[OT Poll] Favorite R.E.Howard Character

[ColonelHardisson]

Robert E. Howard committed suicide in 1936, almost 25 years before Robert Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers. Heinlein was considered one of the "Big 3" of science fiction (Asimove, Clarke, Heinlein), almost from the time when he first started writing scifi in the late 1930s until his death in 1988.

Howard never wrote anything like what we'd consider modern scifi. He was a master of pulp fiction, writing everything from boxing fiction to Westerns. Conan, of course, is his most famous creation, and was his favorite character to write, the one with which he wished most to identify with.

My favorite? Conan, of course.

 

[The Green Man]

Now come on. How could any poll on Robert A. Howard leave out Johnny Rico, the iconic ranger so eloquently portrayed by John Travolta in the recent blockbuster, _Starship Troopers_?

Yeah, Starship Troopers was by Heinlein. But Travolta? Travolta was in the abysmal Battlefield Earth (based on a phone directory...erm, book by L. Ron Hubbard, oh joy).

 

[Turlogh]

I was hoping by placing Agnes in the poll to see if any women had read Howard, doesn't seem so, yet anyway.

Hong, are you trolling me?

 

[shilsen]

Very hard to pick, but had to go with the "greatest swordsman of the Hyborian Age" eventually. If not for him, would have gone for Bran Mak Morn. Also considered a couple of characters not listed here, such as Cormac FitzGeoffrey and Valeria.

 

[Skald]

What about...

Let's not forget Red Sonja of Hyrkania, She-Devil with a Sword! I think she was equally comparable to Conan.

There is also Belit, Conan's first and really only true love. That Zenobia woman he married later was a mere concubine.

I rank those two woman right up there with Conan.

Oh, and Juma the Kue was pretty impressive also.

 

[Skald]

What the...

So Juma from KUSH then... what's with the smiley censors?

 

[CrusaderX]

Solomon Kane rocks. I have a paperback collection of all the Kane stories. Truly excellent stuff.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Oh, no contest!

Opie Taylor, hands down.

 

[William Ronald]

I voted for Conan. I did enjoy some of the Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn stories.

Turlogh, I seem to remember encountering a creature described as a lich in a Bran Mak Morn story. Is my memory accurate?

 

[Turlogh]

I'd have to reread my Bran stories to confirm one way or another (not a bad thing ), but it is not unusual for Howard's characters to fight undead, but any lich would not be quite as we envision them in D&D/Rpgs.

As to Red Sonja and why she's not on the poll. Marvel Comics invented her by borrowing a character from one of Howard's stories (The Shadow of the Vulture) and putting her in Conan's world. She was originally Red Sonya of Rogatine from the 16th century (notice the slight spelling difference). So if you want to vote for Red Sonya vote other and then post your vote, but Red Sonja isn't canon so doesn't count.