‘King Conan’ – Aaron, Asrar, Wilson (Marvel)


I don’t think you’ll be too surprised to find out that this week hasn’t been a good week for reading. Hmmm… what gave it away? 😉 I’ve managed to read a few bits but not anywhere near as much as I would have liked (given the number of books that are still left over after the ‘Big Cull’ the other day). A whole load of stuff, that you probably won’t be that interested in, all combined to keep me away from getting any serious reading done. Oh well, I’ll keep on chipping away at the pile 😊

One of the books that I did manage to read though was ‘King Conan’, the first issue of which I read back in February and true to form, totally forgot to carry on reading. Oh well, that’s what the trades are for 😉 I picked a copy up last week but only got round to reading it this week. I don’t know how many more ‘Conan’ books we will see from Marvel, given that the licence is reverting, but if  ‘King Conan’ is the last book we see, it could well be just the book for Marvel to bow out on, given the content. We’re looking at another quick post today (work and well, everything else) but let me tell you about it.

Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar return to the saga of Conan, to present the Barbarian's last stand at the edge of the world! And together they take the Cimmerian further than has ever been revealed in any media to date! As Robert E. Howard posited, when King Conan of Aquilonia grows restless on the throne, he sails west, toward land and adventure unknown. Now, see the first step of that fateful journey, as an old and terrible danger threatens to end King Conan's saga once and for all! When an unholy alliance is forged and fallen warriors rise to fight again, will Conan finally be forced to succumb to the lure of cursed sorcery? And what of his son, Prince Conn - and the kingdom of Aquilonia left behind? Prepare for the adventure of a lifetime!

I’ve often wondered what happened after Conan took the throne of Aquilonia. A throne is a good thing to have but would Conan ever have been the right person to sit on it? What does a barbarian do after they’ve won everything there is to win?

‘King Conan’ answers that question and while the blurb kind of gives the game away a little, there are enough twists and turns left (that I won’t mention) that answer the question in more depth and add some real meat to the bones of this plot. As with the first issue, the book hearkens back to the past to answer the questions thrown up by the present and that ‘switching back and forth’ really adds a good forward momentum to the plot itself. It’s very easy to keep reading and the payoff is some moments that really resonate with the reader. Not giving away too much but some things just have to happen, no matter what the cost.

I’ll be honest… While ‘Conan on the Island’ makes for some exciting moments (unending zombies, an evil priestess and Conan’s worst enemy, what’s not to like?), this sub-plot does come second to the ‘what led Conan here?’ strand which offers more to get your teeth into. Things are a little uneven then but on the whole, Aaron does well to keep everything moving in the same direction with a little something for everyone. Asrar’s Conan, and Conan’s world, just looks amazing and I really wouldn’t mind seeing Asrar return to the setting in the future (fingers crossed).

If you ever wondered what happened next for Conan, after the stories stopped, then ‘King Conan’ is a bit of a ‘must read’, no question about it. Give it a go 😊

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