 1966. Jim was still getting his footing and developing his style. Compare these to the Talon ‘Prevue’ pinup above. Even if that one is a whole two years later than these two, it’s a startling leap in quality. Obviously, Steranko didn’t intend these preliminary sketches for professional publication. He was just getting the word out by way of Groth’s fanzine.

Finally, I have to comment on a couple things about Talon himself. Even this early, we see the ‘white streak’ in his hair, an element that still appears years later in the poster above. Also, I dig the flamberge sword. They’re well-known now, but sixty years ago you had to be a bladed weapons nerd to have any idea they existed.

Well, this is running long and late. I’ll see all of you Steranko fans and aficionados of cool art in Part Two.