Introduction
“Swords of the Purple Kingdom” was never published in Howard’s lifetime. It was first printed in King Kull by Lancer in 1967. The story was written sometime in 1929. Like “Delcardes’ Cat” and “By This Axe I Rule!” it features a couple who wish Kull to help them get married.
Plot
A young couple from different nations asks Kull for permission to marry. Kull is then kidnapped in a coup attempt, and coincidentally taken to the same garden where the young couple was going to meet and elope. When the young man helps Kull fight off the bandits, he finds Kull much more sympathetic to his romantic situation.
Published in
- KING KULL, Lancer, 1st, 1967 (edited by Lin Carter)
- KING KULL, Lancer, 2nd, 1969
- KING KULL, Lancer, 3rd, 1972
- KULL THE CONQUEROR VOLUME 1 NUMBER 9, Marvel Comics, July 1973 (graphic adaptation)
- KULL DI VALUSIA, Editrice Nord, September 1975 (Italian)
- KING KULL, Sphere, 1976
- REALMS OF WIZARDRY, Doubleday, 1976
- TERRA FANTASY #29: HERR VON VALUSIEN, Erich Pabel Verlag KG, December 1976 (German)
- KULL, Bantam, September 1978
- TERRA FANTASY #29: HERR VON VALUSIEN, Erich Pabel Verlag KG, August 1979 (German, 2nd printing)
- KULL LE ROI BARBARE, NeO, 1st Quarter 1980 (French)
- A TREASURY OF FANTASY, Avenel Books, 1981
- KULL LE ROI BARBARE, NeO, May 1983 (French, 2nd printing)
- KULL LE ROI BARBARE, NeO, September 1984 (French, 3rd printing)
- KULL LE ROI BARBARE, Euredif, October 1984 (French)
- A TREASURY OF FANTASY, Chatham River Press, 1984
- KULL, Grant, 1985 (Regular edition)
- KULL, Grant, 1985 (Limited edition)
- THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF CLASSIC FANTASY, Robinson, May 1987
- KULL LE ROI BARBARE, NeO, April 1988 (French, 4th printing)
- KULL VON ATLANTIS, Bastei Verlag, March 1989 (German)
- THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN VOLUME 1 NUMBER 177, Marvel Comics, September 1990 (brief excerpt only)
- KRÁL KULL, Arla, 1991 (Czech)
- KULL LE ROI BARBARE, Fleuve Noir, January 1992 (French)
- KULL DI VALUSIA, Editrice Nord, October 1993 (Italian)
- KADOTUKSEN KUILU, WSOY, 1993 (Finnish)
- REY KULL, Ediciones Martinez Roca, 1993 (Spanish)
- KULL, Wydawnictwo Andor, 1994 (Polish)
- TUTTI I CICLI FANTASTICI: I CICLI DI KULL DI VALUSIA, DI JAMES ALLISON, DI CTHULHU E DI ALMURIC, Newton Compton Editori, April 1995 (Italian)
- KULL, Baen, July 1995 (restored text)
- A TREASURY OF FANTASY, Gramercy Press, 1995
- HŐSÖK KORA, Valhalla Páholy Könyvklub, 1997 (Hungarian)
- KRÁL KULL, Kunder Publishing, 1997 (Slovak)
- ЦАРь КУЛЛ (TSAR KULL / KING KULL), Азбука-Терра (Azbuka-Terra / ABC-Terra), 1997 (Russian)
- KULL, Laser Books, 2000 (Czech)
- KULL: EXILE OF ATLANTIS, Del Rey, October 2006
- KULL: EXILE OF ATLANTIS, Science Fiction Book Club, November 2006
- KULL. ESULE DI ATLANTIDE, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, April 2008 (Italian)
- KULL: EXILE OF ATLANTIS, Subterranean Press, August 2008
- THE CHRONICLES OF KULL Volume 1, Dark Horse Books, December 2009 (Graphic adaptation as a Kull story, “The Scorpion God”)
- THE KULL SERIES: SWORDS OF THE PURPLE KINGDOM, Paradox Entertainment Inc., January 2010
- KULL: EXILE OF ATLANTIS, Tantor Media Inc., January 2010 (audio)
- KULL LE ROI ATLANTE, Bragelonne, July 2010 (French)
- THE KULL SERIES: SWORDS OF THE PURPLE KINGDOM, Paradox Entertainment Inc., September 2011
- KULL KIRÁLY ÉS AZ ŐSÖK, Delta Vision Kft., August 2012 (Hungarian)
- KULL KIRÁLY ÉS AZ ŐSÖK, Delta Vision Kft., November 2012 (Hungarian)
- KULL: BANITA Z ATLANTYDY, Rebis, February 2014 (Polish)
- БРАН МАК МОРН, ПОСЛЕДНИЙ КОРОЛЬ. КУЛЛ, ВЫХОДЕЦ ИЗ АТЛАНТИДЫ (BRAN MAK MORN: THE LAST KING. KULL: NATIVE OF ATLANTIS), Eksmo, May 2014 (Russian)
- KULL LE ROI ATLANTE, L’INTÉGRALE, Bragelonne, June 2020 (French)
- KULL DI VALUSIA, GM Libri, July 2020 (Italian)
- KULL DI VALUSIA. IL CICLO COMPLETO, Fanucci Editore, September 2020 (Italian)
Sources, links and credits
- Tor.Com Review of Kull by Alan Brown
- The Lancer Kull Series: Swords of the Purple Kingdom A blog by Gary Romeo about Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Conan the Barbarian
