“Conan the Barbarian #83 marks the end of Rascally Roy Thomas’ adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s “Black Canaan”. It’s also the end of Howard Chaykin’s four-issue run on the Marvel’s flagship Conan title. He will not return to pencil any of the remaining 192 issues. John Buscema will make his triumphant return to Conan in issue #84.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to The Classic Conan Countdown, a series of reviews focusing on the original 275 issues of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian, which were published from 1970 to 1993. This is a review of Conan the Barbarian (Vol 1) #83.)

By ANDY MAGLOTHIN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

Conan rides through the swamps of Viper’s Head recalling the eerie words of Sabia – “When I call you tonight – you will come!” He crosses paths with Neth-At, who reveals he is looking for the captive who told them about Toroa. Neth-At reveals the man was sedated and held prisoner, but a sudden noise from the swamp distracted the guard and the man arose, attacking the guard and escaping into the swamp.

Conan concludes the captive heard the call of Damballah, causing him to rise and escape. Conan thinks back to his interaction with Sabia and realizes he is under the same spell as the captive soldier and both are basically under her control.

Their horses get spooked and both men dismount. Conan explains the horses hear the distant drums and sense danger from beyond the river, yet Neth-At does not hear what Conan describes. A determined Conan and reluctant Neth-At continue their journey through the swamp on foot until they stumble across an abandoned village.

Conan tells Neth-At to leave and he will proceed alone, but Neth-At refuses. Neth-At is startled by what he thinks is a human spying on them, but when the Stygian caught a glimpse, the human scrambled away on all fours into the swamp.

They rush to the spot in the water and see nothing. Both dismiss the event and proceed through the swamp toward the drums. As they move through deeper waters, Neth-At stumbles and yells for Conan’s assistance. Neth-At describes it as something “pulling him deeper into the water”. Conan assists him to a more level area, then Neth-At sees something moving in the thicket. Neth-At fires an arrow into the woods, striking Sabia who falls backward. Neth-At is then attacked again by something in the water. It drags him completely under, then his mangled head appears briefly before going under for a longer period. Searching the area, Conan sees a body wash ashore and discovers it is the mutilated corpse of Neth-At.

Conan also finds blood from Sabia, yet her body is not in the area. The uncontrollable urge to find her surfaces again, forcing Conan to venture further into the swamp. The Cimmerian stumbles upon a group of the villagers surrounding Toroa, looming over a fallen villager in the light of a huge bonfire. As Toroa mutters an incantation, Conan glances over to the swamp water where five human heads appear from below the surface, then with a wave of Toroa’s hand, the heads slowly sink back into the swamp. Toroa then requests the Dance of Skull, which causes Sabia to appear from the shadows. Sabia’s dance increases the magical strain between the woman and the barbarian, but she falls over lifelessly to the ground as a result of Neth-At’s arrow.

Her death releases the spell connecting her to Conan and he is able to clearly think through the cascade of events. At the same time, Toroa drags the motionless body of the man at his feet into a nearby hut and grabs a sword. Toroa and Conan face off in battle, but it is short lived due to Toroa’s poor sword fighting skills.

As Conan surveys the area and thinks through the series of events, he is grabbed from behind. A creature pulls him deep into the swamp water. Conan is in the grasp of a half man / half crocodile – and he realizes they are the five heads that appeared from the water earlier! Conan struggles to free himself from the inhumanly strong grip of the beast; he squirms away from one, but is captured again from behind by another. Our hero is able to stab the creature in the head, causing it to release him and the Cimmerian successfully swims to the surface.

As he starts to leave the area, Conan enters the hut Toroa dragged the man into earlier. Conan discovers it is the man who left the camp earlier that day and he is mutating into one of the creatures in the swamp. Using his sword, Conan ends the man’s soon to be miserable existence as a zombie, half-crocodile / half-man swamp creature then sets the hut ablaze as a funeral pyre.

CAPSULE REVIEW: The Buscema / Chan cover is an awesome preview of the intense underwater battle in this issue. The cover inspires the reader to ask: What are these creatures? Where did they come from? How will Conan survive? That’s the intent of a comic cover – grab and inspire the reader to ask questions and read more to find the answers.

Chaykin and Chan’s artwork provides detail and characterful emotions. The opening splash page shows Conan’s frustration and concern with Sabia’s words. The pile of human remains was a nice touch and adds to the feeling of impending doom. Check out the intense scenes when Neth-At and Conan are lost beneath the surface of the swamp. Neth-At’s death was suspenseful and foreshadows Conan’s battle. The final underwater battle between Conan and the man-crocodile displays the intensity of Conan struggling to get to the surface for air.

Thomas’ details are not lost in the pacing. He provided enough detail to describe the sequence of events and character’s thoughts but not so much to cause a reader to be distracted from the art. This issue displays the fine balance between telling the story through words and pictures.

I give it 7 Aquilonian Luna out of 10.

Living life my own way – Andy from Aquilonia