Robert E. Howard
Zothique 10

After issue 7 of Zothique, issue 10 will also be unmissable for all followers of Robert E. Howard, the Bard of Cross Plains.

The tireless Pietro Guarriello has carried out a commendable operation, following in the footsteps of what was done in the past by Yorick Fantasy Magazine by Massimo Tassi.

But the good news for the "hardcore Howardians" doesn't end there. Dagon Press has indeed announced the release of a third booklet dedicated to the mythical Two-Gun Bob. Perhaps to someone who is not exactly a fan, it may seem like an exaggeration, but his admirers are undoubtedly numerous.

The opening article is entrusted to Mariateresa Botta, a reliable source (alongside Michele Tetro) when it comes to Robert E. Howard in Italy.

With competence and passion, Botta presents us with a brief guide to understanding Howardian narrative and female characters. Some of her insights regarding the alleged psychological disorders of Robert E. Howard alluded to by the De Camp spouses are interesting.

I also find it limiting and reductive to trap an artist in the cage of psychoanalysis, an operation unfortunately also applied to H.P. Lovecraft. I find the author's considerations very focused (but it was also the thought of the dear Giuseppe Lippi to whose memory this issue of Zothique is dedicated, where we can also read one of his old reviews on Solomon Kane) that make us understand how Howard's was a real idealized revolt against "the world around him". He was a rebel, an outsider in the society of his time just like his colleagues H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith.

No less interesting are the contributions of Giovanni Valenzano and Andrea Gualchierotti who discuss, respectively, the theme of the werewolf in his narrative and that of wizards in the classical world within the Conan cycle. One almost wants to compare these Zothique specials dedicated to Howard, for the quality of the interventions, to Lovecraftian Studies.

Certainly very stimulating is the article by Michele Tetro based on the film Il Mondo Intero, the first and only film based on the writer seen here from a private and human perspective where his relationship with Novalyne Price is narrated. What emerges in the end is his nature as a "dreamer" trapped in a daily life from which he fled with the power of imagination.

The unpublished stories presented are certainly surprising, even if, compared to the corpus of his narrative, they occupy a smaller place. However, I found the erotic ones particularly surprising and interesting, revealing his interest in sadomasochism and some practices related to it, such as flagellation. Perhaps Howard had inclinations in this sense, given the numerous books on the subject found in his library.

Also noteworthy is the new essay (it is the fifth) by Mariano D'Anza on Howardian poetry.

The refined cover is, as usual, the work of the talented Gino Carosini.