The Many Possible Sequels to "A WITCH SHALL BE BORN"

Is there a Conan story that Robert E. Howard wrote with more possible sequels than his 1934 yarn "A Witch Shall Be Born?" I've gone on record several times to note that the story is far from my favorite: its momentum halts a little too hard when the epistolary section from Astreas the Nemedian kicks in. But there's something that's very compelling about the story. Conan is at his most un-killable. The supporting cast of Salome, Taramis, and Olgerd Vladislav are some of the best in the canon. And, notably, its vengeful ending is one for the ages.

​But the story ends with Conan simply riding away.

"Conan lifted his reins and rode toward the river that shone like silver in the morning sun. Behind him the white-clad riders struck into a trot; the gaze of each, as he passed a certain spot, turned impersonally and with the desert man's lack of compassion, toward the cross and the gaunt figure that hung there, black against the sunrise. Their horses' hoofs beat out a knell in the dust. Lower and lower swept the wings of the hungry vultures."

Where does he go? I've argued that he spends time as chief of the Zuagirs before ending his desert raider tenure in "Shadows in Zamboula." But I'm far from the only person who's tried to explore what happens next. The space left open by the narrative's ending has been compelling for a great number of Conan pastiche writers, from 1955 until today. With a brand-new possible sequel to the story, I thought it was time to examine the many possible sequels.

The Flame Knife by Robert E. Howard & L. Sprague de Camp (1955)

The earliest sequel to "A Witch Shall Be Born" did not begin its life that way. The Flame Knife is one of the four Howard stories that de Camp edited to insert Conan, and all of those are pretty good, probably because there's still so much Howard in them. De Camp makes the wise choice of bringing back "A Witch Shall Be Born's" Olgerd Vladislav as the enemy for this, even though it's otherwise unconnected to "Witch." Apparently, Olgerd is still pretty bitter about getting deposed in his original story.

There are some good fantasy elements and there's a very tense standoff in a lost mountain city (great setting!), so I actually really like this one even though I know de Camp's work isn't everyone's cup of tea.

The Flame Knife was then adapted into Savage Sword #31 in 1978.

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"Black Tears" by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter (1968)

The next sequel came from the earliest Conan pastiche writers: the duo of L. Sprague de Camp yet again, along with Lin Carter. "Black Tears" first appeared in Conan the Wanderer in 1968 and is set about a year after its predacessor. Gary Romeo over at his blog brings up that this one might be better served to have its byline listed with Carter's name first rather than the traditional de Camp / Carter; it looks like this was primarily a Carter yarn with just a few edits and suggestions provided by Sprague.

"Black Tears" is a breezy, if rather forgettable sequel to "Witch" that has some solid prose in it but ultimately is ripped off from a Thongor story a little too hard, and sees Conan dispatch his final enemy a little bit too easily. It almost reminds me of a version of "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," but set in the desert rather than the snows. 

"Black Tears" was adapted into comic form in Savage Sword #35.

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"The Sleeper Beneath the Sands" in Marvel's Savage Sword #6 (1975)

After "A Witch Shall Be Born" was adapted by Roy Thomas and John Buscema in Savage Sword #5, the next two issues would each feature possible sequels to it. The first is "The Sleeper Beneath the Sands," written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Sonny Trinidad, who isn't a big name in the Conan world but did contribute to a few issues here and there.

"Sleeper" tends to repeat some of the ideas from its predecessor, with Conan getting strung up out in the desert once again, and it brings back Olgerd Vladislav who Conan doesn't kill, but decides not to save. I feel like this one would've done a little bit better if it was the backup story behind a more complete feature, but it never really develops its own identity.

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"Citadel at the Center of Time" in Marvel's Savage Sword #7 (1975)

We have arrived. This story, which is actually the earliest issue of Savage Sword I own, absolutely fucking rules. Conan has moved the Zuagirs west toward Akbitana following "Witch." Pulling on some of Robert E. Howard's common themes of rapid human evolution and devolution, Conan gets a tour through time in the basement of the Citadel at the Center of Time. He sees dinosaurs, cultures from his future (our past), and Buscema's pencils embellished by Alcala's inks do the whole thing beautifully.

​This is one of my favorite Zuagir raider-set Savage Sword stories.

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"Mirror of the Manticore" in Marvel's Savage Sword #58 (1980)

This short backup story which appeared after the end of Roy Thomas's three-issue adaptation of Conan and the Sorcerer is 100% focused on Olgerd Vladislav and how he might have survived the events of "The Sleeper Beneath the Sands." It's short and simple, but I'll never say no to more of ol' Olgerd.

​Through some magic trickery, he's able to heal his deathly wounds sustained in Savage Sword #6 and regain power with the Zuagirs. I do think it's a little odd to present a short epilogue to a story... fifty-two issues after that first story appeared.

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"Dwellers of the Oasis" in Titan's Savage Sword #14 (2026)

While Jim Zub is the lead writer of the current Conan the Barbarian title from Titan, he's done only a few pieces for Savage Sword, though he's done a variety of things from full features to prose to wordless backup stories. Issue #14 featured maybe my favorite of his SSOC projects so far: "Dwellers of the Oasis." With Conan still reeling from his crucifixion, he's in the desert with his hands wrapped tight. After falling into a lost underground (undersand?) city, he encounters some very nice people with no ulterior motives whatsover.

The splash page that artist Ivan Gil does to introduce both Conan and us to this underground civilization is fantastic and the environment is sufficiently creepy thanks to the work of both Jim and Ivan. One of Jim's writing hallmarks is his embedding of subtle themes into his raucous adventures, and this one seems to be dealing with the concept of moving forward and healing in spite of intense pain, adding some layers to an already-fantastic comic book. I hope we see more from the team-up of Jim Zub and Ivan Gil soon.

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