‘Conan #0’ – Zub, De La Torre, Villarrubia (Titan Comics)


It feels like I’m way behind already but it would be more surprising if I was up to date ;o) Oh well, everyone has to start somewhere.

This is the ‘Free Comic Book Day’ edition but you knew that already didn’t you ;o) I completely missed FCBD this time round (long story…) so I see this comic as more of a ‘four quid off eBay’ edition but it’s not a huge deal. I’m a big fan of ‘Conan’ comics and while the Marvel run wasn’t all that bad (he says, purposefully ignoring the ‘Conan/Avengers’ series…), I had a better feeling about Titan taking over and was keen to see how it went.

And…

In the style of, I suspect, most FCBD books, ‘Conan #0’ is a tightly told tale that sets up Conan for future adventures, having the famous sack of Venarium awaken a desire for adventures beyond familiar horizons. I won’t lie, I did wonder if this approach was really needed, given how well known Conan is by now. If you’re picking up a Conan comic at this point, you know his motivations and probably just want to see him get on with it.

On the other hand though, new publisher equals fresh start and arguments about whether the approach is needed to one side, it works really well so in the end, I just sat back and went along for the ride. Zub already has good form for telling ‘Conan’ stories and picks up where he left off. Venarium anchors this opening tale in continuity and Zub does well to really get us into Conan’s head and see what will prove to be a momentous moment in his life. Conan is a really easy character to get behind and it’s no different here. I’ve already grabbed a copy of #1 (review to follow soonish) and it was Zub’s assured handling of Conan that gave me the nudge.

That and an amazing art/colours partnership from De La Torre and Villarrubia. I’m not the best at writing about art but what I can say is that the detail and dynamism here just hits the spot on every page and the story flows smoothly as a result. There is so much to see here and it’s all superb stuff.

And that’s pretty much all there is to #0, definitely worth a read if you haven’t already (or a re-read if you have). I’ll have a few things to say about #1 once I remember where I left it...

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