First of all, that's a great Jeff Jones cover on the Zebra edition of this book from 1975. I was already a Robert E. Howard fan, of course, but the cover certainly caught my attention when I saw it on the paperback rack at Thrifty Drug Store, one of my regular stops for paperbacks in those days. This collection was also my introduction to Howard's boxing fiction, and I recall having a great time reading it. Of course I know now what I didn't know then, that the Dorgan stories were actually unsold Steve Costigan stories with the main character's name changed. Howard sold one Dorgan story to Farnsworth Wright for the pulp MAGIC CARPET, but that was the only story in the series to see print in Howard's lifetime. When this collection came out, I believe it and THE IRON MAN, also from Zebra, were the only REH boxing fiction in print. Soon all of it will be available in deluxe editions from the Robert E. Howard Foundation Press, but I'll continue to have a soft spot for THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF DENNIS DORGAN. (Despite what the cover copy says, there's no real fantasy element to these stories...but plenty of adventure!)
6 comments:
I love these ZEBRA editions of REH. The Jeff Jones covers are great!
I have this version too. Got it second hand though. Nice adventures and you're right, most people don't know Dennis Dorgan.
I need to double check, but I think this is one of the few Zebra editions I'm missing.
I, tii, really liked all those Zebra editions!
RJR
You know Zebra didn't pay Jones enough.
I remember seeing this on the spinner, but didn't buy it - probably didn't have the money.
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