If you missed Part 2….
John Jakes finished the 1960s writing television tie-ins along with other paperbacks. The first collections of Brak appeared alongside his best Science Fiction novels. But in 1974 everything would change with the arrival of The Kent Family Chronicles. John had several paperback novels on the bestsellers list at one time. From 1974 on he would be known not as a SF, Sword & Sorcery or Mystery writer but as a bestseller.
One of John’s side projects before the fame, besides writing nonfiction for the juvenile markets, was plotting comics for Marvel. “Spell of the Dragon” featured Brak in his only non-prose adventure. “The Unspeakable Shrine” was adapted as well. Jakes plotted stories for some of Robert E. Howard’s heroes including Conan and Kull. He also saw his Edgar Allan Poe sequel, “The Opener of the Crypt” adapted. Even after North & South, John did not abandon comics altogether.His Mullkon Empire was a six part mini-series in 1995-96 for Big Entertainment Comics .He did not write the series but created the world the story takes place in.
Jakes also returned to the Western by editing some anthologies and writing Funeral for Tanner Moody with Elmer Kelton and Robert Randishi. John wrote for Great Writers & Kids Write Spooky Stories, and going back to his Pulp roots, for The Spider Chronicles. When you’ve hit the big time you can take your pleasures where you like.
1966
The Man From Uncle #4 The World’s End Affair (1966) (as Robert Hart Davis)
The Man From Uncle #9 The Moby Dick Affair (1966) (as Robert Hart Davis)
The Man From Uncle #11 The Goliath Affair (1966) (as Robert Hart Davis)
“Buggaratz” (Worlds of Tomorrow, January 1966)
“Love is a Punch in the Nose” (Bizarre Mystery Magazine, January 1966)
1967
The Man From Uncle #13 The Deadly Dark Affair (1967) (as Robert Hart Davis)
The Man From Uncle #15 The Dolls of Death Affair (1967) (as Robert Hart Davis)
The Man From Uncle #17 The Ugly Man Affair (1967) (as Robert Hart Davis)
The Man From Uncle #20 The Man from Yesterday Affair (1967) (as Robert Hart Davis)
When the Star Kings Die (1967)
Famous Firsts in Sports (1967)
Great War Correspondents (1967)
1968
Making It Big (aka Johnny Havoc and the Siren in Red) (1968)
Brak the Barbarian (1968)
“The Unspeakable Shrine” (Brak the Barbarian, 1968)
“Flame Face” (Brak the Barbarian, 1968)
“The Barge of Souls” (Brak the Barbarian, 1968)
“Here Is Thy Sting” (Orbit 3, June 1968)
“The Mirror of Wizardry” (Worlds of Fantasy #1, September 1968)
“Ranging” (The Farthest Reaches, September 1968)
1969
Brak the Barbarian Versus the Sorceress (1969)
Brak the Barbarian Versus the Mark of the Demons (1969)
The Planet Wizard (1969)
Tonight We Steal the Stars (1969)
Secrets of Stardeep (1969)
The Hybrid (1969)
The Last Magicians (1969)
The Asylum World (1969)
Great Women Reporters (1969)
Mohawk: The Life Of Joseph Brant (1969)
1970
Master of the Dark Gate (1970)
Mask of Chaos (1970)
Monte Cristo #99 (1970)
Six-Gun Planet (1970)
Black in Time (1970)
“Merry Xmas, Post/Gute” (Amazing Stories, January 1970)
“Seedling From the Stars” (Worlds of Tomorrow, Winter 1970)
1972
Witch of the Dark Gate (1972)
Time Gate (1972)
Mention My Name in Atlantis (1972)
“Stranger With Roses” (Infinity 4, 1972)
“Web of the Spider-God” (Conan the Barbarian #12, January 1972)
“The Night of he Red Slayers” (Kull the Conqueror #4, September 1972)
1973
On Wheels (1973)
“Ghoul’s Garden” (Flashing Swords #2, 1973)
“Spell of the Dragon” (Chamber of Chills #2, January 1973) This comic was parodied here.
“The Opener of the Crypt” (Chamber of Chills #4, May 1973)
“The Running of Ladyhound” (The Haunt of Horror, October 1973)
1974
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1974)
The Bastard (1974)
Fortune’s Whirlwind (1975)
To an Unknown Shore (1975)
“The Secret of Skull River” (Savage Tales #5, July 1974)
“The Unspeakable Shrine, Part 1” adapted in (Savage Tales #7, November 1974)
1975
The Rebels (1975)
The Seekers (1975)
“The Unspeakable Shrine, Part 2” adapted in (Savage Tales #8, January 1975)
“The Running of Ladyhound” (reprinted in Savage Tales #10, May 1975)
1976
The Furies (1976)
The Titans (1976)
Bloodstar (Comic adaptation) with Richard Corben
“Sums” (Frights, 1976) with Richard E. Peck
1977
The Warriors (1977)
King’s Crusader (1977)
The Best of John Jakes (1977)
“Storm in a Bottle” (Flashing Swords #4, 1977) (aka “Brak in Chains”)
1978
The Lawless (1978)
When the Idols Walked (1978)
The Bastard appears on TV
1979
The Americans (1979)
“Uncle Tom’s Time Machine” (The Last Dangerous Vision, unpublished)
The Rebels and The Seekers appears on TV
1980
The Fortunes of Brak (1980)
Excalibur (1980) with Gil Kane
1982
North and South (1982)
1984
Love and War (1984)
1985
North & South Part 1 appears on TV
1986
Susanna of the Alamo (1986)
North & South Part 2 appears on TV
1987
Heaven and Hell (1987)
1989
California Gold (1989)
1988
The Best Western Stories of John Jakes (1988)
1991
Civil War Ghosts (1991) (edited by John Jakes and Charles G. Waugh)
“Chicago Rhapsody” (Fantastic Chicago, 1991)
1993
Homeland (1993)
In the Big Country (1993)
1994
New Trails (1994) (edited by John Jakes and Martin H. Greenberg)
North & South Part 3 appears on TV
1995
“Witch House” (Great Writers & Kids Write Spooky Stories, 1995)
The Mullkon Empire (6 issues, September 1995-January 1996)
1998
American Dreams (1998)
1999
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (theatrical adaptation) (1999)
2000
On Secret Service (2000)
A Century of Great Western Stories (2000) (edited by John Jakes)
2001
The Bold Frontier (reissue of In the Big Country) (2001)
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (theatrical adaptation)(2001)
2002
Charleston (2002)
2004
Savannah or a Gift for Mr. Lincoln (2004)
Funeral for Tanner Moody (with Elmer Kelton and Robert Randish) (2004)
2006
The Gods of Newport (2006)
2007
The Spider Chronicles (2007)
John Jakes’ career can be looked at many different ways. His drive to always push himself from one kind of fiction to the next is evident as he started in Science Fiction and Fantasy, then wrote many Westerns, then many detective stories, historical novels, television and movie tie-ins and finally bestsellers. This could be seen as a cautionary tale against being a genre writer but I think that is too simple. The journey through genre was what make Jakes so compelling as a historical novelist. The lessons of Western, detective, Mystery, Science Fiction and Sword & Sorcery, even comics, taught him how to grab you as a reader and never let go. Whichever part of his career you love the most, there is always a new surprise in Jakes’ backlist somewhere for you.
NB. John Jakes passed away on March 11, 2023.
