"This is Thak. Some would call him an ape, but he is almost as different from a real ape as he is different from a real man. His people dwell far to the east, in the mountains that fringe the eastern frontiers of Zamora."
- Nabonidus, Rogues in the House
There's been a bit of a buzz for the last couple of years from various blogs and YouTube channels celebrating "Cimmerian September", a way to commemorate Robert E. Howard's Conan, the legendary barbarian warrior who has enjoyed a lasting popularity since the 1960's. I'll be jumping on the ox-cart this time and as a result you'll see more posts like this one dotted throughout the rest of the month.
My introduction to sword & sorcery was John Jakes' "The Mirror of Wizardry" and Carter and de Camp's pastiche, "Conan and the Cenotaph" in the digest magazine WORLDS OF FANTASY #1 (1968). I liked the Brak story alright, but I wondered who this Conan fellow was. I crossed over that threshold when I discovered my first Conan Lancer paperback, CONAN, and from then on grabbed every one that I could lay my hands on, preferably with Lancer's distinctive purple book block. I've still got my complete collection of Lancer Conan's and the last time I looked they were in pretty good condition, considering Lancer is notorious for lousy binding glue.
Read John Jake's Brak story, "The Mirror of Wizardry" HERE.
Read John Jake's Brak story, "The Pillars of Chambalor" HERE.
Last week, I posted Howard's "Rogues in the House", in recognition of Frank Frazetta's record-breaking sale for his cover for the Lancer paperback, CONAN. Today I'm offering Roy Thomas and Barry Smith's illustrated adaptation from Marvel's CONAN THE BARBARIAN #11 (November 1971).
Fantastic stuff! My first Conan experience was with Conan the Conqueror from Lancer. I have a few of the Lancer books, but completed my first batch of Conans during the later Ace Books era when they snatched up Lancer's license. This is Windsor-Smith at his finest, not yet mature but full of vigor still.
ReplyDeleteThe Conan PB's rocked my world. It was interesting to see Smith's work evolve over his 24-issue run. And then we get Buscema!
ReplyDeleteThe painting used on that Lancer paperback just sold for a record $13.5m. It was still in the possession of the Frazetta family.
ReplyDeleteAs you posted a couple of days ago, I just realised.
DeleteNot too many props can be given to REH's greatest creation, I say!
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