Conan The Phenomenon Hardcover (May070015)

"This in-depth tour through the history of fantasy's greatest hero covers everything from the earliest prose, to Frazetta's explosive artwork, through the Schwarzenegger film, and into the recent rebirth of the character as a leading comic-book hero. Since his first appearance in a 1932 pulp magazine, Conan the Barbarian has enjoyed every success available to a fictional character. Robert E. Howard created the genre of sword and sorcery with his original stories; Frank Frazetta's definitive Conan book covers set the standard for dynamic fantasy artwork; Roy Thomas, with Barry Smith and later John Buscema, used the character to push the boundaries of comic-book adventure; and Arnold Schwarzenegger launched his amazing film career. Now, with the character's popularity renewed thanks to the award-winning comics series, all of these eras of Conan are examined under one cover in this lavishly illustrated book. Conan historian Paul Sammon looks at all the stages of the character's development, with commentary and archival material from the most integral players in that history."