“It’s not land the Black Corsair spies from the crow’s nest of the Tigress, but a young woman, as beautiful as the light of dawn, standing in the middle of the ocean atop a giant lily pad. But is she a damsel in distress, or a siren with plans to lure Conan, Belit and their entire crew to a watery grave?”

(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) #98.)

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

While Robert E. Howard is best known for his literary creations like Conan the Barbarian, King Kull of Atlantis and Solomon Kane, the Cross Plains, Texas native was also a prolific poet. Hundreds of different rimes are attributed directly to him, and many of them were published posthumously.

The poem on which this issue is based, “Sea Woman”, was written by Howard but didn’t appear in print until 1970 in the anthology Singers in the Shadows by Donald M. Grant Publishing in 1970. It would be printed again in Glenn Lord’s 1976 novel The Last Celt.

It’s a haunting lyric, and it’s one of my favorites, second only to Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee”.

The appeal of this simple yet well-written issue lies both in Roy Thomas’ prose and in the art team of Buscema/Chan/Roussos. The siren trope is an old one, yet the art and panel layouts make this story come alive in vivid reality – it’s almost as if you are caught in the siren’s web yourself.

This is one of my favorite issues of Marvel’s original Conan series, and a welcome and very different one-off story allowing fans to catch their breath before the ending of Thomas’ adaptation of “Queen the Black Coast” in two issues.

Review: Conan the Barbarian #98

One of Belit’s corsairs raises the alarm from the crow’s nest. Conan, expecting a ship to loot, is surprised at the cause for alert. Scribe Roy Thomas describes the scene in the water with a description unlike any you’ll find in modern comics. It’s not a vessel to be looted on the horizon, it’s a person in the water off the prow of the ship.

“A woman, azure of flesh, and with free-flowing hair the color of some radiant type of seaweed…a woman, young and fair of face and form, who must by all rights have been lost off some tempest-tossed and pirate-sunk ship…yet who stands silent and nearly un-moving as a statue atop what seems a huge, bobbing lily pad…a thing which seems like a poor lifeboat indeed!”

– Roy Thomas, Conan the Barbarian #98

As the crew of the Tigress stares in awe and shock at the woman, Conan prepares to offer an apology to the man in the crow’s nest, acknowledging that he understands how ones eyes might “play tricks on them” at sea. The barbarian suggests leaving the woman in the water, thinking her to be a witch – but N’Yaga believes that she should be brought aboard and that he senses no evil in her.

A crew of corsairs is dispatched to bring the sea-woman aboard the Tigress. She is mute, although she often opens her mouth as if to speak.

One of the corsairs tries to give their new passenger a piece of jewelry, as he is awe-struck by her beauty; she shrugs it off, immediately offering it to Conan instead. Belit is not amused.

The voyage of the Tigress continues, and the raid of a Stygian vessel the next morning doesn’t allow the crew time to think about their new crew mate until Conan wanders alone – or seemingly alone – above deck as night falls. The sea-woman approaches Conan seductively, but mustering all of his strength, he brushes the beauty off, making his way to his true love Belit to clear his head.

As the Cimmerian walks away, the mysterious woman turns her attention to a lone corsair named B’Tumi who has come above deck. B’tumi approaches the pale blue-skinned lass and she once more opens her mouth yet no words can he heard.

The next morning M’Gora announces that their crewmate B’Tumi is missing, and as the crew searches for him, the sea-woman continues staring contentedly out to sea.

The sea-siren tries the same thing with a different corsair named Asambi the following night, only this time, Conan is on hand to observe the seduction.

To the barbarian’s horror, the blue-skinned woman begins her silent song and dives into the sea. Asambi follows, only to be caught in the siren’s kiss, drifting lifeless to the bottom of the sea.

Now, the sea-woman turns her attention to Conan and he can hear the words of her silent song – the lyrics to Howard’s poem! Taking his knife with him, Conan jumps into the sea, following the siren’s call.

Will our Cimmerian succumb to the siren’s melody, and who is the mysterious woman who lures men to their death with a song that only her intended victim can hear?

CAPSULE REVIEW: Wow. Just…wow. The entire creative team hits a home run with this issue. That’s an odd thing to say, as one-off stories are normally frustrating and an unwelcome distraction from a good ongoing story line.

The Buscema/Chan team certainly knows how to draw beautiful women. In panels where Belit and the sea-woman are side by side, it’s clear that the newcomer is much more attractive than the she-pirate, and she’s drawn beautifully herself.

George Roussos is a master colorist. I have mentioned in previous reviews how he nicely creates variations in skin color for the different tribes along the Black Coast, and there is no deviation here. The blue shades of the sea-woman are subtle and haunting, creating an ethereal look that adds a mysterious element to the writing and the other illustrations in the book.

Interestingly, an equal amount of the comic’s strength comes from what can be read between the lines and the panels. Conan has made it clear in many different issues that Belit is his true love – yet he is tempted also by the sea-woman. His resistance and ultimate decision to dive in the ocean after her lends a certain credence to the strength and power of her seductive spell.

This is an issue of Conan – and one of the rare one-off stories – that should be in any Conan comic book collection. While not heavily promoted by collectors or particularly sought after, it’s a tribute to the quality of comic book writing and art from days long past. Do not miss it.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give this issue a solid 9.5.

On eBay, copies were available for less than $5.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)