It’s been nutty here at the Day-Finn Bungalow, but I have been working on some things of a Howardian nature. Over at RevolutionSF, you’ll find an article I wrote for the 75th Anniversary of Conan–a fairly polemical article, but then again, if it was gushing, it wouldn’t be as much fun to read.

Also: I wrote an article for Dennis McHaney’s extremely limited Return to Bear Creek project (along with fellow Blogite Rob Roehm). Originally intended to be the last Howard Review, I wanted to contribute to the project because, well, I wanted to be in such a legendary fanzine. If you can’t get a copy, don’t panic, because much of what I’m talking about is cribbed from notes compiled for an expanded edition of Blood & Thunder.

The aforementioned is currently a proposal for consideration on the desk of the line editor at Del Rey. I have heard nothing from them yet, but I will let this blog know first and foremost if a deal gets done.

And speaking of legendary fanzines, I’m working on a fun little project for one of the OTHER great fanzines in REH-dom. More details when I’m finished with the piece.

I am glad that a birthday celebration has gotten underway; it always seemed a touch morbid to gather on the day of his death (but that’s how this culture works–see also Presley, Elvis A.). I’m also glad that as a gathering, it was nice and low-key.

It would seem as if, with the Centennial and the 75th anniversary of Conan out of the way, that we’re in for a dry spell. I suppose we could commemorate the anniversaries of other Howard characters like Breck Elkins (and maybe we should!), but we won’t have much more to hang a hat on for a while, now.

Or will we?

The Conan mmorpg game is scheduled to be released this year, and of course, everyone has heard about the fast-tracking of the “New” Conan movie. With increasing coverage in the media and online, it would seem that there is a build-up to another–well, let’s not call it a Howard Boom. Let’s call it a Conan Renaissance. A more learned re-examining, with Robert E. Howard’s name, and no one else’s, attached to his character. In some cases, the name may be mere lip service, but it’s nevertheless attached in a font that’s big enough to read. And with that comes an attitude shift.

Consider this article that ran in the Dallas Morning News this week, written by the head of TCU Press, Judy Alter. Give it a look and see if you can tell me what’s missing. No, don’t worry about the minor points that are wrong; getting some facts messed up is a time-honored tradition in newspapers. No, what’s missing is the usual tone. There’s no judgment here, nor any snarky asides about his beloved mother. Just a straightforward commentary about his life and work.

If the current crop of people shepherding the works of REH have anything to be proud of, it’s that the tone is slowly going away. We, collectively, did that. Little by little, the back-handed compliments are drying up, and are replaced with appreciative passages about what REH did as a writer. With two major milestones out of the way, I think that’s something to really be thankful for.