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From the DRIN - December Internet
Newsletter
The Coming of Conan and The
Savage Tales of Soloman Kane: Del Rey Executive Editor Steve Saffel
relates his fascination with Robert E. Howard.
Back in the early
'70s, when books were still printed on paper and there weren't ten
thousand new fantasy novels coming out every month, I first encountered
Conan the Barbarian. Like many, I first read the groundbreaking
Marvel Comic by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, and from there I journeyed to
the original Robert E. Howard stories published in paperback by Lancer
Books. I still have those books, though the glue has disintegrated,
leaving the covers loose from the spine.
Howard took me to
incredible lands, from the savage jungles of the Pictish Wilderness to the
frozen peaks of Cimmeria to the deadly deserts of Turan. Across these
lands strode Conan, "black haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a
reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth." (Today,
as I write this, it all sounds so grandiose, but there's no other way I
can think of to express the excitement those books inspired. There were
exotic women, bloody swordfights, bizarre creatures, and foes wrapped in
pure evil. As a reader, I was hopelessly mesmerized.)
Over the years, many of the pulp writers have become
dated. Their writing has ceased to excite. Sometimes, you can't look back.
Not so with Robert E. Howard. This is a man who, if we can believe the
movie The Whole Wide World, stood over his typewriter roaring out the
story as he struck at the keys. And time hasn't dulled the impact--the
swords are still as sharp, the women every bit as sexy, and Conan is ...
well, Conan!
Many have tried to duplicate his work, and some have
come close, but still there's only one Robert E. Howard. So once again I'm
at a loss for words--as I try to explain how excited I am to be able to
bring Howard's original works back into print in the United States. We're
publishing affordable trade paperback editions of the brilliantly
illustrated Wandering Star limited editions produced in Britain, with
breathtaking artwork by Mark Schultz and Gary Gianni. Each edition is
thick with black-and-white illustrations, and the text is pure Howard. No
collaborations, no pastiches--just the real thing.
So you won't
miss a single book, here's the schedule:
- The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (December 2003) -
illustrated by Mark Shultz
- The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (Summer 2004) - illustrated
by Gary Gianni
- The Bloody Crown of Conan (Fall 2004) - illustrated by Gary
Gianni
- Bran Mak Morn: The Last King (May 2005) - illustrated by Gary
Gianni
- The Conquering Sword of Conan (Fall 2006) - illustrated by
Greg Manchess
Certainly Conan is in the midst of a
full-blown renaissance, with new material generating tremendous excitement
over at Dark Horse Comics, as well (yes, we've come full circle). And he's
joined by Howard's other great heroes. Solomon Kane, the dark-cloaked
Puritan swashbuckler, and Bran Mak Morn, king of the savage Picts, have
both inspired readers for decades. Their adventures have become legendary
in their own right.
The Del Rey books will feature the original
stories, the fragments, the proposals--much of this material available for
the first time in decades, some of it appearing for the first time ever!
There will be tales produced from Howard's original manuscripts, others
will be reproduced exactly as they appeared in the classic magazine Weird
Tales. For an editor like me, it's a dream come true, and for you, the
reader, I think it will be the same. |
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