Growing up, if you had mentioned the named “Conan” to me, images of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bad haircut, glistening in an 80’s styled movie would have popped into my mind. Unfortunately that campy impression warded me off of the Robert E. Howard’s for many years. It wasn’t until a few years ago, in my pursuit of fantasy literature, did I discover the classic Sword and Sorcery hero.
The original stories of Conan have been collected into various volumes, all very easy to obtain. They even inspired many comic books series, some of the more recent featuring stunning artwork.
Although these tales revolve around a seemingly one-dimensional brutish, character, Howard’s work showcases a searing depth. It is dark and disturbing. I truly got the sense that he was tapping into some malevolent force as he created the villains against which Conan was pitted. Ancient, prime-evil creatures, with little motivation save to instill 
pure terror into their victims. Proud, indomitable demi-gods whose desires were nothing short of conquering entire nations. Such were the fiends Conan fought. Yet his feral-like strength and irrepressible tenacity always won out.
The stories of Conan are modern day mythos, striking cords with Odysseus, Heracles, and Thor. Howard’s vivid worlds and blunt, unwavering prose painted a brilliant picture in my mind. The fact that his stories are frequently retold through the comic arts today proves mine wasn’t the only mind impressed.
What chu talkin’ bout Willis?! Arnold’s Conan the Barbarian is a classic not campy at all..Conan the Destroyer well, that’s as campy as they come. Also, it would be awesome if indomitable demigods got nations to concur rather than conquer them.
how did i know you were gunna disagree with my Arnold comment? ah you 80’s kids…
You corrected your spelling error..now I just look wrong.
Also 80’s kids don’t die our bodies transform and merge into a giant Voltron-like giant 80’s Kid made out of nostalgia and action figures.
I don’t think Conan’s one-dimensional at all: he’s a surprisingly complex character who undergoes a subtle but profound character arc over the course of the stories. Look at how different he is in “The Tower of the Elephant” in, say, “The People of the Black Circle,” and how different he is again in “The Phoenix on the Sword.” Sure, he’s still a badass barbarian, but his moral and intellectual outlook is subtly different as he grows older and more experienced.
You’ll get no arguments from me on everything else, though. Howard was a modern myth-maker.
You’ll get no argument from me, Taranaich. The key word in my post was “seemingly” one-dimensional. I think in “The God in the Bowl,” when he is still a young thief, he exhibits quite a bit of tact and intelligence.
You have to be sharp to survive all the trials he did!
I loved REH’s Conan. There was just something in the way he conveyed atmosphere, and the fact that the use of magic in his stories was sparse, but to great effect. The Marvel comics and magazine versions were pretty good, too.
I also liked the Kull stories, but Howard seemed to be after a strangely philosophical bent with them, as opposed to the more action/adventure-oriented Conan stories.
I never read any of his Krull stuff–yet, but I am always amazed by Howard’s imagination. The Dark Horse graphic novels are pretty good too. The tend to “reimagine” the stories a bit, but its still a lot of fun.