Summer Reading: Conan the Barbarian

A few summers ago it was A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, in the shadow of the unfairly maligned John Carter (2012) movie, and this summer I decided to meet my desire for further reading of "pulps" by checking out some of the Conan source material by author Robert E. Howard. I had been looking for an anthology of Howard stories that were not a collection of comic book iterations of the character, and it was while I was in California a few weeks that I came across a paperback released to coincide with the most recent film adaptation Conan the Barbarian (2011) starring Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa.

Don't let the movie tie-in
cover fool you, this is old school
Robert E. Howard Conan!

Like many fanboys, I grew up with two seminal "Conans": Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie version and Roy Thomas's Marvel Comics in the 1970's. Not surprisingly, while both are highly entertaining on their own merits, both also represent something of a distillation of the character featured in Howard's original stories. This Conan the Barbarian movie tie-in collection, published by Random House Publishing Group, features a broad range of stories representing a significant amount of the character's publishing history in the pulps, specifically Weird Tales. The collection opens with December 1932's "The Phoenix on the Sword," and concludes with "Rogues in the House" from the magazine's January 1934 issue. The six stories collected here form can be read independently or as a single adventure, following Conan from his mercenary youth to his bloody conquests on the frontier and high seas.

As characterized in "The People of the Black Circle" (Weird Tales, November 1934), and throughout the collection, Conan is a fearless force of nature whose reputation proceeds him and invokes fear among those who would challenge him. In nearly each story, Conan does not begin as the focal point of the stories set-up, but rather plays the role of the unseen force waiting to be released. Once provoked (not a good idea!), Conan responds as one might expect: by cutting, punching and clawing his way through evil sorcerers, deadly monsters, and barren landscapes. This interaction from early in "People" captures Conan's approach:

"I climbed a bastion," snarled the intruder. "A guard thrust his head over the battlement in time for me to rap it with my knife hilt."
"Are you Conan?"
"Who else? You sent word into the hills that you wished for me to come and parley with you. Well, by Crom, I've come! Keep away from that table or I'll gut you." (38)

While clearly developed within the warrior archetype, Howard's Conan is a much more well-developed literary creation than that which those who grew up on movie character (it is difficult to discuss one without the other, so pervasive is our culture's acceptance of Schwarzenegger's incredibly quotable, quip-filled performance) will remember. Well-spoken (and plain-spoken in his time) and a tactician, Howard's Conan is as likely to plot and persevere as he is to simply attack and plunder.  Each of the stories contributes to developing the Conan character while building the Hyborian Age in which he dwells.

These are energetic, fantastic stories, in the truest sense of the word. Especially surprising is the literary manner in which Conan's tales are told, making it is difficult to see how stories such as these were seen as easily dismissed storytelling entertainment worthy of only inexpensive paper for publishing (thus the term "pulp").

If you are favored, Crom will guide you, as he did me, into a used bookstore where it can be purchased, though better libraries will likely have this collection in their "Fantasy" paperbacks section. For those lacking his blessing, it is definitely worth checking online stores for Robert E. Howard's influential and entertaining source stories.

Late to the Party: A Game of Thrones

It seems to be a recurring theme this summer: whether it was because I am being contrarian or due to some unfair preconceived notion of a thing, I have almost missed out on some pretty cool literary experiences. Once gain, this has to do with a book which was once avoided, being read and greatly enjoyed.

George R. R. Martin's A Game Thrones has been an international phenomenon the past few years due in great part, I assume, to the success of the television series on HBO which began airing in 2011. As one of the rare folks who just recently purchased cable television just over a year ago, and has yet to succumb to the desire for "special" stations, I have never seen the show, but this past week bought the first novel in Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series, the aforementioned A Game of Thrones.

Like some, I have occasionally suffered from an unsubstantiated bias against fantasy. As I sit here trying to type "I've never read much fantasy," I am reminded of my teen appreciation of the C.S. Lewis' Narnia books as well as some other sword and sorcery books the titles of which I have forgotten. This lazy dismissal runs opposite my recent affection for comic books based on the pulp heroes of Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carter) and Robert E. Howard (Solomon Kane, Conan, Red Sonja).

There is not much for me to contribute to the praise for these books except to suggest that the high recommendation you've heard for the first novel are warranted. The most recognizable equivalents for literary merit and cultural impact I can think of are the original Frank Herbert Dune novels or (more obviously) Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. The Dune comparison has more to do with the "wheels within wheels" structure of the plotting and romantic elements of the character development than the setting. In all three cases, each series is about "world building": the creation of a detailed and sophisticated "universe" that in some ways mirrors our own notions of a possible, imaginative histories, but with an added element of the fantastic.

As of this writing, I have yet to watch a single frame of HBO's well regarded adaptation, but am "all in" when it comes to most things A Game of Thrones. I look very forward to eventually watching the cable series on DVD (after first reading the novel which has been adapted for each season) and have recently taken it upon myself to quickly acquire as many individual issues of Dynamite Entertainment's comic book adaptation of the first novel. I have even seriously considered tracking down a used copy of the poorly reviewed X-Box 360 system game which depicts events which transpire alongside those in the first novel. In decorating my classroom, I also hung the poster to the rigth festuring Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) with one of my favorite quotes from the first novel.

The lesson here: don't make the mistake(s) I have by dismissing certain books because they seem "too popular" or "mainstream" to be worthy of your time. I've been nearly burned twice this past summer by such limited thinking and continue to be thankful for the reading experience I came late to the party for.

New Comic Book Wednesday: August 21

The second-to-last New Comic Book Wednesday before I return to school full time (I'm only coaching in morning's now), and my excellent run of early morning comic pick-ups will be over for another school year.

As is too often the case, I find myself returning to a character for whom I have not collected a title in a lo-o-o-ong time, this time due to her kicking off a miniseries that kind-of-sort-of dips its toes in the Western genre. When Vampirella: Southern Gothic came out last week, I made the mistake of spending a couple bones on two issue of her main title just to get a taste. Though (at least initially) not as satisfying as my last experience with the character in Harris' 1997 title Vampirella Monthly, it was promising enough to convince me to dig through the racks for a couple of back issues and to request a pull of this week's Vampirella #32.

Given the recent addition of Gale Simone's Red Sonja to my pull list, I am rounding out my comic collection with newly reinvigorated pulp heroines to go along with Warlord of Mars, The Lone Ranger and Lady Rawhide (who was not a pulp-era creation but certainly fits the bill creatively). These types of characters offer the classic narrative that is so often missing (in my estimation) from the majority of the Big Two's titles. These smaller presses also just seem intent on being entertaining action and adventure and not so concerned with aligning every past depiction of a character or serving another market like action figures and movies. Even Dynamite's The Lone Ranger, with a new issue out this week, has stayed true to the character, even going so far as to offer superior storytelling to what was offered up this past summer by Disney.

This week also saw the release of two of my very favorite comic books reading experiences: 2-3 times monthly Dark Horse Mignola-Verse titles (this week B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth # 110 and Lobster Johnson: Scent of a Lotus #2) and the wonderful (and occasional) Bela Lugosi's Tales From The Grave from Monsterverse Entertainment.

Happy reading!

New Releases: The Goon #43

From "Billy the Kid's... Oddities," written by Eric Powell with art by Kyle Hotz.

Month-after-month, few comic books with a "standard" price of $3.50 pack as much into a single issue as Dark Horse Comics The Goon. This most recent issue, released this past Wednesday, November 21, is a primary example. Whereas most mainstream books published monthly will include anywhere from 16-20 pages of new content, artist/writer/creator Powell manages to produce no less than three stories in twenty-three pages (each of varying length, but consistently high quality).

Cover by Powell.

Each of the stories, all (at least) written by creator Eric Powell, build on the Goon mythos in such a way that one of Powell's other projects, Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities, is seamlessly brought into the same "world" as Goon and his partner Franky. As any fan would not be shocked to know, it is a misunderstood "freak," The Ossified Baby of Nuremberg, that connects these characters together. Taken as a whole, there is an implied symmetry to the stories: first is a Billy solo, the second features both Billy and Goon, and finally a penultimate Goon solo story.

The issue's first story is the Billy the Kid one, and it introduces the reader to the aforementioned Ossified Baby. (For those who enjoy this issue of The Goon, Powell and co-creator Kyle Hotz--who also provides artwork here--recently began the third miniseries of miniseries featuring  Billy and his gang, Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities and The Orm of Loch Nes.) The four pager serves as an introduction of sorts to both Billy's world and the Baby, closing with the ominous words "Thank the Dark God. Our burden has been lifted."

From The Goon #34 by Eric Powell.

The second feature is the primary one and features not just Powell's writing, but his gorgeous artwork (here colored with assistance from Bill Farmer). It is here that Goon and Franky cross paths with Powell's other comic book partnership, Billy and his diminutive colleague, Jeffery.  Both characters draw energy, and narrative drive, from a strong relationship with carnivals and freak shows, a dynamic that Powell uses to great effect in both books as a spring board for many unusual adventures which defy the time periods in that each book is anchored (sort of). It goes without saying that when Sproules Biological Curiosities & Wild West Extravaganza rolls into the Goon's town, the "Giant Stone Baby of Nuremberg" has somehow been returned to the groups slate of attractions and things are sure to go astray and snowball quickly... and they do. One of the many pleasures of this story in particular is having the chance t see Powell draw Billy's crew. While Holtz's style perfectly suits the dark and dank adventures Billy experiences in his own miniseries, the cleaner ("brighter"?) palette of Goon's world suit both the story,and the character's experiences within it, very well.

Many is the day I've thought this same thing... art by Mark Buckingham

The issue's final story is the concluding chapter of a three-parter that has run as a backup over the previous two issues of The Goon, entitled "The Bog That Lurked Like a Thing! A Bad Thing!" Drawn by Mark Buckingham, in a style very reminiscent of Powell's, this black and white (more of a gray and white, really) wraps up with someone getting smacked in the face with "a $#!T stained street urchin"... 'nuff said!

Though it's been out for a few days now, when you find yourself back at your local comic shop this coming Wednesday, you could do mu-u-u-uch worse than to make issue 43 of The Goon your first!

NBIM Day 21: John Carter Warlord of Mars (1977)

The heart of Carter's Barsoomian adventures is his love for the beautiful Princess of Mars, Dejah Thoris.

Last week , in between teaching classes, a former student of mine gifted me two comic books in plastic sleeves with the words, "I got these from my dad's comic collection for you. I remember you saying you were looking forward to the movie last year." It was a kind unexpected gift. Even better than the unexpected gift was the forgotten memories it brought to the forefront and I knew it would become one of my National (Comic Book) Back Issue Month selections...

Issue #1 cover by
legends Kane and Cockrum

Nearly six months ago I wrote about the fact that two different comic book companies were each publishing individual John Carter comics at the same time. While Marvel/Disney was releasing a line of Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptations during the John Carter (2012) film's short summer run, Dynamite Publishers had been publishing stories based on the original novels, which had lapsed into public domain over the past two years. At the time I had forgotten about the "original ' Marvel John Carter series released in the aftermath of the original Star Wars (1977) movie's runaway, blockbuster success.

Published in 1977 by Marvel Comics, John Carter Warlord of Mars issue #1 was written (and edited) by respected creator Marv Wolfman with pencils provided by the legendary Gil Kane, who was inked by Dave Cockrum (who would later design the looks of the new X-Men, including Wolverine). Not surprisingly, the issue features Carter's by now familiar "origin" tale: Civil War soldier gets mysteriously transported to Barsoom (Mars), falls in with the green men of Mars (Tharks) only to fall in love with a princess of mars, Deja Thoris. Ironically,  Marvel would eventually release it's own Star Wars comic book, a story which admittedly apes many of the tropes established many, many years earlier by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the original Mars novels, the first of which, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1917 . Certainly adapting John Carter probably seemed like a reasonable way to cash in on the space craze started by Star Wars.

I was somewhat surprised when I looked up this particular iteration of Carter at mycomicshop.com and found that copies of this first issue were available for as low as $1.10! In fact, nearly the whole 28 issue series can be (and will be my me!) had for  little more than an average of $1.30 per issue. In this day when modern Marvel comics are far less entertaining, I more and more frequently find myself going backwards for entertainment.

Weekly Reading: March 21 or "A Tale of 2 John Carters"

Are two John Carter's better than one?

This is the first time I've purchased the "official" John Carter series (based solely on the shop owners Facebook recommendation), and as I am catching up with Dynamites Warlord of Mars series, it seems a good time to make some comparisons. Had I not come across the news story about the Burroughs' family's lawsuit against Dynamite regarding their John Carter series (yes , there are spinoffs), I would not have realized that the Dynamite one was not "official." ( Some of Burroughs' Barsoom books have lapsed into the public domain in the United States, though the complaint notes that they remain under copyright protection in the United Kingdom.)

Dynamite's Warlord of Mars #13

Marvel's The Gods of Mars #1.

While a fan of the character, and having recently re-read  A Princess of Mars, I am not necessarily a John Carter aficionado--at least not yet. The Marvel series is the second in what I would anticipate will be a larger series of miniseries eventually adapting all of the novels. Picking up where the first left of (presumably where the movie left of too as Disney--which produced the recent film--also owns Marvel).

As luck would have it, both books are entertaining, but for different reasons. Marvel's The Gods of Mars is very polished in appearance and Ramon Perez's artwork (aided by Jordie Bellaire's colors) has an almost independent-cartoon quality to it. Visually it reminds me very much of both Oni Press's The Sixth Gun and Images' Prophet--which is not a bad thing. (Ironically I picked up new issues of both of those books as well this week.)

Dynamite's Warlord of Mars also includes some wonderful pencils by Stephen Sadowski, an artist I have no previous familiarity with. While utilizing less detail than say Phil Jimenez, there are some similarities. I also enjoy the serialized pulpy quality of the story telling--this may, however be attributed to my having read this book for much longer; it's hard to think of Marvel's book as a serial as this week's was my first issue.

Interestingly, Marvel's Gods is covering ground recently covered by (but being read for the first time in old issues by myself) the same story (both based on Burroughs' second novel) featured in Warlord, so this will definitely provide for a better comparison of the two... it just so happens have both publisher's first issues of the same story line to look forward to!
Some other sweet purchases were also made this week:

Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter The Gods of Mars #1 (Marvel)
Prophet #23 (Image)
Zorro Rides Again #9 (Dynamite)
The Sixth Gun #20 (Oni Press)
Road Rage #2 (IDW)
Ragemoor #1 (Dark Horse)
The Goon #38 (Dark Horse)
Planet of the Apes #12 (Boom! Studios)
Batman #7 (DC) Warlord of Mars #12, 13, 14 (Dynamite)

Not only are two high-quality John Carters worth the extra expense, but nothing reaffirms my love of  comic book collecting  like the anticipation of a fresh stack of comics that (at first glance) are all worthy of repeated readings!