Bran Mak Morn is an utterly fascinating character and one of the most mysterious created by Robert E. Howard. The Ballantine collection Bran Mak Morn - The Last King actually is a collection of not just Howard's Bran Mak Morn stories, but of his Pict stories in general.
Only three stories about Bran Mak Morn were published in Howard's lifetime, and only one, the outstanding "Worms of the Earth" is a full-fledged story from the Pictish king's perspective. Also included are "Kings of the Night" which co-stars Kull of Valusia and "The Dark Man" which showcases not Bran himself but his enigmatic statue which is the object of worship a thousand years after his death. One story rejected originally by Weird Tales was "Men of the Shadows" which lays out the Pictish history very nicely in a wonderful tale.
Of all of Howard's burly heroes, the smaller dark king of the Picts seems in many ways the closest to the man himself.
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There was a Marvel adaptation of Worms of The Earth.
ReplyDeleteIf I recollect correctly that was drawn by Tim Conrad in his full-on BWS mode.
DeleteYou might be thinking of Cross Plains Comics/Wandering Star color version by Roy Thomas and Tim Conrad. I picked up my copy at the Robert E. Howard house/museum in Cross Plains, Texas.
ReplyDeleteWe are both right. I looked it up at the GCD and that Wandering Star issue reprinted the story by Thomas and Conrad from the pages of The Savage Sword of Conan. I have to say that Wandering Star issue has a fantastic cover by Mark Shultz. Thanks for bringing my attention to it.
DeleteI recently repurchasd these stories in a Baen books collection, they still hold up to me as some of REH's best stories. It would have been nice to see more of BMM's tales in comic form.
ReplyDeleteI rather like them myself.
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