Edited by Leo Grin | Illustrated by Socar Myles
40 pages

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

DELUXE COPIES DESTROYED: 16

LIMITED COPIES DESTROYED: 74

Features an essay on Howard’s humorous western influences, a little-known TV script for “Pigeons From Hell” that almost appeared in the ’80s, detailed information on an ultra-rare REH first appearance, a hunt for another historical place in Texas where Howard once stayed, a review of a new Robert E. Howard biography, plus poetry by Richard L. Tierney, art from Socar Myles, and the Lion’s Den letters column.

EXCERPTS:

It was Morgan Holmes who said in The Cimmerian V2n6 that “A question I have had for a long time and one that I know other Howard enthusiasts have thought is: did Robert E. Howard see the original King Kong in 1933?” That question, I think, is answered by one of Howard’s Elkins tales….

— from “When Yaller Rock Came to Chawed Ear” by Brian Leno

After a short introduction of James Coburn singing Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home,” (“All up and down de whole creation / Sadly I roam / Still longing for de old plantation / And for de old folks at home”) we discover that the character of Johnny Branner is once again in this version, and so is Griswell — but with a major twist. It’s Tina Griswell, and she’s the girlfriend/fiancé of Johnny. And our two characters do not hail from Lovecraft’s New England states, but are from Cleveland, Ohio, where they are going to college, majoring in history.

— from “Pigeons in the Darkroom” by Brian Leno

The editor’s note preceding “The Hashish Land” is of interest, and follows: “Although there was no date on the manuscript which follows, Glenn Lord tells us that it was found among other papers dated around the time of Howard’s ‘Skull-Face,’ which seems logical to us. At any rate, what follows is testament either to the effect of a strong dose on a highly imaginative mind or the decline in quality of Cannabis in the last forty years.”

— from “Robert E. Howard in Fantôme” by Ed Blohm

And now, in the wake of all of that, we have a biography of Robert E. Howard. Initial reactions from the Howardian faithful were uniformly negative, with the harshest critique coming from [redacted], author of 2006’s Blood & Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard. Writing on The Cimmerian’s internet weblog, Finn excoriated both DiPietro and his work in a post titled “The Supreme Fanboy.” But was Mark being fair in lambasting DiPietro so thoroughly?

— from “Tag-Ends, Snatches of History, and Disconnected Bits” by Leo Grin

I’m completely convinced Howard could have sold Conan stories to Jack Byrne, especially given the quote from Otto Binder’s letter concerning Byrne’s desire to buy a 35,000-word fantastic story. What a perfect length for Howard! (Great stuff on Byrne, by the way. I love the behind-the-scenes stories about the pulp business.) Whether or not Howard would have taken Conan to Argosy or created a new character for Byrne can only be speculated about, of course, like every other alternate scenario after June 11, 1936. My own feeling is that Byrne would have jumped at the chance to buy Conan stories, would have encouraged Howard to write more Conan stories, and, given Byrne’s history with Howard at Fiction House, might have even suggested plots for Conan stories to Howard.

— James Reasoner, writing in The Lion’s Den