When we last saw him, King Conan was staring down the entire Nemedian army with only a sword in his hand. So, a typical day for the Cimmerian. The battle began in the first issue, but only now does Conan actually enter the fray, refusing to surrender even after his army has been routed. But it doesn’t work out for him this time, thanks to the sorcerous powers of Xaltotun. Conan finds himself in the prisons of the city of Belverus, where he meets Zenobia. Readers of the previous issue probably remember she was mentioned as Conan’s first queen.
This issue has just enough pages to show how Conan and Zenobia met, but it doesn’t go any further into their relationship. This comic spends more time with a recurring theme of Conan stories: the power of magic against Conan’s strength and wits. Here Conan has been imprisoned by an arrogant and incredibly ancient wizard; on top of that, Conan’s own army thinks he was killed in the battle. But Conan’s been in worse situations before. What makes this time different is the political angle. Xaltotun hasn’t trapped Conan without reason; Conan is a king now, and the sorcerer wants to use him for political gain. Xaltotun’s intentions aren’t completely clear yet, but it’s fairly obvious that he wants to rule, not just help the Nemedians.
Also, I mentioned the narration in the previous issue as being a bit lackluster. Perhaps I spoke too soon. In this issue, it’s back to first-person narration by Conan himself. This kind of narration is a bit unusual for Conan, but it seems to work pretty well in this series. It adds a bit of personality to a comic that is otherwise very similar to other Conan stories, at least for now. There have been some hints at what might happen next, and there’s probably more to Xaltotun than is apparent at first glance. Hopefully the next few issues will go more into his character and motivations, as well as those of Zenobia.
I think it will be difficult to judge Hour of the Dragon before the plot develops further. Truman and Giorello have their work cut out for them, adapting Robert E. Howard’s only Conan novel into only twelve issues. An adaptation like this is bound to lose some of the unique qualities of the original, especially with it being condensed the way it is. Truman and Giorello have introduced a quite a few characters and plot points in just these two issues, and they’ll have to make sure they can tell this story effectively and concisely with only the remaining issues. That being said, Hour of the Dragon #2 gets a recommendation from me. With a $3.50 cover price, it promises to be a great story for those who already read Conan. For those who don’t, issue #1 of this series is a better place to start. It doesn’t have much action, but it does set up the events of this series. Truman and Giorello have long-since proved that they know how to tell a classic Conan story, and Hour of the Dragon is no exception.
Danilo Culibrk, aka Augustus, is a staff writer for the Red Shirt Crew. He knows that hokey religions and ancient wizards are no match for a good sword at your side. You can follow his quest to reclaim his throne on Twitter at @Augustusing or leave a comment below.
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