Advance Review – King Conan: The Conqueror #1 (of 6) (Dark Horse)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Tomás Giorello
Release Date: 26th February 2014

Considering that I’m jumping in at 15 in the series of King Conan adventures, I can’t offer much background information on events that have led up to this new installment. I can however tell you if you are a fan of Conan comics then you should definitely pick this up. As I said, I am not all that familiar with the series thus far but I was a fan of the movies as a child and of the character in general, and I found this story quickly drew me right back into this rich, fully realised world.

In this new series, we find Pramis the Scribe taking down the accounts of the life of King Conan. The story begins with a little background on some of King Conan’s early adventures and leads right into the story of one such adventure; The search for the “Heart of Ahriman” a gem that was stolen by the thief Beloso. This installment takes place mainly on the docks of Messantia where Conan seeks an “old” friend Publio for information on the whereabouts of Beloso. More than one villain is introduced in this book and the end finds us still searching with Conan for the gem.

Timothy Truman does a great job with the writing here, pulling the readers right into the Conan universe and into the time and places that this story takes place. The dialogue between characters is smart and well thought out, managing to push the story forwards smoothly while managing to avoid the pitfall of being bogged down with exposition. The story itself is solid and engaging and leaves me ready to continue the adventure right along with our beloved Conan.

The artwork of Tomas Giorello is very detailed and keeps the pace the story has set nicely. The environments are detailed and very much alive on page, and the characters are portrayed with emotion and movement. There are a few fight scene pages that truly leap off the page and show just how visceral and brutal the movement and violence of a fight with Conan would actually be like.

Rating: 4/5.

INTERIOR ARTWORK PREVIEW
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