sackman

Although I wasn't going to pick up a collection of the fill-ins myself I'm
surprised there isn't a HC to go with the others . I suppose that's the
reason for it not being numbered as Volume 5 ?

Terry

That's part of it. We decided to print this TPB-only--in the same style as the miniseries--because it doesn't fit into the chronology of the numbered books.

Hello Rachel:

From a fellow Portlander/Vancouverite and big Conan and DH fan, I seriously hope that Darkhorse is considering changing their minds about only publishing this volume as a TPB.  Honestly, all the Conan stories published by Dark Horse deserve hardcover treatment; to me, they are classic interpretations of a beloved character and beloved stories.  My great hope is to own the all 50 issues published by Darkhorse in HC format; they are that good IMO.  Beyond that, the Chronicles of Conan reprint series and the SSOC books sincerely truly deserve hardcover Omnibus treatment from Darkhorse; both could be printed in two large-format Omibus by the time they are completed.  

Clearly, there are a great number of collectors who avoid TPBs graphic novels and softcover fiction books in favor of hardcovers; I am one of them.  If there is any doubt (on DH's part) of the viability of HC sales for these offerings, my suggestion is to make a limited offering based on pre-sales alone.  I think that you will find a great deal of support for that kind of offering among comic collectors and Conan collectors alike.

Best Regards!

- Jeff in Vancouver, WA

Thanks Rusty. I think that the focus of my hunt for now is to find a Del Rey copy that has color plates. That should be the version, which from a size perspective, will match volumes 2 and 3 that I already have.

The only 2003 edition I'm aware of is the trade paperback. There was no HB in 2003, at least according to my notes. The only HBs are the SFBC edition in 2004, with B&W plates, and the 2005 DelRey HB, with color plates. I'd be curious where you got that ISBN.

The ISBN (ending in 850) for the 2005 Hardcover is off the Random House/Del Rey website; it is also referenced by just about any on-line bookstore selling the product (typically small shops selling through e-bay, Amazon and Barnes and Noble in the US). The ISBN ending in 810 is off the small version hardcover I have in hand, which has a copyright date of 2003, and contains black and white plates. The small version I have has no reference anywhere to the SFBC.

If the 2005 Del Rey HB with color plates you are mentioning is the larger sized edition (and matches the size of books 2 and 3), that's the one I am searching for. If you know a good source, please pass it along to me.

The three books mentioned are available in both hardcover as well as paperback. Although Del Rey finally did "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" in hardcover after the SFBC had published the copy [in a smaller format?], only the SFBC has done the other two in hardcover:

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
SFBC - 992357: Illustrated by Mark Schultz; Hardcover;
496 pages; Del Rey Books; December, 2003

The Bloody Crown of Conan
SFBC - 743729: Illustrated by Gary Gianni; Hardcover; 384 pages; Ballantine; November, 2004

Conquering Sword of Conan
SFBC - 078961: Illustrated by Gregory Manchess; 384 pages; Del Ray Bks./Div Of Random House; November, 2005

Hi Everyone:

I'm new to the forum, and looking for a little help on the subject listed above.

I've recently acquired the Dell Rey hardcovers separately from a few sellers on e-bay. The copy of Book 1 (the Coming of Conan the Cimmerian) I received was the smaller version published in 2003, and Books 2 and 3 were the larger versions. I'm trying to find a matching set of large books, but I'm struggling to find Book 1 in the larger format.

From the research I've done, it appears that there were two hardcover versions of Book 1 published by Dell Rey. The first one published in 2003 was 463 pages, measured 8.5" x 5.75", and had an ISBN of 978-0739440810. The second version published in 2005 was 496 pages, measured 9.3" x 6.3", and had an ISBN of 978-0345483850. The trouble that I have now is that I'm finding that a lot of on-line stores and e-bay sellers are selling the smaller book under the ISBN and publication date of the larger 2005 book (this is even the case with the SFBC). Over a couple of months of shopping, I haven't found a single seller who actually has the larger 2005 verion of Book 1.

My questions:

1) Does the larger version of Book 1 actually exist? I just want to ensure that I'm not looking for a red herring.
2) Any suggestions of where to look to find a copy of the larger version?

Many Thanks,

Jeff