Our deepest thanks go out to pirate and blacksmith extraordinaire, Tony Swatton, and to our friends, Bill Sampson, Gary Gianni, Michael Venables, and Mark Schultz. We’d also like to thank Rusty Burke for his generous expertise and Stuart Williams for his incredible patience, skill, and general bacon-saving. And last but not least, we’d like to thank our son, Rourke Keegan, who takes very good care of us.

Jim & Ruth Keegan

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks, and dedicate my work on this book, to Marcelo Anciano, for the vision that created The Robert E. Howard Library of Classics, for sharing that vision with me and letting me be part of the team, for his encouragement and assistance and support and the occasional push, for all his hard work in turning our work into actual books, and for his friendship and many kindnesses. Many thanks, too, to the team: Stuart, Jim & Ruth, and Steve, as well as Patrice, Ed, Dave, Glenn, Jack & Barbara, Mark, Gary, Greg. And as always, much love to Shelly, with thanks for her patience and support.

Rusty Burke

My thanks go once again to Marcelo and Rusty for making our last book together another great experience, Jim and Ruth for their excellence, dedication, and staying power. Thanks also to Mandy and Emma for ignoring me when I’m swearing at my laptop. I’d also like to say a big thank you to Dave Kurzman (kurzman@earthlink.net), gentleman and pulp dealer, for helping me with my Weird Tales collection.

Stuart Williams

This is to be my last book. It’s been fun pulling together each project.

It has been over a decade since I first thought of and started working on a unified Robert E. Howard collection that could reach a new public.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped and allowed me to start this project. Working with Wandering Star, Jack and Barbara Baum, and now Paradox, I feel proud to have created this library. I hope that I have left a lasting blueprint for others to complete. Thank you, Judy Hanson, for the deal.

To Rusty, partner in crime: we did it, buddy. To Stuart, Stu: all I can say is, thank you, thank you, thank you. To the artists I have been honoured to work with: Gary, Mark, Justin, Greg, and finally, Jim and Ruth. All are breathtakingly talented.

I hope it will continue until all of Howard’s work is together. Now I shall pick up the books as a fan.

Marcelo Anciano