Robert E. Howard and Conan: The Shadow Library Re-Organized

 

Stan Lee Presents Conan the Barbarian: Volumes #2 and #5

The Hills of the Dead; The Hour of the Dragon; Worms of the Earth; Conan; Conan of Cimmeria; Conan of the Isles … Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian; The Best of Robert E. Howard Vol. I: Crimson Shadows; The Best of Robert E. Howard Vol. II: Grim Lands; Bran Mak Morn: The Last King; The Conquering Sword of Conan; The Bloody Crown of Conan; The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard; Kull: Exile of Atlantis; The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane … Robert E. Howard

The Riot at Bucksnort and Other Western Tales; The Black Stranger and Other American Tales; El Borak and Other Desert Adventures; Boxing Stories … Robert E. Howard

The Blade of Conan … L. Sprague de Camp (ed.)

The Spell of Conan … L. Sprague de Camp (ed.)

Oh, Robert E., Robert E., the one authentic classical Texas fantasist. Fantasist almost by accident; he tried his hand at all sorts of pulp writing, so long as it was red-blooded adventure. He had his most lasting success with his character Conan and the Hyborian Age, though by the end of his short, tragic life he had turned from ‘weird tales’ to Westerns. He had more or less invented the Sword and Sorcery subgenre of Fantasy, but the appreciation of his work came too late to help him.

And how did I find him? “In 1966, [L. Sprague] de Camp made a deal with Lancer Books to republish the Conan series, which led to the "First Howard Boom" of the 1970s; their popularity was enhanced by the cover artwork of Frank Frazetta on most of the volumes. Many of his works were reprinted (some printed for the first time) and they expanded into other media such as comic books and films. The Conan stories were increasingly edited by de Camp and the series was extended by pastiches until they replaced the original stories. In response, a puristic movement grew up demanding Howard's original, un-edited stories. The first boom ended in the mid-1980s. In the late 1990s and early 21st century, the "Second Howard Boom" occurred. This saw the printing of new collections of Howard's work, with the restored texts desired by purists.” – Wikipedia.

By the late Seventies I was really into Fantasy, and Howard was pretty popular in the neighborhood. I was mostly engaged by the Marvel comics and later The Savage Sword of Conan comic magazines. I collected a smattering of the Lancer novels but on the whole did not find Sword-and-Sorcery as engaging as more ‘High Fantasy’ works, such as Tolkien. During that “Second Howard Boom” I tried getting all the Del Rey collected works and some of the Howard published by Bison Books. This led me to a realization: I did not really much care for his writing, even if purged of the additions of later editors. With a bit of a sentimental qualm and the regrets of a ‘student of fantasy’, I sold most of my Robert E. Howard materials, although I retain all my original comic magazines.