I recently finished reading the graphic novelization of Robert E. Howard's, Conan: The Frost Giant's Daughter. It was a great read with exciting art. What I enjoy most about Conan, be it short stories, graphic novels, or even movies, is that this Barbarian is the amalgamation of Robert E. Howard's interaction with the world around him. In the small afterword of the graphic novel, it is written that he took from all the real life people he had met growing up in Texas during an oil boom and put the most dominant of all of those characteristic into what would become his most famous of all characters. There is something very real about this character. He is raw, he is rough, he is horny, he is loyal, he is noble, and despite the fact that he never really cries, he wears his heart on his sleeve. He is not one for deceit or for trickery. He delights in honest, real battle and he takes pleasure when he can find it. For anyone who is not familiar with this character, I would suggest going straight to the source first and foremost. A great many of Robert E. Howard's stories are available for free through various public domain sites and it is through one such site that I first became acquainted with the author behind Conan.
There is much I have yet to read, and many characters that I have yet to get to know, but of the Howard creations I've encountered, my favorite is, by far, King Kull. The movie, Kull the Conqueror, staring Kevin Sorbo was a huge disappointment and I long for a better, more accurate, motion picture representation of my wonderful Kull, the exile turned King. Alas, this will probably never happen since Kull and Conan are very similar - both have dark hair, bulging muscles, brooding faces, and fight as beserkers - and the world has already claimed one as their favorite. They chose well, as I too love Conan, but it's a pity that there can't be two brave, brawny barbarians ruling the silver screen. They have, however, recently started releasing new graphic novels of Kull and my girlfriend has been ever so diligent in acquiring these for me.
Along with Robert E. Howard, I have been very swept away by H.P. Lovecraft and during explorations of both of these amazing and influential authors (one being the father of sword-and-sorcery and the other the father of modern horror) I have come across a variety of names that merit further investigation. Clark Ashton Smith and his horror/fantasy comrades, Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, were known as the 'three musketeers' of Weird Tales, a magazine that frequently published their materials. Other authors of the time who delved into similar subject matter were Frank Belknap Long, August Derleth, and Robert Bloch. Of the three just mentioned, I have actually read some of Robert Bloch: This Crowded Earth, an obscure look at the future of an overpopulated world and the means and measures people take to adapt for survival. However, Robert Bloch authored much more popular pieces, one of those being Psycho. I have seen the film, loved it, and would very much love to get my hands on the original book as I am finding that it is best to stick to the horse's mouth when it comes to horror stories.
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