The tragic case of Lin Carter

Lin Voorman Carter an American fantasy and science fiction writer. Who passed away in 1988 from a severe form of Oral Cancer. Much in the way Roger Ebert has been afflicted with the same illness LIN CARTER endured terrible disfiguration as a result of the surgeries required to remove the entire pieces and parts of his face. He resorted to imbibing in hard liquor and alcoholic tendencies to combat the depression and fuel his writing but ultimately led to his demise.

Carter wrote several CONAN novels along with L. Sprague Decamp ( Carter was his Protege ) and together they kept the world of CONAN’s Savage sword alive.

They created a son for CONAN by writing in a character by the name of CONN…the boys name was actually CONAN but to determine who was who and not to confuse the readers they came up with a nick name for him that Big Daddy CONAN affectionately used to refer to his offspring by.

Lin Carter in his endeavor to pay homage to his LITERARY heroes created a hero by the name of “THONGOR : Warrior of lost Lemuria” This character was a cross between REH’s CONAN and pseudo John Carter/David Innes Edgar Rice Burroughs creations.

In fact THONGOR (according to a recent issue of ALTER EGO magazine) was actually supposed to be the original comic book to launch Marvels new sword and sorcery titles not CONAN as it turned out. That is a story for another time. There were also plans for a Thongor movie back 1980 but that alas never came to fruition. In a near future article I will share that with the readers of CROM. It was a sad way for Mr. Carter to pass on but he contributed to the legacy of the most enduring and savage adventure characters of all time , CONAN the barbarian. I have provided an illustration by BRUCE TIMM the famed artist and animator. It is a recreation to CREATURES ON THE LOOSE number 28 featuring THONGOR.

Have you ever...

...wanted to see those little corner boxes in the corners of the covers of the early 70's and 80's comics a little closer?

Well here they are...CONAN the Barbarian by John Buscema....from the CTB comic book ( both 70's and 80's versions ) and KING CONAN and from the Movie adaptation...Marvel at the amazing art of the Barbarian by John Buscema...Illustrations provided by follower of CROM and John Buscema fan...the one and only Michael Maikowsky from his posts on the Facebook. Thanks Michael.

NEBRES 14.5 in COLOR! ( One day later )

Wow that was fast! Dominic from over at AIM comics sent in his color art the Rudy Nebres " One minute later piece". Like overnight! Needless to say...we LOVES it!

Dom had mentioned that the Princess there has some mits on her. ( Did I say Mits? ) I bet she don't need them claw crackers when she goes to the Red Lobster! Sheesh what a pair of Man Hands! But seriously...we love Rudy's art it's great...and thank you Dominic for Hooking us up with this nifty color piece. For those of you who'd like to see More of Dom's work...check it out here... in these links sent to us by the man himself! Thanks Dominic.

My Portfolio: www.paladinfreelance.comMy Comics: www.aimcomics.comMy CafePress Store: http://www.cafepress.com/pfreelance

One minute later , Rudy Nebres

Wow...I'm on a roll this week with the posts. I love these one minute later commissions done mostly by real actual factual pro's. This Rudy Nebres piece is amazing. It shows us that after all these years he still has what it takes to knock us out. I'm really digging ELRIC'S sword there too. It's Brain Smasher VS Storm bringer in a real barn burning titanic tumultuous battle of the ages. One minute later. If only it were in full color. Maybe one of the faithful followers of CROM can look upon us with favor and show us their talents by coloring it in...just sayin'. :)

What's in a name?...an observation by Mikeyboy

What an interesting topic of discussion. How exactly would one pronounce our stalwart heroes name? Co-nin , Co-nun , Co-nan , Cone – ann , Cawy aynun , Co-nahn? In fact depending on where you are from and who you are and happen to be you can just about say any word in the English language differently from someone else and who’s to say who is correct? Who are we in the vast world of diversity to contradict one another.

The people in BOSS-TUN really butcher the language like nobody else can. But the guys in Brooklyn are actually no better. But then let’s go all the way to Merry old England where our Master language was created. People on the outskirts of the city and in suburban areas and way out in the sticks ( If you will ) all have a cockney brogue and is littered with ignorant and uneducated slang terms…but it is their language. They may not be speaking the Kings English…but if you pay attention you can interpret what they’re saying just fine.

We go from Boston to Brooklyn to the Barrow in Furness all the way to Ojai California where Valley speak became popular…” No wayyy Duude!! “ But the fact of the matter is…we can still say it any way we want…it’s preferential , not mandatory.

People considered Pulp writers like Howard and Lovecraft to be uneducated hack wannabe writers with no real literary clout or credibility. Some say Bob Howard said Conun…for the name of his character. Maybe that’s true. It is quite possible that a TEXAN would follow through and name a Gaelic/Celtic/Welsh fictional creation a regional name with so many diverse pronunciations deliberately to get us thinking.

But the fact stands…it does not matter. We all will say it any way we want. Like the popular argument for “Aunt”….another word people commonly insist on pronouncing like they’ve got an English accent. They say “AWNT” but if you look it up in a Dictionary and look at it phonetically and check the pronunciation it’s clearly supposed to be…”ANT” as in upping the ANTE! But I myself am an AMERICAN not an AMERI-CAN’T and that rhymes with MAN and I’m a Man’s Man and so is CONAN and in fact he is the MAN , Barbarian and a Cimmerian and he happens to be an ancient Hyborean. That’s just my humble opinion.

Even though we cringe when we hear a word we feel is being pronounced the wrong way we need to stop and question ourselves. “Hey?” It’s just different. We are all different. We say it differently and we always will. So for the folks who like to say and firmly believe that Conan’s name is Conin or Conun. I applaud you all for sticking to your gun’s. Because you happen to be right. Then again…so am I. One thing is for certain. 8 decades of an enduring character and counting. As big time ULTIMATE fans of the Broadsword wielding Barbarian we are a force to be reckoned with. Long live CONAN the KING , Thief , Reaver , Slayer , Barbarian , Cimmerian and ULTIMATE WARRIOR!!! Here’s to another 80 years!!!

Rose McGowan Conan 3D Poster

Spotted this somewhere on the interwebs, forget where, reposting here. Boo-YA!

I'm actually pretty happy with her look, and it gives me hope for the greater intention of the new movie, because usually when Rose McGowan gets cast in something, it's as the sexy-hottie-babe type of role. Seeing her as this freaky witch-chick with the massive forehead makes me suspect that this movie is genuinely concerned with interesting characterization, and that alone can make a movie great. Of course, we'll see.

Conan the Barbarian Red Band Trailer [2011]

Even yet one more trailer showing us just a wee bit more Cap'n. My only issue...is the pronunciation of his name. Do you remember when William Shatner was on the tonight show talking about his STAR TREK film "The Wrath of Khan" ? The way he pronounced Wrath because it flowed well with the word Khan? Think about it....

" The Wrath of Khan "...well.." CONAN the BARBARIAN "...( Don't give me that nonsense about Celtic pronunciation and the proper way it's supposed to be said. ) Howard was a writer...and he thought..as writers do. Food for thought. ;)

New Conan TV Spot

Talk all the smack you guys want, I'm totally excited about seeing this move!




Okay, start your complaints...

Rob over at Topless Robot has a few thoughts on it as well...

Conan the Barbarian Munchkin Game!

From Steve Jackson Games:

Steve Jackson Games Announces: Munchkin Conan the Barbarian!

Conan is THE barbarian, defeating monsters, wizards, and whole armies, and this summer he'll hack his way back to the big screen with "Conan the Barbarian."

Munchkin is the ultimate card game of killing monsters and looting the bodies, with over a million games sold in 15 languages (and more on the way).

And now, Steve Jackson brings the two paragons of sword and sorcery together . . . in Munchkin Conan the Barbarian. "All the 'barbarian heroes' of gaming are directly inspired by Conan," Steve said. "When you think of Conan, you think of bloody fantasy action, horrible monsters, and epic loot – and that's Munchkin!"

"No one knows more about killing his foes and taking their stuff than Conan," said Munchkin Brand Manager Andrew Hackard. "The Paradox team are fans of Munchkin, and we love Conan, so this was a match decreed by the gods. The hardest part was cutting all the good stuff in the
movie down to 15 cards."

"You think you're tough and can take on Khalar Zym or Marique? With this Munchkin booster you can give it your best shot – just be prepared to lose a level," said Joakim Zetterberg, Director of Publishing at Paradox Entertainment/Conan Properties.

Munchkin Conan the Barbarian will be a 15-card booster for the original fantasy-based Munchkin game. It will hit stores in August 2011. It's illustrated by John Kovalic with the perfect blend of humor and action.

Get in on the action HERE!

Thongor! "Where Broods the Demon!" at Diversions of a Groovy Kind!

Under the "Not Quite Conan" file, we find our very Conan-esque comic book sword-swinger, Thongor, in a few killer pages from Creatures on the Loose #23, posted on one of my all-time favorite comic blogs, Diversions of a Groovy Kind. Check it out!

You can see more Thongor HERE!

Conan on Covered Blog!

We've often shown off some of the killer Conan-themed art posted t the Covered blog (a blog devoted to artists reinterpreting classic comic book covers in their own style), but there have been a few new ones since we last checked in, so I thought I'd just throw up a quick link to them all. Enjoy!

REH Days! June 10th - 11th!

For those of you who may be interested, REH Days are taking place next weekend in Cross Plains, Texas, celebrating our favorite pulp author, Robert E. Howard!

For more info, click HERE.