What jumps out to the reader of those notes and his original stories is the preoccupation, at every level, with things like characters’ racial traits, tribal tendencies, or what physical features the villains have versus the damsels in distress. Howard was careful and deliberative about Hyboria, the world in which Conan’s stories are set, as can be seen in his notes on the world, which have been reprinted in various collections. “The Hyborian Age – Conan’s World” by Robert E. But the barbarians kept their bloodstream pure the Cimmerians are tall and powerful, with dark hair and blue or grey eyes.

Only in the province of Gunderland, where the people keep no slaves, is the pure Hyborian stock found unblemished. I suspect the reason this is so rarely brought up is that removing it in latter-day interpretations of the character has done nothing to diminish everything else about the barbarian that makes him iconic. They probably do not think of the 1930s pulp hero and the at-times astonishing racism at the heart of those famous short stories. When people think of Conan now, it’s mostly as a hulking half-naked guy with an Austrian accent. Most of these elements were solidified in the 1982 film, the one that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star and launched the character into wider prominence. A lot of the time, he’s the last survivor of his people and is out for revenge. The basics are pretty easy to recite: He’s a ripped barbarian with a big sword who scoffs at civilized people, takes what he wants, kills evil sorcerers and warlords, and never seems to be far from scantily clad women. HowardĬonan is one of those characters a lot of people have heard of or seen parodied even as they might not know his exact history. “Queen of the Black Coast,” by Robert E. She did not put in there was scant profit in trade with the sons of Shem. They sighted the coast of Shem-long rolling meadowlands … and horsemen with blue-black beards and hooked noses, who sat their steeds along the shore and eyed the galley with suspicion.

Conan the barb