Roy G. Krenkel: Father of Heroic Fantasy

A really beautiful book with artwork by Roy G. Krenkel. The main reason it is included here is that it has a whole chapter dedicated to Robert E. Howard. Krenkel was a huge Howard fan.

Krenkel illustrated numerous works by Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as Robert E. Howard, Lin Carter, and more. But many of Krenkel’s works–what he called his “Doodles,” in a characteristically self-effacing manner–were rarely seen by even his biggest fans. And while many of Roy’s doodles were simple drawings, many were finished illustrations done for the pure pleasure of creating art. Most of the images in this book are published here for the very first time (courtesy of and with the full cooperation of the Krenkel Estate), and nearly all have been painstakingly scanned from the original art (in a manner akin to IDW’s Eisner Award-winning Artist’s Edition series) with the goal being to showcase Krenkel’s gorgeous original art in a way it has never been seen before. While the realms of science-fiction, heroic fantasy, paleontology, and historical reconstruction were particular specialties of Roy’s, his pen, brush, and palette knew no boundaries.

Avon Fantasy Reader #10

This issue contains the Conan story ‘A Witch Shall Be Born’. It also contains a story by H. P. Lovecraft. Avon Fantasy Reader was a digest size magazine (sometimes classed as a series of anthologies) which reprinted science fiction and fantasy literature by now well-known authors. It was edited by Donald A. Wollheim and published by Avon. The magazine had one spin off, Avon Science Fiction Reader, with which it merged on its cancellation to become Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader.

The Magic Carpet Magazine January 1934

This issue actually contains two Howard stories. ‘Alleys of Darkness’ where he used the pseudonym Patrick Ervin and ‘The Shadow of the Vulture’. 

“The Shadow of the Vulture” is a short story, first published in The Magic Carpet Magazine, January 1934. The story introduces the character of Red Sonya of Rogatino, who later became the inspiration for the popular character Red Sonja, archetype of the chainmail-bikini clad female warrior. The latter has little in common other than the name and that she is a warrior.

Oriental Stories Volume 2 number 1

“The Sowers of the Thunder” is a historical fiction short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, originally published in Oriental Stories, Winter 1932. It takes place in Outremer (the Crusader states) in the time of General Baibars and deals with the General’s friendly/adversarial relationship with Cahal Ruadh O’Donnell, an Irish Crusader with a troubled past cut in the Howardian mold. Both the Siege of Jerusalem (1244) and the Battle of La Forbie feature in the plot.

Oriental Stories Volume 1 number 4

Contains the Howard story ‘Hawks of Outremer’. First published in Oriental Stories (Spring 1931) after being accepted by that magazine in October 1930. “Outremer” (literally, “Oversea”) was how the Crusader states were often called. The story features Howard’s character Cormac Fitzgeoffrey.

Ghost Stories April 1929

An Ace Jessel story. First published in Ghost Stories, April 1929. Another title for this is ‘The Spirit of Tom Molyneaux’. Howard used the pseudonym John Taverel for this story.

Fight Stories – Spring 1942

BREED OF BATTLE is a Sailor Steve Costigan short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the November 1931 issue of Action Stories. Here it is published under the title SAMSON HAD A SOFT SPOT and the author named Mark Adam (really Robert E. Howard).