King Conan

King Conan
Cover of first edition
Author	Robert E. Howard
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Conan the Barbarian
Genre	Sword and sorcery
Publisher	Gnome Press
Publication date	1953
Media type	Print (hardback)

King Conan is a collection of five fantasy short stories by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It is also the name of two separate comic book series featuring the character.

The book was first published in hardcover by Gnome Press in 1953. The stories originally appeared in the 1930s in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales. The collection never saw publication in paperback; instead, its component stories were divided and distributed among other "Conan" collections.

Chronologically, the five short stories collected as King Conan are the fourth in Gnome's Conan series; the novel Conan the Conqueror follows.

Contents[]

"Introduction" (L. Sprague de Camp)
- July 1, 1931 note from H. P. Lovecraft to Robert E. Howard
"Jewels of Gwahlur"
"Beyond the Black River"
"The Treasure of Tranicos" (edited/rewritten by de Camp from Howard's "The Black Stranger")
"The Phoenix on the Sword"
"The Scarlet Citadel"

Comics[]

Marvel Comics[]

Marvel Comics published 55 issues of a King Conan series from 1980-1989 (retitled Conan the King from #20-onward).

Dark Horse Comics[]

In 2011, Dark Horse Comics started a new Conan comic book, named King Conan; the Cimmerian, now old and alone on his throne of Aquilonia, recalls his previous years adventures with the young royal scribe; his tales are set after he got the throne. Dark Horse adapted several Howard's short stories plus The Hour of the Dragon. Until now, the list includes, in the following order:

"The Scarlet Citadel" (2011)
"The Phoenix on the Sword" (2012)
"The Hour of the Dragon" (2013)
"The Conqueror" (2014) (Originally, Dark Horse wanted to make 12 issues of The Hour of the Dragon, then they decided to split the story into two, publishing the second part with the alternate name of the novel.)

Reception[]

P. Schuyler Miller received the collection favorably, praising Howard's ability "to make the preposterous doings of his superhuman hero so real."^[1]

Everett F. Bleiler found that the original text of "The Black Stranger" "is much superior to the adaptation" provided here. He characterized the collection overall as "a weak selection", although singling out two scenes as effective.^[2]

References[]

^ "The Reference Library", Astounding Science Fiction, February 1954, pp.155
^ Everett F. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, Kent State University Press, 1983, pp.260-61

Preceded by The Sword of Conan	Gnome Conan series (chronological order)	Succeeded by Conan the Conqueror

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" The Blood-Stained God "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" The Flame Knife "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	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 Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Film	Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Destroyer (1984) Red Sonja (1985) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Television	Conan the Adventurer (1992) Conan and the Young Warriors (1994) Conan the Adventurer (1997)
Comics	Conan (comics) Conan (Dark Horse Comics) Conan the Barbarian The Savage Sword of Conan
Games	Conan Unchained! Conan Against Darkness! Conan: Hall of Volta Conan Role-Playing Game Hyborian War GURPS Conan Conan: The Mysteries of Time Conan (2004) Conan: The Roleplaying Game Conan Collectible Card Game Conan (2007) Age of Conan (Rise of the Godslayer) Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of Conan Exiles

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Red Sonja Serpent Men Thulsa Doom Valeria
Chronology	Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age Conan chronologies

Red Sonja	"The Shadow of the Vulture"
References	Cerebus the Aardvark Conan the Librarian

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