With two World Fantasy Award nominations under the journal’s belt and some of its bloggers now displaying well-deserved awards, The Cimmerian Blog’s third year started off well.

In the early months, Leo mentioned the incoming The Last in the Trunk, but also talked up Harold Lamb’s comeback, the opening number of Dial P for Pulp!, and Arthur Machen. Steve mused on Hyborian ophidians, on Tolkien’s use of the word “gibbets,” and Howard’s other epistolary colleague Clark Ashton Smith. Mark was bewilderingly prescient in his impression of then-just-announced Solomon Kane, and announced his World Fantasy Convention plans. Rob kept to REH, and spoke on Robert E. Howard Foundation news & Howard’s naming conventions. All the Cimmerian bloggers were galvanized by “Old Garfield’s Heart” making an appearance in the S.T. Joshi-edited American Supernatural Tales, all contributing their thoughts on Howard making it into Penguin Classics for the first time.

Cimmerian winter warmed the chill of the night with the fire of Howard, Tolkien and others. Leo spied a possible new contributor in the now familiar Brian Murphy, admired The History of The Hobbit, added another Collector’s Corner, discussed Beowulf and Zemeckis’ film, and first impressions of Grim Lands. Steve forwarded some masterpieces, in particular “Frazetta & Howard, Moorcock & Howard,” “An Irish Bard at King Hrothgar’s Court,” and his Tompkins original “The Lion in his 75th Winter” and “Bumbles Pounce.” At the end of the year, Leo celebrated The Cimmerian’s success with a look back on 2007.

2008 began with The Cimmerian Awards from Leo and REHF news from Rob. The sense of fun continued with Leo’s gleefully macabre recounting of a story from Howard Days 2007, before returning to more scholarly stuff with Échos de Cimmérie, and put in a little Lovecraftian/Cryptid post, as well as continuing to keep Charles Saunders in mind. Steve followed up on his looks at Howard’s snakes with a gander at his big cats, an extended essay on Charlton Heston, and a truly epic exploration of The Silmarillion. Mark returned to the fray with his thoughts on a prospective Conan Renaissance and a glance at Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Rob queried a poetry problem, broke the news of what would become El Borak & Other Desert Adventures, and noted a cool REH name-drop from Jim Butcher.

It wasn’t just a year for “Howard, Tolkien, and the Best in Heroic Fantasy, Horror and Historical Adventure”; there was also sadness too. The death of Alton McCowen, one of the premier figures in Cross Plains Howardiana, was commemorated on the blog by Leo and Rob. Robert Jordan’s death was also marked, as was the passing of Gary Gygax on multiple fronts. Steve made a heartfelt tribute to translator extraordinaire Robert Fagles.

In the final few months of The Cimmerian blog’s third year, Leo reported a Lin Carter discovery in a former Tolkien residence, a comment on a John Milius exchange involving Howard. Steve compared The Last in the Trunk’s contents to Western literature, introduced the first of many essays dedicated to the work of Charles R. Saunders, challenged the ubiquitous fan-term “Hyboria” in his inimitable fashion, a look at Dark Horse’s treatment of Conan, and a grand sprawling post on the state of cinematic fantasy. His “What a Mummer Wild, What an Insane Child” does what seems to be impossible, and makes a convincing comparison of Nolan’s Joker from The Dark Knight with Richard III, Justin Geoffrey, and Howard’s Valerius of The Hour of the Dragon. Mark authorized and carried out a veritable orbital bombardment of Francis diPietro’s The Supreme Moment, brought up the Bookcrossing and GoodReads websites, and makes a fascinating correlation between Howard’s views of civilization and The Dark Knight. Rob kept us up to date on Howard publications, and also one of the few cinematic adaptations of a Robert E. Howard story. He also embarked on a perilous journey through Texas through towns mentioned by Howard: he visited Waxahatche, then Decatur, then to Cross Plains, where he stays for Howard Days.

Early August of 2008 was rocked by Arnie Fenner’s introduction to … And Their Memory Was A Bitter Tree. Mark’s “Whispers of Imbecility” started the great brouhaha; Gary Romeo leapt to De Camp’s defense (of course) in a guest blog, after which Steve offered his thoughts on the situation, and Mr Fenner himself attempted to clear the air; Mark returned to the scrum to address him. However, the Cimmerian year ended on a high note: Steve extolled the Blackwoodian virtues of the Masters of Horror episode “Skin and Bones,” leading into a discussion of Wendigos in literature and cinema, raised the flag for David C. Smith, and Leo praised Robert T. Long’s thoughtful analysis of Howard.

Year Three was at an end, and The Cimmerian blog was going strong.