Review: King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #1

The Hour of the Dragoncontinues the adventures of Robert E. Howard’s Conan, and is adapted from Howard’s novel of the same name. The King Conanseries tells the story of the Cimmerian after he becomes king of Aquilonia, starting at a point much later in his life than Dark Horse’s ongoing Conanseries. The creative team of Timothy Truman, Tomás Giorello, and José Villarrubia returns in King Conan, and their work here is much the same as in their earlier Conanstories, from Rogues in the Houseto Iron Shadows in the Moon. If you’ve read those comics, you know what to expect. There are very few surprises here, but that’s by no means a bad thing with Conan. Truman’s writing attempts to stay faithful to Howard’s original stories, and Giorello and Villarrubia’s artwork is consistently great. This team knows how to write a Conanstory, and King Conanis no different just because the Cimmerian himself is older.

In the same style as the early issues of the Conan series, the stories of King Conan are framed as tales told by a character long after the events have passed. The difference is that those stories were told by Conan’s nemesis, Thoth-Amon. In King Conan, they are recorded by Conan’s scribe, Pramis, while the Cimmerian, now an aging king, reminisces about his past. In The Scarlet Citadel and The Phoenix on the Sword, this took the form of first-person narration by Conan. His descriptions gave the stories a uniquely personal tone. In the Hour of the Dragon, these have largely been replaced by the notes Pramis keeps. The narration here is more matter-of-fact; Pramis is writing a history of Conan’s reign, and it reads like one. The story seems to lose some of its potency, at least when compared with Conan’s rugged narration in the earlier issues.

There really isn’t much to say about the story itself; this issue is essentially an introduction to what promises to be a solid series. Several characters are introduced and a battle begins, but one of the most important characters in The Hour of the Dragon has only been mentioned so far. If anything is unusual about King Conan, it is seeing a much older Conan, at least in the opening pages.The stories he tells take place only a short time after he became king, and they read very much like any other Conan story. This comic features an ancient wizard and a dramatic battle, as many Conan stories do, but that’s about all that fits in the issue after the introduction of the characters and details of this particular adventure.

Giorello’s images and Villarrubia’s colors are, as always, vibrant and detailed. The artwork, much like Conan’s Hyborean world, is full of contrast and depth. The deep shadows of crypts compete with the glow of magic, and both create a sense of mystery. The cities of Aquilonia rise in the background of several panels, never in full detail but enough to suggest the scope of this world. Conan’s face is always fierce and determined, while the evil wizard is grinning and scheming; in other words, what you expect from a Conan comic. 

Taken from http://www.darkhorse.com

That’s probably the best way to describe The Hour of the Dragon: it’s what you expect from a Conan story. The writing and art are both good, but the story doesn’t have much complexity, at least so far. Hopefully, that will change in the next several issues; the best Conan stories are always deeper than they seem at first.

Would I recommend it? The $3.50 cover price gets you an introduction. This comic sets up the conflict, but the real meat of The Hour of the Dragon is coming in the next few issues. If you really enjoy Conan, go for it. This comic is adapted from one of Robert E. Howard’s own stories, and it promises to get more interesting over the next several issues. If you’ve never read a Conan comic before, this isn’t a bad place to start. There are a few references to Conan’s early adventures, but you don’t need to know very much backstory to enjoy this comic. Conan is the same as he’s always been. He just keeps treading and re-treading the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.

Danilo Culibrk, aka Augustus, is a staff writer for the Red Shirt Crew. He knows it’s useless to pray to Crom, but he hopes that the next few issues are more interesting than this one was. You can follow his travels to distant Hyborean lands on Twitter at @Augustusing.