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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on June 9, 2025.

Conan the Barbarian – Free Comic Book Day 2025: Scourge of the Serpent

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Ivan Gil (Artist) – Titan Comics – May 7, 2025

Review by Robin Marx

The 2025 Free Comic Book Day issue of Conan the Barbarian is set shortly after the beginning of his adventuring career. Though the Cimmerian is only 17, already he has participated in the Sack of Venarium and then fallen in with a raiding party in the frozen north. After an uncanny close encounter with the divine (as seen in the “Frozen Faith” storyline, concluding in Conan the Barbarian issue #16), the youth ventures south towards warmer climes and his earliest encounters with the “civilized” world. He promptly becomes a thief, using his remarkable muscle and agility to enrich himself at the expense of the soft city-dwellers of Numalia. His latest heist turns out to be a bust, however, when he breaks into the manor house of Aztrias Petanius, nephew to the city-state’s governor. Not only is he caught in the act, but it turns out Petanius doesn’t have any gold to steal: the dissolute fop has run up massive gambling debts and been cut off by his uncle. Just as Conan is about to cut his losses and withdraw, Petanius attempts to sweet-talk Conan into another burglary, one that promises to both mollify the frustrated barbarian and wipe out Petanius’ debt.

Like the 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue, which acted as the prelude to last year’s Battle of the Black Stone miniseries, this issue sets the stage for this autumn’s “Scourge of the Serpent” spin-off. Hints about another epoch-spanning crossover involving other characters penned by Conan creator Robert E. Howard are dropped in the final pages of the issue, and in his closing essay pulp fiction scholar Jeffrey Shanks helpfully lays out the plan for the event. As fans familiar with the original source material have likely recognized, the Conan story will be an adaptation of “The God in the Bowl” (the climax of which was glimpsed in Conan the Barbarian #20). Interestingly, that tale will be interwoven with a comic book treatment of “The Shadow Kingdom,” a classic 1929 Sword & Sorcery adventure starring King Kull and Brule the Spear-Slayer. Finally, the “Scourge of the Serpent” will also incorporate “The Haunter of the Ring,” a 1934 occult horror tale featuring Professor John Kirowan (last seen in Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone #4). While Jim Zub’s repeated tendency to shoehorn crossover events into Conan the Barbarian still feels like a storytelling device better left to superhero comics, the story choice here is admittedly intriguing. “The God in the Bowl” is a fun story, but one of the weaker Conan tales; augmenting an adaptation of that with additional material seems like a wise decision. “The Shadow Kingdom” is perhaps the best Kull story, to the extent that which I’m surprised they would use it here, rather than reserve it for a future standalone King Kull comic title. Finally, “The Haunter of the Ring” is one of the more obscure Howard stories, but even in its original form it includes a built-in connection to Conan’s Hyborian Age. While simultaneously weaving together three adaptations feels ambitious, the more limited cast of characters should help “Scourge of the Serpent” avoid the overstuffed feeling of “Battle of the Black Stone.”

Artist Ivan Gil is a newcomer to Conan the Barbarian, but I look forward to seeing more Conan material by him. His character work in this issue is superb. His Conan is brawny, but he captures the panther-like agility that so many other artists regrettably deemphasize. His Conan also looks appropriately young; hardened by his barbarian upbringing, but still youthful and new to the ways of the civilized world. Gil’s supporting cast is likewise strong. While avoiding caricature-like exaggeration, the guards in Petanius’ manner are delightfully ugly in a characterful way. His background work with the furnishings in Petanius’ manor is intricately detailed, which gives me high hopes for the riches we’ll be shown within the vault of antiquarian Kallian Publico during “The God in the Bowl.”

For those who were unable to acquire Conan the Barbarian Free Comic Book Day 2025: Scourge of the Serpent from their local comic store, a digital edition is available directly from Titan Comics. This issue is an enjoyable read for current fans of the series, but it’s also an excellent place to pick up the series. There’s no encumbering backstory to absorb, just a young barbarian with a sword looking to hit it rich and ominous hints of sinister forces lurking in the background.

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