After the Fenner debacle and in the wake of the Maggie situation, I would like to use this blog as an opportunity to propose something to Robert E. Howard’s fans.

The latter problem seems to have been promptly resolved, since Ms. Van Ostrand’s blog was deleted from Texas Escapes and Jason Dorough has added a nice Editor’s Note on Fandomania.com, which warns its readers that the blog is highly controversial.

Ms. Van Ostrand’s primary source was Dark Valley Destiny. Beside her apparent taste for sensationalism, I wondered how she could believe that Sprague’s biography was definitive.

And the conclusion is quite simple: it came from her sheer ignorance. She ran wildly with what she’d read in DVD. Then I looked at the customers’ comments  on Amazon about Old Spraguey’s biography.

You know what, Howard fans? There’s only one single name known in REH fandom there. Guess who that person is?

Gary Romeo.

Do not worry, Indy. This is not a demagogic knock on the poor, lone, dissenting voice in REHupa (other than J.D. Charles). I’m not calling for a witch-hunt, though I can’t help but notice that Gary weighed in to defend DVD in the comments section under Mrs Van Ostrand’s blog. It is not my purpose and I will (try to) be fair. It must be noted that on Amazon, Romeo isn’t totally uncritical of the book and rates it  ’only’ three out of five stars. He is cited as the helpful “con” review by Amazon… Crom’s Devils!

It was much more infuriating to me to see four glowing reviews, Gary’s mixed comments and only one anonymous bad reviewer than to read Mrs. Van Ostrand’s piece. It means that on Amazon, someone genuinely interested in learning more about the life of Cross Plains’ bard is misdirected to outdated and debunked research. Here at TC, there are plans to write up a capsule bio that also rates other biographical sources for accuracy, but TC has less readers than Amazon.

We must do something there.

So if  our dauntless Guerilla Leader, Mark Finn, doesn’t mind, this humble shieldbearer would like to use this blog to suggest a few other legitimate targets for further operations: the commentary sections of Amazon and other internet booksellers. I think it is undeniable that the people who will see those comments will probably be far more numerous than the readers of “Fandomania.com”. Future nonsensical writings like Ms. Van Ostrand’s (I’m reluctant to call her supposedly humorous piece an “article”) could possibly be prevented.

Leo Grin noted last year another place where we could fight the good fight : Wikipedia. The “Master Race” entry is where we should strike first. This blogger’s ignorance should be blamed: I noticed this earlier and I don’t know yet how to make an edit on the Free Encyclopedia. There is no doubt that this page needs some urgent action.

Do you think that Maggie’s article was an outrage? Then read the names cited among the “Fictional representations” of this “concept in Nazi ideology.” Robert Ervin Howard comes second. Just after his pen-pal, Howard Philips Lovecraft.

Shields up, brothers and sisters!