Know, O prince, if you fancy yourself a fan of all things Hyborian Age, then by Crom and Mitra do we have a new book for you: Conan: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Most Savage Barbarian.

Written by Roy Thomas, scribe of literally hundreds of Conan stories for Marvel in the 70s and 80s, Conan: The Ultimate Guide is a heavily illustrated coffee-table encyclopedia befitting of the the larger-than-life Cimmerian’s many exploits. Organized by the different periods of Conan’s “life,” it’s overflowing with paintings, drawings and sketches from the best-known Conan artists — Frazetta, Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Cary Nord, and more — to accompany descriptions of people, places, things, ideas, and factoids from Robert E. Howard’s infamous pulp sagas (Tower of the Elephant, Red Nails, Frost-Giant’s Daughter, etc).

It’s somewhat surprising it’s taken this long to put a guide to Conan together. His elaborate world cries out for a book such as this — Howard and his pulp contemporary/pen pal H.P. Lovecraft pioneered the idea of setting their fictional stories in a highly detailed “shared universe,” much like the one Tolkein would later create for Lord of the Rings.

Anyway, now a guide exists, and if you enjoy The Greatest Male Power Fantasy Ever Written as much as I do, you’ll have a blast perusing this tome. Also included are an exceptional map of the Hyborian World, and an introduction by, of all people, Todd McFarlane. Plus, another killer Alex Ross cover.

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