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July 2023 - Days of High Adventure
Design notes from the artist: Chris Mackey
"And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!" - Mako, The Wizard
When Robert E. Howard created the fantastical character of Conan the Cimmerian in 1932 (1931, if you his count the brief appearance as a character in People of the Dark) for a short series of stories in Weird Tales Magazine, there can be little doubt that he fully understood the worldwide phenomenon he had begun. During his lifetime he would go on to write 21 different stories chronicling the exploits of Conan and the many heroes and heroines he would adventure with.
I vividly remember my own introduction to the character while perusing a friend's comic collection. I can still remember my horror and fascination of Conan spiked to the Tree of Death (aka Tree of Woe) in the desert and his fight against the vultures intent on making a meal of him. I was mesmerized by his heroic stature, his view of the world in pure black and white, and his fatalistic attitude about finding and losing fortunes along the way. Whether he was exploring caves, climbing mountains, skulking through dungeons, hacking his way through jungles or swimming through snake and crocodile infested rivers, my young mind was overwhelmed with the Adventure of it all. I filled days and years as a child pretending to share those adventures, playing in the woods with my brothers and friends.
Later, as a budding artist, I began to truly appreciate the multitude of artists who would contribute to the legend of Conan. Frank Frazetta, of course, with his legendary paintings, but even more so with the pen and ink masters that filled the pages of his comics. Buscema, Smith, Ernie Chan, Alcala, Kane and dozens more. I was so fascinated to see how much could be done without a spot of color and would eventually become a diehard Eastman and Laird fan as well, but that's a different story.
I remember my mother's reluctance to let me read "such trash" and her low opinion over the scantily clad princesses in need of rescue. Many people's knee jerk reaction was to assume a misogynistic bent to these stories, but the truth was far from it. The stories of Conan were filled with heroines every bit as fantastic as he. Bẻlit, the Pirate Queen; Red Sonya, the Barbarian; Zenobia, the slave who would become a queen; and Zula, the Darfarian warrior are just a few. Many of these heroines would even save Conan's life (sometimes multiple times) and have long heroic tales of their own. Howard wrote stories that were far, far ahead of the attitude of his time. Men and women on an equal footing, multi-racial relationships, hatred for the act of slavery and a firm belief in self-reliance no matter the odds were the very core of the stories.
When I began geocaching, there were 3 figures in my mind that embodied the idea of High Adventure... Conan, Sinbad and Indiana Jones. For just a few hours while caching, I can live the adventure by scaling cliffs, fording swamps, bushwacking my way through obstacles to find a hidden treasure in ancient ruins (or crumbling old cabin anyway), unknown waterfall, or spooky cave. For just a short time, I'm living the story, being the hero and if I'm lucky, I'm meeting a few other heroes and heroines to share in the adventure.
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