Reading – Sanjulian’s Sword’s Edge

I ordered my copy of Sword’s Edge: Paintings Inspired by the Works of Robert E. Howard* the same day that I spotted the book review at Parka Blogs. A hardcover art book for under $20, even if it’s only 48-pages, couldn’t be ignored. Especially since the book focused on Manuel Pérez Clemente Sanjulian’s Conan-inspired artwork. And now that I have the book I’m happy to report that it’s gorgeous and an excellent buy.

The book opens with an 8-page essay by Arnie Fenner that is — if you’ve read anything at all about Robert E. Howard’s life and career — simply another rehash of arguments and ideas we’ve heard many times before. Actually, that is unfair to Fenner since roughly half of his text concentrates on the artwork of Conan; running from Frazetta’s beautiful work of the Lancer books of the sixties through Marvel’s Conan comics of the seventies and ending with a discussion of Sanjulian’s career and Conan-inspired artwork this is far more fun to read than the REH life lesson.

Once Fenner’s essay is out of the way we get into page after page of sketches and full-page paintings. A few shots are shown here, and you should definitely see the photos and videos at Parka Blogs, but I have uploaded most of the photos I took of the book to a Sanjulian’s Sword’s Edge set at Flickr. The pencil sketches are especially fun since careful study sometimes reveals differences between the sketch and the final painting. I love peeks at the creative process.

Closing Thoughts

There’s very little to actually write about Sword’s Edge: Paintings Inspired by the Works of Robert E. Howard*. If you’re a Conan fan then you should take a closer look at the book, and if you’re a fan of classic fantasy art then it’s also worth your time to flip through the pages if you see the book at a store. It’s well-produced and an excellent addition to my collection of art books and my small collection of Conan books and trade paperbacks.