"The Devil in Iron" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, 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 ...

'' in August 1934. Howard earned $115 for the publication of this story. The plot concerns the resurrection of a mythical

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

, the theft of a sacred dagger, and an unrelated trap that lures Conan to the island fortress roamed by the demon. The story's plot loopholes and borrowed elements from "

Iron Shadows in the Moon "Shadows in the Moonlight" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine in April 1934. H ...

" lead some Howard scholars to call this story the weakest of the early Conan tales.Patrice Louinet. ''Hyborian Genesis: Part 1'', page 452, ''The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian''; 2003, Del Rey.

Plot summary

The actions of a greedy fisherman awaken an ancient demon, Khosatral Khel, on the remote island of Xapur. Khel resurrects his fortress which once dominated the island, including its cyclopean walls, gigantic pythons, and undead citizens. Meanwhile, an evil governor from Turan, Jehungir Agha, tricks Conan into pursuing Princess Octavia to the island of Xapur. Jehungir Agha plans for Conan to fall into a prepared trap on the island. The unforeseen resurrection of Khel and his ancient fortress interrupts Agha's original plan. When Conan arrives on Xapur, he battles not only the mercenaries employed by Jehungir Agha, but also a giant serpent and the iron-fleshed Khosatral Khel.

Publication history

'' first published ''The Devil in Iron'' in the August 1934 issue. The story was republished in the collections ''

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) and ''

Conan the Wanderer ''Conan the Wanderer'' is a 1968 collection of four fantasy short stories by American writers Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were origina ...

'' (

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). It has more recently been published in the collections '' The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle'' ( Gollancz, 2000) and '' Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)'' (Del Rey, 2003).

Adaptation

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

and

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 4, 2000) was a Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 cre ...

adapted this story in ''Savage Sword of Conan'' #15.

References

External links

*
The Devil in Iron at Project Gutenberg Australia
*
Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com

Conan.com: The official website
* 1934 short stories Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard Demons in written fiction Fantasy short stories Horror short stories Pulp stories Works originally published in Weird Tales Works set on fictional islands {{1930s-horror-story-stub