fourcolorcure wrote:
This is the first time I'm reading most of this material and though Thomas' foreword is a touch self-deprecating and oddly diparaging of Smith, it's easy to see why this material is held in the esteem it is.

I haven't read this foreword, unless it is recycled from The Chronicles of Conan. I always enjoy Roy's background pieces, which - unlike Stan's vacuous contributions - are entertaining, funny AND informative. I'm currently slowly working my way through the Chronicles (just finished vol. 9) but even though they languished on my shelves for a long time, I did religiously read every foreword by Roy before shelving them.

About the tone; yes Roy does seem especially self-deprecating about his writing. Unnecessarily so if you ask me because most of his original Conan tales were heads and shoulders above most of the pastiches he adapted. And no one has had such a good feel for Conan's character and Howard's prose since Robert E. himself.
He may well be disparaging of Barry Smith, which is understandable because Barry has become increasingly dismissive of Roy, describing him as the "Super Adaptoid" (funny but overly harsh).
Curious but understandable in the light of his strained relationship with DH that Barry didn't provide a foreword himself .
I love Barry Smith but he is a pompous ass at times and despite what he himself thinks, not much of a writer.
I think his Storyteller project bombed, not because of the format or Dark Horse's lack of promotion, but rather because it was poorly written. It contained some fine artwork (I even bought the hardcovers from Fantagraphics) but the stories were entertaining enough but nothing special.