Conan the Barbarian: Issue #3 (2019) "Cimmerians Don't Pray"

Conan day everyone! Just over a week till the first Savage Sword, but don't let that slow us down, today marks the release of Conan the Barbarian #3! This issue finds Conan trapped and at the end of his rope!

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

My initial thoughts reading this issue is that it is brutal and bloody and has plenty of opportunity to show of the savagery of our barbarian hero. And it delivers, Conan is in prime form here as he fights to free himself from capture and the executioner's axe!

As the story leads you along this month you are given a way time and time again that Conan will escape only to be tossed back into jail. You are left wondering how he will escape in the end, even though you know he will. You know he survives his days as a thief to take the throne of Aquilonia.

I would place this issues between one and two for me. I felt it had more depth than issue one and maybe not quite as good as issue two, but I will grant you issue two is probably getting some Cimmerian points for being set right after "Beyond the Black River."

This story is absent of many of the tropes we are familiar with: No wine, no women. These being absent is of course fine and fits the narrative perfectly well AND fits into the world and stories we saw REH write. This tale is set early in Conan's life while he is a thief and so places us around the time of "Tower of the Elephant", and in that tale all we see is thieving and sorcery.

What it misses in terms of your basic Sword and Sorcery tropes it makes up for in savagery. For me this issue didn't pull any punches when it came to the darkness and raw grit of the Hyborian Age, and for me at least was still an excellent Sword and Sorcery tale!

So if you are on the fence about grabbing issue 3, I recommend you keep reading. Go grab a copy and enjoy some new Conan tales!

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Another solid 4.5 out of 5 Skulls of My Enemies!

Marvel has shown it can publish a Conan comic, and do it staying true to the character we all love. Jason Aaron is writing a good story and Mahmud Asra is delivering some great and memorable panels for the book. The colors by Matthew Wilson are great as well adding further to the imagery. I am happy today it Conan day. I am sad I have to wait another few weeks for episode 4.

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Conan the Barbarian: Issue #2 (2019) "The Savage Border"

January 16th 2019 and a new Conan is out! YAY! Some people had mixed things to say about the last issue, however *MOST* people seemed to agree with my high rating of the new book. Can #2 keep the pace? Lets find out!



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

Another interesting entry into the world of Conan. This time Jason takes us across the Black River into the realm of the Picts. This tale is solidly set in the Robert E Howard's world, but again tells a new tale of Conan that fits in right against the original tales told his creator. The art by Mahmud Asrar is again solid, with some exceptional panels thrown in for good measure. You can follow him on Instagram to see what else he is up to. The coloring by Matt Wilson is solid and you should of course follow him over on Instagram as well!

The cover is a great image of Conan in combat with the Picts, Esad Ribic does some awesome work on Conan, a quick search on google brings up an awesome array of Conan art

Coming into the book we have a map of the Hyborian Age with a blood splatter over the Pictish Wilderness letting new readers know where in the world of Conan they are. It is a nice touch for new people less familiar with the story.

I liked the first book but I am still cautiously optimistic before reading an issue. I thought this one to have more dialogue than the first, which gives it a slightly more complex story, but at it's heart it is still a Sword and Sorcery tale. It is also one where we see a lot of Conan being not civilized, being a barbarian.

I again liked this issue and felt it was a pretty strong entry into the Conan story, even if I felt it to be a little wordy at times. Don't get me wrong, this issue still has it's share of blood, combat and wine. There are more panels of Conan kickin' ass than Conan talking.

I am going to drop my art rating by 1/2 of a point, which simply reflects my wish to see more of the AWESOME panels. The panels showing wider areas are generally less detailed, which is common in comics, but i'd rather see them as the awesome panels Mahmud draws. In addition I think I am going to raise the story point by 1/2, because it so neatly fits into Howard's world, without rewriting one of his stories. I am going to leave the rest of the ratings where they are giving us a total of 4.4, which we will call 4.5!

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Sword & Sorcery:

4.5 out of 5 Skulls of My Enemies!

Can't wait for #3!

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Make sure you don't miss a single post and subscribe by e-mail today!

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