This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on November 11, 2024.

Conan the Barbarian #16

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Doug Braithwaite (Artist) – Titan Comics – October 23, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

Last issue, Conan experienced a close encounter with the divine. Sole survivor of a battle between rival tribes of Northmen, Conan found himself visited by Atali, daughter of the mythic frost giant Ymir. Conan the Barbarian #16 opens with Conan back at the Aesir camp, reflecting on his brush with the otherworldly. Left with a scrap of Atali’s diaphanous garment as the only physical proof of his experience, Conan recalls his own religious upbringing in Cimmeria, where the inhabitants worship the grim and notoriously distant deity Crom.

Conan the Barbarian #16 serves as a denouement to the Frozen Faith storyline, following the expanded retelling of Robert E. Howard’s short story “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter.” Doug Braithwaite’s artwork matches the standard we’ve seen from him to date, and Jim Zub’s script features its usual punchiness.

However, from both an art and storytelling perspective, this four-issue arc felt like a misstep. His earthly women are fine, but as an artist Braithwaite was not up to the task of effectively rendering Atali’s ethereal beauty. For Zub’s part, I don’t feel like this was particularly an episode that needed telling. In addition to the original prose short story, readers have a number of comic adaptations of “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” to choose from. The Braithwaite/Zub interview included in the issue’s backmatter provides some interesting insight into the genesis of this version: Braithwaite was a fan of the 1970s Marvel Comics adaptation by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith and wanted to try his own take on the tale, and Zub felt that positioning Atali herself as narrator would be novel enough to justify the retelling. While Zub succeeds in making Atali more of a three-dimensional character and less a cipher than in the original Howard story, he doesn’t go far enough. Atali is depicted appraising humanity through her close observation of Conan and his indomitable fighting spirit, but her ultimate objective remains as murky as ever. What is her endgame here?

Apart from “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” being well-trodden ground, the emphasis on Conan’s childhood and religious beliefs does not sit well with this reader. Unlike some other varieties of fantasy fiction, Sword & Sorcery heroes do not need elaborate backstories and are rarely given them. The genre is almost always concerned with the here and now: what fresh hell has the protagonist found himself embroiled in, and how is he or she going to extricate themselves? Flashbacks of Conan as a sullen child dealing with village bullies and butting heads with his apparently devout Crom-worshipping father are not something I seek in Conan the Barbarian. Conan’s creator never gave readers more than the barest sketches of the barbarian’s origin, and they were sufficient to make him the enduring character he is today, more than 90 years later. In comics, films, and pastiche novels, other stewards of the character always seem irresistibly tempted to backfill, but readers don’t need it. They really don’t. Tell me what Conan is doing NOW, not what he did when he was eight years old.

The preoccupation with Conan’s religious faith is likewise unnecessary and does little to enhance the character. The passage is touched upon in the accompanying essay by Jeffrey Shanks, but as far as this reader is concerned, the last word about Conan and religion is captured in Howard’s “Queen of the Black Coast” (1934):

“I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. … I know not, nor do I care. … Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”

In short, Conan has been around and encountered some strange things. He knows the supernatural exists, and has concluded that gods are likely to be present as well. Regardless, he has elected to remain unconcerned by questions of religion and live his own life. Granted, the Conan of “Queen of the Black Coast” is older and more seasoned than at the time of the Frozen Faith storyline, but the spiritual journey of Crom-skeptic to Crom-believer told here feels inappropriately pensive for a character that is overwhelmingly concerned with the tangible, the here and now. Howard had other characters better suited to stories about religious belief. King Kull was a philosopher, for example, and Solomon Kane’s fanatical Puritanism motivated every action he took. Conan, however, shrugs at your religion. Try to crowbar a crisis of faith into a Conan story and you risk getting into “Are You There, Crom? It’s Me, Conan” territory.

Conan the Barbarian #16 marks the end of a flawed experiment. While it ultimately didn’t work for me, it was interesting to see the creative team’s take on an expanded adaptation of a classic story. Thus far, over the course of Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian we’ve had a continuity-heavy year-long plot, time travel, numerous flashbacks, and multiple crossovers with other literary Howard characters. Now that the breadth of Howard’s universe has been demonstrated, here’s hoping that the series returns to its core appeal: fast-paced, original episodic adventures showing the barbarian operating at the height of his powers.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on October 19, 2024.

Conan the Barbarian #15

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Doug Braithwaite (Artist) – Titan Comics – September 25, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

At the conclusion of Conan the Barbarian #14, Conan was embroiled in a brutal skirmish between Aesir and Vanir Northmen. His Aesir comrades-in-arms wiped out in the conflict, it falls to Conan to dispatch the final Vanir champion. He catches a savage sword blow to the helmet, however, leaving him dazed and reeling. At long last, the red-haired beauty that has spent weeks stalking Conan from just out of sight takes the opportunity to reveal herself. The icy nymph goads the barbarian—who is concussed to the point he is unsure “whether to fight or frolic”—into pursuing her across the glittering snow. Wary of deception, Conan nevertheless shunts his misgivings to the side and surrenders to his lust and confusion.

Part III of the Frozen Faith storyline, this episode is entitled “Gods in the North.” This is, of course, the alternate title of a Robert E. Howard Conan story better known as “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter.” This single issue presents the entire narrative of the Howard short story, making the two previous issues an original prologue for the adaptation and leaving the forthcoming issue #16 as a coda.

When interviewed about Howard adaptations within the Titan Comics Conan the Barbarian series, Jim Zub repeatedly stated that he didn’t want to be a “cover band” rehashing the hits, but that stance appears to have evolved over time, with Zub later stating “I didn’t want to explore Frost-Giant’s Daughter material unless there was something fresh and exciting we could bring to the mix…” in a newsletter post. Whether or not this augmented adaptation experiment has been a success will be ultimately determined by the final issue in the Frozen Faith arc, but I find myself ambivalent.

Excellent as always, the included essay by Jeffrey Shanks provides valuable context regarding the history of “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter,” both the original prose story and its comic adaptations. As Shanks points out, there have been three previous comic adaptations of the story, most recently in the 2004 Dark Horse Comics Conan. Are the original scenes and new characters presented here enough to justify yet another adaptation of “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter”? I’m torn. As a Howard fan first and foremost, I generally approve of efforts to promote the original stories to Conan the Barbarian comic readers who may not be familiar with the classics. On the other hand, I applauded Zub’s previously stated reluctance to revisit well-traveled ground and have been excited to see his new, original Conan tales.

Necessity aside, the adaptation of “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” presented here is largely an effective one. Zub’s prose is as propulsive as always, and the red-haired temptress Atali’s imperious internal monologue is written with relish. Doug Braithwaite’s battle scenes remain strong and dynamic, but alluring women seem like an artistic weakness for him. Braithwaite’s Atali is pretty, but not quite on the level that a supernatural siren should be, especially since the plot depends on Conan desperately chasing her into dangerous territory despite exhaustion and injuries. In this reader’s opinion, his scrawny depiction of Atali compares unfavorably to the 2004 Dark Horse rendition by Cary Nord or even the ones delivered by the other cover artists for the current story arc.

Bolstered by the strong foundation of “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter,” Conan the Barbarian #15 is the strongest issue in the Frozen Faith arc thus far. With one post-climactic issue remaining, however, it’s difficult to predict where Zub will take the story from here. It’s also not yet clear whether the “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” retelling is a one-off, with the title returning to original stories, or if other Howard adaptations will appear in the future. Only time will tell, but the Frozen Faith storyline and this particular issue may come to represent a significant transition in the Titan Comics incarnation of Conan the Barbarian.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on October 8, 2024.

Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone #1

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Jonas Scharf (Artist) – Titan Comics – September 4, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

After being teased in the 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue and The Savage Sword of Conan #4, the first issue in the Conan the Barbarian miniseries Battle of the Black Stone has arrived. Throughout the first dozen issues of the Titan Comics run of Conan the Barbarian, the title hero has had frequent run-ins with a mysterious black stone not of this world, a substance with a malign, corrosive effect on the people who encounter it. While the ageless sorcerer Thulsa Doom was revealed to have a connection with the black stone (in Conan the Barbarian #12), it was also demonstrated that he was merely someone who harnessed the magical mineral, rather than its progenitor.

In addition to the stone itself, a crudely carved eye sigil has become a recurring motif. The 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue showed Conan working as a frontier ranger for the kingdom of Aquilonia, years after his initial contact with the stone. After defeating a particularly formidable Pictish tribesman in combat, he finds himself preoccupied with the pendant the Pict wore, bearing this ominous eye-shaped sigil.

The first issue of the Battle of the Black Stone miniseries picks up immediately after the 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue. After sensing himself become unusually prone to violent rage, Conan ventures into the Pictish wilderness in search of the sigil’s source. Meanwhile, in 1936 Chicago, occult researcher Professor John Kirowan and his adventurous compatriot John Conrad visit the Wanderer’s Club, an association of world travelers, on their own quest for information about the very same dark eye sigil. They meet with Francis Xavier Gordon, also known as El Borak (“The Swift” in Arabic), but receive a cold reception. Gordon’s own encounter with the glyph in the desert Forbidden Temple (as shown in The Savage Sword of Conan #4) appears to have left him with lingering trauma that he is reluctant to revisit. Inevitably all hell breaks loose at the Wanderer’s Club, however, giving El Borak no choice but to confront his fears.

Jonas Scharf’s artwork manages to distinguish itself from the excellent work we’ve already seen from Roberto De La Torre and Doug Braithwaite while simultaneously feeling completely appropriate for the setting and characters. His scruffy, stubbly Conan appeals, delivering the impression of a man at home in the wilderness.

The dialogue and narration has the same fittingly propulsive feel Jim Zub’s work on Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian and The Savage Sword of Conan. As mentioned in my review of the Free Comic Book Day prelude, story-wise, Battle of the Black Stone still feels quite close in execution to the 2019 Conan: Serpent War crossover miniseries Zub wrote for Marvel Comics. Hopefully it will diverge significantly in the issues to follow.

All-in-all, the Battle of the Black Stone event is off to an intriguing start. While not mandatory, reading The Savage Sword of Conan #4 beforehand will enhance the experience with extra character background and the full story of El Borak’s encounter with the dark eye. Even if The Savage Sword of Conan #4 is skipped, readers are encouraged to read the 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue, which is available from the publisher in digital format at no charge.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on September 14, 2024.

The Savage Sword of Conan #4

By Jim Zub (Writer), Fernando Dagnino (Artist), Dean Kotz (Artist), Patch Zircher (Writer & Artist), Fred Kennedy (Writer), Andy Belanger (Artist), Jeff Shanks (Writer), Eryk Donovan (Artist), Ron Marz (Writer), and Mike Perkins (Artist) – Titan Comics – August 28, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

Much like the prelude Free Comic Book Day issue, this double-sized installment of The Savage Sword of Conan helps lay the groundwork for the Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone multi-character crossover event miniseries. In this issue, each of the miniseries’ main characters has a close encounter with either the titular black stone that has been a recurring motif throughout the first twelve issues of Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian title or the mysterious eye-shaped sigil associated with it.

After a brief introductory page written by Jim Zub describing the concept behind the Battle of the Black Stone project, the issue opens with “Birthright in Black,” a Conan story by Zub with art by Fernando Dagnino. Conan experiences a vision in which he devolves to a primitive pre-human state. In a scene reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, Conan battles against other savages at the foot of the black stone obelisk. As he fulfills the obelisk’s bloodlust, he is rewarded with earthly pleasures, but the barbarian soon finds himself chafe under the malign influence of the obelisk. When Conan comes to, he’s back in the Aquilonian frontier, suggesting that this story takes place shortly after the Free Comic Book Day issue. While the artwork is fantastic, the hallucinatory nature of the comic’s event makes it hard to get too excited about the events of the story. Prophetic or not, it’s all a dream.

“Blood From a Stone” is another Solomon Kane story written and illustrated by Patch Zircher. While I didn’t feel like the plot of Zircher’s three-part “Master of the Hunt” series in previous installments of The Savage Sword of Conan quite lived up to the phenomenal artwork, this outing is a more successful one. Solomon Kane finds himself thrown in with a handful of mercenaries and remnants of the Hungarian military, raiding Turkish troops for supplies. When several of his comrades suffer mysterious deaths, their hearts removed from their bodies, Kane surmises that dark sorcery is afoot. Separated from Conan by thousands of years, Kane ends up having his own encounter with the black stone obelisk and its corrupting influence. The historical grounding of this story adds to its appeal, and the monster appearing at its climax is visually striking. I hope Zircher will contribute more Solomon Kane stories to future issues of The Savage Sword of Conan, they have been some of the strongest work to be featured in the current incarnation of the magazine.

Written by Jim Zub with artwork by Dean Kotz, “Ever and Never Beyond” deals with Brissa, the Pictish scout who joined forces with Conan during the “Bound in Black Stone” story arc (Conan the Barbarian issues #1-4). Readers of the monthly title may recall that Brissa was separated from Conan at the climax of Conan the Barbarian #4 and presumed dead. Those who read the 2024 Free Comic Book Day issue already know that Brissa is alive, if perhaps existing outside of her normal era, but this short comic fills in the circumstances surrounding her disappearance from the black stone citadel. Like Zub’s Conan story in this issue, this episode feels vaguely superfluous, like something that will be briefly recapped in a few panels of the Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone miniseries proper.

Set in 1935, “Horror from the Tomb” is a pulp adventure by Jeffrey Shanks and artist Eryk Donovan, starring Professor John Kirowan and his two-fisted companion John Conrad of author Robert E. Howard’s Cthulhu Mythos tales. Kirowan and Conrad journey to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt to examine a colleague’s archaeological findings. It’s not long before the duo encounters a corpse inscribed with an unsettling eye-shaped rune, along with evidence that their host has fallen prey to an otherworldly threat. The general premise is familiar but well-executed, and after reading so many non-fiction essays by Jeffrey Shanks in the pages of Conan the Barbarian and The Savage Sword of Conan it was exciting to see him try his hand at a comic script.

“Matrimony,” by Fred Kennedy and Andy Belanger is perhaps destined to be the most controversial installment of this issue. It features Robert E. Howard’s other hot-blooded red-headed swordswoman: not Red Sonya of Rogatino (the initial inspiration for the Red Sonja comic book heroine), but Dark Agnes de Chastillon. For reasons that remain slightly obscure, Dark Agnes creeps into the estate of Duke Ilya Kursonovich, searching for evidence of occult misdeeds. Upon encountering the dark eye sigil emblazoned on a tapestry, Agnes abruptly loses consciousness. The audience is then presented with a truncated retelling of Dark Agnes’ origin story—Howard’s short story “Sword Woman”—but modified to include supernatural elements. While the original Dark Agnes is a fierce and entertaining character, her depiction here does her a disservice. Her story here is muddled, with no real resolution. In an issue full of realistic artwork, Belanger’s anime styling also sticks out like a sore thumb.

Fortunately, the issue concludes on a strong note with “Black Oasis,” by Ron Marz and artist Mike Perkins. This story focuses on Texan adventurer Francis Xavier Gordon, known to enemy and ally alike as El Borak (Arabic for “The Swift”). Having rescued a young prince from a rival tribe, El Borak and the youth flee across the Arabian desert, pausing to take shelter in the ruins of an ancient temple. Despite his misgivings about the eerie atmosphere within the temple and the prominently displayed dark eye sigil, El Borak uses it as the stage for his final showdown with the prince’s pursuers. Compared to the other comics in this issue, the supernatural element is nicely understated. This comic also succeeds where the Dark Agnes short “Matrimony” fails, by effectively demonstrating how El Borak is a cool character worthy of the audience’s support and enthusiasm. El Borak’s first appearance in the Titan Comics incarnation of The Savage Sword of Conan is a success, and I hope to see more by the same creative team.

Overall, The Savage Sword of Conan #4 is a brisk and entertaining read. Given the goal of this issue there’s a certain degree of “sameyness” across the issue’s stories, with each installments’ hero encountering either the black stone obelisk or the dark eye sigil that accompanies it, but there was enough variety between settings and the telling of each chapter to keep the issue from feeling monotonous.

#ReviewArchive #ComicReview #SwordAndSorcery #JimZub #FernandoDagnino #DeanKotz #PatchZircher #FredKennedy #AndyBelanger #JeffShanks #ErykDonovan #RonMarz #MikePerkins #TitanComics #ConanTheBarbarian #TheSavageSwordOfConan #GrimdarkMagazine #GdM

This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on August 30, 2024.

The Savage Sword of Conan #3

By Frank Tieri (Writer), Cary Nord (Artist), John C. Hocking (Writer), Patch Zircher (Writer & Artist), and Alan Quah (Writer & Artist) – Titan Comics – July 10, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

The Savage Sword of Conan returns for its third issue with another eclectic selection of black and white comics, prose, and full-page pinups.

The cover story for this issue is “Wolves of the Tundra,” written by Frank Tieri with art by Cary Nord. After Conan stops to rest at the wrong tavern, he finds himself afflicted with an unfortunate case of lycanthropy. Enraged by the curse, Conan immediately dedicates himself to wiping out his fellow werewolves. Despite its extended page count, the plot is very straightforward, even simplistic. The idea of Conan as a lycanthrope is goofy fun, but I can’t help but feeling that garden-variety werewolves are a bit too banal to serve as stimulating Hyborian Age monsters; Conan is usually pitted against more unique threats. It’s nice to see Cary Nord work on Conan again, however, as his work was one of the highlights of the 2004 Dark Horse Comics Conan run. Perhaps it’s due to the monochrome presentation, but his art feels like it has evolved since those days. His rendering of Conan’s face is pleasantly reminiscent of Ken Kelly’s depictions: scarred, squarish, and mean.

The opening comic is followed by an excerpt from the prose novel Conan and the Living Plague by John C. Hocking, published as part of the recent Conan: City of the Dead omnibus. The included passage follows Conan and his companions as they seek entry to a barricaded city via its ghoul-infested catacombs. Accompanying the prose is a brief autobiographical section by Hocking detailing his early encounters with the character and how he came to write his two Conan novels. His enthusiasm for the character is palpable and his journey to publication (particularly for Conan and the Living Plague) a rocky one. While one could dismiss it as mere cross-promotion between Titan Comics and Titan Books, publisher of Conan: City of the Dead, I applaud the inclusion of prose works in The Savage Sword of Conan. It’s entirely plausible that Conan comic readers outnumber those of the prose stories and more crossover in readerships should be encouraged whenever possible. Conan comic fans are potential Conan prose fans in the making, and vice versa.

With this issue, Patrick “Patch” Zircher’s three-part Solomon Kane tale “Master of the Hunt” comes to a close. Searching for an abducted boy, Kane is confronted by the youth’s supernatural captor. The artwork for this miniseries has been fantastic; Zircher’s visual presentation of the fanatical Puritan Solomon Kane is perfect, no notes. I was left disappointed by the narrative, however. The climax leaves Kane a passive bystander in his own adventure, which is a major sin. And where earlier in the issue werewolves felt too prosaic a menace for Conan, “Master of the Hunt” has the opposite problem. “Welsh mythology is literally true” feels too high fantasy to comfortably fit with Solomon Kane’s relatively grounded milieu. While I was ultimately let down by this miniseries, I absolutely want to see Zircher return to the pages of The Savage Sword of Conan.

The final comic contribution to this issue is Alan Quah’s “Lure of the Pit Creature.” This is a wordless Conan adventure, in which the barbarian follows an alluring temptress underground only to be set upon by an immense chitinous beast. Like “Wolves of the Tundra,” this is another straightforward entry that boils down to a single extended fight scene. Inoffensive, but not particularly memorable, either.

Bonus materials include a King Kull pin-up by Alex Horley and a Conan-themed poem by Jim Zub accompanied by a striking Roberto De La Torre illustration. The King Kull pin-up is fantastic, but would have had even more impact in color. Zub’s poem “Call Thee to Crom” is brief, but succeeds in evoking a nicely grim mood. This issue does not feature a Jeffrey Shanks essay or the Chainmail letters page.

While The Savage Sword of Conan #3 is the weakest issue so far, it’s encouraging to see the bimonthly magazine continue to experiment and take risks that we would be unlikely to see in the pages of the flagship Conan the Barbarian comic title. Not every sword swing strikes its target, but The Savage Sword of Conan remains one of the most exciting dark fantasy comics around.

#ReviewArchive #ComicReview #SwordAndSorcery #FrankTieri #CaryNord #JohnCHocking #PatchZircher #AlanQuah #TitanComics #ConanTheBarbarian #TheSavageSwordOfConan #GrimdarkMagazine #GdM

This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on August 27, 2024.

Conan the Barbarian #14

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Doug Braithwaite (Artist) – Titan Comics – August 21, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

When we last left young Conan (Conan the Barbarian #13), he was alone in the frozen north on a warrior’s retreat, testing his mettle while searching for meaning. In Conan the Barbarian #14 we find him threatened by a pair of Aesir warriors hoping to kill the Cimmerian and steal his bear-flesh supper, and Conan demolishes his opponents with his bare hands. The would-be bandits’ leader intervenes before the conflict escalates to a lethal conclusion. He offers safe passage through Aesir lands in exchange for a week’s worth of service and meat from Conan’s kill, a proposal the barbarian readily accepts. Conan’s martial prowess and confident self-carriage quickly earns him a place among the rugged warriors. He rewards their acceptance by fighting back against encroaching Vanir raiders with the same intensity as he would avenging his own countrymen. Throughout the unfolding drama, a strange, nearly naked woman watches from the shadows, seemingly unaffected by the cold.

Part II of the “Frozen Faith” story arc, “The Daughter’s Gaze” is narrated by this mysterious woman rather than the usual omniscient Conan the Barbarian narrator. Her running commentary is full of contempt for the mortals, dispassionately observing their struggles and deaths, but she also reveals her own ambivalent fascination for these inferior creatures. She is especially taken with the “black-hair,” Conan, sensing some unique spark within him that separates him from his companions.

The identity of this nymph-like woman is, of course, immediately clear to anyone who is familiar with the Robert E. Howard stories or their earlier comic adaptations. While I will not reveal her identity so as to avoid spoiling the surprise for newcomers, I will say that her inclusion marks an intriguing development in the Titan Comics incarnation of Conan the Barbarian. When asked by interviewers if he had plans to adapt the original Howard tales, comic writer Jim Zub has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t want to become a “cover band,” performing renditions of the old hits, and that he wanted to focus on new adventures. While the events of this arc are—thus far—original, this prequel’s plot is so closely tied to that of the second Conan short story ever written that it’s difficult to see how Zub can deliver a satisfying conclusion without retelling the Howard story.

This issue includes a brief interview with colorist Diego Rodriguez, and it feels appropriate because the color in this issue is especially worthy of note. Panels alternate between frigid snowstorms and warm firelight, and Rodriguez’s tones subtly and effectively communicate the temperature of a given scene.

With Conan the Barbarian #14 the plot thickens. Conan has won allies and embroiled himself in the conflict with the Vanir, and it seems like his beguiling watcher will reveal herself soon. I look forward to see how Zub weaves his story with the classic Howard tale that serves as its inspiration.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on August 25, 2024.

To Walk on Worlds

By Matthew John – Independently published – June 23, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

Wizards are dicks! Or at least that seems to be the core take-home message of To Walk on Worlds, the debut short fiction collection by occasional Grimdark Magazine contributor Matthew John. This volume collects 11 works of pitch black sword & sorcery: seven previously published stories and four never-before-seen. While alternate dimensions and planets feature heavily in the collected stories, they all share the same overall setting, with a few central characters reappearing across them. Looming especially large is Maxus, a ruthless sorcerer—or “meddler” in the setting’s parlance—on a never-ending quest for arcane supremacy.

The title story “To Walk on Worlds” sets the tone for the volume, introducing Maxus and demonstrating the lengths to which he will go to further his own dominance. When he pushes his luck too far in dealings with the local king, Maxus draws the ire of the monarch’s suspicious retainer General Playsus. Suddenly besieged and forced to think on his feet, Maxus uses a series of escalating dweomers to mercilessly crush his opposition and ensure his place at the top of the hierarchy.

Previously published in the tenth issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull, “A Simple Errand” involves a fateful meeting between Maxus and another recurring protagonist, Lachmannon the Kael. Maxus springs the barbarian swordsman Lachmannon from a prison cell, whisking him away to another world to kill an alien god as part of one of Maxus’ inscrutable schemes. This story combines savage combat with bizarre, otherworldly vistas in the tradition of the best classic sword & sorcery adventures.

“The Circle” is one of the quieter stories in this volume. Fleeing from relentless pursuers, the archer Nylas wanders into ancient ruins in search of shelter. Cautiously joining a stranger’s campfire, he soon learns he has stumbled into a chilling magical trap. Apart from one truly nauseating instance of violence, “The Circle” focuses less on action and more on horror, depicting magic as something very clearly inimical to the natural world.

“The Gift of Gallah” is another tale in which contact with sorcery has unforeseen consequences. Seeking revenge against a taunting meddler called the Hooded One, Andwin plunges through the jungle in search of a mystical source of strength. In true monkey’s paw fashion, Andwin gets what he wants, but not in the way he hoped. Wizards are dicks.

Originally featured in A Book of Blades: Volume II, “Cries from a Sleeping City” is another adventure starring the barbarian Northman Lachmannon. The wealthy ruler of Zanzara hires a tavern full of sell-swords to scour the tunnels beneath the city, searching for the mythical Queen Vashka, thought to be an imprisoned immortal sorceress. Initially skeptical of the task, Lachmannon quickly learns that the tales of Vashka are true. To survive, he must fight to escape a nightmarish subterranean hellscape filled with cannibalistic “eaters” and unseen lurkers that use body-invading tentacles to drive their victims insane with bloodlust. The story is fast paced, with a fun menagerie of monsters and a dark streak a mile wide.

“Man of Xerus” chronicles another meddler’s attempt to walk on worlds. Through intense dedication and powerful magic, the sorcerer Vulka propels himself to another realm, hoping to bargain with a demon and return to his home planet more powerful than ever. In this story’s squirm-worthy body horror-filled finale, Vulka learns that there are far more diabolical foes than demons.

“A Final Errand” reunites Lachmannon and Maxus the Meddler for one more dimension-hopping adventure. Deeply wounded himself, Lachmannon drags a nearly incapacitated Maxus through monster-filled terrain hoping to acquire the “bug juice” that will allow Maxus to regain his magical powers. Much like “A Simple Errand,” the interplay between Maxus and Lachmannon is the highlight of the narrative. Neither fully trusts the other, but there’s a grudging, semi-antagonistic respect between the two that entertains. Despite the seemingly conclusive title of this story, this reader hopes the two cross paths again.

“The Meddler” is perhaps the most horrific story in To Walk on Worlds, and that’s saying something. Bizarre parasitic creatures stalk the wilderness outside an isolated farm house in which terrified young Shel huddles with her tearful little brother. Their parents are feared dead. Who should show up at the door but an injured Maxus, promising a safe escape if Shel is willing to venture out and fetch an arcane talisman from his tower. Shel is in a desperate situation, but everyone knows that you should never trust a meddler… “The Meddler” benefits from an appealing heroine that is easy to root for, supremely creepy monsters, and a tense atmosphere. Over the course of the story Maxus also reveals an important new side of himself.

“A Fate Worse Than Exile” is another survival story, this time involving an inveterate liar and cheat named Quent. Trapped in a bone cage with a sullen warrior that hates his guts, Quent must use any means at his disposal to escape his malicious captors and ensure his own passage off the hazardous, untamed island upon which he is marooned. In addition to bloody struggle and a generous helping of moral ambiguity, this tale features one of my favorite sword & sorcery tropes: the “dragon” that the reader can plainly recognize is, in actuality, a dinosaur.

Shel makes a welcome return in “A Chance Burden,” this time older and wearier than she was in “The Meddler.” No sign of her younger brother, but no obvious hint of past tragedy, either. This time she finds herself protecting an infant rescued from the arms of its slain mother. For reasons unknown, the duo are pursued by a squad of mercenaries led by a massive warrior with glowing red eyes. To make matters worse, wolves have begun to circle in the vicinity. Where the bulk of the stories in To Walk on Worlds features characters gleefully choosing expediency over more moral options, “A Chance Burden” features a heroine doggedly electing to do the noble thing, even in the face of certain death. Most of the collected stories function perfectly well as self-contained narratives, but “A Chance Burden” feels like it could easily be used to launch a full-length novel, should John choose to revisit it.

To Walk on Worlds concludes with “Black Harvest,” a cryptic and moody vignette in which a lone farmer is subjected to ominous and portentous questions by a menacing stranger. All the while, sinister tribal drums echo in the hills. The exchange recalls Anton Chigurh’s unnerving conversation with the gas station clerk in “No Country For Old Men.” The stranger’s motives and the full nature of the titular black harvest remain obscure, but we know they can’t be good.

Matthew John’s work is becoming a frequent sight in the top sword & sorcery and weird fantasy-oriented periodicals, but To Walk on Worlds bundles it together in one convenient package, where the connections and references between the stories can more easily be appreciated. The stories in To Walk on Worlds are grim, brutal, horrific, and bleak but also contain flashes of wonder and even humor. As strong a debut collection as this is, To Walk on Worlds also gives readers a sense that Matthew John is just getting started. Just remember: wizards are dicks.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on August 14, 2024.

Conan the Barbarian #13

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Doug Braithwaite (Artist) – Titan Comics – July 24, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian enters its second year of publication, and a new story arc begins. Issue #12 concluded with an epic confrontation with a powerful enemy, but this installment shifts gears. Rather than pick up where we saw Conan last, the narrative returns to a younger version of the barbarian. Having first gotten a taste of adventure with his participation in the destruction of Aquilonia’s border outpost of Venarium (shown in the Free Comic Book Day 2023 issue, released prior to the start of the monthly series), the teenaged barbarian has taken up his salvaged sword and horned helmet and headed north into the frozen wastes. Feeling unexpectedly deflated after his first victory in battle, Conan remains eager to test himself and discover his place in the world. Over the course of this first issue in the “Frozen Faith” story arc, Conan encounters several threats to his young life, from dangerous wildlife to threatening Northmen, but he wonders if mere survival is enough to give his life meaning.

With the start of this new arc, writer Jim Zub has taken the Conan the Barbarian narrative in an intriguing new direction. With so much of the comic’s first year occupied by an ongoing high-stakes plotline involving the malignant influence of the mysterious Black Stone and recurring foe Thulsa Doom it feels like a relief to take a step back from all of that and return to basics. Like the original Robert E. Howard stories themselves, other publishers’ comic series have jumped around to different points in Conan’s adventuring career, and it’s reassuring to see that tendency continue in the current Titan Comics incarnation, rather than follow a strictly linear progression.

Zub gives readers an uncommonly intimate look into Conan’s thoughts with this issue. Flashbacks show Conan as a child, untrained but already fierce at a tender age. His father tells him of the Cimmerians’ ancestral god Crom, who lives in the mountains, judging his descendants from afar. Crom famously declines to intervene on his worshippers’ behalf, but he is said to gift every Cimmerian at birth with an iron will. This issue shows Conan as a child, questioning the beliefs his people take for granted and then carrying those doubts into his teenage years. Conan has been tested in battle, but he has emerged unfulfilled, skeptical of religion, and almost nihilistic. This feels like a risky approach to take with a character like Conan; sword & sorcery heroes usually skip the origin story and are commonly depicted fully formed and self-assured. Are readers ready for Conan the Larval Barbarian? I am unsure of what to think at this point, but I am curious to see where Zub takes the character in the next few issues.

“Frozen Faith” marks the return of artist Doug Braithwaite, who previously handled the “Thrice Marked for Death” story arc (Conan the Barbarian issues #5-8). Braithwaite renders this issue’s action scenes and snowy landscapes with aplomb, but I still feel like he etches too many fine lines into Conan’s face, making him appear at least a decade older than he is supposed to be at this point in his life.

Conan the Barbarian #13 offers readers a fresh start. This issue delivers a change of pace for existing readers and serves as a gentle jumping-on point for newcomers curious about Titan Comics’ most successful series to date. While core sword & sorcery enthusiasts find this meditative depiction of Conan slightly jarring, I suspect the added introspection may appeal to grimdark fans hungry for a little existential philosophy in their dark fantasy.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on August 12, 2024.

Conan: City of the Dead

By John C. Hocking – Titan Books – June 18, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

Conan: City of the Dead is a deluxe omnibus packaging of two pastiche novels by sword & sorcery veteran John C. Hocking: the fan favorite Conan and the Emerald Lotus and its long-awaited sequel Conan and the Living Plague. Conan and the Emerald Lotus was originally published by Tor Books in 1995 and has been out of print for roughly two decades. While Conan and the Living Plague was penned soon after the release of Emerald Lotus, a chain of unfortunate complications at the publishing end prevented the novel from receiving an official release until now, nearly 30 years after its creation.

Fans of Robert E. Howard’s enduring Conan the Barbarian character have long had a fraught relationship with the pastiche novels written by non-Howard authors. While there were occasional attempts to revive the stories in their original form as published in Weird Tales magazine—perhaps most notably by horror legend Karl Edward Wagner—in the decades following Howard’s death in 1936, the most ubiquitous editions of the stories were those produced under the stewardship of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter. In addition to reprinting Howard’s work, de Camp and Carter took it upon themselves to complete Howard’s unfinished stories, rewrite stories featuring Howard’s other pulp heroes into Conan adventures, and even write wholly original tales starring the barbarian. As the Conan paperback series shifted to different publishers, other authors including Robert Jordan, Poul Anderson, and Harry Turtledove joined de Camp and Carter in contributing their own novel-length Conan adventures, to the extent that by the Tor Books era (1982-2004) pastiche works by other hands were much more readily available than the Howard stories that inspired them. Publishers Wandering Star and Del Rey upended all this beginning in 2003, collecting and releasing the Howard texts free of the modifications and embellishments of subsequent authors. For many Conan fans, this was their first opportunity to read the unadulterated texts, and it inspired a mini backlash against the pastiche novels, many of which diverged widely from Howard’s tone and characterization of Conan. Twenty years have passed, however, and it seems that Conan fans have begun to reevaluate the role and value of pastiche. While some pastiche novels are widely considered better left forgotten, others have become much sought after. Alongside installments by Karl Edward Wagner and John Maddox Roberts, Hocking’s Conan and the Emerald Lotus has become a lucky find for secondhand bookstore shoppers. The collected Conan: City of the Dead release by Titan Books makes Emerald Lotus and its long-lost sequel available to the general public at last.

Conan and the Emerald Lotus finds the titular barbarian coerced into working as an assassin for a twisted wizard hoping to eliminate a rival sorceress and steal her cache of emerald lotus powder, an addictive herbal substance that amplifies magical power while extracting a terrible physical cost from its users. Conan switches allegiances as soon as he manages to extricate himself from his employer’s curse, however. He sets out with the sorceress Lady Zelandra and her colorful retinue—tempestuous knife-throwing young maiden Neesa and a rotund, mute bodyguard named Heng Shih—escorting them into the forbidden deserts of Stygia in search of the source of the emerald lotus and the shadowy manipulator that controls its supply. Conan and the Emerald Lotus deals extensively with the price of power and the extreme lengths to which sorcerers will go to further their mastery of world-warping magic. While Lady Zelandra is a sympathetic character and an ally to Conan, Hocking makes it clear that her lust for power and dependency on the emerald lotus put her on the same grim path as her warped competitors, just not quite as far along.

Conan and the Living Plague is another dark adventure set into motion by evil sorcery. Now serving in a mercenary army, Conan and his comrade-in-arms Shemtare (a character briefly featured in Conan and the Emerald Lotus) are hired to pilfer riches from the vault of Dulcine, a city-state both ravaged by a lethal contagion and besieged by an invading army from without. The resulting adventure is a covert heist, with Conan and a handful of companions of varying levels of competency and trustworthiness venturing into territory in which a single misstep means instant death. Along the way Conan discovers that the epidemic is no natural malady, but instead an intelligent and malignant entity with a yearning for conquest.

Conan: City of the Dead delivers the sort of blood and thunder that sword & sorcery readers expect. Both collected books share relentless pacing, frequent and savage combat, and plentiful horrific elements. Where Conan and the Emerald Lotus features significant moments of cosmic horror—fans of the Cthulhu Mythos will recognize references in the mystical language intoned by the book’s sorcerers—Conan and the Living Plague leans especially hard on the otherworldly terror. The Living Plague is rendered in an intensely creepy and alien manner, and—as Conan is dismayed to learn—it’s not the worst thing lurking beyond the stars.

According to interviews, Hocking wrote Conan and the Emerald Lotus to address some of the flaws common in latter day pastiche and recapture some of the magic of the original Howard, and by that standard Conan: City of the Dead is a tremendous success. While other authors (e.g., Scott Oden) may more faithfully evoke Howard’s prose style, Hocking demonstrates a deep understanding of Conan as a character. He captures Conan’s explosive physicality, emphasizing his pantherish reflexes over sheer strength. And where lesser authors depict Conan as blithely fearless, through both novels Hocking shows Conan as experiencing fear, but not allowing himself to succumb to it. The ability to power through that fear and do what must be done is what separates Conan from his compatriots.

Readers who enjoy Conan: City of the Dead are strongly encouraged to seek out Hocking’s novella “Black Starlight.” Originally serialized in issues of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian from 2019-2020, the story was collected and re-released in 2023 as part of Titan Books’ ongoing Heroic Legends series of digital shorts. “Black Starlight” begins immediately after the conclusion of Conan and the Emerald Lotus, chronicling a further adventure of Conan with Lady Zelandra, Neesa, and Heng Shih in the wilds of Stygia. Not including “Black Starlight” as part of the Conan: City of the Dead package seems like a missed opportunity on Titan Books’ part but given the fact that they rescued it from falling into obscurity with their ebook release it seems uncharitable to grumble too much.

As a long-time fan of the character, it’s exciting to see Titan Books release both new novels starring Conan (e.g., Conan – Blood of the Serpent) alongside long out-of-print treasures like Conan and the Emerald Lotus. The inclusion of the never-before-seen Conan and the Living Plague sweetens the deal, making Conan: City of the Dead a must-buy even for those lucky readers who already own the original Emerald Lotus paperback. Newcomers to Conan are still advised to start with the original Robert E. Howard tales, but if you’ve devoured those and yearn for more, Conan: City of the Dead is the cream of the pastiche crop.

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This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on July 12, 2024.

Conan the Barbarian #12

By Jim Zub (Writer) and Roberto De La Torre (Artist) – Titan Comics – July 3, 2024

Review by Robin Marx

At the climax of Conan the Barbarian issue #11, the nefarious skull-headed sorcerer Thulsa Doom burst from his crypt, dealing King Kull a devastating sword blow. Master of the alien Black Stone that has been the catalyst for the deathly magic hounding Conan’s steps through the entire first year of the Titan Comics series, Thulsa Doom stands poised to not only topple Kull’s kingdom of Valusia, but also to establish “a new age of Doom”: an immortal empire of evil capable of subjugating humanity well into the distant future of Conan’s own Hyborian Age. Cosmic power floods into Doom as Kull lies writhing in a pool of his own blood. The only obstacle to the would-be tyrant is Conan, a barbarian of humble origin, lacking any noble lineage and displaced in time. Wielding his Pictish blade, Conan leaps into the fray.

Entitled “Terror Undreamed Of!”, this issue marks both the conclusion of the current “The Age Unconquered” storyline and the culmination of the first year of the Titan Comics incarnation of Conan the Barbarian. While the narrative itself is straightforward—consisting of the duel between Conan and Thulsa Doom, with a brief flashback to the sorcerer’s mortal life and rise to power—it feels like the creative team have pulled out all the stops for this issue.

Roberto De La Torre’s artwork has been a highlight of the eight issues he handled, but in addition to the dynamic battle sequences readers have come to expect De La Torre is also given license to let loose with his depiction of Doom’s sorcerous might. The issue is packed with impressive full-page spreads showing Doom reveling in his magical powers, monologuing maniacally on backgrounds crackling with mystical lightning. While invariably exciting and action-packed, De La Torre’s artwork hewed towards gritty realism in previous issues, giving the over-the-top cosmic, sorcerous scenes of this issue even more visual impact.

Jim Zub likewise seems to have had a great deal of fun scripting this issue. Thulsa Doom’s dialogue is both arrogant and unhinged in classic pulp villain tradition. It’s also possibly a bit on the verbose side for someone engaged in a desperate sword battle with an opponent like Conan, but not having to breathe presumably allows Doom to expound at length about his superiority and wicked plans while trading blows with the barbarian. Zub’s narration matches Doom in its gleeful breathlessness, occasionally unleashing bursts of alliteration (e.g., “…the necromancer’s scornful soul merges with the star-splashed sorcery of the stone and its source.”). Lettering in comics tends to be unobtrusive, but Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith take the opportunity to punch up Thulsa Doom’s grave threats and dire pronouncements with eye-catching typefaces and splashes of bold color.

With issue #12, Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian ends its first year on a high note. Personally, I would have preferred the series spend less time on long-form storytelling and the Black Stone plot device; Conan isn’t a character that demands a great deal of established continuity. In this initial year I also wish the series had focused more on delivering solid solo Conan adventures rather than using time-traveling crossovers to soft-launch a Robert E. Howard comic universe on behalf of rightsholders Heroic Signatures. While Jim Zub has taken Conan the Barbarian in a different direction than I predicted, the artwork remains fantastic and the stories engaging. The Battle of the Black Stone event miniseries teased with this year’s Free Comic Book Day issue makes it clear that Zub isn’t yet done with the Black Stone and character crossovers, but issue #12 leaves Conan in an exciting situation ripe with possibility. Conan the Barbarian Year Two is full of potential.

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