Conan the Phenomenon
Written by Paul M. Sammon
Foreward by Michael Moorcock
Art by Various
Edited by Philip Simon
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Cover Price: $19.99

The title of this compendium sounds like the third Ahnuld Conan movie if Joel Schumacher had directed it.

All kidding aside, Conan The Phenomenon, by Paul M. Sammon, is a chronological examination of Conan the Barbarian, starting at the beginning, and going right up to 2007 “” and as expected, it contains a lot of Frank Frazetta art, and a detailed look at the making of the Conan films.

But this book is also loaded with little-seen material “” my interest in Conan runs fairly deep, and I found plenty of material that was new to me. Beyond the informative biographical material and comprehensive list of all the published novels, I loved the relatively clean-cut Conan, illustrated by Wally Wood, and clearly bearing the likeness of popular actor Victor Mature. And I almost laughed out loud at British publisher T.V. Boardman‘s cover to Conan the Conqueror. I want a poster of that cover.