(Art by John Forte)
(Art by Frank Kelly Freas)
(Art by Ed Emshwiller)
(Art by Ed Emshwiller)
(Art by Wally Wood)
I've been reading up on the publishing history of Robert E. Howard's Conan and while doing so discovered all over again the lovely Gnome Press editions of the stories which appeared in the 1950's. The first appeared in 1950 and the final volume in 1957. These are the stories as reorganized and to some extent re-imagined by L. Sprague De Camp. They quit doing them for a very simple reason, they ran out of Conan stories, so the last one is a bit of fan fiction by Bjorn Nyberg with additions and adjustments by De Camp. The famous Lancer paperbacks which ignited the Conan craze in the 1960's were mostly just reprints of the material first organized in these handsome tomes.
Many folks and fans of REH decry the involvement of De Camp and his willingness to adapt and alter the original REH material. That's an argument for another day, but it's clear to me without his efforts, it's unlikely that Conan might be the recognizable character he is today. Would love to have a set of these on my shelves, but the price is prohibitive. Still, they are exceedingly nice to look at.
Rip Off
This would, indeed, be a nice set to own, but the Lancer pb's will have to do. I agree with you on De Camp. Please take it easy in him, Carter, et al. While purists may decry their involvement in the Conan chronicles, we have them to thank for re-introducing us to this fabulous character.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to read Conan in its raw REH form, but that doesn't mean that I cannot see how critical De Camp was. It's actually been a very long time since I read the pastiches and I might need to do that sooner than later.
DeleteOne only needs to refer to Lovecraft for the multitude of pastiches based on his writings. He is the Crown Prince of Pastiches! As always with this form, they vary in quality.
ReplyDeleteLovecraft has become an industry. I'm sometimes amazed at the penetration of Lovecraft into modern society.
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