Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Paul Azaceta

Another title I’ve not read much of in the past, Conan drew me in pretty quickly during this issue with its admittedly straightforward yet undeniably striking visuals, and its uniquely ‘epic’ storytelling style. Granted, the last issue of an arc is possibly the worst time to pick up a new title, but I actually got a decent grasp of what was going on fairly quickly, and still managed to get a kick out of the tale’s poignant conclusion.

Far from the brainless barbarian I was expecting, Brian Wood’s Conan is a far more noble, caring and – dare I say – vulnerable version of the character than I’ve seen in the past. And in my opinion, this book is all the better for it. Wood writes a Conan motivated by love, passion and fear, and portrays him as a realistic, three-dimensional character instead of a snarling, flexing decapitation machine.

Paul Azaceta adopts an extremely effective artistic style, light in detail but heavy in expression, and this adds immeasurably to the tone of the comic. On occasion however, the artwork does become a little too ‘basic’ in places, which detracts a little from the flow of the story, but overall this is a visually polished book, made all the more impressive by Dave Stewart’s terrific colour work.

For all its strengths though, there was something about this story that failed to engage me on any deep level. Perhaps it was the narration style employed by Wood which made it seem as though we were recalling characters from times gone by, which I felt detracted slightly from the urgency of the situation. Or perhaps it was simply my lack of familiarity with the characters and their stories.

These minor niggles aside, this is a visually impressive comic that is well worth a look, and I fully intend to keep it on my radar as the next arc gets set to kick off.

Rating: 7.5/10.

---

Related articles

• Dynamite and Dark Horse announce first Conan/Red Sonja crossover in fifteen years! (bigcomicpage.com)

---

The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says