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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on July 17, 2025.

Conan the Barbarian #21

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Fernando Dagnino (Artist) – Titan Comics – June 11, 2025

Review by Robin Marx

Emotionally adrift after the death of his pirate queen Bêlit, Conan wanders his way aimlessly through the jungles of the Black Kingdoms. An encounter with a pampered princess from Ophir once again gives him purpose, however. After rescuing her from an attempted human sacrifice, Conan and his loyal tribe of Bamula warriors journey northward, hoping to deliver Princess Livia from the jungle and into the hands of someone who can get her safely home. As they reach the border town of Daynt, nestled between Kush and serpent-haunted Stygia, the party receives an astonishingly gracious welcome. Naturally, Conan is instantly suspicious. In the dead of night, he sets out to uncover the darkness lurking behind the villagers’ obsequious smiles.

In terms of the Titan Comics Conan the Barbarian chronology, the “A Nest of Serpents” story arc that launches with this issue takes place after “The Age Unconquered” (Conan the Barbarian issues #9-12). For readers of the original 1930s short stories by Robert E. Howard, it’s interesting to note that this issue takes place immediately after the events of “The Vale of Lost Women.” Never published during the author’s lifetime (and possibly never even submitted for publication by Howard), “The Vale of Lost Women” occupies an uneasy place in the Conan canon. Not only is it a lesser effort creatively, the casual racism endemic in 1930s America is more prominent here than in the lion’s share of Howard’s work, and there are hints of sexual violence as well. The Conan appearing in “The Vale of Lost Women” is uncharacteristically brutish, and the dismissiveness with which he regards the African-coded inhabitants of the Black Kingdoms also doesn’t make sense if the story takes place after Conan’s extended tenure among the majority Black crew of Bêlit’s pirate ship.

Rather than go through elaborate contortions to salvage “The Vale of Lost Women,” Conan the Barbarian scribe Jim Zub simply uses the events of the short story as a launching pad for his own original tale: Conan is deep in the jungle, surrounded by local warriors, and has a delicate princess that he must escort to safety. The climactic bat-winged “devil from the Outer Dark” is shown in the opening pages of this issue, so readers do not miss out on anything by not receiving a full adaptation. Masterfully handled, Zub!

Conan the Barbarian #21 brings aboard a new artist for the monthly title, Fernando Dagnino. A DC Comics veteran, Dagnino’s work previously appeared in The Savage Sword of Conan #4. I rated his art highly then, and he continues to impress in this full-length issue. While he cites several other Conan artists as influences in the post-issue interview, Dagnino’s depiction most reminds me of Ernie Chan’s. He captures the brawn and ferocity of Chan’s classic representation while avoiding slavish imitation. His costume work in this issue is also worthy of note; newly introduced Stygian sorceress character Athyr-Bast is particularly impressively outfitted.

While the “Scourge of the Serpent” event miniseries doesn’t begin in earnest until September (excepting the Free Comic Book Day prelude), the dark Egyptian-inspired land of Stygia and the snake cult of Set have figured prominently in this year’s Conan the Barbarian issues. As the story arc title “A Nest of Serpents” suggests, this issue continues the trend, also reintroducing a fan-favorite villain previously teased at the conclusion of Conan the Barbarian #18.

Issue #21 takes the best elements of a forgettable Conan short story and sets to work making something more interesting out of them. Fernando Dagnino also makes a strong addition to the stable of Conan the Barbarian artists.

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