‘Conan the Barbarian #28’ & ‘Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4’ (Titan Comics & Heroic Signatures)

Just a quick post today… I spent yesterday with my daughters (which is always great) and today looks like it’s going to be a very busy one; this is the little bit of time in the middle where I can get something on the blog ;o)

Yesterday was all about shopping in town, book shopping to be more exact. It was pretty much inevitable that we’d end up in Forbidden Planet and that’s where I took the opportunity to get caught up with my ‘Conan’ reading. I haven’t made it through the latest ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ yet but did manage to read the following in the meantime…


‘Conan The Barbarian #28’ – Zub, Dagnino, Rodriguez

And I was doing so well collecting the single issues… That all came to an end yesterday when I found myself going to #28 without having picked up #27. It happens and it’s not as if I can’t go back and buy it later. I read on anyway though and yep, I really should have been better at picking up #27, that’s on me though. It’s not too hard to get back into the groove though and while Conan seems to lurk in the background of his own tale, it actually works overall as it lends a sense of history, being recounted, to the piece. You can tell that Zub is going off the fragments of story that REH left behind (something that is expanded upon in Jeffrey Shanks’ essay at the end) but I think he does really well to bring it all together into something as cohesive as it is. You know how it is going to end but, that’s kind of the whole point isn’t it? I think I’d be more surprised if you didn’t know to be honest ;o)


‘Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #4’ – Zub, Gill, Canola

On the other hand, that’s another mini-series I’ve managed to collect so maybe I’m doing better than I think I am ;o)

This is the issue where we are given the full picture, around the event that binds three classic REH tales together, and I have to say that not only is it well worth the wait but the potential of what is being set up really is something else. While we wait for that though, Conan, Kull and Kirowan face off against against Set herself in a confrontation that really pulls the curtain back on the cosmic horror that underpins Howards settings. If Set is concerned, you can understand why a fear of magic, and the unknown, is a weak spot of Conan. You have to love the reaction of our heroes to Sets proposal though. No matter what is at stake, Conan, Kull and Kirowan cannot ally themselves with the ancient enemy of humanity, not even for a second. I don't know if someone is saying something about REH's heroes here but there's certainly something to think about. Zub really lays it on the line for us and it is drawn beautifully by Gill. I couldn’t ask for any more than that :o)

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