Conan the Barbarian returns for a new series that finds him with his back against the wall, forced to trust strangers in order to survive. Read on for our spoiler free review of “Conan The Slayer” #1.
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Sergio Davila and Michael Atiyeh
Cullen Bunn writes Conan!
Alone, battle weary, and with nothing but his sword, Conan of Cimmeria faces his inevitable death in the arid wastes . . . but instead stumbles into a camp of Kozaki raiders. With a knife at his throat and a band of Turanian hunters at his back, will the half-dead barbarian find a new ally in the Kozaki chief?
In life, there are constants. These are things that will always happen no matter what, like death and paying taxes. In comic books, we have these as well. Conan The Barbarian is one of them. Since the 1970s, he’s appeared in numerous comic books, beginning with Marvel and now with Dark Horse. After a slight break, “Conan The Slayer” #1 is the start of a new story that establishes an easy enough narrative for a new reader.
In “Conan The Slayer” #1, Conan finds himself wandering the desert after a battle. He’s injured and he needs to get anywhere that isn’t this place. After fighting off soldiers who want to finish him off, Conan finds himself wandering more until he stumbles upon an encampment belonging to the Kozaki. There, he’s interrogated and his worth to this tribe is questioned, as those who want to kill Conan make their presence known.
Truthfully, this is the first ever Conan comic book I’ve ever read. My only exposure to the character is just some historical stuff (like how long he’s been around, who created him, etc.) and the movie starring Khal Bae, Jason Momoa. Thankfully, this wasn’t very hard to follow at all. Cullen Bunn is a writer whose work I tend to really enjoy and he takes time to establish a lot of important things for context. Last week, I reviewed a book that tried to do something similar with long established characters. Of the two, I think “Conan The Slayer” was much more accessible. Conan is your general sword-and-sorcery character, a warrior with a malleable personality. I think that’s why it’s so easy to just jump into this series. Bunn covers his bases by offering a clear sense of motivation and very brief flashbacks to establish why we’re even here. The Kozaki are easily the most interesting characters in this issue as they are really why Conan even continues to be a part of this story by choosing to protect him.
That’s not to say that this a perfect issue. I still have some questions about how Conan found himself here to begin with, where he is in his long history when this series takes place, and I desperately want to learn more about these different tribes. There’s no way that Bunn could possibly address all of this but regardless, the plot is easy to follow.
Sergio Davila is an artist who’s worked on a lot of sword-and-sorcery stuff in the past. He’s worked on a few different Dynamite titles including “Swords of Sorrow” and “Red Sonja,” so he’s perfect for “Conan The Slayer”. Davila’s art is brutal. He captures so much aggression and it’s what elevates “Conan The Slayer” to something more niche, which is what it needs to be. Davila’s art is violently gorgeous without anything held back. There are excellent shots of Conan unleashing raw power on enemies and while graphic, it gets your adrenaline going. The action soars off the page through proper angling and scope, proving again the knack that Davila has for this kind of storytelling. Michael Atiyeh’s are surprisingly bright. He uses a lush palette for the backgrounds and really creates this emptiness in the desert. The bloodier sequences don’t try and do anything too wild, meaning he doesn’t veer into horror.
“Conan The Slayer” #1 is a strong debut from a talented creative team with a vision. The story is very easy to follow and the art is equally as good. As someone new to the Conan mythos, I’m eager to see how this shakes out.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – This is a really solid place to start reading the adventures of Conan
