#fafhrd and gray mouser

[davey-dammit]

A box of some of my vintage sci-fi and fantasy collection

[ungoliantschilde]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, by Mike Mignola.

[oldschoolfrp]

"Nehwon's ghouls are not of the AD&D undead type, but are a species of humanoids unto themselves. They are almost totally transparent, except for their bones, which are grey. They are often mistaken for skeletons, and are almost invisible (80%) in the dark." (Jennell Jaquays, AD&D Deities & Demigods, TSR, 1980)

[balu8]

Sword of Sorcery #5: The Mouse Alone

by George (Alec) Effinger: Jim Starlin; Al Milgrom and Ben Oda

DC

[yojimbot13]

[victusinveritas]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

Art by Clyde Caldwell

[bugbart]

Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser as an Art trade for a friend

[comicarthistory]

Page from Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser Book 4. 1991. Art by Mike Mignola and Al Williamson.

[vintagerpg]

Man, these books. These are the original Ace paperback editions of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories (1970 to 1977), all but the last, because I just can’t stand the cover of that one. Jeffery Catherine Jones delivers atmospheric covers for the first five, then Michael Whelan is on the last on Swords and Ice Magic, putting up what was apparently the first book-accurate color portrait of the pair. All together, they have a gorgeous, mysterious look. I love them.

I’ve been slowly re-reading them. I thought I had read all of them but either my memory has gotten way faultier than I thought or I skipped around, because a lot of these feel fresh. Even old favorites, like “Ill-Met in Lankhmar” and “Bazaar of the Bizarre,” seemed far less dusty than I expected.

The more years that go by and the more I think about D&D and Appendix N and these stories, the more I kind of think Gygax’s reading list was a smoke screen put up to make it seem like D&D came out of a bunch of different sources. That is demonstrably true — I can see a little Moorcock, a little Zelazny and so on in the tapestry, sure. But Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are increasingly, to my eye, D&D before D&D. Its a couple key things, really. First, they are twain, and up to that point, and long after, honestly, most fantasy protagonists were lone wolves of one sort or another. These two blokes aren’t a party, but they are close. They banter. They grouse. Second, their fortunes rise and fall like the tide, and when the tide is low, they seek adventure, for how else will they pay their tavern tabs? This is at least two decades of the D&D experience in a nutshell.

They’re nearly all good (never read Adept’s Gambit though - trash). I tend to like the shorter adventures of the first three books best, but there are charms in the longer stories, particularly as they grow older and, mostly, none the wiser.

[smashpages]

Out this week: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Omnibus (Dark Horse, $29.99): Author Fritz Leiber’s sword-and-sorcery duo have made their way into comics on numerous occasions, going all the way back to DC’s Sword of Sorcery title in the 1970s. Everyone from Denny O’Neil to MIke Mignola to Howard Chaykin have brought the pair to the four-color page, and now Dark Horse rounds up a good chunk of those stories in one thick omnibus.

See what else is arriving at your local comic shop this week.

[tomoleary]

Jeffrey Catherine Jones - Sword of Sorcery #1 - Alternate Unpublished "Fafhrd the Barbarian and the Gray Mouser" (1973) Source

[morkarr]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Fanart from Fritz Leiber's books

[blacjaq1]

[oldschoolfrp]

"Lankhmart vampires only have their full vampiric abilities when the full moon is in the night sky. During other times, they have normal human characteristics -- those they had when they were mere mortals. Like all vampires, they must rest in their coffins during the day and can only come out at night, whether or not they are in their full vampiric phase." (James C McGonigle illus, AD&D Lankhmar module CA2: Swords of Deceit, TSR, 1986)

[balu8]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: The Price of Pain Ease

Sword and Sorcery #1

by Denny O'Neil; Howard Chaykin; Crusty Bunkers (?) and Ben Oda

DC

[yojimbot13]