#hither came conan

[fallingtowers]

on the planet of serpent cults, where heat lightning always flickers on the far horizon, the queen of swords roams.

a thief, a reaver, a slayer: she is all these things and more. she embraces danger like a lover, and makes a fool of fate. she knows the five secret ways into the cursed temple, where one false move means death. she does battle with skeleton warriors while the stormclouds gather and the rising wind whips the tresses of her hair, which is black as grief or bright as gold—whatever works best for you.

1929, 1932, 1939—the year of publication is irrelevant; the queen of swords is always in her prime, and never grows old or infirm. if she dies, she will die by the sword, and that will never happen as long as she has an audience, and on the planet of jungles and ziggurats the golden age of pulps never ends. she is often wounded, but there is always a hut with dried herbs hanging from the rafters and a kindhearted peasant daughter to nurse her back to health, until the wound is just another scar.

she has so many scars.

she wears a bikini of bronze scales, which is the expected outfit for a woman in her line of work, but she would have worn it even if it wasn't, because she enjoys showing off. her body is muscular and sword-marked. her girlbulge is considerable. her pupils are dilated and her teeth stained red from chewing a root she got in the silver city, where every building is a generations-old repurposed spacecraft, and all the inhabitants are telepathic, and drugs grow freely in every garden. the root improves her reflexes as well as having an aphrodisiac effect, which is a useful combination on the planet of tombs and warlords, where lascivious sorceresses lurk behind every corner.

(when she was just a boy, her entire village was put to the sword. now she scatters deathblows the way a sower scatters seeds, and plumes of blood sprout in her wake. there is nothing wrong or unhealthy about this. it's the natural order of things, on the planet of conquest and savagery.)

the queen of swords, who dances on the razor's edge, who flouts the laws of men and gods! the horse she rides is always rearing; she is always backlit by lightning; her cloak snaps in the boreal gale. vallejo, frazetta, norem—everyone who is anyone has painted her. her name is whispered in the city of knives, where thieves hide in every cellar and hounds of bone and black smoke stalk the roofs, and in the city of sails, and in the city of broken idols. they speak of her even in the city of jeweled thrones, the greatest of all the cities of men, where sleep martyrs take stimulants that keep them awake until it kills them, and sarong-clad princesses burn for her touch.

though she has visited a thousand cities, she has no home. though she has taken a thousand lovers, she has never married. she lies awake late into the night, turning her melancholies this way and that like puzzle boxes.

on the planet of dust storms and pterosaurs, where every swamp teems with lizard-men and eight-foot-tall arthropodal reavers from beyond the stars descend in dropships made of steel and crystallized honeydew, there is always another adventure. but afterwards, in the silence after the clash of steel, she leaves empty-handed. the jewels slip between her fingers, and when her latest woman asks her to stay, of course she cannot accept. there is always another adventure, another forgotten dungeon or distant beckoning city, and as long as she has an audience, the queen of swords must roam.

yes, hers is a lonely life, but look, look: as she trudges through the violet sands of the southern wastes, drops of rain begin to fall, fat and blood-warm, stirring the hot dust—and the desert blooms around her.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

“…THE CIMMERIAN, BLACK-HAIRED, SULLEN-EYED, SWORD IN HAND, A THIEF, A RVEAVER, A SLAYER…”

PIC INFO: Spotlight on the avatar for the “Hither Came Conan” podcast, original artwork by the late, great John Buscema for Marvel Comics Group of the ‘70s & '80s.

OVERVIEW: “Hither Came Conan is the podcast where I’m talking about Conan, the black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand barbarian. In some episodes I compare the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories with their various comic book adaptions. I’m also looking at the new "Conan the Barbarian” series from Titan each month as a new issue is released. But mostly, I’m going through each of the old Marvel comics, one issue at a time, starting with "Conan the Barbarian" #1, published in July of 1970. Episodes release as often as I can put one together.“

– "HITHER CAME CONAN” (via Red Circle)

Source: https://redcircle.com/shows/hither-came-conan (2x).

[coupleofdays]

It's funny to imagine Conan the Barbarian using "slay" in the modern slang term, I.E. "looking gorgeous" or "wearing beautiful clothes".

"I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content."

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer."

[racefortheironthrone]

So would Conan be more of a Bronze Age setting than Medieval? I know Howard & other pastiche writers like to mix & match cultures & eras, so it's not really period accurate, but the kings Conan runs into have palaces and armies and even he seems to have more of a government as king of Aquilonia. Does it matter that Aquilonia is clearly France, Vanaheim & Asgard are Scandinavia, and Zamora is Spain etc?

It’s complicated, not just because Robert E. Howard liked to mix and match, but also because he had some very odd ideas about the cyclicality of history. If we’re going to get technical about it, Conan the Barbarian is a pre-Bronze Age setting; as the quote goes:

“Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."

This is Howard’s whole idea for the Hyborian Age: Atlantis was a real, advanced (albeit decadent) civilization, it was actually destroyed, and then mankind fell into barbarism. Gradually, new civilizations emerged and flourished and what Howard writes about as the Hyborian Age comes to pass, although it too is doomed to be destroyed in the literal biblical Flood, and then eventually what we call the Bronze Age would eventually emerge.

This is why Howard always traced his maps onto maps of the Mediterranean- in his mind, all of his stories were real history accessed through past life regression (at various times, Howard thought he was the reincarnation of Conan, and also of Celtic warriors, which he remembered in dreams) a sort of eternal palimpsest, with similar nations known by different names, various racial types existing by different names in various ages, and technologies like iron and steel rediscovered again and again.

I’m telling you, fantasy as a genre was really weird until they realized they could just make all of it up without having to tie it back to the real world.

[dirtyriver]

Conan the Syndicated, or "Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, three panels per day..."

Announcing the Conan comic strip in Savage Sword of Conan #27, March 1978. The strip ran from September 4, 1978 to April 12, 1981.

[krinsbez]

BattleTech+Pulp Heroes: A Preview

Know, O Prince, that between the years when the madness of Amaris choked the life from the Star League and the topless towers fell to ruin, and the years of the return of Kerensky's brood from bitter exile, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay scattered across the sky like jewels in a broken crown - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Canopus with its dark-haired women and towers of healing, Avalon with its chivalry, Luthien with its poets enshrouded by dark fogs, frozen Tharkad and its wondrous ice-palaces, ever-torn Atreus whose warriors wore purple. But the proudest kingdom of all was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the far periphery. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian; black-haired, sullen-eyed, atop a mighty BattleMech, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the galaxy under his feet.

A BT-ification of the famous epigraph of "The Phoenix On The Sword", done by forumboard poster Mal-3.

I'm pretty pleased with it, but if y'all have suggestions to make it better, I wanna hear 'em!

[simeonscott]

Hither Came Conan.

[ramoth13]

Touching the Ancient: Fact and Fiction

There exists a fascination within our fictions with the idea of the ancient and our proximity to it. Whether it's sprawling archeological adventures, vast forgotten cities, or the writings of those long past, the ancient begs to be heard in the ruins of our ancestors, be it stone or page. The ancient compells us, transforms us, and inspires us forward. Nowhere does the ancient affect us more than in fantasy, that genre where the ancient need not be present at all, yet has more prevalence and dominion than in almost any other genre.

But where does that stem from?

It is hard to imagine such ancient fascination originating anywhere outside of the Mythology of our religions.

Mythology is the ancient that is still (in so far as it pertains to religion) relevant. Here, I used Norse Mythology, because of its relation to stories such as Beowulf and Medievalism, but take your pick. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Zorastrianism, Greek, and/or Egyptian mythologies all create a narrative that explains why the ancient is immediately relevant. Fantasy, it can and has been said, is a direct descendant of Mythology, extending back to the kinds of myths that are now staples of literature, like the Epic of Gilgamesh or even The Odyssey.

But something happens in the 19th century that changes the layout of ancient history. After Napoleon Bonaparte set out to claim the ancient world for himself, essentially creating the idea of the Meuseum, we set off on a path to reclaim our origins. We start trying to go back, to pinpoint the earliest stages of our existence. Science has become the dominant source of knowledge, and historians and archeologists have become more than just academics, but conduits to a lost world. Thus, it was only natural that during this period, where fact and myth were endlessly enmeshed, that stories began to emerge that radically shifted what "ancient" even was.

Pulp fiction was certainly not the first foray into the ancient, but it was one of the earlier elements that capitalized on our newfound obsession with discovering the ancient. Conan the Barbarian leapt off of the page because his stories doubled down on ancient, marrying our consideration of what was ancient to an even earlier ancient filled with eldritch monsters and secrets best left buried.

"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - (...) Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."

Conan's age before written histories was an endless opportunity to tell the human story with all of magics of our myths but without the confines of conflicting dogma. Lovecraft's tales invoked fear and the utter unimportance of humanity in the face of the ancient cosmos, while Edgar Rice Burrough's tales sang of a new dominance over the ancient by the modern man in Tarzan and John Carter. The early 1900s were a breeding ground for the kinds of stories that would later inspire the masses.

Now there is a taste for the weird and a desire for the old. Enter, Tolkien.

(You didn't really think I'd go an entire short essay without bringing him up, did you?)

A linguist with a fascination of mythology and weird stories, the dear professor decides to enter the game. He wants to write his own history of our world before the dawn of recorded histories, but he's got his own ideas on how detailed he wants to be.

Rather than merely creating another history, Tolkien's mythology instead seeks to tap into the ancient by recreating the historical hurdles that historians face. The books we get are (according to Tolkien, *wink * *wink*) translations of copies of copies of retellings and secondhand accounts with lots of missing data.

"Tolkien used the language of the historians to create fabricated history with all of its flaws. This sets up a world where the past is immediately relevant, something Tolkien desperately wanted" (I'm paraphrasing Sherrylyn Branchaw here).

The world of Middle-earth is ancient for us, but contains the ancient within. The Elves have risen, and fallen. Morgoth's legacy remains, but his person is gone. Gondolin, the twin trees, Numenor, all ancient and almost forgotten in the time of Bilbo and Frodo.

The fantasy genre as a whole is subjected to the ancient as a trope after this. From the Howard-esque sword and sorcerous world of Michael Moorecock's Elric of Melnibone, to the endless stories of myth and magic, the ancient is the obsession of the "nerdy" even unto genres you wouldn't expect. So many superheroes get their powers from ancient beings (Shazam, Dr. Fate, Thor himself, etc) and even in the most iconic space operas....

Its a part of Star Wars that people often forget, but the where of this story is just as important as the when. It's the starting point, before all else, it has to tell you that this story is distant from us, but also ancient to us. And somehow that makes it just a slight bit more compelling.

Though the colonialism that is embedded in the "scholar/explorer" genre is definitely something that should be recognized and acknowledged as harmful, the fascination with the ancient (and those of us that love it) is compelling in almost any format.

(Side note: Dr. Justin Jacobs has a wonderful seminar/podcast discussing the "Indiana Jones within History" [which is also a book he wrote,] that is a genuinely a fun read/listen and very informative on the subject.)

Although stories like Indiana Jones tends to be far more fiction than fact, the compelling element of such stories isn't in their truth, but in their possibilities. Dr. Jones says it best in his classroom, "Archaeology is the search for fact—not truth" and while myths may not be true, the bones of these stories is brimming with poetically resonating facts.

As we look forward to new medias, new stories, new myths, and new sagas, I hope we leave the need for truth behind. I long for a day when a story's merit isn't in its "realism" or its plausibility, but in its spirit and its myth. I look forward to the day when we let go of the need for things not to be silly, so long as they are sublime and awe-inspiring. I long for a day when we watch an unrealistic movie and are enchanted by the wonder of the story and the beauty of a book.

That's the power of the ancient in our stories. The power of the tales told round the hearth. None of the best stories are realistic at their core, though "real" might be an ingredient. It's the wonder of a story that matters, and I'll take wonder over reality anytime.

While we look for stories in a new age to love and hold dear, look for the stories where the ancient is alive, where the stories, regardless of plausibility or reality, are living. As Dr. Jones says, "one of the great dangers of archaeology; not to life and limb, although that does sometimes take place. I’m talking about folklore."

~Ramoth13

[know-o-princess]

Obligatory pinned introductory post

What's up Tumbos, this is my idea/inspiration/worldbuilding blog for a story I'm planning to write, wherein I will be posting...ideas, inspiration, and worldbuilding. For a story I'm planning to write.

What's the story?

It's a sword and sorcery dinopunk story called, get this, called Know, O Princess.

The fuck does "sword and sorcery dinopunk" mean, you stupid nerd?

Imagine Conan the Barbarian, with dinosaurs. Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age is actually a pretty big influence on the setting, and the story's title is itself inspired by the opening to the first published Conan story:

Know, o prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars—Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen- eyed,sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.

...Only gender swapped because one of the main characters is a princess.

Will you be posting a lot of art for it here then?

Probably not, because I don't enjoy drawing as much as I used to and I'm much more interested in writing. There will be maps though. You can't have a fantasy setting without maps.

Okay that's all for now I may come back and edit this post later or I might not who cares bye.

[krafty1]

"The Song of Red Sonja"

Conan The Barbarian #24 Cover Artist: Barry Windsor-Smith Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Date: March 1973 Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.The Nemedian Chronicles. Barry Windsor-Smith’s run on Conan just…

[ungoliantschilde]

Hither Came Conan, by John Buscema. 

My Inks: 

from February of 2016.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

WINSDOR-SMITH -- VERPOORTEN -- ROSEN -- "THE COMING OF CONAN!"

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1500x1500 -- Spotlight on one of two avatars used by the “Hither Came Conan” podcast, original artwork by the legendary Barry Windsor-Smith (lifted from "CONAN" Vol. 1 #1, 1970) for Marvel Comics Group of the early 1970s.

PIC #2: Original cover art to "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" Vol. 1 #1, by Barry Winsdor-Smith, John Verpoorten, & Sam Rosen. Marvel Comics.

Sources: https://redcircle.com/shows/hither-came-conan & Heritage Auctions (Comics, a Comic Art, & Animation).

[father-of-the-void]

Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.

Robert E. Howard, The Nemedian Chronicles; Conan the Barbarian

[lastcimmerian]

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. "

[matty-from-megalos]

When that fedora dude wrote

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."

he was talking about me, he just got the name & pronoun wrong is all

[barbariankingdom]

Hither came Conan