‘Skinbreaker’ #2 and ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ #10
It has taken me a little longer, than planned, to get to these two comics but yesterday ended up being the day I finally opened them for a read. I am a good way into Keith Rosson’s ‘Fever House’ (which has been brilliant so far) but there was no way I was going to finish it, for a post today, so I took a short break to catch up with ‘Skinbreaker’ and ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ instead.
Quick thoughts follow (yesterday was a little heavy going and today could well be more of the same)…
‘Skinbreaker’ #2 – Kirkman, Finch (Image)
The challenge has been made and a new Elder will be chosen through trial by combat. Can Anok do the right thing for his tribe though? And whatever the outcome, what will the future hold…?
Okay, I did not see that coming… The fight between Anok and Enor is handled just right; it has to end one way but there is a lot of subtext happening that fleshes things out and says a lot about Anok’s character. This approach dovetails with more superb artwork to create a really compelling fight between old and new.
It’s what happens after that threw me, literally on the turn of a page. We’re still following Anok’s tale but all of a sudden, the focus falls on the tribe as a whole and funnily enough, that looks like the more interesting tale to follow. There’s a question brewing around whether the tribe needs to evolve, if the surrounding environment remains the same, and it looks like exploration of this theme will make for a good story. I’m keen to see where this goes next.
And as far as the artwork goes, I’m not just going to repeat all the nice stuff I said in my last post (and that’s what I’d end up doing) so I’m just linking to it instead :o)
‘The Savage Sword of Conan’ #10 – Zub, Braithwaite, Rooth, De La Torre (Titan Comics, Heroic Signatures)
Note to Self: You still need to read the first two collected volumes, of ‘Savage Sword’, maybe do that before buying more comics?
That’s me told ;o)
This issue of ‘Savage Sword’ is all about the ‘Scourge of the Serpent’ event that is playing out across the many timelines of REH’s literary settings. Just the three settings feature here this time round; Conan’s world (of course), the prehistoric world of ‘Fang & Spear’ and the modern setting of sea-going pugilist ‘Sailor Steve Costigan’.
The ‘Conan’ tale was the one I was really there for and it didn’t disappoint with the promise of an old foe leading into something else entirely. It’s not doing anything new (and that’s really the whole point, I know) but ‘The Traitors Return’ does offer an intriguing ‘jump-on’ point into the ‘Scourge of the Serpent’ event and I was more than happy with that. It was also cool to see seeds sown for a possible Stygian civil war at some point.
‘Fang & Spear’ was the surprise package that I didn’t see coming. Beautifully drawn and an action packed look at just how long those crafty serpent folk have been slithering around, just outside the campfires of humanity. I would definitely read more of this (hint hint).
And Sailor Steve Costigan made for a nice change, from my regular forays into REH’s ‘Sword & Sorcery’, with ‘The Snakeskin Shuffle’. Costigan is now the second REH lead that I’ve seen jump on a boat and leave town in a hurry. De La Torre’s art took a little while to get my head round but it complements Zub’s pulp stylings briliantly.
But yeah, I really need to dig out those first two volumes now… ;o)
Quick thoughts follow (yesterday was a little heavy going and today could well be more of the same)…
‘Skinbreaker’ #2 – Kirkman, Finch (Image)
The challenge has been made and a new Elder will be chosen through trial by combat. Can Anok do the right thing for his tribe though? And whatever the outcome, what will the future hold…?
Okay, I did not see that coming… The fight between Anok and Enor is handled just right; it has to end one way but there is a lot of subtext happening that fleshes things out and says a lot about Anok’s character. This approach dovetails with more superb artwork to create a really compelling fight between old and new.
It’s what happens after that threw me, literally on the turn of a page. We’re still following Anok’s tale but all of a sudden, the focus falls on the tribe as a whole and funnily enough, that looks like the more interesting tale to follow. There’s a question brewing around whether the tribe needs to evolve, if the surrounding environment remains the same, and it looks like exploration of this theme will make for a good story. I’m keen to see where this goes next.
And as far as the artwork goes, I’m not just going to repeat all the nice stuff I said in my last post (and that’s what I’d end up doing) so I’m just linking to it instead :o)
‘The Savage Sword of Conan’ #10 – Zub, Braithwaite, Rooth, De La Torre (Titan Comics, Heroic Signatures)
Note to Self: You still need to read the first two collected volumes, of ‘Savage Sword’, maybe do that before buying more comics?
That’s me told ;o)
This issue of ‘Savage Sword’ is all about the ‘Scourge of the Serpent’ event that is playing out across the many timelines of REH’s literary settings. Just the three settings feature here this time round; Conan’s world (of course), the prehistoric world of ‘Fang & Spear’ and the modern setting of sea-going pugilist ‘Sailor Steve Costigan’.
The ‘Conan’ tale was the one I was really there for and it didn’t disappoint with the promise of an old foe leading into something else entirely. It’s not doing anything new (and that’s really the whole point, I know) but ‘The Traitors Return’ does offer an intriguing ‘jump-on’ point into the ‘Scourge of the Serpent’ event and I was more than happy with that. It was also cool to see seeds sown for a possible Stygian civil war at some point.
‘Fang & Spear’ was the surprise package that I didn’t see coming. Beautifully drawn and an action packed look at just how long those crafty serpent folk have been slithering around, just outside the campfires of humanity. I would definitely read more of this (hint hint).
And Sailor Steve Costigan made for a nice change, from my regular forays into REH’s ‘Sword & Sorcery’, with ‘The Snakeskin Shuffle’. Costigan is now the second REH lead that I’ve seen jump on a boat and leave town in a hurry. De La Torre’s art took a little while to get my head round but it complements Zub’s pulp stylings briliantly.
But yeah, I really need to dig out those first two volumes now… ;o)
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