‘Conan the Barbarian: The Age Unconquered’ – Zub, De La Torre, White, Rodriguez (Heroic Signatures/ Titan Comics)

A quick post to kick off the week :o)

If you were reading the blog in November last year, you’d have seen me say that ‘The Age Unconquered’ was a book that I’d be reading while I got over my surgery. Well, it took a little longer than expected (nothing to do with the book, more with my not being in any fit state to concentrate on reading anything…) but I got there in the end.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Jim Zub’s take on ‘Conan’ and given how ‘Thrice Marked For Death’ ended, I was really keen to see where it went next. Not going to give the game away but there are some things even Conan can’t come back from, aren’t there…?

Of course there aren’t, this is Conan we’re talking about ;o)

Sent back in time to the Thurian Age, Conan battles terrifying creatures and meets Kull the Conqueror, a barbarian-king as strong as himself. Although these two legends begin at odds, they quickly realize they must quest together to stop the dark machinations of Thulsa Doom, an ancient necromancer who has contacted a mysterious evil beyond time and space to strengthen his already impressive mystic power.

I’m not quite sure how (or why) Conan was sent back to the Thurian Age. I suspect that as the ‘Black Stone Event’ gathers pace, a lot of things will start to make a lot more sense. What I can say so is that I’m really glad Conan made the trip. ‘The Age Unconquered’ is another great entry in the series, a little slow to start but once it gathers momentum, well worth staying the course for.

I’m no scholar of ‘Conan’ (just a guy who enjoys his Sword & Sorcery) but I would be very surprised if there wasn’t another story where Conan and Kull team up. I mean, you would have thought there would be, wouldn’t you? I don’t know, maybe, but anyway… This is the first time I’ve seen Conan and Kull together and I thought that Zub handled it superbly, Zub knows the only way it can go; two absolute forces of nature bouncing off each other, with all the sparks that entails, and he uses it to great effect. Conan must face the challenges of a whole new world (familiar yet utterly strange to him) and if that wasn’t enough, deal with this Ages equivalent of him. King Kull has fought hard for his throne and sees Conan in the only way that he can, another challenger. The resulting clash makes for a great spectacle and also serves to strengthen their eventual bond when the real danger must be faced.

And that is when things get really intense with a trip to Kull’s homeland and the evil that lies at its heart. The outcome may not be in any doubt (and to be fair, that’s the whole point really) but Zub really makes Conan and Kull work to get there and that’s just as it should be. It’s a hell of a lot of fun to read and with a tasty hint of cosmic horror as well as Conan meets power beyond his comprehension once again.

I love how it all comes together at the end, not just what has happened but the way in which Zub leaves Conan’s onward journey open ended, giving proceedings a real hint of something that could well have happened in between Conan’s more well known adventures.

And I know I’ve spoken about De La Torre’s artwork before but it’s worth noting here just how well it captures the sense of a time before Conan’s time (I want to call it Antiquity, you know what I mean). Zub’s writing was made for ‘Conan’ and so is De La Torre’s art.

You’ve probably guessed by now that I had a great time with ‘The Age Unconquered’. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re in for a real treat.