Product Description: Since his first appearance in a 1932 pulp magazine, Conan the Barbarian has enjoyed every success available to a fictional character. Robert E. Howard, created the genre of sword and sorcery with his original stories; Frank Frazetta's definitive (and often imitated) Conan book covers set the standard for dynamic fantasy artwork; Roy Thomas, with Barry Smith and later John Buscema, used the character to push the boundaries of comic-book adventure; and Arnold Schwarzenegger launched his amazing film career. Now, with the character's popularity renewed thanks to the award-winning comics series by Kurt Busiek, Timothy Truman, Cary Nord, and Dave Stewart, all of these eras of Conan are examined under one cover in this lavishly illustrated book. Conan historian Paul Sammon looks at all the stages of the character's development, with commentary and archival material from the most integral players in that history, in this must-have book for anyone who's followed the barbarian through any of his incarnations.
ROBERT E. HOWARD THE BEST OF THE BEST! No true REH fan can pass this book up! It's got a history of everyone from writers to artists that have been involved with Conan; Arnold, Glen Lord, Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Frank Frazetta, and the list goes on and on. The art is awesome and there are some neat surprises!
Must reads: One Who Walked Alone,The Beast from the Abyss,Two Gun Bob,The Last of the Trunk, Blood & Thunder-The Life&Art of REH, Selected Letters of REH, Bran Mak Morn, Soloman Kane, Corman Mac Art, Kull, Lord of Samarcand, Crimson Shadows I & II - The Best of REH, The Black Stranger has the scariest story ever called Pigeons From Hell. Tell others about REH - (1906-1936).
the Conan package well presented I've been a Conan reader and fan (books first, then comics, then any and all of the "pastiche" books out now by Roland Green, De camp, etc.) since the mid 60's. Started with the Lancer sets, then Marvel's Barry Smith comic version, then collecting the early Gnomes, so, while I may not be a Conan "expert", I've sure been there (and still am, to a great extent, although I have diversified quite a bit!). This is a great Conan chronology, including the writer, Robert E Howard, and his life and influences. Not a biography of Howard, you can get much more comprehensive information about him in other places, but a nicely detailed progression and biography of sorts of the Conan character in prose and art. (there are a pics of Arnold as Conan...too many in my opinion... and, while I do consider him the quintessential Conan of the Movies, I can certainly take him or leave him in "real" life! there are also movie stills of the other characters in the Conan movies, including Grace Slick..) There is much detail, but not overwhelming, and enough to inspire one to find out more on Howard and his life. But the ART! That's what this one is really about...Loads of images of the Conan character by the best fantasy artists of the century, many full page and two page spreads...and a lot of info on the progression of Conan from the "Weird Tales" years to the later non-Howard stories. A great addition to the Conan library, and issued at about the same time as the oversize "Conan the Ultimate Guide..." by Roy Thomas, which I also highly recommend because it takes you into the World of Conan and highlights the geography and peoples of the Cimmerian's surroundings. (art in this one is fantastic as well) One word description: "Enjoy!"
Perfect book, except....... The book does a great job at telling the tale of Conan, from very early life of ROH (with some rare photos) to Dark Horse... But don't expect to find Conan's life story... The book is more interested (correctly) on discovering the history of the Cimmerian in various media... It divides the subject clearly and successfully... Moreover, you do not only find the history but sometimes the controversy etc... Its' virtual context is also pretty satisfactory... Most of Frazetta's great works can be seen and it even includes covers from all historic Conan books (they're very funny) As a result, I've started to read my Conan comic archive once again... and to be honest, after reading the book, I started to give more credit to Barry Smith's work...
So why 4 stars instead of 5.!? The most important reason (maybe 95 % of the lost star) is that the book covers John Buscema only about a single page... When you say the name "Conan" most of old-school fans of Conan comics would first recall the images pencilled by Buscema... I mean, "Big John" (RIP) had set the benchmark image of Conan... He deserves at least (if not more) as much coverage as those like Lord, de Camp, Carter, Thomas and Frazetta... In fact if I could, I would rate the book 3.5 stars just because of this... and my brother thinks the book is almost "worthless" since it did not cover Buscema enough...
Another minor reason that I cut off a star is, the book covered the Conan movies too much... For me, the series deserve only some respect for attempting to carry Conan to the silver screen... but the films themselves (especially "The Destroyer") were a disgrace to the Barbarian as they departed from the original saga and turned into some travesty... At least they could dye Arnold's hair black... all conan stories begin with the famous prologue that says "Hither came Conan the Cimmerian. Black haired, sullen eyed...".. Whatever, this is not the place to criticize the film but the book...
As a summary, if you are less sensitive than me about Buscema and "Conan the Moviestar" issues, then it will be a great book to have...
a broad perspective If you know of Frank Frazetta, it is mostly thru his artwork, that has often graced the covers of many fantasy books and magazines. This book is a little different. Here, Frazetta appears also as a co-author. Unfortunately, I couldn't discern where his written contributions differ from those of Sammon. So maybe after all, Frazetta's main contribution are those colour plates drawn by him.
The book offers a multi-decade overview of Conan. You get to step back from any given Conan book, and many of these are still in print. The broader perspective is given, and analysed. Showing the contributions of artists like Frazetta himself, that have helped fix a canonical imagery of Conan. And also of course, the new Conan books, that keep getting written. In totality, the Conan library is perhaps not as prodigious as the Star Trek books, or even the Star Wars ones. But enough Conan material has been written that this book is long overdue.
Anything Goes Trivia
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