Black Colossus
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"Black Colossus" is one of the original
short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...
starring the fictional
sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...
hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author
Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
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, printe ...
'' magazine, June 1933.Publication history of ''Black Colossus''
retrieved 23 December 2007
Howard earned $130 for the sale of this story.
retrieved 23 December 2007 Set during the fictional
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 (narrative), setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian. The word "Hyborian" is ...
, Conan leads the army of Khoraja against an evil
sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...
named Natohk, "The Veiled One". This story formed part of the basis for the later Conan novel, '' The Hour of the Dragon''.


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 is 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 is not 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, i ...
" was already published half a year earlier.. At the climax of Leonard Carpenter's '' Conan the Great'', 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 Aus ...
bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...
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, printe ...
'', 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 author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...
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 created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
'' (
Gnome Press Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company active 1948 – 1962 and primarily known for fantasy and science fiction, many later regarded as classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 ...
, 1954). It was republished in the collections '' Conan the Freebooter'' (
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, particula ...
, 1968; Sphere, 1974; Prestige, 1977;
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
, 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. 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 and limite ...
, 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 created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
'' #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'' #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, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
' ''Conan the Cimmerian #8-13''. The story has also been adapted by publishing company Ablaze in their "Cimmerian" series of comics.


References


External links


Black Colossus at Project Gutenberg
*
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