Collecting Michael Moorcock: CORUM - Early UK Editions

[@secretfirebooks7894]

Corum is easily the most underrated S&S series out there. So much creativity on display and some real weird adventures. They don't get nearly as much recognition as they deserve!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Agreed.

[@paulcampbell6003]

You briefly mentioned _Gloriana_ (1978). Fabulous novel! 😍 When summarising it at a book group last year I said, *"Imagine if Charles Dickens wrote **_A Game of Thrones_** !"* 🤪

[@potatopower2144]

Reading The Knight of Swords for the first time. Corum has just departed for the island of the gorged god. I am greatly enjoying the story thus far. My younger self would've fallen in love with reading had I got my hands on something like this. Thanks for sharing another glimpse at your collection.

[@martinwilliams9866]

I loved & love the work of Bob Haberfield, especially the covers of "The Eternal Champion" & "Phoenix in Obsidian" .

[@rickkearn7100]

Very nice introspective on the cover art aspect in this episode, OB. I'm an SF cover art addict but not an aficionado. As such, your interest in, and respect for the livery of books and the artists works and sharing it here is very much appreciated. I was struck by the Grafton hardcover livery. That artist (whose name you mentioned but I've not heard of him) stylistically reminded me of Maxfield Parrish in some ways. Fascinating historical information of this kind is difficult to come by, especially from a trusted source. Thank the gods for your enthusiasm and expertise! Cheers old chap, thanks for another fine adventure.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I can see the echo of Parrish in Woodforde's work.

[@danieldelvalle5004]

Love Hawkwind an have infected my sons with that enthusiasm also. Great video, love Moorcock too.

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

I love Elric but Corum ended up being my favorite character in the Eternal Champion multiverse. Something about his story just has so much more grit, vivid imagery and emotional apocalyptic intensity to it.

[@LiminalSpaces03]

Beautiful books! Moorcock is harder to come by in the states. Warrior on the Edge of Time is one of my all time favorite records. Absolutely incredible!

[@zamiadams4343]

Beautiful artwork on these books, thanks for another amazing episode Stephen!

[@terrystewart1973]

Loved the Hawkmoon books, which I read completely out of order! Someone gave me 'Count Brass', with Bob Haberfield's cover for my birthday (must have been around 13/14). I realised quite quickly it was a sequel to some other books, but I could never find them, until one day a couple of years later, I came across the much lamented *Dark They Were & Golden Eyed* bookshop lurking deep in Soho, which was like finding a gold mine. Most of the bookshops near where I lived had a half shelf of Science Fiction mixed in with fantasy, and that was it. I got almost all my Moorcook books there, along with my Conan paperbacks and so much more. Oh, and I love those Corum hardbacks of *The Bull & The Spear* etc with Keith Roberts artwork (and thanks for pointing me in the direction of his SF books). Wish I owned them, and I see they are for sale on Abe books - too expensive for me at the moment though

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

The next thing I do on MM will probably be about the Hawkmoon novels.

[@pnptcn]

One of my all time favorite sword and sorcery series, brisk and spare but no shortage of invention and creativity. I have these in the White Wolf hardcover editions, but I started out with the second trilogy in a paperback collection that is now long lost to space, time and chaos. First Comics also published adaptations with wonderful art by a young Mike Mignola, before his Hellboy fame. These are fairly easy to track down and tend to be pretty affordable. If you are a fan of either Mignola, Moorcock or both these are worth the effort imo.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I'll admit to not being a fan of comic adaptations of books: I don't really see the point, but each to his own. I tend to prefer original writing in comics. Thing is with MM, you could go on collecting forever, there are so many variant editions and texts, testament to his creativity and longevity.

[@pnptcn]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Agreed that many adaptations are shaky at best and most are entirely pointless. Mignola's artwork is a solid interpretation of the material and sets these comics above the usual for the interested collector.

[@chaz9808]

Damn I’m jealous those looks amazing I love Corum and MIchael Moorcock

[@SFVintageCollector]

The King of the Swords in Mayflower was one of the first novels I bought not knowing anything about it and now chasing Knight of the Swords in the same jacket livery to start reading the series, not easy to find in AUS

[@rogerpetersen794]

The talented cartoonist Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy) drew the comics adaptation of the first two volumes of Corum back in 1987 for First comics. I believe Penguin has collected them into volumes recently. They may be worth a look. His art isn’t fully developed yet, but his style, composition and imaginative design are eye catching.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, someone else mentioned them here and I've seen them around. I'm not really interested in comic adaptations of books as I struggle to see the point other than to make them more accessible, which to me does as much to keep people away from text-based books as it does draw them in, so I prefer original works in comics. His style suits Corum, though.

[@rogerpetersen794]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Fair enough. But as a kid who’d never heard of the novels, these were my introduction to the world of Corum and led me to the books. It goes both ways!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@rogerpetersen794 It does at times, agreed!

[@erikpaterson1404]

Those covers are beautiful. Stunning. Never took the time to read much Moorcock. It's never too late. Lovely video Nice walk down memory lane.. ❤

[@erikpaterson1404]

Lovely video. Thank you

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Thanks mate, much appreciated!

[@waltera13]

@erikpaterson1404 thank you so much for your patronage! It is greatly appreciated by those of us who can't afford it. It has not gone unseen. Thank you!

[@catunderstars]

🤘Very metal!🤘

[@craiggoodwin5975]

Excellent video ... Never made the connection between Moorcock and Judas Priest. Thank you.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

There's nothing specifically Moorcock in the lyrics of course, though there is an archaic feel in some of the songs on 'Sad Wings...', specifically in "Tyrant", and "Genocide".

[@craiggoodwin5975]

Agreed. Subsequently followed by decades of songs about "half man, half machine" characters saving the world.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@craiggoodwin5975 Yeah, they went downhill rapidly after 1978. There were odd moments on 'Point of Entry' and 'Screaming For Vengeance' but after that it was over for me. I still used to go and see them live though, amazing band in concert.

[@craiggoodwin5975]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal after a shaky patch that you mention, they went on to new heights. Still great live. Although impossible to top Dissident Aggressor of course.

[@waltera13]

Thank you so much for this addition to your Moorcock series! It not only brings back memories but shows me things I did not know existed!! I also greatly appreciate you going into a little more detail about the artists. I never knew the images you showed were Patrick Woodroffe! His style had advanced much further by the time he became famous, I never realized those earlier works *were* him. Nor did I know about those Melvin interconnections. The real star however has got to be those Keith Roberts HC's! I always felt the Corum books were the most tied to a sense of "Englishness" (if it's not disrespectful to say to a Welshman about a book full of Celtic themes!) Taking us back to a quasi historical / quasi magical proto Britania , offering an "antidote" for Tolkien. I first read Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood shortly after Corum and it and it's aftershocks only served to reinforce the strangeness and the weird of this prehistoric world. This of course not to be confused with a sense of "Britishness" which to my alien eyes always seemed to connote Empirical or Post Empirical sentiment; like Oswald Bastable, or Jerry Cornelius.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, the Corum books, for all their psychedelic weirdness are more 'British' by far than any of his other S&S material.

[@themojocorpse1290]

Another fantastic episode been a huge fan of Michael moorcock since the 70s when I also got into hawkwind and priest . Warrior at the edge is such a great album ,as are the wonderfully entertaining corum books . Moorcock may have knocked these books out fast but for me he still outshines most other authors of this genre. Incredibly inventive and prolific consistently impressive ideas love his work. Thanks Steve really enjoyed this one 🫡

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, even at his most workmanlike he has something very special- and he did so much for New Wave SF.

[@new_memeplex]

Great video, I remember those Grafton editions. Have you read “The Whispering Swarm”? I found it shockingly confessional.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I particularly liked those parts.

[@glockensig]

When did Rock & Roll die? Kids today listen to a lot of stuff from the 70's and 80's. I asked why once, and they said because they actually had lyrics back then.....

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Exactly.

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Some lovely books and covers there. Beat wishes.

[@paulcollins5586]

Enjoyed this one, great content. Love Moorcock , Hawkwind and Woodroffe art and rock. Still need to get more moorcock books . Thanks.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It's a shame there were never hardcovers of the first trilogy with KR covers. I've been trying to pick up Roberts-Moorcock associational copies and recently missed out on a MM hardcover first actually inscribed to Keith- but it was £100, way more than I normally pay!

[@erikpaterson1404]

Something i found in Science Fiction montlhy Vol. 2 #2. 1975. By Michael Ashley Breakfast In Ruins is a book whixh makes you look inwardly at yourself as Glogauer is taken back in time to the future by a friendly Nigerian and shown scenes in a quest to find harmony. Each chapter is closed with a searching question asking the reader, "What would you do?" In a particularly distressing situation where there is no easy or simple choice.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, I first read that book in the mid 1980s, had to get a US import at the time.

[@gon8go]

I hadn't read any fantasy until a few years ago. I was always put off by the huge tomes and long series; I heard of the Elric series because of the lawsuit with the Witcher series. I happened to find a couple of moorcock books and saw how short they were. I read the first Elric of melnibone and just loved it. I only have the citadel of forgotten myths and then stormbringer to finish the series (I believe)

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

That's the beauty of S&S pre 1977: watch my video on 'the artificial fantasy trilogy since 1977' to learn how it all went wrong- bloated and endless. Before that, it was hard and fast.

[@salty-walt]

Staggeringly beautiful! Especially the Keith Roberts hardcovers. What a wonderful selection. Thanks for showing me things I haven't seen! I I feel like I still need to apologize for any scarring comments about Gollancz yellowjackets, which leaves me unsure how to proceed, other than telling you most of that art brings back a lot of pleasant memories of having to hunt to find any Michael Moorcock books in used book stores around the States. Summers spent cobbling together different editions, and wondering how consecutive books from the same publisher could be different sizes and different liveries: What were they *Doing* over in the UK? I first read Corum in omnibuses that were published before those UK ones, put my covers were such a mixed bag! The US Swords Trilogy omnibus has one of the all-time worst Moorcock covers; a third rate for zeta knockoff, were the figures are tiny and at a distance. The Chronicles of Corum omnibus however has the most beautiful painting of Corum. So much to say about all of this art, but this is already too long & I should probably shut up. Thanks so much for the cool video!

[@mondostrat]

I'm very fond of his Von Bek books - will there be any discussion of them in the future?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes- among his finest works, I think. 'The City in the Autumn Stars' is one of the books I cover in my book '100 Must Read Fantasy Novels'.

[@chocolatemonk]

Artwork, beautiful from the first shot. I once dated a girl who was into Tarot and I got the Queen of Swords; same edition as yours; for the cover art. I never have used the tarot for readings (clairvoyance) but identified with the cards attributes which describe the Queen of Swords as independent, unbiased judgement, clear boundaries, direct communication on a good day or overly-emotional, easily influenced, bitchy, cold-hearted on a bad one. Nice Priest Vinyl!

[@kylepinion]

Very keen on your reading order thoughts. I’ve been endlessly beguiled by the Eternal Champion idea and have read just about all of Elric (Moonbeam Roads aside) and found it vivid but still not quite hooked as I’d like. I’m going to try my hand at Von Bek next, since that seems to have been the agreed upon starting point once upon a time…and perhaps a more mature example of his writing? Hoping so anyway.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Something coming on this soon. Von Bek is more mature work, as it was largely written in the 1980s, by which time he didn't have to support New Worlds magazine by writing Sword & Sorcery and Science Fantasy really quickly- but here's the thing: because Moorcock's S&S is his most ppoular work, people assume it is his most important, but it's not. MM was doing serious writing in the 1960s in the Jerry Cornelius sequence and in his editorship of New Worlds. As I say, something in progress currently, be up in a few weeks.

[@themojocorpse1290]

Thanks

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Much appreciated, old chum!!

[@JulesBurt]

Great looking books Steve. Love the A and B hardbacks🙂

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Yes, they're not bad. More Moorcock to come, including the long-promised readers' guide: it's only delayed as getting out my MM collection to film in my condition is quite daunting, let alone waxing lyrical for an hour after prepping the books!

[@erikpaterson1404]

Yeah, that's one of the better JP albums. Beautiful Read K. K. Dowining's autobiog if you get a chance. Some good history.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I read it as soon as it was published.

[@chrisnewman6047]

Did Moorcock coin the “multiverse” concept. He seems to rightfully own that term.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

No, it's a very old idea from ancient Greece, though in recent terms the word was coined by J.B. Priestley as far as I recall, though Mervyn Peake may have mentioned it too. But Moorcock started using the word and concept in the 1960s and applied it to his SFF. Of course, it's a 'hot' term currently with huge swathes of the SFF audience thinking it's something new....

[@chrisnewman6047]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Wow! Ancient Greece! I can see how that would be the case. I was just googling J.B Priestly a couple of days ago. Do you have a book to recommend as a starting point? Marvel really likes that multiverse concept now that I reflect on this. Thanks for the great information! Your show is the top dog on YT.

[@chrisnewman6047]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Wow! Ancient Greece! I can see how that would be the case. I was just googling J.B Priestly a couple of days ago. Do you have a book to recommend as a starting point? Marvel really likes that multiverse concept now that I reflect on this. Thanks for the great information! Your show is the top dog on YT.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@chrisnewman6047 When you say as a starting point, a starting point for what? Moorcock? Marvel have done the multiverse for a vaery long time. Thanks for the priase.

[@chrisnewman6047]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal J.B Priestly. A starting point for him. I should have been clearer. Getting ready for work. The Monday morning blues…

[@raiden_187]

How can I find any of those editions none of them exist in Amazon

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

They're long out of print, so you need to look at secondhand (used) sources- if you're in the UK, you have more chance of finding them in secondhand bookshops, but prices have risen and they are now uncommon. Ebay, abebooks...these are best places to look online.