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Conan the Barbarian

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This article is about the character. For other uses, see Conan the Barbarian (disambiguation).
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"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."
-- Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the Sword, 1932.
Illustration by Mark Schultz.

Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian, from the name of his homeland, Cimmeria) is a fictional character often associated with the low fantasy, sword-and-sorcery subgenre, also known as heroic fantasy. He is the most famous fictional barbarian, and indeed one of the best known and most universally recognizable iconic figures in modern popular culture.[1]

Created by American writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy pulp stories sold to Weird Tales magazine, the character has since appeared in licensed books, comics, films, television programs and video games, contributing to his long-standing popularity.

Conan the Barbarian is also the name of a Gnome Press collection of stories published in 1954, a comic published by Marvel Comics beginning in 1970, a film and its novelization in 1982.

Publication history

Conan the Cimmerian was created by Robert E. Howard and was the spiritual successor to an earlier character Kull of Atlantis. For months, Howard had been in search of a new character to market to the burgeoning pulp outlets of the early 1930s. In October 1931, Howard submitted a short story entitled "People of the Dark" to Clayton Publications' new magazine, Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror (June 1932). "People of the Dark" is a remembrance story of "past lives" and, in its first-person narrative, the protagonist describes one of his previous incarnations: Conan of the Reavers, a black-haired anti-hero who swears by a deity called Crom. Howard scholars believe this Conan to be a forerunner of the more famous namesake.

In February 1932, Howard vacationed to a border town on the lower Rio Grande to enjoy the local flavor. During this trip, he further conceived the character of Conan and also wrote the poem Cimmeria, much of which echoes specific passages in Plutarch's Lives. There is a strong likelihood that Howard's conception of Conan and the Hyborian Age originated in Thomas Bulfinch's The Outline of Mythology (1913) which enthused Howard to "coalesce into a coherent whole his literary aspirations and the strong physical, autobiographical elements underlying the creation of Conan." [2]

File:Conan phoenix on sword.jpg
An interior Weird Tales illustration sketched by, assumably, Margaret Brundage in 1932. The illustration depicts a scene from Robert E. Howard's The Phoenix on the Sword.

The original short story was written by Robert E. Howard and first appeared in a 1932 issue of Weird Tales magazine.

Having digested these prior influences and returned from his trip, Howard rewrote a rejected Kull story "By This Axe I Rule" (May 1929) with his new hero in mind, re-titling it "The Phoenix on the Sword." Howard also wrote "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," inspired by the Greek myth of Daphne, and submitted both stories to Weird Tales magazine. Although "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" and "The God in the Bowl" were refused by the publication, the magazine accepted "The Phoenix on the Sword" after requested polishing.

As such, Conan the Cimmerian first debuted in "The Phoenix on the Sword" in Weird Tales (December 1932), a syndicated magazine which would later became famous for its unique stable of notable authors including H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Tennessee Williams, Robert Bloch, Seabury Quinn and others. In late 1932, the acceptance of "The Phoenix on the Sword" by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright prompted Howard to write an 8,000 word essay for personal use detailing "the Hyborian Age," the now-famous fictional setting for Conan. Using this essay as his guideline, Howard began conceptualizing "The Tower of the Elephant," a new Conan story that would be the first to truly integrate his new conception of the Hyborian world, and thus to introduce the setting to the reader.

The publication and success of "The Tower of the Elephant" would spur Howard to write dozens of more Conan stories for Weird Tales. By the time of Howard's suicide in 1936, he had written over twenty-one tales, seventeen of which had been published.

Following Howard's death, the copyright of the Conan stories passed through several hands. Eventually, under the guidance of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, the stories were expurgated, revised and sometimes rewritten. For roughly forty years, the original versions of Howard's Conan stories remained out of print. Only with the Berkley editions in 1977 was an attempt made to return to the earliest published (Weird Tales) form of the texts, but these failed to displace the then standard versions. In the 1980s and 1990s, the copyright holders of the Conan franchise permitted Howard's stories to go out of print entirely, while continuing to sell Conan works by other authors.

In 2000, a British publisher, Gollancz Science Fiction, issued a two-volume, complete edition of Howard's Conan stories as part of their Fantasy Masterworks imprint, including several stories which had never seen print in their original form. Gollancz' edition used the original versions of the stories as published in Weird Tales.

In 2003, a British publisher named Wandering Star made an effort to both restore Howard's original manuscripts and to provide a more scholarly and historical view of the Conan stories. They published deluxe hardcover editions in England, which are being republished in the USA by the Del Rey imprint of Ballantine Books. The first book, Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) (2003; vt The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian 2003 US) includes Howard's notes on the fictional setting, as well as letters and poems concerning the genesis of his ideas. It also includes the first thirteen Conan short stories Howard wrote, published between 1932 and 1934. This volume has been followed by Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two (1934) (2004; vt The Bloody Crown of Conan (2005 US) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Three (1935-1936) (2005; vt The Conquering Sword of Conan 2005 US). Between the three books, all of the original unedited Robert E. Howard stories are finally available to readers for the first time.

Setting

A map of Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age.
Main article: Hyborian Age

The various stories of Conan the Cimmerian occur in the fictional "Hyborian Age," set after the destruction of Atlantis and before the rise of the known ancient civilizations. This is a specific epoch in a fictional timeline created by Howard for many of the low fantasy tales of his artificial legendry.

The reasons behind the invention of the Hyborian Age were perhaps commercial: Howard had an intense love for history and historical dramas; however, at the same time, he recognized the difficulties and the time-consuming research work needed in maintaining historical accuracy. By conceiving a timeless setting — "a vanished age" — and by carefully choosing names that resembled our past history, Howard shrewdly avoided the problem of historical anachronisms and the need for lengthy exposition.

According to Howard himself in "The Phoenix on the Sword," the adventures of Conan take place "...between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas..."

Personality and character

Conan is a Cimmerian (not to be confused with the historical Cimmerians), a barbarian of the far north. He was born on a battlefield and is the son of a blacksmith. Conan matured quickly as a youth and, by age fifteen, he was already a respected warrior who had participated in the destruction of the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium. After its destruction, he was struck by wanderlust and began the adventures chronicled by Howard, encountering skulking monsters, evil wizards, tavern wenches, and beautiful princesses. He roamed throughout Hyboria as a thief, outlaw, mercenary and pirate. As he grew older, he began commanding larger units of men and escalating his ambitions. In his forties, he seizes the crown of king of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of the Hyborian Age, having strangled the previous ruler on the steps of the throne. Although Conan's adventures often result in him performing heroic feats, his motivation for doing so is typically his own survival or for personal gain; thus, he displays many of the characteristics of an anti-hero.

Appearance

Conan has "sullen blue eyes" and a black "square-cut mane". Howard describes him as having a hairy chest and, while comic book interpretations often portray Conan as wearing a loincloth or other minimalist clothing, Howard describes the character as wearing whatever garb is typical for the land and culture in which Conan finds himself. Though Howard never gave a strict height or weight for Conan in a story, only describing him in loose terms like "giant" and "massive," he did once state that Conan and another of Howard's characters, the crusader Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, were "physical doubles" at 6'2" and 210 lbs (188 cm and 95 kg). In the tales no human is ever described as stronger than Conan, although several are mentioned as taller (such as the strangler Baal-pteor) or of larger bulk. Although Conan is muscular, Howard frequently compares his agility and way of moving to that of a panther (see for instance "Jewels of Gwahlur," "Beyond the Black River" or "Rogues in the House"). His skin is frequently characterised as bronzed from constant exposure to the sun. In his younger years, he is often depicted wearing a light chain shirt and a horned helmet, though appearances vary with different artists.

During his reign as King of Aquilonia, Conan was "... a tall man, mightily shouldered and deep of chest, with a massive corded neck and heavily muscled limbs. He was clad in silk and velvet, with the royal lions of Aquilonia worked in gold upon his rich jupon, and the crown of Aquilonia shone on his square-cut black mane; but the great sword at his side seemed more natural to him than the regal accoutrements. His brow was low and broad, his eyes a volcanic blue that smoldered as if with some inner fire. His dark, scarred, almost sinister face was that of a fighting-man, and his velvet garments could not conceal the hard, dangerous lines of his limbs." (The Hour of the Dragon which can be found in the anthology The Bloody Crown of Conan, pg. 89-90). He loses none of his vigour with age with the above description coming when he is in his mid-forties.

Though several later authors have referred to Conan as "Germanic-looking," Howard imagined the Cimmerians as a proto-Celtic people with mostly dark hair and blue or grey eyes. Racially the Cimmerians to which Conan belongs are descendants of the Atlanteans, though they do not remember their ancestry. In his fictional historical essay The Hyborian Age, Howard describes how the people of Atlantis (the land where his character King Kull originated) had to move east after a great cataclysm changed the face of the world and sank their island, settling where northern Scotland and Norway would eventually be located. In the same work, Howard also described how the Cimmerians eventually moved south and east after the age of Conan (presumably in the vicinity of the Black Sea, where the historical Cimmerians dwelt).

Abilities

Despite his brutish appearance, Conan uses his brain as well as his brawn. The Cimmerian is a talented fighter, but due to his travels abroad, he also has vast experience in other trades, especially the thiefly one; he is also a talented commander, tactician and strategist, as well as a born leader. In addition, Conan speaks many languages, including advanced reading and writing abilities: in certain stories, he's able to recognize, or even decipher, certain ancient or secret signs and writings (like when he uses the sign of Jhebbal Sag in "Beyond the Black River", also when he speaks to the Pict in the boat in a perfect mimic of his language in Beyond the Black River.) But noticeably, he apparently is never shown by Howard reading Stygian, though he can speak it, and his very first appearance (in "The Phoenix on the Sword") shows him busy writing.

Another noticeable trait is his sense of humour, largely absent in the comics and movies but very much a part of Howard's original vision of the character, particularly apparent in "Xuthal of the Dusk," also known as "The Slithering Shadow." He is a loyal friend to those true to him, with a barbaric code of conduct that often marks him as more honourable than those more sophisticated people he meets in his travels. Indeed, his straighforward nature and barbarism are constants in all the tales.

One fact that is often emphasized is that Conan is very difficult to defeat in hand-to-hand combat. Conan needs only to have his back to the wall so that he cannot be surrounded, and then is capable of engaging and killing opponents by the score. This is seen in several stories, such as "Queen of the Black Coast", "The Scarlet Citadel" and "A Witch Shall be Born". Conan is not superhuman, though: he did need the providential help of Zelata's wolf to defeat four Nemedian soldiers in the story The Hour of the Dragon. Some of his hardest victories have come from fighting single opponents of inhuman strength: one such as Thak, the ape man from "Rogues in the House," or the strangler Baal-Pteor in "Shadows in Zamboula." Conan is far from untouchable and has been captured several times (knocking himself out running into a wall drunk after being betrayed, although he still slays the people initially sent to arrest him; after a fall from a wounded horse; by magical means) but never as a result of martial failings.

Influences

Main article: Robert E. Howard

Howard frequently corresponded with H. P. Lovecraft, and the two would sometimes insert references or elements of each others' settings in their works. Later editors reworked many of the original Conan stories by Howard; thus, diluting this connection. Nevertheless, many of Howard's unedited Conan stories are arguably part of the Cthulhu Mythos.[3] Additionally, many of the Conan stories by Howard, de Camp and Carter used geographical placenames from Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborean Cycle.

The Conan stories are informed by the popular interest of the time in ideas on evolution and Social Darwinism. Are some peoples destined to rule over others? Are our physical and mental characteristics the result of our experiences or our inheritance from our ancestors? Is human civilization a natural or unnatural development? As Conan remarks in one story:

"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."

— "The Tower of the Elephant", Robert E. Howard, Weird Tales, March 1933.

Additionally, some fans such as comic book artist Mark Schultz have concluded that Conan was an idealized alter ego for Howard. Unlike the modern, stereotypical view of a brainless barbarian, Howard originally created Conan as a thoughtful but melancholic figure who often battled with depression, much like Howard himself (the writer eventually committed suicide). However, Howard's Conan is unaffected by such feelings:

"Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is an illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and I am content."

— "Queen of the Black Coast", Robert E. Howard, Weird Tales, May 1934.

Original Robert E. Howard Conan stories

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Cover of Weird Tales (May 1934) depicting Conan and Bêlit in Queen of the Black Coast, one of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories.

Conan stories published in Weird Tales

Conan stories not published in his lifetime

Unfinished Conan stories by Howard

  • "Wolves Beyond the Border" — A non-Conan story set in Conan's world. Fragment.
  • "The Hyborian Age" — An essay written in 1932. Published in 2003 in The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian.
  • "Cimmeria" — A poem written in 1932. Published in 2003 in The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian.
NOTE: A number of untitled synopses for Conan stories also exist.

Book editions

Main article: Conan (books)
Cover of Conan the Usurper (1967). Art by Frank Frazetta.

The character of Conan has proven durably popular, resulting in Conan stories by later writers such as Poul Anderson, Leonard Carpenter, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Roland J. Green, John C. Hocking, Robert Jordan, Sean A. Moore, Björn Nyberg, Andrew J. Offutt, Steve Perry, John Maddox Roberts, Harry Turtledove, and Karl Edward Wagner. Some of these writers have finished incomplete Conan manuscripts by Howard. Others were created by rewriting Howard stories which originally featured entirely different characters from entirely different milieus. Most, however, are completely original works. In total, more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories featuring the Conan character have been written by authors other than Howard.

The Gnome Press edition (1950-1957) was the first hardcover collection of Howard's Conan stories, including all the original Howard material known to exist at the time, some left unpublished in his lifetime. The later volumes contain some stories rewritten by L. Sprague de Camp (like "The Treasure of Tranicos"), including several non-Conan Howard stories, mostly historical exotica situated in the Levant at the time of the crusades, which he turned into Conan yarns. The Gnome edition also issued the first Conan story written by an author other than Howard — the final volume published, which is by Björn Nyberg and revised by de Camp.

The Lancer/Ace editions (1966-1977), under the direction of de Camp and Lin Carter, were the first comprehensive paperbacks, compiling the material from the Gnome Press series together in chronological order with all the remaining original Howard material, including that left unpublished in his lifetime and fragments and outlines. These were completed by de Camp and Carter, and new stories written entirely by the two were added as well. Lancer Books went out of business before bringing out the entire series, the publication of which was completed by Ace Books. Its covers featured dynamic images by Frank Frazetta that, for many fans, presented the "definitive" impression of Conan and his world. For decades to come, most other portrayals of the Cimmerian and his imitators were heavily influenced by the cover paintings of this series.

Editions after the Lancer/Ace series have been of either the original Howard stories or Conan material by other hands, but not both. Notable later editions of the Howard stories include the Donald M. Grant editions (1974-1989), the Berkley editions (1977), the Gollancz editions (2000-2006), and the Wandering Star/Del Rey editions (2003-2005). Later series of new Conan material include the Bantam editions (1978-1982), the Ace Maroto editions (1978-1981), and the Tor editions (1982-2004).

Conan Chronologies

Main article: Conan Chronologies

In an attempt to provide a coherent timeline which fit the numerous adventures of Conan penned by Robert E. Howard and later writers, various "Conan chronologies" have been prepared by many people from the 1930s onward. Note that no consistent timeline has yet to accommodate every single Conan story. The following are the principal theories that have been advanced over the years, together with their strengths and weaknesses.

  • Robert Jordan Chronology — A Conan Chronology by Robert Jordan (1987) was a new chronology written by Conan writer Robert Jordan that included all written Conan material up to that point. It was heavily influenced by the Miller/Clark/de Camp chronologies, though it departed from them in a number of idiosyncratic instances.
  • Dale Rippke Chronology — The Darkstorm Conan Chronology (2003) was a completely revised and heavily researched chronology, radically repositioning a number of stories and including only those stories written or devised by Howard. The Dark Horse comic series follows this chronology.

Media

Films

File:Conan the barbarian.jpg
Conan the Barbarian (1982) poster.
For more details on this topic, see Conan the Barbarian (1982) or Conan the Destroyer (1984).

The very first Conan cinematic project was planned by Edward Summer. Summer envisioned a series of Conan movies, much like the James Bond franchise. He outlined six stories for this film series, but none were ever made. An original screenplay by Summer and Roy Thomas was written, but their lore-authentic screen story was never filmed. Instead the resulting film, Conan the Barbarian (1982), was written by the unlikely pairing of Oliver Stone and John Milius. Their script had very little in common with Howard's original Conan tales, and was a bold reimagining of Conan's life.

The plot of Conan the Barbarian (1982) begins with Conan being enslaved by the Vanir raiders of Thulsa Doom, a malevolent warlord who is responsible for the slaying of Conan's parents and the genocide of his people. Later, Thulsa Doom becomes a cult leader of a shamanist religion that worships Set, a Snake God. The vengeful Conan, the archer Subotai and the thief Valeria set out on a quest to rescue a princess held captive by Thulsa Doom. The film was directed by John Milius and produced by Dino DeLaurentis. The character of Conan was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and was his break-through role as an actor.

A less popular sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984), was also made. This sequel was a more typical fantasy-genre film and was even less faithful to Howard's Conan stories. There were rumours in the late 1990s of a third Conan sequel, King Conan: Crown of Iron, but Schwarzenegger becoming the governor of California ended this project.

On June 15, 2006, Warner Bros. hired Boaz Yakin to write a new Conan film. Production will begin in 2007.

An animated feature, Conan: Red Nails, based upon the novella of the same name is being made (see Red Nails).

Television

Main article: Conan the Adventurer
File:Conan the Adventurer.JPG
Moeller as Conan the Adventurer.

There have been three television series related to Conan: A live-action TV series and animated cartoon series — both entitled Conan the Adventurer, as well as a second animated series entitled Conan and the Young Warriors.

  • Conan: The Adventurer (Live-action TV series) was a low-budget television series loosely based on Conan. The TV show premiered on September 22nd, 1997, and ran for 22 episodes. This live-action series starred German bodybuilder Ralf Moeller as Conan and Danny Woodburn as his sidekick Otli. The storyline was quite different from the Conan lore of Robert E. Howard. In this adaptation, Conan is a pleasant and jovial person. Also in this version, Conan is not a loner but one member in a merry band of adventurers.
For more details, see Conan the Adventurer (Live-action TV series).
  • Conan The Adventurer (Cartoon series) was the name of a popular animated television series. Produced by Jetlag Productions and Sunbow Productions, the series debuted on October 1, 1992, ran for 64 episodes and concluded exactly two years later, on October 1, 1994. The series involved Conan chasing serpent-men across the world in an attempt to release his parents from eternal torture as living statues.
For more details, see Conan the Adventurer (Cartoon series).
  • Conan and the Young Warriors (Cartoon series) was an animated television series which premiered in 1994. DiC Entertainment produced the show and CBS aired this series as a spin-off to the previous Conan the Adventurer animated series. This cartoon took place after the finale of Conan the Adventurer with Wrath-Amon vanquished and Conan's family returned to life from living stone. Conan soon finds that the family of one of his friends are being turned into wolves by an evil sorceress and he must train three warriors in order to aid him in rescuing them.
For more details, see Conan and the Young Warriors.

Comics

Tower of the Elephant comic by R. Thomas, J. Buscema and A. Alcala.
Main article: Conan (comics)

Conan the Cimmerian has appeared in comics nearly non-stop since 1970. The comics are arguably, apart from the books, the vehicle that had the greatest influence on the longevity and popularity of the character. Aside from an earlier and unofficial Conan comic published in Mexico, the two main publishers of Conan comics have been Marvel and Dark Horse. Marvel Comics launched Conan the Barbarian (1970-1993) and the now-classic Savage Sword of Conan (1974-1995). Dark Horse Comics launched their Conan series in 2003. Dark Horse Comics is currently publishing compilations of the 1970s Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian series and Savage Sword of Conan series in graphic-novel format.

For more details on this topic, see Conan (Marvel comics).
  • Dark Horse Comics began their comic adaptation of the Conan saga in 2003. Entitled simply Conan, the series was first written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by Cary Nord. Tim Truman replaced Busiek when Busiek signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics; however, Busiek sometimes returns to write occasional issues. This series is a fresh interpretation of the original Conan material by Robert E. Howard with no connection whatsoever to the earlier Marvel comics or any Conan story not written or envisioned by Howard.
Further information: Conan (Dark Horse comic)

Games

File:Aoc temp cover.jpg
Age of Conan, a MMORPG, scheduled to debut October 30th 2007.

Computer games

Four video games have been released based on the Conan mythos. Two more are slated.

Collectible Card Games

Role-playing games

Play-by-email Games

NOTE: Many other parodies or references concerning Conan the Barbarian exist.

Characters

File:John cassaday red sonja.JPG
Cover to Red Sonja #1 (June 2005).
Pencils by John Cassaday.
Inks by José Villarrubia.

The following characters have prominent roles in the Conan mythos.

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