Savage Sword of Conan: Issue #6 (2019)

It has been *QUITE* awhile since the last Savage Sword was released AND quite awhile since I have made a post. The last issue of Savage Sword saw the end of the initial story arc, and so I was quite looking forward to see where we went with this new issue to see where we went with this title.

Writer: Meredith Finch
Artist: Luke Ross
Colorist: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: David Finch & Frank D'Armata

Cover Price: $3.99

The cover this time is more like a standard cover and not a call back to the original Savage Swords. As beautiful as Alex Ross's covers were I never really felt they fit the book. This one is more in line with what we are seeing on the cover of "Barbarian", where it feels like the artist is given a basic story outline and they compose their idea, which is similar to what we see in the pages but still quite different. For me this is a pretty large improvement

This issue contains 20 pages of Conan goodness for the reader to take in. The style of interior art we see from Luke Ross is much cleaner than we saw from the original 5 books. This will make some people happy, for others it will just be different.


We are lacking anything really weird, something I think is fairly central to such a pivotal Sword and Sorcery character. That doesn't make the story bad, it simply means, for me at least, that it is missing a key element of S&S

Enough Talk, let us see how many skulls!

Art:
Story:
Cover:
Sword & Sorcery:

And with that, this issue lands at 4 skulls.

Despite the lack of "Sorcery", this issue has a simple enough story with a LOT of "Sword", so I have a hard time judging it too harshly. It checks a lot of boxes in terms of it being a fairly fun, quick romp in a story that fits into the the Hyborian Age.

Unlike the previous 5 issues, this Savage Sword is much more stand alone. Perhaps we will see a mix of stand alone and longer story arcs within the pages of the SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN!

If you have been on the fence with Savage Sword or have decided it wasn't for you, perhaps you should check out this issue and see if the new team working on it is more to your taste.



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Conan the Barbarian: Issue #6 (2019) "The Sole Survivor"

After a slight break Conan is BACK with issue 6 of The Barbarian! This time out story is in Turan, one of my favorite settings!

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mahmud Asrar
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Esar Ribic

Cover Price: $3.99

Another great cover from Esar Ribic on the front of this book. Even if you are not a fan of the book itself, the covers have been glorious. Unlike Savage Sword they generally tie into the story a little. This one does tie in, but it's on the over-arching Crimson Witch story line. I would have loved a glorious cover depicting Turan, I'll count it as a missed opportunity in my books.

More of Mahmud Asrar's Conan colored by Matthew Wilson cover these pages of Barbarian. I feel Conan is little more wiry and perhaps younger than in a few of the other books drawn by Mahmud, although I can't put my finger on why exactly. Don't take that to mean he is drawn small, he is still an impressive force of nature, and I still quite enjoy Mahmud's take on our Cimmerian hero.

There are a couple of things that I would have loved to have seen in this issue that aren't present, one is on Mr. Asrar's side and one is on Jason Aaron's side. They are both setting related. Although Mamhud did an excellent job with the dressing for Turan, but he missed an aspect that would have added a lot for me personally.

When they are camped out in yurts, we get a few shots of them from outside and inside and the internal structure is that of a light, square, framework. Yurts are built with a lattice work not unlike a folding wooden baby gate. Now it's possible he has a much stronger knowledge of these mobile homes than I give him credit for and has opted for a very early implementation of them. I do think that would be an incorrect assumption about Turan though.

The second problem is Jason Aaron's use of the term "Great Commander". What a great time to use a cool Persian-esque title to add flavor to the story. He uses king as well, but I feel like using a term like Great Commander, is 90% the way to giving it the flavor of Turan.

With all that being said, I did like this issue. I recognize I am pulling straws with the couple of points I bring up about the setting, but as I said this is one of my favorite settings as it and Hyrkania mirror some of my real life interests. This issue is full of Conan crushing his enemies and being an exceptional war leader. This is a definite plus.

The issue ends tieing back into the overarching story of the Crimson Witch and her quest to take Conan's warrior infused blood. However in the main narrative this story does lack any real sorcery, even if it does have plenty of swords and at least one awesome Conan being Conan moment.

I am still enjoying the story and the art in this title and I look forward to more of it!

Art:
Story:
Cover:
Sword & Sorcery:

My rating this month is 4 out of 5 Skulls of My Enemies!

Another solid issue and story about the Cimmerian. Loving the one-shot nature of these stories and how much they are managing to fit into a few short pages.

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Savage Sword of Conan: Issue #4 (2019)

Are you feeling SAVAGE!? This week we see Savage Sword #4 hit shelves, and as always I am here to give you my first thoughts, spoiler free!

Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Ron Garney
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Alex Ross

Cover Price: $3.99cad

The cover is again, independent of the story. A beautiful rendering of the Cimmerian superimposed over old Savage Sword covers. Currently apart from the name we aren't seeing much similar to the old title though. At current these covers are skillfully done, but for me lack the drive to pull me into the story. I would really like to see some covers that, at least, tie tangentially into the story within the pages.

The format continues with 19 pages of Conan action, and it goes by at a very quick pace. My complaint here is that the story isn't progressed at all. We have a very minor amount of movement along the plot, which puts the action at odds with the story. The action is in abundance, but in 19 pages the story is not. Compared to what we are seeing in "The Barbarian", this is moving at a snail's pace. I have also come to the conclusion that I must simply ignore Howard canon pretty completely for this series.

I still like the interior art, and I still think it lends itself to the savage nature of this title. This issue has some beautiful interior panels that really scream "CONAN" to me.


This issue is *FULL* of Sorcery however, almost every panel has something weird in it. It may have too much to be honest, but to that end I would rather have too much than too little. The sorcery on display is fitting to the genre however, so we aren't seeing fireballs shooting off left and right, or wizards casting magic missile.

Art:
Story:
Cover:
Sword & Sorcery:

And with that, this issue lands at 3.5 skulls.

This issue doesn't necessarily do anything wrong. Conan: Check, Swords: Check, Sorcery: Check, Action: Check. Despite that I feel like we aren't seeing much progression with the story. We could go from Savage Sword 3 to Savage Sword 5, include 1 or 2 panels from 4 and be totally up to speed on the story. I certainly want action and swords and sorcery in my Conan, but I also want the story to progress a little quicker, especially given the monthly nature of the title. This may play much better in a longer format collected series. The book did scream along, and I definetely checked to see if it was the standard 19 pages long.

But don't take my word for it, run down to your local comic book store and pick up your copy today!

If you liked this article then don't forget to subscribe to get the next exciting installment on pulp gaming both Sci-Fi and Fantasy!

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