Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artists: Will Conrad (pencils), Juan Ferreyra (colors)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
This mini-series opens with an older, allegedly more mature Conan, presiding over a kingdom that he once sought to exterminate. Having claimed the throne of Acquilonia, by spilling the blood of his enemies, Conan of Cimmeria presides over the great city with a benevolent hand of iron. In reality, he broods over his kingdom. While his queen slumbers, her belly swollen with his child, Conan’s mind turns to a more adventurous time. Most men would kill to rule Acquilonia, but Conan has killed, and he longs for a return to battlefields and clashing swords.
An envoy from rival Stygia arrives at the massive gates of Tarantia, requesting an audience with the fabled warrior-lord. Ra-Sidh, historian and ambassador of the Stygian high court, announces that his land now seeks peaceful relations with its neighboring lands. With its economy in shambles — due to the corruption of Thoth-Amon, Conan’s old enemy — the once-hostile land is in a compromised position. Conan has little sympathy for its murderous citizens, and remains suspicious of Ra-Sidh.
His skepticism is apparently well-founded. Zenobia, Conan’s queen, is jolted awake that same evening by an ominous nightmare, in which Ra-Sidh plays a central role. The Stygian is unceremoniously ordered to leave Acquilonia, immediately. Shortly after their departure, Queen Zenobia is seized by violent birth contractions. Mid-wives rush to her side, while Conan deploys soldiers to overtake and slay Ra-Sidh’s envoy. He grudgingly remains by his queen’s side.
It's difficult to tell where Will Conrad's pencils end, and where Juan Ferreyra's colors begin. I don't know if Ferreyra is coloring on a computer, or using traditional paints, but it looks magnificent. Frank Frazetta established the visual style, and standard, for Conan artwork in the 1960s with the Lancer paperbacks. Traditional comic book line-artwork just doesn't look appropriate for this character. Dark Horse's Conan titles have benefitted by their continued policy of using painted artwork.
I miss Kurt Busiek's use of narrative captions in the earlier Conan issues. He attempted, rather successfully, to approximate the narrative voice of Robert E. Howard. The frayed typewriter-ribbon font added an extra touch of authenticity, as if we were taking a forbidden peek at a newly unearthed Howard manuscript. Joshua Dysar doesn't employ these devices — although Richard Starkings gives Conan curiously jagged speech-balloons, suggesting the harshness of his voice — but his dialogue is appropriate for the Cimmerian. There's a wonderful economy to Conan's statements. "Have the guard commander let them pass,” Conan barks, ”and make minimal preparations for their arrival." A sea of insinuation lurks behind his terse words.
Conan always preferred brute force, to accomplish short-term goals, over the more tedious aspects of diplomacy. "Civilization," he snarls. Conan displays surprising restraint, while holding court with Ra-Sidh, but his muted hatred toward the Stygians boils underneath the surface.
Perhaps in the next issue, we'll see Conan's restraint gradually melt away, as he pursues his foe across the Hyborian landscape. The real challenge might be in returning to his throne, once the thrill of battle again rushes through his veins.
Posted to www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com on January 26, 2007
