“In an unprecedented comics event, Robert E. Howard’s characters join forces along with Marvel’s Moon Knight, in an all-new saga built on REH and Marvel lore from across the ages! The serpent god SET plans to usher in an eternity of darkness, and only the chosen warriors across time and space have a hope of stopping him: CONAN THE BARBARIAN, SOLOMON KANE, DARK AGNES, and the man known as MOON KNIGHT!”

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

In the second chapter of Conan: Serpent War, Jim Zub delivers another solid issue, proving yet again he is a worthy custodian of Robert E. Howard’s creations.

The central premise is intriguing, with a dying James Allison acting as a conduit between the Elder God, Wyrm, and two sets of heroes in separate time periods — Conan of Cimmeria and Dark Agnes de Chastillon in the barbarian’s Hyborian Age, and Solomon Kane and Marvel’s Moon Knight in Kane’s 14th Century Europe — in a concerted effort to thwart the machinations of the serpent god, Set.

That said, there is clearly more than meets the eye in this tale, as the Allison sequences make clear. Zub is carefully unraveling the thread for us, as the heroes too are wary of Allison’s direction.

Speaking of heroes, I enjoyed the interplay between Agnes and Conan best. Their distrust, but grudging respect for one another makes for some fun, playful banter.

Moon Knight and Solomon Kane are a different matter, and I believe this plays more into Moon Knight just not being a good fit for the story. I understand why he’s there. It is a Marvel Comic after all, but I would have preferred, perhaps, someone more fitting to the tale, like Hawkeye, or Valkyrie, or even, Misty Knight. Someone less “super-heroic”, if you follow.

Still, Zub writes them well, and there is plenty of breakneck action that keeps the story rolling along. But for all that action, it’s the underlying mystery that is the glue that holds the story together and keeps it from being just another event cross-over. Well, that and the fact that we get four Howard protagonists all taking the stage.

As for the art, once again it falters. While Vanesa del Rey and Jean-Francois Beaulieu continue to amplify the creep factor with their Allison sequences, we have Stephen Segovia unevenly replacing Eaton and Hanna for the issue.

I have yet to track down the original art for the issue, but I suspect the main culprit for my disquiet is Frank D’Armata’s coloring. Looking over it again now, it is the teeth, particularly in Conan and Kane’s respective mouths. Yeah, I know, seems weird to nitpick dental renderings in a comic book, but man, it’s jolting.

However, just like the first issue, whatever problems I have with the art are minor. The story is solid, a slight downgrade from the stellar debut, but easily in my top 5 comics of the week, and leagues better than the majority of Marvel’s Savage Sword and Conan the Barbarian output this year.

It bears repeating, I am thrilled Jim Zub is handling Conan the Barbarian beginning with issue #13. The fact that he’s paired with Rogê Antônio is the proverbial icing on the cake. I expect great things from them.

As for Serpent War #2? It gets 8.75 out of 10 skulls of my enemies this time out.