"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).
