Adaptations of works by Robert E. Howard
The works of Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) have been adapted into multiple media, the most famous being the Conan films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In television, the anthology series Thriller (1961) led the adaptations with an episode based on the short story "Pigeons from Hell."
This film was to have again starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as an older Conan, now king of Aquilonia, alongside his adult son.
[3] Howard himself was played by Vincent D'Onofrio in the 1996 biographical film The Whole Wide World, based on the books One Who Walked Alone and Day of the Stranger by Novalyne Price Ellis.
Howard's short horror story "Pigeons from Hell" was adapted for television as an episode of the anthology series Thriller airing in 1961.
The series starred Ralf Möller as Conan, with plot elements from the Schwarzenegger films, albeit toned down for a television audience; one 22-episode season was produced.
[13][15] In Germany, a German-language audio dramatisation of "Pigeons from Hell" (as "Tauben aus der Hölle") has been released by the label Titania-Medien in early 2011.
[19] The Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures was developed by Norwegian company Funcom and released in 2008 by Eidos Interactive on PC.
[16] Pinnacle Entertainment Group released Savage World of Solomon Kane in 2007, written by Paul Wade-Williams and Shane Lacy Hensley.
The first comic book adaptation of a Howard story was the feature La reina de la Costa Negra (taken from the original Conan story, Queen of the Black Coast) in the miniature-size Mexican anthology title Cuentos de Abuelito #8 (1952) published by Corporacion Editorial Mexicana, SA.
"[32] Italian metal band Rosae Crucis released the concept album Worms of the Earth (2003) which is entirely based on Howard's Bran Mak Morn story of the same name.
"[33] Greek metal band Battleroar's Age of Chaos (2005) includes two Conan inspired tracks, "Tower of the Elephant" and "The Sword of Crom.
"[32] Manilla Road have recorded several Howard-related tracks across multiple albums, including "Queen of the Black Coast" (Metal, 1982); "Road of Kings" and "Hour of the Dragon" (Open the Gates, 1985); "The Books of Skelos" (The Courts of Chaos, 2001); and a trilogy based on "The Frost Giant's Daughter" - "Riddle of Steel," "Behind the Veil" and "When Giants Fall" (Gates of Fire, 2005).
[33] French band Mad Minstrel have similarly released multiple tracks over different albums, all based on Howard's poetry, including "The Gates of Nineveh" and "The Riders of Babylon" (Fallen Cities, 2001); "Black Chant Imperial," "To a Woman" and "Which Will Scarcely be Understood" (Prelude To Hate, 2003).
Vocalist and writer Byron Roberts has said "Howard and Lovecraft were powerful inspirations for me when I was coming up with the concept and thematic basis for this band.
And in tribute to those classic works of literature and that enduring, oft-maligned genre, I decided to call the band Bal-Sagoth.
Produced at a cost of $5 million, the 20-minute show featured action scenes executed to music composed by Basil Poledouris.
[38][39] In 2013, the first dramatic on-stage version of 'Conan the Barbarian' - a Play based on the stories of Robert E.Howard - made its premiere in Tasmania, Australia.
The Play, presented by Stephen Beckett Productions, featured four of Howard's characters - Conan, Valeria, Zorathus and Tascela - and incorporated live sword-fighting.
In 1985, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force filmed their first video on the set of The Adventures of Conan, making use of the pyrotechnics and other effects, as well as adding some of his own.
