Publisher: Titan Comics
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Ivan Gil
Color Artist: Jao Canola
Release Date: 7th January 2026

It probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone purchasing this twenty‑two‑page periodical that contributor Jeffrey Shanks felt the need to explain the mini‑series’ climax in his final back‑page article, “In The Coils Of Set – The Origin And Legacy Of The Great Serpent.” For while Jim Zub’s narrative certainly depicts the Hyborian Age deity telling Conan, King Kull, and John Kirowan what it wants from them, its rather trivial demands can easily get lost amid all the inter‑dimensional, planet‑wide conflict swirling around it.

Indeed, Set’s apparent desire to mate with the three protagonists in order to create “a perfect hybrid race” is hardly delivered convincingly – especially when “the arch‑enemy of the gods of light” manifests before them as multiple snake‑headed assassins, a towering gorgon, and the murderous wife of the Professor’s latest client. These forms, and their repeated attempts on the heroes’ lives, hardly seem the most effective way to woo potential partners into the Great Serpent’s embrace, no matter how alluring its final semi‑naked astral form may be.

Furthermore, Titan Comics’ attempt to persuade readers that this overarching purpose is “very much drawn from themes in Robert E. Howard’s original tales” will surely raise the hackles of any purist of the 1930s pulp writer – no matter how earnestly Shanks’ lengthy essay tries to argue the point. Perhaps, then, the book’s most intriguing element only arrives at the very end, when it becomes clear that, in the Canadian author’s canon at least, Set sees itself as the planet’s saviour from various “terrors undreamed of,” and apparently wishes to rescue mankind rather than simply dominate it like so many other one‑dimensional tyrants.

Unfortunately, Ivan Gil’s layouts do little to clarify what is actually happening throughout the publication. It doesn’t matter how proficiently he renders Conan, Kull, and Kirowan as somewhat decrepit, older versions of themselves, nor how much ghostly green ink colour artist Jao Canola pours into the supernatural sequences. It is never made clear whether the protagonists can truly see – and therefore work -together, nor why they become so drastically aged in the first place.

The writer of this piece was: Simon Moore
Simon Tweets from @Blaxkleric ‏
You can read more of his reviews at The Brown Bag