You know what’s really exciting about the comic book industry? Tracking character and publication rights.
For example, take Conan the Barbarian. After starting out as a pulp hero way back in 1932, Marvel picked up the character and started publishing their own Conan adventures in the 1970’s until they stopped in 2000, when the rights were picked up by Dark Horse.
But in 2019 Marvel re acquired the rights to the character and brought him into the Marvel Universe as the leader of the Savage Avengers and the newest celebrity to join Marvel’s long list of characters.
So now Conan is back with Marvel. That’s right, the king of sword and sorcery has a new home in the modern Marvel Universe, going up against modern science, tech, weapons, and super villains with nothing but a sword and a loin cloth for decency.
This is going to be interesting.
Written by Saladin AhmedCover by: Mahmud Asrar and Dave McCaig
Illustrated by Luke Ross
Colored by: Nolan Woddard
Lettered by: VC’s Travis Lanham
A DEADLY QUEST AND A DARING HEIST… IN THE AGE OF MARVELS!
CONAN wanders the desert, and as he reaches the city, no Stygian temple nor Vendyhan fortress greets him. No, something far stranger: the lights of fabulous Las Vegas! Conan is far from home, and it’s time for him to tread the thrones of the Marvel Universe under his sandaled feet!
The City of Sin is just the beginning for Conan’s solo jaunt by Eisner award-winner Saladin Ahmed (BLACK BOLT, MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN) and Luke Ross (STAR WARS: ALLEGIANCE, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN), as the barbarian finds himself on a quest for a relic that predates even his Hyborian Age: the Serpent Crown of Atlantis! But will his battle for this crown earn Conan his own kingdom, or doom him to a nefarious trap set forth by MEPHISTO? Featuring a wide array of Marvel heroes and villains, this is an adventure you can’t afford to miss!
“Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown” #1 opens with Conan walking through the desert like an Iron Age cowboy where he has pledged to not go back home until he has tracked down and slain the evil wizard Kulan Gath, who might be hiding out in Las Vegas.
He might be hiding in the massive black tower that looks like some eldritch abomination and has wicked looking spikes and flames jetting out from the top, but this is Vegas so we can’t really be sure.
Writer Saladin Ahmed does two things very well in “Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown” #1. First, he captures the purple prose of Ron E. Howard’s original storytelling. Conan moves through the story with the kind of internal monologue that radiates power and a confidence that borders on arrogance, but it’s okay because he’s the kind of guy who can go up against guns with nothing but a sword and come out on top. The second thing that Ahmed pulls off very well is how Conan reacts with being in the modern world. On one hand, things like paper money and electronic security systems are confusing and very foreign to him. On the other hand, the comic understands that certain emotions and foibles of human nature are universal and that even a Cimmerian warrior from the distant past can piece enough of this world together to make friends and charge into a posse of armed security guards with no fear. The comic walks a very fine tightrope between having its main character become too powerful and becoming confused over the smallest thing, and it’s a rope that the comic walks very well.
While “Conan: Battle for the Serpent’s Crown” #1 does go a long way towards making a high fantasy barbarian story set in the modern day relatable and plausible, it isn’t the most exciting first issue that’s ever been published. This is a story about the greatest hero of the Hyborean Age, a man who has battled monsters both human and un human, and in the first couple pages of the story he robs an armored truck and almost gets taken out by a gang of security guards with super tasers. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot that goes on in the first issue; Conan meets a tech savvy thief named Nyla who quickly establishes a solid rapport with Conan and promises to be an incredibly helpful ally and solid character in her own right, and there is a fun character reveal at the end of the issue that will not be spoiled here, but for a character with such an impressive history and pedigree it feels like the story could have been bigger and grander than it was.
Continued belowAlso, for a book about a battle for the Serpent’s Crown, there aren’t a whole lot of serpents or crowns.
The artwork for “Conan: Battle for the Serpent’s Crown” #1 is magnificent. Artist Luke Ross makes Conan look incredibly powerful and capable with muscles on top of muscles and the two fight scenes in the comic showcase some great dynamic and believable action that allow Conan to show off his skills with the sword. On top of that, there is quite a bit of nuanced mental gymnastics between Conan and Nyla that is well drawn as well. Nyla is a modern thief used to living on her wits and while Conan isn’t the brightest bulb in the drawer, Ross draws him as a man who is capable of taking his time and thinking things through. The characters look great, they move well, and the artwork goes a long way towards making them all relatable and human.
“Conan: Battle of the Serpent’s Crown” #1 is a good introduction to a new story and a new epic in Conan’s reintroduction into the Marvel Universe. The characters behave in believable ways, the comic does a great job imitating the style of the original stories, and Conan’s presence in our modern era feels believable without coming off as pretentious and over powered. It would have been nice to have a first issue that really grabbed the reader’s attention right off the bat, but the creative team does a great job at laying the foundation for some awesome stuff in the future.
Final Verdict: 7.9- It’s not the biggest attention grabber for a first issue, but it works and sets up some very interesting stuff down the road.
