‘Conan the Barbarian: Bound in Black Stone’ – Zub, De La Torre, Vilarrubia & White (Heroic Signatures/Titan Comics)

So… All my intentions of collecting a series of comics (just like I did when I was a kid) have come to this; to be fair, just like I suspected they would 😉 The plan was to treat myself to a regular trip into town, pick up the latest issue and maybe have a nice coffee while I read it. And then I looked back over the issues that I’d already bought and realised that I was at least two issues behind, maybe three. I know when I’m beaten, I settled down to wait for the first trade and now, here I am 😊

This is going to be a short post today, mostly because I’ve already covered a large chunk of this book in my posts on the single issues (seriously, have a look Here, Here and Here) and I don’t want to repeat myself too much here. I can’t leave a story unfinished though (unless it’s absolutely awful then in which case…) so, here I am. Let’s have a little chat about ‘Bound in Black Stone’.

Armed with only his wits and his weapon, Conan set out from his homeland of Cimmeria in search of glory and adventure. Now, years later, a mysterious scout warns him of imminent threat on the march, one that could destroy Conan’s birthplace and the rest of the world. Will the Cimmerian and his new ally be able to stop this horde of invaders and discover the strange dark power that controls them?

Collecting Issues #1 – 4 and Free Comic Book day 2023.

So… Issue 2 left us at the foot of a evil looking Black Tower. The last two issues, comprising this trade, take us into this tower and set Conan against its inhabitants. I loved the connections to another, far older, Robert E. Howard creation, both in terms of the ‘family tree’ but also how, in the spirit of all the best ‘Conan’ tales, it really shows us how old Conan’s world is. So much has already been forgotten, never to be remembered, and it’s also cool that this ‘weight of forgotten ages’ is one of the few things that can unsettle our hero, mostly because it involves monsters and magic that he just can’t get his head around. It makes a good tale, that’s the main thing.

We all know how this story has to turn out (I’m pretty sure there’s a list of rules for telling ‘Conan’ tales) and there are no surprises on that front. With any ‘Conan’ tale though, I always find that the journey is the thing and the creative team really deliver here, giving us not only a high stakes tale (in the all the best traditions) but setting it against a landscape that feels like its brimming with tales of its own. It really feels like the comic is trying to break some new ground here and while I think that there are some elements of ‘Conan’ that don’t need to be changed (at least, not loads), I’ll always enjoy a Conan comic that isn’t afraid to try new stuff.

And that, I think, is where I’ll leave it. You won’t see me collecting single issues but I will definitely be around for the next trade. Conan is in safe hands here and I’m excited to see where his story goes next.