Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborea:
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros

In the northern glaciers strange idols have been found, hinting at the civilization which inhabited those regions tens of thousands of years in the past. Before the Ice Age, there was the lost continent of Hyperborea, a world of cruelty and beauty. In search of the treasures of a lost city, two thieves set off into the jungle, where a strange fate awaits them...

Enter a world of sumptuous decay and everpresent menace. The work of Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) resembles a cross between Lovecraft, Poe and Robert E. Howard: pulpy fantasy action stories, beautifully described, which nevertheless have an everpresent element of horror and cynicism. He carved out strange settings like the Bronze Age jungle continent of Hyperborea, the dusky future world of Zothique, and many other worlds of science fiction and horror. Smith is one of the greatest "pre-Tolkein" fantasy writers, in whose stories survival is more of a concern than good or evil.

Hyperborea is an adaptation of Smith's story The Tale of Satampra Zeiros. In addition to a 20-page comic by myself, it contains a map of Hyperborea and additional drawings by my friend Adam Burns (probably best known as the American illustrator for Viz's Shonen Jump magazine and creator of "Okay! Jump Guy"). It was released through Diamond Comic Distributors in September 2004.

Hyperborea is a 24-page black and white standard-sized comic which retails for $2.94 in the USA and $4.50 in Canada.

If you would like to know more about Clark Ashton Smith, please visit The Eldritch Dark.