“Outside the great city of Luxor, Conan and Zula search for a way into the city. Once inside, they sneak into an ancient temple. There, they come face to face with a galley full of dead slavers and a mysterious sarcophagus – as well as the fierce monstrosity that is the Devourer of the Dead! Will their journey end before they can rescue Bêlit?”

(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) #86.)

By ANDY MAGLOTHIN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

Our tale begins with Conan and Zula overlooking Luxur, the capital of Stygia. They are searching for Bêlit and are trying to determine how best to sneak into the city. They notice a walled off area containing both the city and a series of pyramids on the shore of the river Styx. They observe that one of the pyramids is missing its top, and speculate on the rationale for the difference in each structure. The pair also debate to what extent Bêlit would go to save Conan’s hide if their roles were reversed.

The Cimmerian and Zula make the journey down the mountainside to the wall of Luxur. At the base of the wall, attempts to throw a grappling hook on a rope to the top of the wall. Doubting it will work, Zula thinks they should find another route inside. Conan’s second attempt is successful and as he beings his ascent up the wall, the barbarian tells Zula to remind him to tell him the story of the Tower of the Elephant in the future.

Conan reaches the top of the wall and is approached by a Stygian guard. The guard’s cautious approach gets him in trouble as Conan’s swift attack takes him to the ground, then the Cimmerian aggressively breaks the guard’s back. Zula reaches the top of the wall to catch the end of the skirmish as Conan dons the guards head dress to disguise himself.

As Conan and Zula infiltrate the city, they stop in a tavern where Conan meets and speaks with Ayeeda. Ayeeda immediately recognizes he is not Stygian due to his bronze skin and our barbarian acknowledges he’s a mercenary. As their discussion continues, they see a funeral procession through the streets.

Ayeeda reveals if the person is important enough to have a funeral, they are escorted by slaves and priests to the stone mound outside of the city walls then turned over to the Devourer of the Dead. Ayeeda offers to meet Conan in the back room, but he leaves to get Zula and takes the opportunity to follow the funeral procession into the temple. He finds three acolytes confronting Zula, which turns into Zula quickly taking out all three of them. Conan and Zula don the garb from two of the Acolytes and quickly catch up to the funeral procession.

Dressed as acolytes, Conan and Zula join the group on a boat and head into the stone mound. Conan recalls a conversation with Neftha about the possible interior of the temple. Neftha told him there was a grotto and well in the temple where the priests study the reflection of the stars. While on the boat, one of the other acolytes recognizes Zula’s lack of engagement in the ceremony and his skin color. The Acolyte calls Zula out, and their cover is blown. A battle and chaos ensues. As the battle continues, Conan and Zula run deeper into the temple where they discover the grotto with one way in…and the well in the middle of the floor. Knowing they are trapped, Conan and Zula decide to plunge into the well.

Unsure of their fate and swimming for safety, Conan sees light ahead and after alerting Zula, they swim to the surface only to discover they are in another area of the temple with walls and a ceiling.

Conan and Zula notice the boat they were in earlier, but now it is filled with the sarcophagus and dead slavers who came along on the journey. As Conan and Zula ride in the boat through the temple, they discover the hideous Devourer of the Dead; a giant, fluid creature with tentacles and multiple mouths. The Devourer grabs one of the corpses and Zula at the same time. Zula and Conan hack away at the creature with little success. Conan realizes the best chance will be to attack with fire and sets the barge ablaze. They start to steer the flaming barge into the monster, but Conan notices the sarcophagus has an air hole, so they quickly remove it from the barge.

Zula and the Cimmerian steer the burning barge into the Devourer, causing it to flail madly with pain. Meanwhile, Conan and his companion open the coffin to find Bêlit. The three of them manage to dodge the thrashing limbs of the creature, which inadvertently tears down the walls of the temple burying itself alive.

As they escape, Bêlit tells the pair she was captured by King Ctesphon II and placed into the sarcophagus. Ctesphon captured Bêlit because she was speaking with Neftha – who she discovered is Ctesphon’s sister.

CAPSULE REVIEW: The Buscema cover nicely captures the battle between Conan, Zula and the Devourer of the Dead.

Roy Thomas demonstrates his ability once more to provide tons of detail yet refrain from boring the reader – all of which without using thought balloons for the characters. He describes the environment, battles, and character’s actions to the extent the reader feels included in the situations. This is the second issue I’ve reviewed (back to back I might add) where Conan is underwater and struggling to get to the surface. Thomas even refers to the previous event in the story.

Buscema and Chan demonstrate why they are one of the best teams for Conan. The second splash page featuring Conan and Zula overlooking Luxur, along with the other art, makes me wonder how they maintained a schedule to keep the issues on time. Check out the panels where Conan and Zula are underwater. The flow of their clothing, hair and motions feel realistic. The final battle features great action scenes and a creative way to defeat the devourer.

This is a very good issue from start to finish and should be included in every fan’s collection. I give it 8 Aquilonian Luna out of 10.

Living life my own way – Andy from Aquilonia