Review: King Conan – The Hour of the Dragon #2

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #2 picks up right where the first issue left off: Conan faces off against the Nemedian army and the mysterious wizard Xaltotun. As with the first issue and the rest of this series, Timothy Truman, writes this issue, Tomás Giorello does the artwork, and José Villarrubia the colors. Most of my comments about the writing and artwork in my review of the first issue still apply, so I won’t repeat myself here. Instead, I’ll discuss what’s different in this issue as well as significant plot developments, hopefully without spoiling too much.

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.

Review: Conan: Queen of the Black Coast and Conan #17

This article reviews both the Conan: Queen of the Black Coast TPB and Conan the Barbarian #17, which continues the story that begins in Queen of the Black Coast.

In Queen of the Black Coast, Conan finds the first true love of his life: the bloodthirsty pirate queen Bêlit, who leaves a “path of pain and misery” in her wake. Seems like a perfect match, doesn’t it? This volume includes issues 1-6 of the Conan the Barbarian series, the beginning of Conan’s relationship with Bêlit and his adventures in Argos and the Western Ocean. As with most of Dark Horse’s Conan comics, this book is adapted from a story by the creator of Conan, Robert E. Howard. This volume is written by Brian Wood; the artwork is split between Becky Cloonan for the first three issues and James Harren for the last three, with colors by Dave Stewart. They’ve done a great job making a Conan comic that stands out from the rest; Queen of the Black Coast is a refreshing take on a classic Conan story. This book about more than just sword and sorcery, and it’s probably the closest that the Conan series comes to a love story, for now anyway. 

The story begins when Conan slaughters half of Bêlit’s pirate crew in a vengeful rampage before she calls them off. The two of them immediately fall in love and launch raids together across the seas. That’s how all great romances start, right? Queen of the Black Coast shows a different side of the Cimmerian; there’s still plenty of adventure and violence – including a few absurdly brutal scenes in the latter half of the book – but this is a story about love. Brian Wood tells the story deftly; it looks and feels very different from earlier Conan comics, but he keeps the tone and important details that make the story fit distinctly into Conan’s world. Conan’s savagery is in stark contrast with the “civilized” lands he travels to; as with many Conan stories, that contrast is a central theme of Queen of the Black Coast and it continues to inform the relationship between the Cimmerian and his pirate queen in future issues.

Why does this comic in particular seem so different? The artwork is an important reason. I’ll discuss Cloonan and Harren separately because their styles are so different, but both work to great effect here. Most artwork in Conan is full of rough edges and sharp lines, and most of the time that fits well with the subject matter. Not so with Becky Cloonan’s work in Queen of the Black Coast. There are few sharp edges in her work here; instead she uses curved and wavy lines, and the characters she draws have very clean features. She draws Conan with a bit of stubble, but apart from that he actually looks younger here than in in earlier issues. He’s not as imposing or muscular as the style he’s usually drawn in. This aesthetic is a bit off-putting at first, but it very much fits with the story being told. Cloonan’s artwork is full of subtle details as well; just compare the depictions of Bêlit and her crew while Conan is fighting them to their faces afterwards – they are completely transformed. I should also mention that fight sequence briefly; the narration and description conveying the idea of Conan’s “battle calm” are perfectly paired with the illustrations of his fury.

If you prefer those rough edges and sharp lines, James Harren’s art in the second half of this book has precisely those qualities. Those absurdly brutal moments I mentioned before? Harren’s artwork accounts for those. The action is done in straight lines running across the panels and violent bursts of dirt and blood covering the pages. Despite the romantic theme of this book, it has some of the most violent moments in any Conan comic. The faces of his characters are covered in uneven features, the very opposite of Cloonan’s depictions. But it works. These two different styles split the book into two distinct sections, the themes informed by the artwork: Conan falls in love with Bêlit in the first half, and in the second half they savagely attack the civilized city of Messantia together. The city looks great too; Harren’s landscapes are just as detailed as his action sequences, and his art creates a sense of the immense scale of the city’s towers.

Queen of the Black Coast is one of the more unique and interesting recent Conan comics. Longtime Conan readers might be put off by the art style, but I urge them to give this book another chance. I wasn’t impressed the first time I read this story a few months ago, but another read through makes all the difference. There’s more subtle detail in the writing and artwork than might be apparent at first glance. Now that this volume is in paperback for $19.99, it’s a good time to pick it up if you haven’t already. I recommend this not only to regular Conan readers, but also to those unfamiliar with the character, as this book is the start of a longer story in the Cimmerian’s life. 

Conan the Barbarian #17: the Nightmare of the Shallows Part 2 is the most recent addition to that story. Once again, Brian Wood writes about Conan and Bêlit’s relationship, which has changed in several ways since the events of Queen of the Black Coast. Davide Gianfelice does the art, and Dave Stewart the colors. Queen of the Black Coast ends at issue #6, so there are several events leading up to this issue that I’ll avoid spoiling. 

Suffice to say that Brian Wood continues the story of Conan and Bêlit, opening with a flashback to an event in Queen of the Black Coast and ending this issue with something of a surprise. I’ve already discussed Wood’s writing in Queen of the Black Coast, and the same comments apply to this issue, so I won’t repeat myself. I will say that the structure of this issue is unusual because it is told through visions shared by Conan and Bêlit while under the influence of the yellow lotus plant. The narrative is a bit disjointed because of that, but I suppose that’s the intention.

The artwork in this issue is done by Davide Gianfelice, and he does a pretty good job, but it is not as distinctive as the two artists in Queen of the Black Coast. But maybe that’s not a fair comparison, since the styles of Cloonan and Harren work so well with the themes of the story. At least so far, Gianfelice’s art does not really suggest a difference between the visions in this comic and reality. Only the text and a few visual cues indicate that the events in this comic are only hallucinations.

For that reason, Conan #17 isn’t a great place to start for new readers. The structure of the comic and plot mean that some explanation is required to understand this issue. New readers interested in this storyline should start with Queen of the Black Coast and go from there. But for longtime readers, the $3.50 cover price includes a shared hallucination that reveals some of Conan and Bêlit’s thoughts about each other and their future. This issue doesn’t make much sense without the previous issue, so that’s also a consideration. I’ll conditionally recommend this one, depending on those factors. 

Danilo Culibrk, aka Augustus, is a staff writer for the Red Shirt Crew. He doesn’t think it’s a good idea to take yellow lotus from strange women on boats. You can follow him on Twitter at @Augustusing or leave a comment below. 

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.