Lancer Books!

I've been doing a lot of reading about Robert E. Howard lately and of course one of the key elements of REH's continuing fame was the revival of Conan in the Lancer paperbacks way back in the 60's. Conan was a phenom in the pulps, was revived in the 50's in some handsome hardbacks, but it was the blend of Howard's blood and thunder (as could be detected under the revisions of his editors and posthumous collaborators) and Frank Frazetta's muscular imaginings that propelled Conan into the next level of prominence. Off those Lancer paperbacks came the comic book, which eventually led to the magazine which led to the movie and then well, it became a bit of a mash, but you see my point. Without Lancer, there likely would've been no modern Conan, maybe, but maybe not.

Lancer also reprinted some of the earliest Marvel comics, offering up B&W versions of the FF (two volumes), Spidey, Thor, Hulk, and DD. These are some of the jewels in my collection. I love these funky old reprints, as they break apart the classic pages and fit them onto the paperback pages. They're fun to read, if you read them very very carefully.

I've tried to do some research on Lancer, but I find little. They apparently did a lot of exploitation material, and a series called "Man From O.R.G.Y." gets my attention, it appears to be a mildly pornographic version of James Bond. I've never read one, but I bet it's fun. Lancer faded away in the 70's, and the Conan franchise shifted over to Ace Books without missing a beat. While it was the Lancer version of Conan the Conqueror that introduced me to the character, it was the Ace paperbacks in which I first read the balance of the Conan material. I've picked up a few of the original Lancers since, and I'd like to have a full run perhaps someday.

Lancers are fun books to look for. They often have colored edges and have a feel dissimilar from other paperbacks of the time. Not unlike Charlton comics which have a unique feel to the covers, Lancers have that same offbeat tactile quality. Anyone else into Lancer or know a bit more about the company. For a company that seemed so seminal to the the fantasy and comics hobbies, there's precious little out there I can find.

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