30 thoughts on “The Best Editions of Conan by Robert E. Howard”
I cant like this video enough. Ive been a fan of Conan for so long, keep em coming! ps Im so getting that black book you showed. Doesn't matter how long it takes!
A very excellent review of recommended Conan editions. While I get that the focus here is on Conan an added bonus of the Del Rey editions is that the series went on to collect Howard’s lesser known characters including Kull, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane and a few others plus his horror and other adventuring tales. Does the Del Rey series not contain the entirety of Howard’s stories?
SUBSCRIBED!!! You answered what ive been trying to self google search for WEEKS!! I honestly didnt want you to stop talking, Cannot wait for the next video of the Phoenix and the sword. Cheers My Friend
I got the complete chronicles leatherbound in a South Carolina bookstore last year, and man am I lucky it was a decent price AND was a good edition. I also got some of the paperbacks by Lin Carter just for the extra stories.
One of the pivotal moments of my life was coming upon the Lancer Books' "Conan the Adventurer" with its Frazetta cover in the spinning book rack at my local convenience store when I was in my early teens.
I just discovered your video blog a few days ago. What could i say? Let's be honest! One of the best video blog of books i've ever seen! And yeah, i was a big fan of the Conan movie from my childhood, but i didn't underdtand its philosophy back than, didn't know what the riddle of steel really is. Later when i was around 10 i belive, i started to read more and more books etc etc.. This was relly limited cos i'm from hungary and at time i didn't even speak english 😀 3 years ago i moved to Scotland and maybe that is why i tried to read english books, and i told myself: why not? So as i said i just discovered your blog and i enjoy totally! I will watch all your videos as i can do, but Honestly you have lots of good themes. And why am i here? Cos of conan! Hats off and Respect sir. Thank you i can be a part of your subscribers! Cheers from Edinburgh!
I thought Frazetta’s Conan covers were done in the 60’s which popularized Conan enough for a Marvel to do the comic. Also, Boris didn’t do any of those paperback book covers (though I’m sure he would have done a fine job, given his later great covers for SAVAGE SWORD).
I had those original De Camp paperbacks and recently sold them all on eBay because I already have all the Frazetta Conan art in several Frazetta books, and the stories in the Wandering Star/Del Rey editions.
By the way, Subterranean Press continued publishing some of the high-end REH editions after Wandering Star stopped doing so. I wish I had known about them doing so when they were released, because they’re too expensive to buy now.
Very good, and helpful. Have just been buying the 70’s paperbacks – for the Frazetta artwork, as they hold much nostalgic feeling for my youth, and can’t help but see F.F.’s paintings as part of the ‘real deal’, as you say. No other visualisations capture that arcane undercurrent, for me – ‘tho I appreciate the text itself is corrupted.
The movie franchise: The Chronicles of Reddick and Pitch Black is nothing but Conan stories. Also, it was the fantastic paintings of Frank Franzetta which captured the imagination of Conan the Barbarian. The paperbacks came out years before the Marvell comic version.
Really cool survey. I read the Warren publications, Creepy and Eerie, in the mid 60s which featured my first exposure to Robert E. Howard. Editor/writer Archie Goodwin created a barbarian character called Thane, the hero of a half dozen fantasy stories that ran in Creepy, and the final Thane tale was the subject of an awesome Frazetta cover of issue #27 in 1969. The series received positive feedback in the letter columns, readers favorably compared Thane to REH's Conan. I was 8 or 9 years old, and even at that young age, made a mental note of Howard and Conan. In 1966 /67 Lancer started publishing the Decamp-edited Conan series which would persist into the 70s and the 80s under Ace, and no doubt influenced Goodwin. Ads for the Lancer books appeared in the Warren publications in 1969, and the black and white thumbnails of Frazetta's Conan covers blew my mind. I asked my dad, "What was the Hyborian Age?" LOL A year later he bought me Conan the Conqueror, and I started buying Marvel's Conan comic with issue #4's adaptation of The Tower of the Elephant. Over the next couple of years I completed my collection of the Lancer books. Nerd fanboy culture was a bit more physical back then— my friends and I played in the woods with machetes, axes, and tomahawks, re-enacting our favorite Conan scenes, and we got into weights inspired by Conan's exploits. The Lancer/Ace Conans were pretty much reprints of the older Gnome Press versions that DeCamp had published in the 1950s. I credit DeCamp with keeping the character alive, despite his mercenary motives and weak stories. in 1996, on the 60th anniversary of Howard's death, I rode my Harley to Cross Plains, TX, for the Howard Day celebration. I met Glenn Lord, viewed original Howard manuscripts and copies of Weird Tales on display at the town library, and camped out in Howard's backyard. It was great that Howard's work was finally treated with respect in those publications you cite. I hope for a similarly respectful film adaptation of Conan one day, as opposed to the garbage Milius movies. Arnold's Conan would piss his diapers if confronted by REH's Conan.
I was lucky enough to get the chronicles at a second hand store for $4 aus. Feeling very lucky at the moment. Thank you for your review. Reading at the moment
Robert was writing with a lot of true history that made people nervous Mithra for instance was sun worship before son worship, but it didn't fit the narrative of the time
I started with the Le Sprague de Camp series back in the 60s, and spread out to the Kull series, Brak Morn and others. I also read Wagner and Robert Jordan and Solomon Kane.
I cant like this video enough. Ive been a fan of Conan for so long, keep em coming!
ps Im so getting that black book you showed. Doesn't matter how long it takes!
This is good video
A very excellent review of recommended Conan editions. While I get that the focus here is on Conan an added bonus of the Del Rey editions is that the series went on to collect Howard’s lesser known characters including Kull, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane and a few others plus his horror and other adventuring tales. Does the Del Rey series not contain the entirety of Howard’s stories?
SUBSCRIBED!!! You answered what ive been trying to self google search for WEEKS!! I honestly didnt want you to stop talking, Cannot wait for the next video of the Phoenix and the sword. Cheers My Friend
I got the complete chronicles leatherbound in a South Carolina bookstore last year, and man am I lucky it was a decent price AND was a good edition. I also got some of the paperbacks by Lin Carter just for the extra stories.
One of the pivotal moments of my life was coming upon the Lancer Books' "Conan the Adventurer" with its Frazetta cover in the spinning book rack at my local convenience store when I was in my early teens.
Fantastic video!
Awesome video! I love your enthusiasm for Robert E. Howard’s work. Subscribed!
Picked up the one volume chronicles about a year ago, shipped from the UK from Blackwell books, only about $35 total!
A great and a long–awaited video. I'm really excited about it
Great stuff. Love your content
This three-volume edition has a hardcover version?
Just got the leather bound edition! Thanks for confirming my wants lol
The Easton press is amazing looking
Not the price tag though
But I’m going to be proud to hang onto this in my book collection for years to come
I just discovered your video blog a few days ago. What could i say?
Let's be honest! One of the best video blog of books i've ever seen!
And yeah, i was a big fan of the Conan movie from my childhood, but i didn't underdtand its philosophy back than, didn't know what the riddle of steel really is. Later when i was around 10 i belive, i started to read more and more books etc etc.. This was relly limited cos i'm from hungary and at time i didn't even speak english 😀
3 years ago i moved to Scotland and maybe that is why i tried to read english books, and i told myself: why not?
So as i said i just discovered your blog and i enjoy totally! I will watch all your videos as i can do, but Honestly you have lots of good themes. And why am i here? Cos of conan! Hats off and Respect sir. Thank you i can be a part of your subscribers!
Cheers from Edinburgh!
Thank you for this video! I picked up the volumes you recommend from Del Rey and I am loving them so far
I thought Frazetta’s Conan covers were done in the 60’s which popularized Conan enough for a Marvel to do the comic. Also, Boris didn’t do any of those paperback book covers (though I’m sure he would have done a fine job, given his later great covers for SAVAGE SWORD).
I had those original De Camp paperbacks and recently sold them all on eBay because I already have all the Frazetta Conan art in several Frazetta books, and the stories in the Wandering Star/Del Rey editions.
By the way, Subterranean Press continued publishing some of the high-end REH editions after Wandering Star stopped doing so. I wish I had known about them doing so when they were released, because they’re too expensive to buy now.
Very good, and helpful. Have just been buying the 70’s paperbacks – for the Frazetta artwork, as they hold much nostalgic feeling for my youth, and can’t help but see F.F.’s paintings as part of the ‘real deal’, as you say. No other visualisations capture that arcane undercurrent, for me – ‘tho I appreciate the text itself is corrupted.
Excellent, very helpful. You have a new subscriber! I'm working my way through the series with my son. Thank you
The movie franchise: The Chronicles of Reddick and Pitch Black is nothing but Conan stories. Also, it was the fantastic paintings of Frank Franzetta which captured the imagination of Conan the Barbarian. The paperbacks came out years before the Marvell comic version.
Really cool survey. I read the Warren publications, Creepy and Eerie, in the mid 60s which featured my first exposure to Robert E. Howard. Editor/writer Archie Goodwin created a barbarian character called Thane, the hero of a half dozen fantasy stories that ran in Creepy, and the final Thane tale was the subject of an awesome Frazetta cover of issue #27 in 1969. The series received positive feedback in the letter columns, readers favorably compared Thane to REH's Conan. I was 8 or 9 years old, and even at that young age, made a mental note of Howard and Conan. In 1966 /67 Lancer started publishing the Decamp-edited Conan series which would persist into the 70s and the 80s under Ace, and no doubt influenced Goodwin. Ads for the Lancer books appeared in the Warren publications in 1969, and the black and white thumbnails of Frazetta's Conan covers blew my mind. I asked my dad, "What was the Hyborian Age?" LOL A year later he bought me Conan the Conqueror, and I started buying Marvel's Conan comic with issue #4's adaptation of The Tower of the Elephant. Over the next couple of years I completed my collection of the Lancer books. Nerd fanboy culture was a bit more physical back then— my friends and I played in the woods with machetes, axes, and tomahawks, re-enacting our favorite Conan scenes, and we got into weights inspired by Conan's exploits. The Lancer/Ace Conans were pretty much reprints of the older Gnome Press versions that DeCamp had published in the 1950s. I credit DeCamp with keeping the character alive, despite his mercenary motives and weak stories. in 1996, on the 60th anniversary of Howard's death, I rode my Harley to Cross Plains, TX, for the Howard Day celebration. I met Glenn Lord, viewed original Howard manuscripts and copies of Weird Tales on display at the town library, and camped out in Howard's backyard. It was great that Howard's work was finally treated with respect in those publications you cite. I hope for a similarly respectful film adaptation of Conan one day, as opposed to the garbage Milius movies. Arnold's Conan would piss his diapers if confronted by REH's Conan.
I was lucky enough to get the chronicles at a second hand store for $4 aus. Feeling very lucky at the moment. Thank you for your review. Reading at the moment
I've heard that hardcover edition is censored and edited to some degree. Can you confirm?
"back when it still rained in California" I got a good chuckle from that one. I love the video, love Conan. This was super interesting.
Robert was writing with a lot of true history that made people nervous Mithra for instance was sun worship before son worship, but it didn't fit the narrative of the time
Clear and excellent advice. Bravo. Now skedaddle off to work, man. Roger needs more purchasing power …
Well said with the Del Rey editions, always recommend that for people looking to get into the character.
I started with the Le Sprague de Camp series back in the 60s, and spread out to the Kull series, Brak Morn and others. I also read Wagner and Robert Jordan and Solomon Kane.
Sweet books dude!