Slashing Sword

Ahh, this ain't nothing - lets keep posting and rolling A-man!  

 

One point I would like to make - how do you tell a Belit and Conan story without the backdrop of QoTBC?  It's the only story REH wrote with Belit and Conan and if a writer wants to explore the relationship (which raises the question is it worth exploring?  I say yes - look at Marvel's run and the mileage  they were able to extrapolate from REH's short story and the uniqueness of the character Belit and her relationship with Conan) then said writer HAS to use the QoTBC as the backdrop.  REH introduced them in QoTBC - hard to write a story without including the QoTBC as the backdrop to the characters of Conan and Belit.  

 

Wood is writing a story outside the QoTBC story (as REH wrote it)  but needed the story to introduce the characters.  I get some people can not get over the QoTBC title and that the story doesn't follow the QoTBC plotlines - but once you understand that Wood is not doing a true adaptation but needed the backdrop of QoTBC as bookends to his extrapolation then you can enjoy the tale -or not- for what it is.  Not an adaptation but an original pastiche that can only be compared to another pastiche.  Of course it's not Howard - no pastiche is and ALWAYS falls short.  It's also always subjective.  Obviously, most fans here don't like it - that is cool and I get it.  But, there is Howard and then there is pastiche - some feel writer X is a better pastiche writer than writer Y - but really it is subjective and open to debate.  One can find many issues with even the best pastiche - big doctrinal, geographical, philosophical, etc.  issues.  T-man (Al Harron) has many with even the best pastiche writers - while others put some pastiche up there with Howard they like them so much.  But every pastiche writer interjects their own uniqueness to the story - Wood is not the first writer to do so.  In other words, this whole debate may be new to some - but it is old hat for many of us.  We have been here before and understand that pastiche always falls short of Howard - ALWAYS!  

 

Sorry for the ramble. 

I have no issues going outside the QotBC and exploring new avenues as long as the personalities are not changed. In this case, Wood has essentially changed the personalities of the characters as has been expounded in numerous posts and threads on this subject.

 

Johnny - re-read my post man. Your so quick to jump on the keyboard your all over the place. I said within the context REH established - the fact that Conan loves Belit ( not just any chick like in your examples) - having Conan say I love you is within the context that REH established, Conan loves Belit- we can agree on that right? Wood made the decision to have Conan verbalize that emotion and as I posted you may not like that but it is within the context REH established, which I can understand with Belit only. I'm not saying REH would do it but he established the context upon which Wood is working with. And I'm not trying to convert anyone over, I am just explaining how I see Wood working within the Conan and Belit relationship (which is what the whole series is about). Anyway, On to issue #17! And more delusions!

Yeah, it does get tough sometimes to filter myself down :-) I think Taranaich had it nailed when he came up with the observation it's as if they're doing an adaptation of a synopsis for Queen. If you read a synopsis of the story, sure it'd seem Conan would say he loved Belit. Read the actual story and you'd see it's not in his character to do so. He does not express his emotions that way. But when you're not restrained by the actual details of the story, you can have them act like what some have described as teenage angst. Again to me it comes down to them simply not understanding the story they're adapting.

 

...and I would add that Queen of the Black Coast is certainly not the only story where one can find clues as to how to write Conan's character when it comes to amorous relationships.  Take Xuthal of the Dusk, for instance.  It's clear from reading the story (to me anyway) that Conan genuinely loves Natala, though once again it's not something he expresses verbally.  He almost kills her in order to spare her the agony of dying of thirst.  He goes absolutely berserk when he finds that she's been kidnapped.  He considers her feelings when a beaustiful seductress comes on to him.  He even slows his pace to match her own.  These are all non-verbal queues that REH uses to get the message across while still keeping Conan "in character",  Of course, for Brian Wood to use this information to inform his version of the chacter would require him to actually read this stuff, something he obviously hasn't done.

Even Jim Owsley captured this aspect of Conan's character when Anekka really loved him and tried hard that Conan expresses his love for her but he never verbalized it. She got so pissed at him that she even slept with Kobe. Conan when found that out, just left her and moved on. [Marvel CtB #187 - 209]

There is one on ebay for $20 with $10 shipping if you desperately want it.

http://www.ebay.com/...=item3a75ea117d

Thanks for finding and sharing. I never knew this.  The two that are available cost $40.

Conan has actually been treated pretty good. So chill out. "Slap in the face to REH" is an overreaction. It's a bad adaptation, no more, no less. There have been others. There will be more.

True...

We know it is a bad adaptation. We don't like it. No one cares. Nothing is going to change. Enjoy the King Conan and move on. Thank God at least there is that for us die hards.

Here's a thought. What if all the plot Wood has secretly signed on beyond #25, making this an unlimited series? Now the finale will not have to be squeezed into just a few issues and all plot elements can be explored and resolved (as if Wood even knows about them).

 

The horror.

 

The horror.