handbook of Conan

série: Conan the Barbarian
dessinateur / scénariste: Collectif
éditeur: Marvel USA
genre: Heroic-Fantasy
classement: carton132
date: 1990
format: broché
état: TBE/N
valeur: 10 €
critère: **
remarques: English version, the offical handbook of the Conan universe,
magazine of documentation about the universe of Conan:
the Hyborian Age
a) the characters:
- Conan, the greatest man-legend born in Cimmeria,
black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand
with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth
- Red Sonja, a flame-haired helicat who won herself
the epithet "she-devil with a sword" born in Hyrcania
- Valeria, a tall, lithe, golden-haired spitfire,
she left Aquilonia to seek fortune on the waves
- Tranicos, the greatest of the Barachian pirates
- Kull, mightiest monach of the pre-Cataclysmic Age,
Kull the conqueror carved for himself a legendary kingship
in ancient Valusia some 8,000 years before Conan the Cimmerian
similarly strode stage center of the Hyborian world
- Bêlit, queen of the Black Coast, fearsome she-tiger of the sea
and fierce lover of Conan the Cimmerian,
Bêlit was born a Shemite princess

b) the people:
- the Bamula are one of the several large black tribes
of fighting men who dwell in the rain forest near the Black Kingdoms
- the Hyperborea, first of the aboriginal Hyborian tribes
to discover the use of stone in buildingstone
- the Iranistan, an eastern nation south of the Vilayet Sea,
one of Turan's strongest rivals, grown rich on trade
with Vendhya and the Black Kingdoms
- the Kozaki, a ruffian horde of wild outlaws who dwell
on the Turanian steppes west of the Vilayet Sea,
the Kozaki call themselves the Free People
- the Kush, this semicivilized nation has given its name
to the entire southern portion of the world-continent,
situated between Stygia and the Black kingdoms
- the Tlazitlans, originally inhabitants of the lake Zuad,
the Tlazitlans rebelled against their Stygian overlords
but were defeated, they fled to the ancient city of Xuchotl

c) the lands and nations:
>> p. 17/18 see map of the Hyborian Age
- Aesgaard, a far-northern nation, it is home
of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aesir, a race
of hunters and axe-wielding warriors
- Afghulistan, is home of the Alghuli outlaw tribe
who live in villages ruled by fierce headmen
- Aquilonia it rules supreme in the western world,
a commercial and military nation, home of Conan's castle
- Argos, among the greatest commercial nations
of the Hyborian Age, renowned for its maritime industry
- Atlantis, the pre-cataclysmic age is an imaginary period
that began about 100,000 years ago with the rise
of the Turian civilization
- Barachan Isles, known as pirate isles,
are a tiny archipelago off the southwestern coast of Zingara
- the Black Kingdoms, a black nation south of Stygia
- the Border Kingdom, a desolate wasteland with dreary plains
situated south of Aesgaard and Cimmeria,
serving as buffer between the northern Barbarians and
civilized Nemedia and Brythunia
- Brythunia, a Hyborian kingdom of city-states,
reputed for its girls with tousled yellow heads
- Bossonia, a frontier province of Aquilonia
inhabited by rustic farmers, foresters and huntsmen
- Corinthia, a land of mountains known for its famous road of kings
- Cimmeria, birthplace of Conan situated in the northern region,
direct descendants of the folk of lost Atlantis
- Hyrkania, a vast land of prairies, forest and tundra
east of the Vilayet Sea, inhabited by horse-warriors
- Iranistan, an eastern nation south of the Vilayet Sea,
one of Turan's strongest rivals
- Khitai, a far eastern land whose people, tradition
and civilization stretch back to pre-cataclysmic times,
known for their ancient knowledge and antique lore (nature)
- Koth, despite being surrounded by many nations,
Koth is among the greatest commercial nations of the age,
the capital of Koth is called queen of south with the worship of Mitra
- Kush is part of the Black Kingdoms, first black men of the Age
- Nemedia, among the Hyborian kingdoms, it is second
only to Aquilonia and is of great antiquity and sophistication
- Ophir, a fabulously prosperous kingdom with
mines ofdiamond and mountains of gold
- Pictland, inhabited by ferocious sea-land tribes
and forest-dwelling brothers
- Shem, is a land of contrast with broad fertile meadow-lands
and luxurious sensual splendor within walled palaces
- Stygia, an ancient and evil kingdom called "serpent of the south"
inhabited by a decadent theocracy, xenophobic people
obsessed with the subjects of death and immortality
- Turan, nation founded by Hyrkanian adventurers
who migrated around the southern end of the Vilayet Sea,
perhaps the greatest empire ever to rise
in the ancient world of Hyboria
- Vanaheim, a far-northern nation, home of the red-haired,
blue-eyed Vanir, a warrior race for whom battle is a religious duty
waged in the name of their god, the frost giant, Ymir
- Venarium, a frontier settlement of Aquilonia, now in ruins,
originally built by Gundermen
- Vendhya, a tropical country far to the east on the Southern Ocean,
ancient and wealthy kingdom fabled for its fabulous treasures
(gemstones, flowers, fruit and rare epices)
- Zingara, northeast of Argos, possesses a major shipping industry,
known for his Zingaran Freebooters, famous swordmen
- Zamora, a strange and fabulous kingdom,
founded by an ancient hybrid race,
dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery

+ some other subjects like
arms and armor, gods and worship, sorcery and demoncraft

>> quite an interesting and detailed description of Conan universe

enclosures:
- cover reprint 1993
- cover first issue 1986


Information
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian)
is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp-fiction magazines
and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films
(including Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer),
television programs (cartoon and live-action), video games,
role-playing games, and other media,
the character was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932
in a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine

Conan the Barbarian has appeared in comics nearly non-stop since 1970,
the comics are arguably, apart from the books, the vehicle
that had the greatest influence on the longevity and popularity of the character,
aside from an earlier and unofficial Conan comic published in Mexico,
the two main publishers of Conan comics
have been Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics,
Marvel Comics launched Conan the Barbarian (1970–1993)
and the classic Savage Sword of Conan (1974–1995),
Dark Horse launched their Conan series in 2003,
Dark Horse Comics is currently publishing compilations
of the 1970s Marvel Comics series in trade paperback format.

former President of the United States, Barack Obama,
is a collector of Conan the Barbarian comic books
and a big fan of the character] and appeared as a character
in a comic book called Barack the Barbarian from Devil's Due

Marvel Comics introduced a relatively lore-faithful version of Conan the Barbarian in 1970
with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith,
Smith was succeeded by penciller John Buscema,
while Thomas continued to write for many years,
later writers included J.M. De Matteis, Bruce Jones, Michael Fleisher, Doug Moench,
Jim Owsley, Alan Zelenetz, Chuck Dixon and Don Kraar,
in 1974, Conan the Barbarian series spawned the more adult-oriented,
black-and-white comics magazine Savage Sword of Conan,
written by Thomas with art mostly by Buscema or Alfredo Alcala,
Marvel also published several graphic novels starring the character
and a handbook with detailed information about the Hyborian world

the Marvel Conan stories were also adapted as a newspaper comic strip
which appeared daily and Sunday from 4 September 1978 to 12 April 1981,
originally written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by John Buscema,
the strip was continued by several different Marvel artists and writers

Dark Horse Comics began their comic adaptation of the Conan saga in 2003,
entitled simply Conan, the series was first written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by Cary Nord,
Tim Truman replaced Busiek when Busiek signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics;
however, Busiek issues were sometimes used for filler,
this series is an interpretation of the original Conan material by Robert E. Howard
with no connection whatsoever to the earlier Marvel comics or any Conan story
not written or envisioned by Howard supplemented by wholly original material

a second series, Conan the Cimmerian was released in 2008
by Tim Truman (writer) and Tomás Giorello (artist),
the series ran for twenty-six issues, including an introductory "zero" issue

Dark Horse's third series, Conan: road of Kings, began in December 2010
by Roy Thomas (writer) and Mike Hawthorne (artist)
and ran for twelve issues

a fourth series, Conan the Barbarian, began in February 2012
by Brian Wood (writer) and Becky Cloonan (artist),
it ran for twenty-five issues,
and expanded on Robert E. Howard's Queen of the Black Coast.

a fifth series, Conan the Avenger, began in April 2014
by Fred Van Lente (writer) and Brian Ching (artist),
i ran for twenty-five issues and expanded
on Robert E. Howard's the snout in the dark and a witch shall be born,
Dark Horse's sixth series, Conan the Slayer, began in July 2016
by Cullen Bunn (writer) and Sergio Dávila (artist

couvertures:
Copyright 2008 - 2024 G. Rudolf