Robert E. Howard achieved immortality as a storyteller mostly on the strength of the mighty thews of Conan of Cimmeria. Most of us discovered REH through Conan, and some readers are not really interested in exploring his work beyond Conan. There is a distinction in his fandom between Howard fans and Conan fans.
There’s a lot more to Howard than Conan, though — a remarkably wide output across a range of genres and characters, all accomplished in a few, short years before his suicide at age 30 in 1936. A portion of that output was Western tales, a genre he was more and more drawn to in the last couple of years of his life. Howard was a Texan, who imbibed deeply of the frontier history of his state, and frontier themes were prominent in fiction other than his Westerns, including some of the best Conan tales. Francis X. Gordon, El Borak, may have ventured out onto the far-flung frontiers of Arabia and Afghanistan at the turn of the 20th Century, but his roots were on the Tex-Mex border.
The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press is set to release a collector’s volume of REH’s Westerns:
The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press is delighted to present the Ultimate Edition of Western Tales, a comprehensive and meticulously curated collection of Robert E. Howard’s traditional and weird western stories. This new edition, spanning 646 pages, is available in hardcover, softcover, and eBook formats, making it an essential addition to any fan’s library.
This expanded edition brings together classic tales, rare fragments, and newly restored works. Among the highlights are the alternate version of “The Devil’s Joker,” the fragment “Drag,” and the previously unpublished synopsis “Vultures’ Sanctuary.” These, along with Howard’s classic western tales, showcase the breadth and depth of his storytelling prowess in the western genre.
Just as frontier themes permeated Howard’s work, so, too, did the atmosphere hailing from the timbers of Fennario. Even his “straight” fiction often had at least a touch of the weird, and some of his Westerns pioneered the horror-Western mash-up of the “Weird Western. Which is evident in Mark Wheatley’s wild wraparound cover:
This volume will definitely find its way onto the Frontier Partisans bookshelf when it drops in February.
Matthew says
I really like a lot of Howard’s Weird Westerns. I particularly like Old Garfield’s Heart. I’ve read some of his straight westerns too. I don’t think I liked them as much, but it was a long time ago and I imagine I might feel different today.
I can’t remember if I first read Conan or Solomon Kane. I think it is Conan but am not sure. I tend to think that Kane is his best character but Conan was his best series. If that makes sense.
Paul McNamee says
Helluva cover!
JimC says
I like Wheatley a lot.
Paul McNamee says
And ya just had to remind me that I wanted to get the Poetry volumes. And it looks like they came out in paperback.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Robert%20E.%20Howard%20Poetry
2025 this is my bank account. Bank Account, this is 2025.
Ah. I see you’ve already met.
JimC says
Right?
Ugly Hombre says
Weird Western’s done right are big fun- I wish someone would do a R.E.H. One of my favorites is “The Missing” with Tommy Lee Jones. Apache witchcraft plot featuring a very bad “Brujo”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNxqpGKDA5A
Over on the Colt Forum they were talking about practical use of the thumb buster- somebody came up with this “fear the undead” clip. Must have had a good gun coach. Never heard about that show before. I’m scart of Zombies- where I live you can’t spit without hitting one. Damn things are every were.
I am not a fan of gore but the “fear the undead clip made me laugh. “Bone Tomahawk” put me off my Hopia for a week. but I guess that’s the way you have to deal with zombies.
I just cross the street to avoid them- their not to bright, and even slower than old buzzards.
JimC says
The Missing: That movie had a great creepy vibe to it without going over the top. Underrated. Due for a re-watch.
Quixotic Mainer says
My SASS club does a “zombie” shoot every August, it’s a great time. While they do make much better mousetraps now, a brace of single actions can chew through small hordes quickly. Though, for one side match I was allowed to stoke my 1887 to it’s full capacity and let it stretch it’s legs. That arm, I’m convinced of as a pedigree zombie slayer.
Ugly Hombre says
Right-its really good! Top tier weird western right without going to far. Great actors and action.
Always hungry for good western movies of every type. Hangover from Hoppy and Roy as a sprout. Hoppy in the books is kind of a hard case that could make a good movie.
And when is someone going to do a Doolin/Dalton movie??
Bout time..
deuce says
Steve Allison, the Sonora Kid, was one of the first series heroes that REH created, along with Gordon/El Borak and Solomon Kane. Howard wrote several ‘juveniles’ starring the Kid–one even saw him teamed up with Gordon. Bob also wrote two ‘adult’ yarns about the Kid (though THAT Kid would appear to have been the father of the ‘juvenile’ Kid). One tale was “Knife, Bullet and Noose”, which I read as a ten year-old.
There is a fragment out there often attributed to JAMES Allison that, IMO, is actually a Sonora Kid yarn.