Issue 2 of The Cimmerian. Edited by Leo Grin | Illustrated by Jason Castagna – 40 pages.

This issue was printed in two editions. The deluxe edition, numbered 1–75, uses a black linen cover with foil-stamped blood-red text. The limited edition, numbered 76–225, uses a blood-red cover with solid black text.

Contents

• “The Old and the New” by Leo Grin (Editorial)
• “The Great Game” by David A. Hardy
• “The Runyonesque Raconteur” by Mark Finn
• “Dog in the Manger” by Richard Lupoff
• “Small Poets Sing” by Robert Weinberg
• “Near the End of the Epic” by Darrell Schweitzer (poem)
• “Cross Plains Journal” by Richard L. Tierney
• “The Lion’s Den” by Ron Hilger, Don Herron
• (letter column)
• Contributors

Notes

DELUXE COPIES DESTROYED: 0

LIMITED COPIES DESTROYED: 27

Features an essay on El Borak, another on Howard’s boxing tales, two reviews of Don Herron’s new book of Howard criticism, poetry by Darrell Schweitzer, Announcements, Howard History, Letters, and more.

Excerpts

In the midst of all this fantasy, one might be tempted to dismiss the very idea of a Texas gunfighter leading Afghan tribesmen in battle as just another wild invention. But this would be a faulty assumption.

— from “The Great Game” by David A. Hardy

These tales make a terrific jumping-on point for potential fans who may be otherwise prejudiced against naked barbarians with swords, but might want to try a humorous series with a burlesque twist and a only a fraction of Conan’s pop cultural baggage.

— from “The Runyonesque Raconteur” by Mark Finn

Howard must be regarded as a profoundly pessimistic thinker, and as a philosopher to be taken seriously. He was also a chillingly prescient prophet.

— from “Dog in the Manger” by Richard A. Lupoff

The field of Robert E. Howard scholarship — or more to the point, the field of weird fiction studies — has gone nowhere in the past twenty years. It may be growing, but progressing from Greenwood Press to Wildside Press is not a gigantic leap.

— from “Small Poets Sing” by Robert Weinberg