picture 1 of 2


picture 2 of 2   Top

price:
author:
title:
$5.00
Howard, Robert E.
CONAN THE ADVENTURER
book-date: 1966
publisher:
edn-date:
printing:
format:
cvr art:
cvr price:
GRADING:
Lancer
1970
6th
Paperback
Frank Frazetta
.95
VG+ or better
ex-ChUSFA: stamp on first inside page, page 85. MORE INFO

A note about early Frazetta covers: Frazetta has been known to tinker with, or revise his paintings over time. The versions that end up in collections of his art are not necessarily the same as what appeared on the paperback or hardcover originals. I usually prefer the earliest versions as the best illustrations, even if Frazetta modified them later. So if you want to see the art as it was originally conceived or published, I recommend finding the early paperbacks. (They generally did not change in the first several printings.)

Lancer 1970 paperback (sixth printing: no date, page blocks are purple, number 75-102 & description match that described in Glenn Lord's The Last Celt.) Cover by Frank Frazetta, 224 pages, 95 cent cover price - which got mostly trimmed off (this means you get to see more of the Frazetta cover art.) Condition is VG+ or better: tight and square with flat spine; light overall wear. The white background is showing age-darkening - most noticeable near and on the spine (see scan #2.) Age tanning is mild and uniform - less than expected for its age. Stamp on first page and page 85 - no other marks or writing: a clean copy.

Conan the Adventurer ("Volume One of the Complete Conan" - Lancer changed the official order several times as the series came out; this became #5 in the final Lancer/Ace sequence.)
(Introduction by L. Sprague de Camp - editor)
The People of the Black Circle (Howard)
The Slithering Shadow (Howard)
Drums of Tombalku (Howard & de Camp)
The Pool of the Black One (Howard)

"Drums of Tombalku" is new to the 1966 paperback - Howard's outline & rough draft was edited and completed by L. Sprague de Camp. The first novella was a 3-part serial in Weird Tales (September through November 1934), and the other 2 appeared in Weird Tales in 1933.

There are several presentations of the "Conan" series from different publishers. The most common one is the set from Lancer (which changed numbering in the middle of publication), and was later reprinted and completed by Ace Books. L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter completed fragments of stories, and either or both wrote some stories to fill in gaps in the series. The Lancer paperback set from the late Sixties proved incredibly popular, and provided a major boost to the Fantasy field and to Howard's fame. One factor in the success of the series was the cover paintings by Frank Frazetta that graced most of the "Conan" books - he was at his prime, and these show just how good he was at presenting fantastic action. Although I haven't read any of this series, from the handful of books by Robert E. Howard that I have read, I can affirm that Howard was a great storyteller - his stories are fast paced, exciting, and very readable.