"Black Colossus" is one of the original
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
starring the fictional
sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...
hero
Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author
Robert E. Howard and first published in ''
Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...
'' magazine, June 1933.
[Publication history of ''Black Colossus''](_blank)
retrieved 23 December 2007 Howard earned $130 for the sale of this story.
retrieved 23 December 2007
Set during the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian.
The word "Hyborian" is derived from the l ...
, Conan leads the army of Khoraja against an evil sorcerer named Natohk, "The Veiled One".
This story formed part of the basis for the later Conan novel, ''The Hour of the Dragon
''The Hour of the Dragon'', also known as ''Conan the Conqueror'', is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was one of the last Conan stories published before Howard' ...
''.
Plot overview
An ancient wizard named Thugra Khotan is awoken from his 3,000 year slumber by Shevatas, a Zamoran thief (he doesn't survive the experience). Soon, Thugra remembers his dream of world domination. He assumes the alias of Natohk (The "Veiled One"), assembles an army of desert nomads, and begins his strategy of conquering the Hyborian nations. But the tiny kingdom of Khoraja - with a mixed Hyborian-Shemite population, culture, and religion - stands in his way. Khoraja is ruled by the beautiful Yasmela, sister of the king, who is now a prisoner in neighboring Ophir. Fearing Natohk's invasion, Yasmela seeks advice from the god of her ancestors, Mitra. Yasmela is told to travel into the streets and offer her kingdom's defenses to the first man she meets.
The first man she encounters is Conan the Cimmerian. Conan already has a position in Yasmela's army. Now, he's given full command over Khoraja's royal military, much to the confusion of his more cultured comrades. The arrogant officers now under Conan's command ridicule their new commander. However, they soon fall victim to Natohk's magic. Meanwhile, Natohk has made it clear conquering the world isn't the only goal on his agenda; he also desires Queen Yasmela for himself.
Conan and his soldiers defeat Natohk's army, and the wizard devises a final attempt to capture Yasmela. Conan confronts him near the ruins of a Stygian temple.
Themes
The story marks an important stage in the career of Conan. Due to the direct intervention of Mitra, Conan - who had never commanded more than a "company of cut-throats" - is given the opportunity to become a general and emerge victorious from an epic battle involving tens of thousands of soldiers while affecting the future of the whole world. Though Conan's career would know many more ups and downs, this was an important step towards him eventually becoming a king, which is foreshadowed in the story, and which Howard and his readers already knew since "The Phoenix on the Sword
"The Phoenix on the Sword" is one of the original short story, short stories about Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine in December 1932. The tale, in ...
" was already published half a year earlier..
At the climax of Leonard Carpenter
Leonard Paul Carpenter (born February 6, 1948) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He writes as Leonard Carpenter and Leonard P. Carpenter.
Life
Carpenter was born in 1948 in Chicago, but aside from a year in West Texas in chil ...
's ''Conan the Great
''Conan the Great'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1990 (the 1989 date appearing on t ...
'', set years later when Conan is King of Aquilonia, it is revealed that Conan's relationship with Yasmela resulted in the secret birth of a son. Conan never knew about his son, who eventually becomes the king of Koth. This revelation is important to the plot of Carpenter's book.
The expression: "A short life and a merry one", used by the character Amalric in Howard's story, is attributed to the Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
bushranger
Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...
Steve Hart (1859 – 1880).
Publication history
"Black Colossus" was first published in ''Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...
'', June 1933.
A version of the story that was edited by L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
was first published in the collection ''Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
'' (Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 titles in its lifespan — many considered classi ...
, 1954). It was republished in several collections entitled ''Conan the Freebooter
''Conan the Freebooter'' is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories by American writers Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in th ...
'' (Lancer Books
Lancer Books was a publisher of paperback books founded by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius that operated from 1961 through 1973. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularl ...
, 1968; Sphere, 1974; Prestige, 1977; Ace
An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...
, 1981) and ''The Conan Chronicles'' Volume 1 (Sphere, 1989).
The original version was first republished in ''Black Colossus'' (Grant, 1979). It has more recently been published in the collections '' The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle'' ( Gollancz, 2000), '' Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)'' (Del Rey, 2003), ''The Weird Writings of Robert E. Howard'' Volume 1 ( Girasol Collectables, 2006), ''The Complete Chronicles of Conan'' (Gollancz, 2006), '' Valley of the Worm'' (Wildside Press
Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade ...
, 2006) and ''Three Tales of Conan the Barbarian'' (Echo Library, 2007).
Adaptations
The story was adapted in comics form by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala in 1974, in the B&W Marvel Comics magazine ''Savage Sword of Conan'' #2. "Black Colossus" also forms the basis of part of ''Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
'' #248 and all of 249. (Conan serves as a mercenary captain for Khoraja, fighting rebels and Natohk's Stygian allies, in #246 and 247.)
The Savage Sword comics adaptation was reprinted in full color in the large sized ''Marvel Treasury Edition
''Marvel Treasury Edition'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1974 to 1981. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an oversiz ...
'' #15 in 1977.
In 2008, the Marvel adaptation was reprinted in black and white in the Savage Sword of Conan trade paperback published by Dark Horse.
In 2009, Timothy Truman and Tomas Giorello adapted the story in Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
' ''Conan the Cimmerian #8-13''.
References
External links
*
Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
Conan.com: The Official Website
{{Conan
Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard
1933 short stories
Fantasy short stories
Horror short stories
Pulp stories
Works originally published in Weird Tales