(a.k.a. ‘The Black Blade’s Summoning’ and ‘The Black Blade’s Song’)
Elric of Melniboné — proud prince of ruins, kinslayer — call him what you will. He remains, together with maybe Jerry Cornelius, Moorcock’s most enduring, if not always most endearing, character…
An Elric story — the first short-form tale for more than twenty years — ‘The White Wolf’s Song’ first appeared in an original anthology of Elric stories by Moorcock and others.
First appearance: Elric: Tales Of The White Wolf
Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf, 1994 (November) hardcover;
edited by Edward E. Kramer & Richard Gilliam (as Kramer only, on spine);
original price: $19·99;
381 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 1-56504-175-5;
cover artist: (Gerald) Brom;
illustrated by Larry McDougal, Timothy Bradstreet, Richard Thomas, Mark Jackson, Lawrence Allen Williams, Tony Diterlizzi, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook, John Cobb, Andrew Mitchell Kudecka, George Pratt, Richard Kane Ferguson & Jeff Rebner;
introduction by Michael Moorcock.
First collected appearance: Fabulous Harbours
London: Millennium, 1995 (August 21st) hardcover and simultaneous trade-sized paperback (q.v.);
sub-titled “A Sequel To Blood” on title page;
original prices: £15·99 (h/c), £8·99 (p/b);
x + 192 pages;
I.S.B.N.s: 1-85798-408-0 (h/c) & 1-85798-409-9 (p/b);
cover artist: Gustave Moreau (Dead Poet Borne By Centaur).
Other appearances:-
New York: Del Rey, 2008 (July 29th) trade-sized paperback (q.v.);
sub-titled “Chronicles Of The Last Emperor Of Melniboné Volume 2”;
original price: $15·00;
xxiv + 471 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-0-345-49863-2;
cover artist: Michael Wm. Kaluta (also interior);
foreword by Walter Mosley;
pp. 375–405: as ‘The Black Blade’s Song’ (The White Wolf’s Song) (illustrated by Kaluta).
in The War Amongst The Angels (omnibus);
London: Gollancz trade-sized paperback (q.v.), 2014 (September 11th);
edited by John Davey;
original price: £10·99;
xx + 798 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-0-575-09273-0;
cover artist: Gustave Moreau (St. George And The Dragon);
pp. 329–358: as ‘The Black Blade’s Summoning’.
Lakewood, CO: Centipede Press, 2019 (January 17th) hardcover (q.v.);
dated “2018” on copyright page;
a limited edition of “300 [numbered] signed copies for sale, plus extras for contributors, and a special deluxe edition” (q.v.);
edited by John Davey;
original price: $150·00;
302 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-1-61347-217-0;
cover artist: Tom Kidd (also interior);
introduction by Neil Gaiman (pp. 7–9 [7 & 8 in deluxe ed.]);
signed by Moorcock, Kidd & Gaiman;
pp. 265–302 (221–254): ‘The Black Blade’s Song’ (The White Wolf’s Song) (illustrated by Kidd).
Foreign (i.e. non-English language) appearances:-
Elric: Tales Of The White Wolf as Contes Du Loup Blanc, France (two volumes, 1996/’97); Elrik: Příběhy Bílého Vlka, Czech Republic (1998); Die Rückkehr Des Weißen Wolfs, Germany (1999).
Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn as Elric: Tanelorn’u Kurtarmak, Turkey (2016).
Also in Второй Эфир [The War Amongst The Angels (omnibus)], Russia (2023).
Moorcography.org 