by Gary Romeo
“Black Tears” first appeared in Conan the Wanderer, Lancer Books, 1968. This is the fourth book chronologically but was the eighth book published. This is the second book to feature a cover by John Duillo instead of Frank Frazetta. Duillo’s first cover was for the previous volume Conan the Freebooter.
This is probably as good a time as any to discuss John Duillo. His previous cover for Conan the Freebooter was pretty bad. An anatomical abomination of an ape. This one is not bad. When Ace Books began reprinting the Lancer series they replaced the John Duillo covers with art by Boris Vallejo. I prefer the Duillo covers.
I don’t recall anyone ever writing about John Duillo in depth. He apparently was a journeyman artist for “Men’s Adventure” type magazines and later transitioned to specializing in Western and Civil War art. Why Lancer decided to use him for the three Conan books (Freebooter, Wanderer, of the Isles) published in 1968 remains a mystery. Speculation is that Lancer wanted a “cheaper” artist. Considering that Lancer Books later went bankrupt, money was most likely the reason. It is also possible Lancer publisher Irwin Stein made the decision for a different reason. Stein in an interview, from Confessions, Romances, Secrets, and Temptations: Archer St. John and the St. John Romance Comics by John Benson, talks about Frank Frazetta:
“Yes, those covers really put [Frazetta] on the map, I think. He was known mostly to the fans at the time. I tried to keep one of the paintings, and he threatened to come up with a gun. Well, most of the cover artists, if you said you liked something, they’d say, “Keep it.” What the hell, they had very little residual value at the time. But Frazetta always had a huge sense of his own worth. And rightfully so. Generally there were very few that I really wanted to keep for myself. But that was one of them, and I asked him for it.”
Stein, in his recollection, seems sympathetic to Frazetta but being threatened with a gun is only amusing in retrospect. It is not unreasonable to think he might have held some resentment at the time.
Lancer Books did bring Frazetta back for Conan of Cimmeria published in 1969. There has been speculation that the books with John Duillo art sold less. No real facts have ever been published and printing history for the books does not immediately support that claim, e.g. Conan the Wanderer (Duillo) went through more reprintings than Conan the Usurper (Frazetta). Frazetta art did not automatically create a best selling fantasy series. The Conan books were, I believe, in the main successful due to REH’s stories, de Camp’s promotion of a complete saga (you had to buy ALL the books) and the visual appeal of covers featuring muscled warriors. Tarzan, Thongor, Brak, etc. all sold well in the late 60s/70s. In any event, Duillo was never a fan favorite, Boris was at the time Ace Books took over the series and they commissioned new Boris art to replace those Duillo covers.
John Duillo’s non-Conan artwork can be found on the internet. He was a talented and capable artist. Perhaps Conan (or Lancer’s paycheck) just didn’t inspire him to do his best. His best is very good.
“Black Tears” was adapted to comics in Savage Sword of Conan #35.
“Black Tears” appears to be mostly the work of Lin Carter. Lin Carter successfully captured REH’s style. His words read like REH’s words. Quibbles are discussed below.
Robert M. Price, in Lin Carter: A Look Behind His Imaginary Worlds, Starmont House, 1991 talks about this story:
“Black Tears” is the first story in Conan the Wanderer and is a follow up to “A Witch Shall Be Born” which was the last story in the previous volume, Conan the Freebooter. De Camp sets the stage…
Some have accused de Camp & Carter into making Conan too much of a “good guy.” This story has Conan doing some “nice” things but he is still an outlaw and the kind of person you would want dead if you were a victim of his outlaw band.
“For years, now, this outlaw band had harried and looted towns and trading posts and caravan stations along the borders of Turan – first under that black-hearted Zaporoskan rogue, Olgerd Vladislav, then a little more than a year ago, by his successor, Conan.”
Vardanes, a member of Conan’s band, who was loyal to Olgerd, betrays the outlaw’s whereabouts to Turanian Captain Amir Boghra Khan. The army catches Conan unaware and a battle ensues.
Conan is described as a “giant” dressed in mail and khalet with an wild unshorn mane streaming out from under his steel cap. He carries a great, cross-hilted broadsword. (When Lin is in charge of the story, Conan’s sword always stands out.)
Conan turns the tide of battle into his favor and captures Boghra Khan. It turns out they know each other from Conan’s days in the Turanian military. Conan tricks Boghra Khan into revealing that it was Vardanes who betrayed him.
Conan lets Boghra Khan (whose troops killed many of Conan’s men) go back to Turan unharmed. Would REH have written it that way? I can’t honestly say. Could this be the start of a less blood-thirsty Conan? The fact that they were once comrades places that in doubt though.
The story continues with Conan chasing down Vardanes to garner revenge (Conan is still blood-thirsty against those who intentionally betray him.). The chase leads Conan and his men to a hooky-spooky place and his men desert him. Conan is uncharacteristically skeptical toward Gomer’s, his right-hand man, superstitious warnings. (I believe Lin made an un-REH like mistake there.) Meanwhile Vardanes is a captive in the city of Akhlat the Accursed. Conan, abandoned by his men, almost dies in the desert.
Conan is rescued, and gets a bit pervy: “young, scarcely more that a child … with a pale body that gleamed enticingly … he studied the swelling contours of her lithe body” and makes the young girl blush. Later Conan is told that he is a prophesied savior.
Conan is told of the Gorgon who leeches the lifeforce from plants, animals, and humans. Conan agrees to help since it coincides with his plan to kill Vardanes. Eventually all three meet up: Conan, Vardanes, and the demoness Gorgon.
The story has some good thrills at this point. Conan gets his revenge in a satisfying way and the narration is REH-like: “From the ruin of the Gorgon’s third eye, dark fluid ran down the face of inhuman perfection. Like black tears, the slow dew fell from the shattered organ.”
After Conan saves the day, he is welcomed to stay with his rescuers and start a life there. Conan turns it all down, even a monetary reward. “It does a man good, once in a while, to be virtuous. Even a Cimmerian!”
Conan claims he will head to Zamboula to seek fortune there. Considering all the effort he gave to get revenge on Vardanes you might think he would head back to his outlaw band and resume command and at least chastise Gomer and the men who abandoned him in the desert. Conan is not exactly virtuous yet but he is inconsistent.
Bonus: First page of a letter from Sprague to Lin Carter about this story. I do not have a copy of any subsequent pages.
Bonus #2: Brian Kunde, co-contributor to this blog, got the brilliant idea to reverse the image and read the sentences visibly that way. Wow! Above and beyond …. I thank you, Brian.
Here’s the image. Best interpreted through magnification. And here’s the interpretation:
01 End of story: Conan ************ ******** ******, since there
02 are no horses in Sakuret, ****************. Sakuret is not a rich
03 place, just a ****** little ************ and all they have to
04 reward Conan with is a fistful of silver from the various people
05 who, at long intervals, have stumbled into the city and been
06 duly statuefied. Enosh would like nothing better than to***v****
07 Conan for a son-in-law, to spend the rest of his life sitting in
08 OBSCURED
09 OBSCURED
10 OBSCURED
11 have Enosh *ifer his h******************************************
12 wives!) And how ***** calling *** **** N**, after *** **** mythical
13 (four characters at beginning of line visible)
14 ******** with, as he himself says, “only a handful of silv[er.”]
15 (whole line visible, but I can’t make head or tail of it)
16 (one character at beginning and five or six at end of line visible)
17 OBSCURED
18 (one character at beginning of line visible)
19 (four characters at end of line visible)
20 OBSCURED)
21 (two characters at beginning line line visible)
22 (five characters at beginning of line visible)
spraguedecampfan 