A new “Conan” series from Dark Horse is off to a promising start as everyone’s favorite barbarian starts looking for some good old fashioned vengeance.
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Brian ChingNursing his broken heart, Conan drinks himself into a stupor in the troubled city of Shumballa—until a brazen act of thievery launches the Cimmerian into a wild hunt and a supernatural adventure!
Conan the Barbarian has existed as a character for longer than Batman or Superman, and likewise has transcended just as many forms of media. Starting life as a pulp magazine character, Conan reached his peak popularity with the 1982 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones turning into a giant snake (go watch it, it’s great). Although the film franchise has been stuck in a limbo that even Khal Drogo wasn’t able to break, Conan comic books have been thriving since Dark Horse picked up the license over a decade ago. The most recent series penned by Brian Wood and penciled by the very talented Becky Cloonan received a fair amount of acclaim and attention, and the barbarian’s story is continuing in “Conan the Avenger” #1.
The premiere issue finds a downtrodden and sullen Conan drowning his sorrows in a small village tavern. He recently suffered the loss of a lover and his anger seems unquenchable, but events are transpiring in this village that will ensure Conan won’t find the rest he desires. Dark magic results in a hideous offspring being born and the death of the mother. The village leader suspects witchcraft, and soon has his sights set on the large stranger who just wandered into town.
Fred Van Lente takes over the “Conan” series, and continues the tradition of adapting and expanding upon the classic stories from creator Robert E. Howard. This premiere issue goes one step further by working from a fragmentary story, “The Snout in the Dark”, which was published posthumously in an unfinished state. Given its pulp origins, the narration and dialogue definitely have the sound of old time-y fantasy epics. Van Lente successfully reigns in the words just often enough to avoid coming off as pompous or downright silly. Given that it is a fantasy story, there are a bunch of made up names for people and places, but Van Lente keeps these instances to a minimum. It might seem a bit confusing, but if the reader can handle Game of Thrones, they can figure out this issue without too much trouble.
Given the fact that this was a #1 issue, there must have been the temptation to load the book with pages of backstory involving Conan, Cimmeria, and the entire Hyborian Age. Dark Horse has thankfully taken a page out of Marvel’s book by including a short introductory passage on the title page, while Van Lente chooses the less is more approach to character backstory. If the reader is familiar with the Brian Wood “Conan” series, they know exactly who his deceased lover is, but Van Lente lets the character’s desperate and heartbroken actions speak to the depths of his loss. A good chunk of the issue actually focuses on other characters besides Conan, which immediately fleshes out the world and expands the series scope. Van Lente makes sure that is book is an introduction to the entire Hyborian world, not just Conan himself. It’s a good way to let the reader know that there is much more than just this village to explore.
Brian Ching had the big challenge of following Becky Cloonan’s great work on the previous “Conan the Barbarian” series, but with just one issue he seems determined to chart his own artistic path. Ching has made a name for himself at Dark Horse by penciling several of the company’s ongoing “Star Wars” series, and while it seems at first that galaxy is far far away from Hyborian earth, he handles the shift very well. Ching’s style is sharp and angular, giving the entire world an edge of danger and menace. The prehistoric world does not lend itself to the same level of detail as a star ship, but Ching makes sure that the images never look dull or boring.
Continued belowChing’s angular lines are present in the character designs as well, which does have the unfortunate drawback of making everyone’s faces look somewhat similar, but fortunately the overall looks are unique to avoid any confusion. Conan himself is different from previous incarnations, and appears as an angular, swift warrior and not some lumbering hulk of a man. Ching’s art has a great effect on the tone of the book, adding to the noir-ish feel and the angelic visage of Conan’s dead lover makes the reader feel tremendous sympathy for the otherwise brutish character.
The character of Conan has been through many different incarnations over the past 80 years, but given the recent work at Dark Horse it appears that comic books are a surprisingly good fit. “Conan the Avenger” #1 will please fans of the previous series by continuing with the consequences and ramifications of that story, while being open to new readers as well. Fred Van Lente makes the sometimes silly world of high fantasy feel dangerous and grounded, and the great art from Brian Ching has a very strong and positive effect on the tone of the book. This new series is off to a very promising star, thank Crom.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy
