Age of Conan: Issue #1 (2019): Bêlit. "The Lost Verses"

This is the third of three new titles bearing our Cimmerian Hero's name from Marvel! Things are different this time though, even though it has Conan's name on it, it centers around other characters from his world. We start with the first woman to really capture Conan's heart: Bêlit, Queen of the Black Coast. If you are new to Conan, be sure to check out the original story featuring this savage lady, Queen of the Black Coast. So without further pre-amble I give you Marvel's Age of Conan: Bêlit.

First the people who made this issue possible, the writers, artists and letterers.
Cover: Sana Takeda
Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Kate Niemczyk
Colorist: Jason Keith
Letterer: VCs Travis Lanham
I suspect this issue will be not well liked by many, but I am willing to see where the story goes.

I generally liked the cover, it gives an air of regal sureness to Bêlit that I think fits her character, but I do think it lacks a little of the savage edge I think she should have. Sana Takeda has a fairly distinctive style I would describe as beautiful ethereal and flowery, and this cover is no exception to this.

The story, in this issue, is simple enough, and lays the ground work for Bêlit to start down the road to become Queen of the Black Coast. It is not twisty and as near as I can tell isn't setting up some massive twist. It is direct, but it is setting up to develop Bêlit into the woman she becomes. With all that being said, I don't think it is the story I would have told, but then I am not sure what story I would tell for Bêlit, which I think will be the problem. This will not be the story any of you had for her either, even if you don't know what that is. Her origins were secretive and mysterious. Tini Howard has her work cut out for her here. Telling the story of one of Robert E Howard's more iconic women of the Hyborian Age is not a task I am jealous of.

Art wise, I found the issue to be well enough executed, but come across clean. It is bright and the lines are straight for the most part. This is not universally true, but it was enough that it was the main impression I took away. It would be cool if as the story progressed the art was to change and become more and more harsh as Bêlit moves closer to becoming the Pirate Queen. For now I find Kate Niemczyk's style to be a little off the mark here, which isn't to say I dislike her art, she has done some cool stuff and you should check out her work. I just don't think it is fitting perfectly for the Hyborian Age tale. I have one striking exception to this. The last panel is, in my opinion, excellent in execution and style. The coloring of Jason Keith supports the art style in that it remains pretty bright for the most part.

The last thing we need to talk about is the sword and sorcery elements of this. This isn't as strongly tropy as say the first issue of Conan the Barbarian, where we have, "Conan Fight. Conan Capture. Conan Fight Wizard.". Even without those heavy tropes the story has most the elements we need to see a S&S tale. Although again I prefer my tales to be a little heavier on the conflict side.

Alright so those are my thoughts, lets see how many skulls I think this all breaks down to.

Art:
Story:
Cover:
Sword & Sorcery:

I have landed on 4 out of 5 skulls here, I have a few minor issues with things, but mostly they deal with things not fitting exactly, or not being done how I would do them. None of that make this bad per say. I am also hopeful this book may attract a slightly new demographic to Conan's world that has traditionally stayed away due to the influence both real and imagined of certain less than savory individuals. So go grab your copy of Age of Conan: Bêlit, grab your favorite wine and give it a read. I am sure I will see you all on the Internet to discuss thoughts on this issue in more detail there.

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Conan the Barbarian: Issue #4 (2019) "The King in the Cage"

Welcome back! I believe the frequency of these is supposed to be every couple of weeks, so this one is a little late, published nearly a month since #3. Issue 5 is slated for April, so it looks like it has probably shifted in frequency to a monthly schedule


Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Gerardo Zaffino
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Esad Ribic

Well. I am not 100% sure what to make of this issue, and the review of it without spoilers will be difficult. We certainly see a lot of the key hallmarks of Conan. For me it doesn't feel much like a Conan tale, and it doesn't seem to fit in among the rest of the stories we have seen thus far.

We do see a new artist on this issue, Gerardo Zaffino, who's style is closer to what we are seeing in Savage Sword. It is another loose almost savage, style that I know some people will not like, especially in comparison to the previous art of this book by Asrar. All that being said, Zaffino produces some excellent drawings in this issue of "Conan the Barbarian".

Art:
Story:
Cover:
Sword & Sorcery:

My rating this month is 3.5 out of 5 Skulls of My Enemies!

This is the lowest rating I have given this book since it was released. I just felt it didn't fit into the Conan mythos as well, despite it having some solid basis of Howard canon behind it. The art is good and there are parts I really did like, but overall this issue, for me at least, wasn't as good as we have seen in the past. Perhaps this story will be more directly continued in a later issue.

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Savage Sword of Conan: Issue #1 (2019)

Back with another Conan day and another spoiler free review! February 13th and the debut issue of the new Savage Sword of Conan! We have seen a few images here and there from this book and I can tell you I am excited to read it!


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

You can of course check out Gerry Duggan, Ron Garney and Alex Ross on Twitter. You can find Alex, Ron and Gerry on Instagram as well! Go and give them some social media love!

Well, where to start? Lots of talk about Crom and lack of caring. That is a good thing. The story starts with things going from bad to worse for Conan which, at the end of the day is a great start for this series and feels proper.

The art by Garney is different from the Barbarian art. I'd call it looser, less precise, more raw...maybe even more SAVAGE. I think it will be a good match for this story. The coloring is excellent, with the line work supporting it more like a painting in a lot of panels vs colored in comic panels. I am definitely a fan of the style.

The story is good, if so far not that deep. It has potential to get there and foreshadows the future for our Cimmerian hero. One of the things I liked about things was the rise and fall....and fall...and fall of Conan's fortune.

The cover is great. Conan looks like Conan. He is locked in combat with undead pirates! Axe overhead to crush his foes while he grips one by the neck. The cover is evocative of action and full of little details.

This comic feels like sword and sorcery, monsters in line with REHs creations, nothing completely over the top, no magic missiles, no fireballs. It feels like we are getting a good low fantasy setting with this series.

Art:
Story:
Cover:
Sword & Sorcery:

Well, I am just gonna go ahead and rate this a solid 5 out of 5 Skulls of my Enemies!

Overall I clearly liked the start of this new offering from Marvel, I feel we have the beginnings of a new adventure, and that new adventure is supported very well by not only the style of art that Garney is producing but also by the colouring being added by Isanove. We have a strong first issue and I am very much looking forward to seeing where things go.

I don't think this is a perfect issue despite my 5/5 rating, there are a few story issues that gave me pause, but most of them are all REH Conan knowledge based that the average fan might not even recognize. Heck, I would have to been double check them to be sure, but they are not so blatant to really pull me out of the story.

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