I'm looking for all the different permutations of Conan's "origin" story, and who can be credited for them.
Obviously, we have REH's as revealed in the P.S. Miller letter, but in addition...
- Stone & Milius' for Conan the Barbarian, where Conan's parents are murdered by Thulsa Doom, his village is destroyed, he is sold into slavery, and pushes a wheel for 20 years
- Harry Turtledove's for Conan of Venarium, where Conan's home has been conquered by Aquilonia and Conan leads the rebellion
- Christy Marx's for Conan the Adventurer, where Conan's parents and grandfather are turned to stone by Wrath-Amon, and he embarks on a quest to restore them and defeat Wrath-Amon with his marvellous star metal sword along with his trusty sidekicks
- Michael Higgins' for Conan the Barbarian #235, where Venarium is a hyper-futuristic city destroyed by sorcery
- From the Conan the Cimmerian game, where Conan was living happily as a blacksmith with his wife in the sleepy village of Irskuld, until a group of horsemen under the command of Thoth-Amon raid the village, knock Conan out, murder his wife, butcher his friends, and ride away
- Dennis Richard & Charles Henry Fabian's for the Conan series, where Conan's homeland is enslaved by Hissah-Zuhl
- Busiek's for "Born on the Battlefield," the only one that actually starts with REH's letter as a basis, albeit also making Conan a Chosen One responsible for the Aquilonian invasion
- Doppenheimer's for "Conan,"where "Conan's" father is slain by Khalar Zym, his village is destroyed, and he manages to escape to embark on a life of vengeance/faffs about the Hyborian Age without really caring about the dude who wiped out his people until he comes across him years later
Have I missed any?
How about the show where Conan raises his magic sword and yells "By the power of Grayskull!" ....or was that a different program?
ReplyDeleteWhat about Dark horse/Busieks "born on the battlefield"?
ReplyDeleteI cant imagine you allow that to pass for "REH's as revealed in the P.S. Miller letter" even if they claim the effort of "getting it right".
No offence to busiek, on the contrary, I think he deserves to be on the top of that list (even if there has been some talk about "the wimpification of cimmerian women" among other things).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Im currently following BOOM studios adaptation of "do androids dream of electric sheep", where they actually use Philip k Dicks word by word story as the text part. An admirable project. Just saying.
How about the show where Conan raises his magic sword and yells "By the power of Grayskull!" ....or was that a different program?
ReplyDeleteEep!
What about Dark horse/Busieks "born on the battlefield"?
I cant imagine you allow that to pass for "REH's as revealed in the P.S. Miller letter" even if they claim the effort of "getting it right".
Excellent point, Fredrik: though Busiek includes (almost) everything from the Miller letter, it's the expansions that bother me. Like making Conan into some sort of golden child, Conan being responsible for the Aquilonians invading, reducing the role of Cimmerian women in battle, having Conan's first taste of battle being a golden-hued dream...
No offence to busiek, on the contrary, I think he deserves to be on the top of that list (even if there has been some talk about "the wimpification of cimmerian women" among other things).
Oh, most assuredly. Even given my problems, it's the only origin story that actually uses REH's letter as a basis.
"faffs about the Hyborian Age without really caring about the dude who wiped out his people until he comes across him years later"
ReplyDeleteI think Andrew Lobel make a good job in the rewrite. I prefer this take than the pointless "lifelong quest for payback". Because this make Conan a real ADVENTURER instead of a some sort of revenge slave.
Considering that the producers NEEDS a John Millius origin, this version provides the best aproximation to the problem. Anyone else have another solution? Considering that "to make a Black Colossus movie" is NOT an option.
I prefer this take than the pointless "lifelong quest for payback". Because this make Conan a real ADVENTURER instead of a some sort of revenge slave.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I think it just presents a whole new set of problems. Instead of Conan going after the people who destroyed his home and family, he decides to just... give up. He goes and adventures while this massive blood debt hasn't been repaid, and that the people responsible are essentially free. That's at *least* as un-Howardian as the quest for revenge in the first place.
Considering that the producers NEEDS a John Millius origin, this version provides the best aproximation to the problem.
I've been working on such a solution for a while: it isn't ideal, but it's the sort of thing *I'd* prefer to see over either of the two options we have just now.
Here's another origin story, from the 1991 DOS game:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mobygames.com/game/conan-the-cimmerian
Conan the Cimmerian was living happily as a blacksmith with his wife in the village of Irskuld, Cimmeria. (Oh joy!) Until one fateful day! A group of horsemen raided his village. Conan was knocked unconscious, awakening only to find his wife and his friends butchered in the aftermath. Conan discovers the architect of the slaughter was a wizard named Thoth-Amon...
Ah, thank you kindly, Anon!
ReplyDelete