Boxing

An avid fight fan and amateur boxer, Robert E. Howard wrote stories about the prize ring that hit with the impact of a Muhammed Ali punch. In his humorous fight stories, the hulking sluggers Sailor Steve Costigan and Dennis Dorgan trade jabs with brawlers from a dozen countries in shadowy ports from Hong Kong to the Gulf Coast. In other tales that mix action with keen character study, Howard writes of hungry young fighters who aim to win the championship, or die trying. In “Apparition in the Prize Ring,” the ghost of legendary bare-knuckle fighter Tom Molyneaux helps a 20th Century black champion, Ace Jessel, in Ace’s most desperate moment.

Sailor Steve Costigan

The merchant ship Sea Girl is the home of Sailor Steve Costigan, champion of the Seven Seas, who plies the boxer’s trade in waterfront rings all around the world. With his bulldog Mike, Sailor Steve takes on all comers – one night sparring with Bat Slade in old Manila’s Pit of the Serpent, the next, wiping out a den of international thieves and murderers in China’s Alley of Rats. Like Howard’s other turbulent heroes, from Conan to Black Turlogh, Sailor Steve is always ready to wade into a fight, whether to uphold the honor of the fleet or to win a kiss from a beautiful woman.

Dennis Dorgan

Dorgan, fighting champ of the Python, is Steve Costigan’s equal in brawn and brashness. Blood flows in the back alleys of Singapore when a double-cross lands Dorgan in a plot to defraud a local high-roller. In Fusan, the murderous Yellow Cobra gang quails before Dorgan’s gloved fists. And in Hong Kong, gunsmoke rolls and fists fly when Denny unwittingly leads an international chase after the greatest treasure of the Far East, the priceless Mandarin’s Ruby.

Iron Mike Brennon

“The ferocity of a tiger!” What he lacks in guile, Iron Mike Brennon makes up for in courage, determination, and an iron jaw that can withstand a punch that would flatten another man. Iron Mike wants to win the championship, but how much longer can he take the impact of crushing blows from other iron men of the Joe Louis and Mike Tyson breed? His prize is in sight – if he can survive the unexpected treachery of the person closest to him.