tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498739347909985243.post5420509861021728681..comments2024-03-28T07:09:28.500+00:00Comments on The Speculative Scotsman: Coming Back to Comic Books | The Coming of ConanAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08713791516631476930noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498739347909985243.post-69332690001420970052011-07-19T18:25:07.688+01:002011-07-19T18:25:07.688+01:00Will do, Kris - on all counts!
In fact the more I...Will do, Kris - on all counts!<br /><br />In fact the more I see of this new-fangled Conan film, the closer and closer I get to declaring the week of release a celebration of all things Cimmeria. Maybe a look at the older movies, the next few trades, and finally - since I see Gollancz are releasing a tie-in collection of some of what (some) scholars agree are the best Conan stories - a bit of catching up on the old classics.<br /><br />We shall see soon enough whether or not I manage to find the time, I expect...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08713791516631476930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498739347909985243.post-29529708486760958402011-07-19T14:38:56.421+01:002011-07-19T14:38:56.421+01:00I posted a less than favorable review for The Comi...I posted a less than favorable review for The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Volume 1 of a Del Rey's anthology)on Amazon a few years back, and it still receives angry comments from Conan fanboys. I grew up with Milius and Arnold's Conan the Barbarian, rather than Howard's Conan stories. And while the former is based on the latter, Milius' take on the steel-eyed barbarian didn't adequately prepare me for the real Conan stories, which are far more whimsical and less philosophical (this is only my opinion, Howard fans will vehemently disagree with me) than the Milius piece.<br /><br />I have enjoyed every volume in the collected series of comics from Dark Horse, but the stories from Howard just didn't grab me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they lacked some quality of mystery or enchantment that I felt was present in Milius' rendering of the character and his Hyborian Age. <br /><br />Anyway, keep reading the comics. I don't think any of them are quite as good as that first one, but none of them are bad. I'd be curious to hear your opinions on some of Howard's material, though. <br /><br />Curiously, generally not being a fan of poetry, I've found the most moving piece of original Conan lore to be the poem titled, Cimmeria, by Howard. It probably doesn't hurt that the poem was inspired by land that is practically in my backyard, but despite that it's got something the stories lack. Shades of gray and whispers of things that might have been. You can find and read Cimmeria in just a few minutes on the web. I'd like to hear what you think about it. Thanks, Niall.<br /><br />Kris<br /><br /><a href="http://kristopherdenby.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">The Sound and Fury of Kristopher A. Denby</a>Kristopher A. Denbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01334903630007014823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498739347909985243.post-87332167562931936892011-07-13T10:09:49.117+01:002011-07-13T10:09:49.117+01:00Generally, Busiek's adaptation of "The Fr...Generally, Busiek's adaptation of "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is practically word-for-word from the Howard story. I might disagree with certain elements or interpretations like the toothsome Ice-Giants, but everything that happens is pretty solid. Frequently Busiek just takes whole stretches of Howard's dialogue and prose and quotes it.<br /><br />All the content preceding and succeeding TF-GD is Busiek, based on hints Howard left in a letter to P.S. Miller:<br /><br /><i>There was the space of about a year between Vanarium and his entrance into the thief-city of Zamora. During this time he returned to the northern territories of his tribe, and made his first journey beyond the boundaries of Cimmeria. This, strange to say, was north instead of south. Why or how, I am not certain, but he spent some months among a tribe of the Aesir, fighting with the Vanir and the Hyperboreans, and developing a hate for the latter which lasted all his life and later affected his policies as king of Aquilonia. Captured by them, he escaped southward and came into Zamora in time to make his debut in print.</i><br /><br />That said, Busiek's interpretation of the Hyperboreans as eight-foot-tall sorcerers and purple ogres is, ahem, somewhat controversial, and led to some weird situations where these giant purple ogre Hyperboreans turn up in Howard adaptations, and really stick out as a result.<br /><br />Hopefully you'll have a read of the Complete Chronicles of Conan, though. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is only about nine pages long, but it's so packed with symbolism, description, allusions and mythic grandeur that it feels like a miniature epic. The translation into a visual medium unfortunately meant some of that was lost, but that's the nature of adaptation.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.com