On Omnibuses (Omnibii?)

[saltnester]

Two Conan stories in a row: "Wow, how did I miss how amazingly mysognistic/racist this stuff is as a kid? I must've been watching the monsters..."

Five Conan stories in a row: "Howard...Howard, I know you saw your first lynching at six or something, but did you ever talk to a woman?"

Fifteen Conan stories in a row: [cheer and cookie-munch every

Comments

[cheery_idiot]

Look at the bright side: hats came back! Well, at least a little. I'm waiting for gaiters to get their turn...

I thought LotR was the everyman's definition of fantasy, certes not REH (thank the gods for small mercies, maybe?). Or Harry Potter. And perhaps soon, with HBO and all, it will be a dash of Martin as well?

[saltnester]

Gaiters? You see walkers and workers in them all the time up here, though not fancy leathern ones...perhaps you mean long spats?

Ha! Until a film was made, the very Times swallowed the S&S "summary" provided by the tolkien sarcasm website whole - if that's not the everyman's idea, I'm not sure what is...I doubt my mother would recognise Howard's name, but I did hear her hastily reassuring a friend that the fantasy I've been feeding her (mostly Kay, I'm working on it) "wasn't all... {struggle for description} swords and..." presumably "naked wenches", though that never got said, but it was clear what the general assumption was. I think the Potter phenomenon is self-contained, really...or lumped in with "children's stuff" in the public view, hence all those very sober and adult US import covers for people wanting to read it without looking like they were...I just don't want to know what HBO is doing with Martin's stuff, I am hiding from it. (You know someone has been traumatised by poor TV/film adaptations when an albino direwolf can't

[cheery_idiot]

Probably? Nobody wears either sort here anyway.

Most folks I've talked to, when they have to sum it all up easily, go "you know, dragons, elves, wizards and such"... which is, surprisingly, quite unlike Conan. I'm not sure but I suspect the reaction to that would be more like "The tall red-headed guy?" Except with guys, where it would be like "Hahaha, Arnold." Maybe the everyman here is different from the everyman over there?

[copperstitches]

.I just don't want to know what HBO is doing with Martin's stuff

They're doing it really well - and really badly in places.

[ladylight]

It's funny, and fearfully demonstrative of the power of early imprinting, how little children notice when it comes to these themes. I'm inalienably attached to Eddings' works, but his female characters and their solitary obsession with Serving The One make me want to bang my head against a wall.

Mind you, Eddings is a saint compared to dear old Howard. *cough* I must also confess here that Moorcock has always struck me as writing a kind of 'Conan meets Cthulhu' style, though his stories contain far prettier things and aren't scared to be periodically ambiguous ...

I have never managed more than two Conan books, so similar as to be indistinguishable, and laughed through a movie where Arnie dashed about in scanty leathers. To be honest I think he did the genre a bit of damage, though that may be unfair given that there was barely a 'genre' back then.

Fear the wrath of the ch'ibi'Shog'got'h!

[saltnester]

Between him and my early literary diet of Victoriana I'm not entirely sure how I didn't end up far more racist...I think I know where you get that impression - Moorcock's Elric saga was deliberately written as the Anti-Conan: an intellectual, occasionally feeble civilised fellow who loses the kingdom, sometimes gets the loot, and doesn't get the girl...

Oh yeah, the Arnie versions are hilarious. Conan to me, though, will always be associated with the early 90s cartoon. Warrior without fear!
He spawned a lurid subgenre with his naked wenches, that's for sure. I just wish fantasy artwork had grown out of it. The prevalence of chainmail bikinis even today depresses me.

c'flagn!

[ladylight]

It's computer games which have most preserved that scantily clad bubble, methinks. Bloody visual media and their "sell it with tits and explosions!" preoccupations. They'd have died out long ago otherwise, methinks.

Fortunately (?) it is also responsible for this.

[archstuff]

warpaint and ruffs, have visions of adam ant from the 1980s, on the theme of which in the early 80s conan etc, it was an odd time and the cold war after 40 years had left us with- me big strong type bash in head of weakling on the psyche as a side effect of showing no weakness to the reds, that and the rather odd world vision of ronald regan, he came from the me big strong fella school of acting, to most people fantasy isnt all about conan, but it still is a common perception in some places, chain mail is nasty cold and pinchy, you certainly dont want it anywhere near anything that can get caught in it, apart from which what is the point of chainmail bikini apart from odd fashion? just poke a knife in the large areas not covered by it, though thats the side of me speaking that plays with pointy things. in fashion you can still get away with a caped longcoat and big hat though the spats gaiters need some carrying if you arent in a field, creativity returns when sparked from the orbs of the mind, that or the awen of inspiration can

[copperstitches]

Wish I could find that anime drawing of a "reversed Conan" - you would like it muchly I think.