Review by Todd A. Woods for Cinescape Online March 2000 More than 65 years after his suicide at age 30, pulp writer Robert E. Howard--creator of Conan, the Barbarian--still fascinates readers with his vivid tales of heroic barbarians, evil sorcerors and voluptuous heroines. Wandering Star publishing has taken on the task of reprinting many of Howard's classic works in finely-crafted collector's editions...

So ends "Beyond the Black River", one of Robert E. Howard's best stories where the civilized and the barbaric meet in a struggle for survival. This story is the first included in The Ultimate Triumph, the second volume in Wandering Star's Robert E. Howard Library of Classics.

What an exciting book! When I first heard about the combination of Howard stories and unpublished Frazetta sketches my mind went "yaahh! That'll get their attention." Robert E. Howard has long languished under the reputation of being a "pulp writer" and books like this should do a lot to change those opinions. Other than the two Wandering Star volumes, there has been no widely available Howard hardbacks published since 1990. This is wrong! Fortunately, Wandering Star plans more volumes in the library with the Bran Mak Morn volume to appear later this year.

The Ultimate Triumph reunites Robert E. Howard, the master of barbarian fiction, with Frank Frazetta, the master of barbarian art. Frazetta's cover paintings were a major reason for the fantasy literature explosion of the 1960's. It was Frazetta's paintings of the ultimate barbarian, Conan of Cimmeria, that helped sell thousands of copies of Conan paperbacks. Certainly no fan of modern fantasy is unaware of the work of Frazetta.

The book is a wonderful example of the book maker's art. Included are seven of Howard's best barbarian stories and five pieces of verse. Placed throughout the text are over 120 black and white sketches taken from the sketch books of Frazetta, many of which have never before been published. The book's designer, Marcelo Anciano, has done a great job of matching these diverse sketches to the stories they illustrate

The book is available in three versions: a trade edition of 2500 copies which includes the sketches and a nice color Frazetta cover; a limited edition of 1500 copies comes in a matching slipcase, numbered, with gilt edged pages, Including 4 never-before-published water-colors. An ultra limited edition of 100 copies comes in leather binding with an additional color plate. The forward is by Frazetta himself; the introduction by noted Howard scholar Rusty Burke. Mr. Burke compiled the text used for the book and his introduction offers superb insight into the choices that were made. There are several appendices, including a Howard timeline, excerpts from Howard to H.P. Lovecraft, essays by French scholar Patrice Louinet and Frazetta friend and expert, Dr. David Winiewicz, and a complete listing of all textual changes made to the material. But more on the appendices later.

Robert E. Howard Born in 1906, son of a small town doctor, Robert E. Howard lived in a variety of small Texas towns until 1919, when his family moved to Cross Plains, Texas. This is where Robert was able to observe "civilized" men as towns in the area mushroomed due to oil booms. The rapid influx of people as the strikes were made was similar to the gold rushes of the Old West and Howard's opinions of civilization developed from these observations, supplemented by the volumes of history books he voraciously read. Howard claimed that Conan was developed from an amalgamation of his observations of these people. A prolific writer of pulp stories, the majority of Howard's work appeared in the popular magazines of the day: Weird Tales, Action Stories, Fight Stories, and many others.

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta got his start doing work on the Li'l Abner comic. After eight years he took the opportunity to start doing book covers for an Ace line of Tarzan books, and sales of the books increased dramatically. Next he was offered a chance to do covers for the new series of Conan anthologies from Lancer Books. The first painting appeared on Conan the Adventurer and set a standard by which all barbarian characters are measured today. Since then Frazetta has done hundreds of book covers, album covers, and other pieces. The sketches included in The Ultimate triumph represent his work from the mid 1950's up to today. It's incredible the way action and life leap from his black and white sketches, some of which are barely more than line drawings.

The Stories "Beyond the Black River" is a classic Conan tale of adventure and action. Taking place on the frontier of one of the civilized nations of Conan's world, it describes an invasion by a barbaric horde and how the only person able to cope with the barbarians is Conan, a barbarian himself. The story is unusual in that Conan is not the main character, though his actions directly effect all that goes on. Most fans consider this to be one of Howard's finest Conan stories.

"The House of Arabu" appears in its original form for the first time. The text is taken from a manuscript of Howard's and eliminates the changes made when the story was first published in 1952. "Arabu" tells the story of the bewitching of Pyrrhus of Argive, and his subsequent confrontation with the demons sent to kill him. Again we have a story of a barbarian--as Prryhus is considered by his hosts--triumphing where civilized men can't, or won't.

"The Spears of Clontarf" is a straight adventure tale where Celt and Viking face each other at the battle of Clontarf. This is a rare Howard story, previously only available in limited print run publications.

"Lord of Samarcand" tells the story of Donald MacDeesa, a Scotsman who will go to any length to wreak revenge on the Turkish lord who ordered the killing of Frankish captives MacDeesa had fought beside. MacDeesa, merely a tool in the hands of his master, is portrayed as the barbarian among the civilized, a man whose personal code of ethics allows no affront to go unanswered.

"The Night of the Wolf" is a Cormac Mac Art story, Howard's Irish adventurer. Cormac gets involved in Viking politics while attempting to free a Danish king. The issue is settled when Picts attack the Viking settlement from which Cormac is attempting escape.

"Spear and Fang" pits Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal in a fight over a stolen woman. Howard's first professionally published story, "Spear and Fang" appeared in the July, 1925 issue of Weird Tales.

"The Valley of the Worm" is one of the James Allison re-incarnation stories. In this story, Niord, a member of the tribe known as the Aesir, defeats the terrible worm that inhabits a shunned valley containing the remnants of a decaying city. Howard postulates Niord as the worm-slaying hero upon which later myths such as Perseus, Beowulf, and St. George are based. This is one of Howard's most popular and most frequently reprinted stories.

Five pieces of Howard's barbarian-themed verse are also included. The poem "An Echo From The Iron Harp" appears in this form for the first time. Howard's body of verse is quite large and it is exciting to see these included in this book. Don't skip them.

The appendices contain historical material, bibliographic, data,and two essays about Howard and Frazetta. They are primarily aimed at the Howard scholar.

In the excerpts from letters that Howard sent to H.P. Lovecraft, we find their long-standing discussion about barbarism and civilization. It's long been debated what Howard actually meant with his barbarism vs. civilization writings. A careful read of these excerpts should answer that question.

Next is a timeline of Howard's life and career, paralleled with other historical events. This places Howard's works in their publication order and allows some ordering as to when they were written, although some stories were written long before their publication.

"Waiting for the Barbarians" is Patrice Louinet's essay on how Howard developed some of his barbaric characters and how each reflected Howard's own personality and tastes. Mr. Louinet is one of the pre-imminent Howard scholars today.

"The Power of Passion" is an essay about Frank Frazetta by Dr. David Winiewicz, one of Frazetta's best friends for the last twenty years. Dr. Winiewicz is responsible for the collecting the sketches included in the book. In it he discusses why Frazetta seems the perfect illustrator for Robert E. Howard stories and how Frazetta developed into the influential fantasy artist he is. A very enlightening piece.

The last appendix is a list of all textual changes made to the stories. The importance of this cannot be overstated considering the amount of editing done to Howard's stories over the years.

The only criticism I could possibly make is that the 40-odd pages of appendices could have covered more of Howard's stories and Frazetta's art. Not all barbaric people wear chain mail and swing swords. Several of Howard's other characters could have been included as most show some kind of conflict between the civilized and the barbaric. But this is a minor point.

In the end, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Howard fans should be aware that the Frazetta art is a major selling point and be sure to get one before his fans buy them all up. His sketches impressed me more than the stories. Every time I open the book, I see something new. Sounds clichéd but its true.

- Todd A. Woods