'The Cimmerian: Beyond the Black River' #1-2 (Ablaze Comics)


Am I missing something here? I thought Marvel had all the rights to Conan stories (which was why Dark Horse weren't able to publish 'Conan' anymore...)? I'm not quite sure what happened here but at the end of the day, it's 'Conan' in comic form and that's never a bad thing ;o) I'll pick up any comic that's 'Fantasy' and so 'The Cimmerian' proved to be an easy buy. It's taken me a while to get round to posting about it though, purely because I picked up issue 2 first and it look me a little while longer to track down a copy of issue 1... Blame payday only falling once a month ;o) I got there in the end though and today seemed like as good a time as any to look at these comics. I fell foul of the 'Variant Cover Lottery' but what's inside more than makes up for this.

Issues 1 and 2 of 'Beyond the Black River' collect the Robert E. Howard story of the same name this time round, you get a little extra for your money as each comic contains roughly half the text of the original story as well as the comic. I've read the story before and my opinion of it hasn't changed. It's another excellent 'Conan' tale from Robert E. Howard where Conan's unique viewpoint, as neither Pict nor Aquilonian, gives us the best kind of insight into this clash between civilisations and how progress by one race will inevitably lead to another being pushed back and war fomenting as a result. It's a familiar tale but Conan stands astride it and he lends it all the vigour he needs as he is able to strike from the shadows of the Pictish jungle and pass judgement upon the expansionist ambitions of Aquilonia, all within the course of one tale. Oh yes, and of course he gets to cut his way through Pictish tribes, and a demon at the same time, so we get plenty of action as well as social commentary. 'Beyond the Black River' is pretty much classic 'Conan' from where I'm sat.


So where does that leave same tale told in comic format? Not in a bad place actually. While it was never going to match up to the original text, writer Mathieu Gabella's adaptation does it's job very well with Gabella proving adept at lifting just the right bits of story to make 'Beyond the Black River' positively purr in it's new shape. You were never going to get the whole story in a comic and luckily for us, Gabella is clearly great at adaptations :o)

Anthony Jean's art though... Nothing against Gabella's adaptation but the art really made this story for me. There is so much detail on display here, I was quite happy to just sit and take it all in. And choosing to draw Conan ever so slightly Pictish really brings out a new side to him being a barbarian. Like a tiger ready to pounce, that's how Conan is here, a wild beast that keeps itself under control but is constantly ready to strike. I loved it.

I'm rubbish at collecting single issues (hence my love for the collected trades) but I can quite easily see myself collecting more of this series if the quality is like this. 'Beyond the Black River' is worth a look if you happen to see a copy...

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