Collecting Robert E. Howard Pulps - Part 3

Previous Installments:
Collecting Robert E. Howard Pulps - Part 1
Collecting Robert E. Howard Pulps - Part 2

December 1932 - First Appearance of Conan

In the last installment of this series, I discussed the issues of Weird Tales in which Howard’s work appeared, from his first published story in 1925 up to the end of 1932. During that period, Howard continued to submit his yarns to a number of publications and began to branch out into other genres such as boxing and historical fiction. Weird Tales, however, continued to be his primary publishing venue and in the December 1932 issue the character with whom Howard has always been mostly closely associated made his debut in print. Combining the fantastic imagery of his earlier Kull stories and the weird horror themes that had always been his mainstay with elements of the historical adventure he had been writing recently, Howard created an amazing new world – the Hyborian Age – and its most prominent inhabitant – Conan the Cimmerian.

June 1933 issue. First Conan cover story

The December 1932 issue of Weird Tales with the first Conan story, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” is without a doubt the ultimate grail for most Howard pulp collectors. The issue is not particularly rare, but many copies are locked up in collections and it does not often come up for sale in public venues. Prices can vary widely on this issue depending on where and how it is sold. Very Good copies will generally range from around $800 to $1500. Copies in Good condition usually go for around $500-600. Rarely will any copy sell for less than $500 unless it is incomplete. I have seen coverless copies sell in the $100-150 range.

The highest amount paid for this issue in a public auction was $5377 for a Very Good to Fine copy in 2006. It should be noted that this particular auction was a high profile affair, in which the collection of long-time comic, pulp and book collector John McLaughlin was being sold off. There were a number of rare, once-in-a-lifetime items in this auction, including a copy of the Tarzan of the Apes All-Story pulp, and that brought out a number of buyers that were not normally active in the market. Because of this, there were a number of bidding wars and record prices set, including for this Conan issue. This price therefore should best be seen as an aberration and in fact, the same copy sold again in 2008 for $2390 and then in 2012 for $1792, the last amount being probably more reflective of its true market value.

September 1933 issue

 These prices may seem outrageous to the average collector, but really they are actually fairly low when one considers that Conan is one of the most prominent fictional characters to debut in the pulps, alongside such icons as Tarzan, Zorro, The Shadow, and Buck Rogers and of those he is arguable the most relevant today. It is really only its lack of scarcity that keeps its value as low as it is. Another factor is that Conan does not appear on the cover. As with the November issue, the John Allen St. John cover illustrates Otis Adelbert Kline’s serialized novel, The Buccaneers of Venus. Imagine if this issue had instead had a Conan cover by the legendary St. John! The great irony, of course, is that within a few years Kline would, for the most part, give up his writing to be become the literary agent for Howard.

May 1934. First cover depicting Conan himself

The following month, January 1933, saw the second published appearance of Conan in the story “The Scarlet Citadel.” Once again, the cover was by St. John. This issue typically sells for around $200-250 in Very Good condition.

The third published Conan story, “The Tower of the Elephant,” appeared in the March 1933 issue and usually sells for $125-200 in Very Good. This issue featured only the second cover by a female artist whose name would become synonymous with Weird Tales in the 1930’s – Margaret Brundage.

Many have criticized Brundage’s later depictions of Conan, but she has developed quite a following among modern day collectors, mainly due to her images of women. Her covers, rendered in pastels rather than painted, give her female subjects a soft, innocent, almost child-like appearance which is often in stark contrast to the macabre, menacing situations in which they are usually depicted. Brundage would go on to illustrate nine of Howard’s Conan stories on the cover of Weird Tales. These are some of the most desirable and valuable issues of Weird Tales from the 1930’s.

August 1934

From early 1933 until his death three years later, Howard would see print in Weird Tales on almost a monthly basis. For a complete list of these stories and poems see the HowardWorks site. Most of these issues, all with Brundage covers sell for around $100-150 in Very Good. The exceptions to this are the nine Howard cover story issues and a couple of the more popular non-Howard Brundage covers, all of which sell for several hundred dollars.

The first of the Howard covers is the June 1933 issue, containing the Conan story “Black Colossus.” The cover depicts a nude Yasmela prostrating herself before the statue of Mitra. This issue usually sells for $200-300 in Very Good condition.

 

September 1934

The next Howard cover, September 1933, depicts the flagellation scene from “The Slithering Shadow” (a.k.a. “Xuthal of the Dusk”). One of Brundage’s most controversial covers at the time, this issue is highly sought after by collectors. It usually sells for $300-400 in Very Good condition.

The May 1934 issue is the first publication to depict Conan on its cover in a scene from “Queen of the Black Coast” in which he and Belit fend off the attack of the winged ape. Conan appears again on the cover of the August 1934, fighting the giant python from “The Devil in Iron.”

The cover of the September issue features Yasmina being threatened by one of the Black Seers of Yimsha in a scene from “People of the Black Circle.” All of these issues run about $200-300 in Very Good.

The cover of the December 1934 issue features another flagellation scene, this time from “A Witch Shall Be Born.” This is another popular cover with collectors and as such, it tends to sell for a bit more, around $300-400.

December 1934

The November 1935 issue depicts the scene from “Shadows of Zamboula” (a.k.a. “Man-Eaters of Zamboula”) in which a nude Nafertari dances among the cobras. The following December issue, containing the first of five installments of The Hour of the Dragon, features the third and final appearance of Conan on a Weird Tales cover. Both of these last two issues sell for $200-300 in Very Good condition.

The final Conan cover is the July 1936 issue, containing the first part of “Red Nails.” The cover is one Brundage’s most provactive, with a nude Valeria held down by two scantily-clad female slaves, about to be sacrificed by Tascela. This issue, which would have probably been on the newsstands by late May, was also the last of Howard’s stories to be published before his death. It usually sells for $300-400 in Very Good.

 

 November 1935

It should be noted that there are a few Weird Tales issues from this period with Howard stories that still comand higher than usual prices even though they are not Conan covers. The most prominent of these is the October 1933 issue containing “The Pool of the Black One.” This issue can easily sell in $500 to 600 range in Very Good, not because of its Howard content, but because it has the famous “Bat Woman” cover, one of Brundage’s most recognizable and iconic images. Another issue that often sells for higher than average prices is the January 1934 issue containing “Rogues in the House.” This cover issue has a nude woman kneeling before a KKK-style hooded villain. So-called “hooded menace” covers such as this are a popular theme with some collectors and this issue sells for $300-400 in Very Good condition.

December 1935

Weird Tales would continue to publish Howard’s work posthumously for the next several years. For a complete listing of these, again see the HowardWorks site. Most of these issues are fairly inexpensive, usually selling for around $50-75 in Very Good. One notable exception is the December 1936 issue featuring “The Fire of Asshurbanipal” which can sell for $100-200. This is the last issue of Weird Tales to feature a Howard yarn on the cover – the artwork incidentally is by John Allen St. John, the only time he illustrated an REH story.

Weird Tales would continue to publish Howard’s work posthumously for the next several years. For a complete listing of these, again see the HowardWorks site. Most of these issues are fairly inexpensive, usually selling for around $50-75 in Very Good. One notable exception is the December 1936 issue featuring “The Fire of Asshurbanipal” which can sell for $100-200. This is the last issue of Weird Tales to feature a Howard yarn on the cover – the artwork incidentally is by John Allen St. John, the only time he illustrated an REH story.

July 1936. Last Conan cover story.

Some other notable Howard works that were published posthumously in Weird Tales, include “Dig Me No Grave” in the February 1937 issue and “Pigeons from Hell” in the May 1938 issue. Howard’s unfinished sword-and-planet novel Amulric was serialized in three parts in the May, June-July, and August 1939 issues. The latter was completed by another hand, possibly that of Kline who had continued to serve as literary agent for Howard’s estate or perhaps – more likely – Otto Binder who worked for Kline at the time.

In the next installment I will focus on collecting Howard pulps other than Weird Tales – Fight Stories, Thrilling Mystery, Action Stories, Top-Notch, Spicy Adventure and many others.