Conan the Barbarian Did You Mean Conan?

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Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars /w/./ 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.

– The Nemedian Chronicles, as quoted in The Phoenix on the Sword (1932), by Robert E. Howard.

AND1quot;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 feetAND1quot;. Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the Sword, 1932.

"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.

Setting

The Conan stories take place on Earth, but in the mythical (created by Howard) "Hyborian Age", between the time of the sinking of Atlantis and the rise of the known ancient civilizations. According to Howard himself: "w/.between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryasw/."

Characteristics

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. He grew up fast: by age fifteen he was already a respected warrior, participating in the destruction of Venarium. After this he was struck by wanderlust and began the colorful and exciting adventures chronicled by Howard (and subsequently, after Howard's death, by others), encountering fabulous monsters, evil wizards, and beautiful wenches and princesses - he has travelled throughout the world and been a thief and outlaw, a mercenary and commander of a mercenary company, and a pirate and privateer. He begins building larger units of men, aiming for greater territorial ambitions, though his efforts are repeatedly thwarted - usually by the total massacre of his force excepting himself. But in his forties he finally succeeds, becoming king of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of the age, having strangled the previous ruler on the steps to the throne. Although Conan's adventures often result in him performing heroic feats, his motive is more than often his own survival, enrichment or rise to power and he thus displays many of the characteristics of an anti-hero.

Appearance

Conan has "sullen blue eyes," long black hair, stands at least 6 ft 6 in (2 m) and weighs over 200 lb (90 kg) though this is a later extrapolation and Howard never gives dimensions for either. In the tales no one is ever described as either bigger or stronger than Conan, although several are mentioned as taller. 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 and his garb is most commonly a loincloth, sandals and a sword of some description, depending on his fortunes and location.

During his reign as King of Aquilonia, Conan was "w/. 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 accouterments. 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).

Though several later authors have referred to Conan as "Germanic-looking" Howard imagined the Cimmerians as a proto-Celtic people.

Abilities and Characteristics

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) (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 noticable trait is his sense of humour, largely absent in the comics and movies, but very much a part of Howards original vision of the character, particularly apparent in Xuthal of the Dusk AKA The Slithering Shadow. He is a loyal friend to those true to him with a barbaric code of honour and chivalry that often marks him as more civilized than those more sophisticated people he meets in his travels Indeed his straighforward nature and barbarism are constants in all the tales.

One idea that is constantly emphasized is that Conan cannot be defeated 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 and A Witch Shall be Born. Yet Conan is far from untouchable and is captured several times (knocking himself out running into a wall drunk after being betrayed, although he still slays the people initally sent to arrest him, a fall from a wounded horse) but never as a result of martial failings.

Influences

Howard corresponded with H. P. Lovecraft, though it is extremely unlikely that they ever met, and the two would sometimes insert references to elements of each others' settings in their works; the Conan stories thus could be said to have originally occurred in the Cthulhu Mythos universe. Modern ors have since reworked many of the original Conan stories, however, diluting this connection.

The Conan stories are informed by the popular interest of the time in unscientific 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:

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 (mainly from his appearances in movies and comics), 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:

The Original Robert E. Howard Conan Stories

Conan stories published in Weird Tales

Conan stories by Howard not published in his lifetime

Unfinished Conan stories by Howard

Other Conan related material by Howard

Textual history

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 (in some cases) completely rewritten. For more than fifty years, Howard's original Conan stories remained out of print. In the 1980s and 1990s, the copyright holders took Howard's stories out of print entirely, while continuing to sell pastiche works by other authors (see below).

Then, in 2000, Gollancz Science Fiction, a British publisher, issued a two-volume, complete ion 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' ion 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 ions 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), with the final title forthcoming in fall 2005: Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Three (1935-1936) (2005; vt The Conquering Sword of Conan 2005 US). Between the three books, readers will finally have all of the original uned Robert E. Howard stories available for the first time.

Adaptations and revisions

Books

The character of Conan has proven durably popular, resulting in pastiche Conan stories being assembled by later writers such as Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Karl Edward Wagner, John Maddox Roberts, Andrew J. Offutt, J. Ramsey Campbell, Poul Anderson, Richard A. Lupoff, Björn Nyberg, Robert Jordan, Steve Perry, Leonard Carpenter and John C. Hocking. Some of these pastiches have finished incomplete Conan manuscripts by Howard (listed above). 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 pastiche novels and dozens of short stories featuring the Conan character have been written by authors other than Howard.

Movies

The film Conan the Barbarian (1982) was written by the unlikely pairing of Oliver Stone and John Milius. The script draws material from a number of stories. It tells the story of Conan rising up in slavery and finally taking revenge on Thulsa Doom, the ruthless warlord who was responsible for the genocide of his parents and his people. Later Thulsa Doom turns into a devious cult leader, who runs a fallacious, evil religion. The intrepid, vengeful Conan, the archer Subotai, and the ravishing thief Valeria set out on a quest to save a beautiful princess and negate the power-hungry megalomaniac. The film was directed by John Milius and produced by Dino DeLaurentis. The title role was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and was his break-through as an actor. A sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984) was also made. The originator of the Conan movie project and its Associate Producer, Edward Summer had originally planned for there to be a series of Schwarzenegger Conan films much like the James Bond series. Summer outlined six stories for this film series, but none were ever made. Elements from the original screenplay by Summer and Roy Thomas were utilized, but their much more authentic screen story has never been filmed in total.

It must be noted that, in spite of the title and its qualities, the movie is not a proper Conan yarn. The only three elements properly tying the Conan movie to its literary namesake are 1) being called a Cimmerian and being the son of a blacksmith, 2) the opening speech about "Between the time the Ocean drank Atlantis and the rise of the Son of Aryas" and 3) the crucifixion episode, which is reasonably true to the one happening in A Witch Shall be Born. The rest is only loosely adapted, and many elements introduced by the film are inconsistent with Howard's stories. The episode when Schwarzenegger climbs the tower is obviously inspired from The Tower of the Elephant, Also, while a Valeria appears in Red Nails, that character's attachement to Conan and her coming back from the dead to save him are more akin to the Bêlit of Queen of the Black Coast but otherwise similarities are quite few. Some elements like the Riddle of Steel, the Black Sun Cult of Seth, Conan's having been a mill slave for most of his adolescence, and his having served through the East as a gladiator are apparently from Milius' imagination (Howard's Conan was still with his tribe in Cimmeria around the time he was 15 or 16, since it is about that age that he took part in the sacking of the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium). More disturbingly to Howard fans, certain elements seem to have been borrowed from non-Conan sources: the face changing Snake Folk, as well as Thulsa Doom are loosely inspired by Kull stories (though Howard's Thulsa Doom was a traditional necromancer, not a Serpent man), and Schwarzenegger's encounter with the werewitch bears some similarity with the Bran Mak Morn story Worms of the Earth (which is also evoked by Thulsa Doom's lines about fearing the dark and the night). Moreover, the Conan character portrayed by Schwarzenegger did not display much of the "panther like agility", nor did it have the trademark characteristic "black mane" and "volcanic blue eyes", of Howard's original character.

Despite these discrepencies, it may be fair to call Conan the Barbarian a film inspired by Howard's universe (more than a movie adaption of a specific story or a true depiction of the character created by Howard) and although the changes from the Howard stories turned off many fans, the film to a certain extent reflects the "spirit" of the Hyborian world, and is a richer story than is cred (although the character portrayed in the film is lacking many of the qualities of Howard's original character), with interesting themes and symbols scattered throughout (the special ion DVD has some insightful commentary by the director and Schwarzenegger himself).

The less-popular sequel, Conan the Destroyer is more of a typical fantasy genre film (again, not very true to Howard's original stories).

Schwarzenegger also played a muscular sword-fighter (named "Kalidor" due to licensing issues) in the Howard-inspired Red Sonja (1985).

A fourth film was based on the (pre) Hyborian setting, Kull the Conqueror, starring Kevin Sorbo as Kull, an Atlantean (the ancestor race of Conan's own people, the Cimmerians) who, like Conan, advanced in rank in more civilized lands and became king by force, and now must contend with those who don't like his rule.

TV Series

Conan has appeared in a TV series (1997), played by the German bodybuilder Ralf Moeller.

This short lived series, "Conan: the Adventurer", featured a more caring Conan, and involved much less blood and gore.

Cartoons

The first animated series, also called "Conan: the Adventurer" (1992), involved Conan chasing the serpent men across the world in an attempt to release his parents from eternal torture as living statues. It is a typical example of the action-adventure cartoon genre of the time. It should be noted that "Wrath-Amon" is possibly Thoth-Amon renamed and remodeled from the comics.

The fact is Conan the Adventurer was loosely based from the novels. Instead of a Conan who is bloody, a womanizer, thief and so on, he's much more like He-Man a kind and caring character, an honest fellow who went to fight against the sorcerer Wrath-Amon (loosely based on Thoth-Amon) to free his parents though they were killed in the original line.

The second animated series, "Conan and the Young Warriors" (1994), saw Conan as a mentor to three young adventurers, focusing mainly on the young characters.

Comics

Conan has appeared in comics nearly non-stop since 1970. These are arguably, apart from the books, the vehicle that has made the greatest influence on the character.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics introduced Conan in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith. Pencils on the title were later given to John Buscema, while Roy continued to write for many years. Marvel's Conan stories were used as source material for the 1982 and 1984 films, with Thulsa Doom as a reccurring villain. In 2001 Marvel let Conan go as part of a company-wide purge of licensed properties.

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics began their take on Conan 2003. Currently publishing the comic series Conan, written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by Cary Nord. This series is a fresh interpretation, based solely on the works of Robert E. Howard, with no connection to the large Marvel run. Dark Horse Comics are also publishing digitally re-coloured compilations of the 1970's Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian series in graphic-novel format. By Roy Thomas (writer), Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Ernie Chan (artists) and others.

Miscellaneous or parody appearances

Games

Computer Games

Role-Playing Games

Parody and other references

Characters

Quotes

Quotes from Howard's original Conan stories

Conan the Barbarian movie quotes

Conan: "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." (Note that this is actually a quote from Ghengis Khan)

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