“This issue of Conan is the conclusion of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s story “The Snout in the Dark,” which was put together and completed from an unfinished Robert E. Howard manuscript. In today’s comic, Conan must wrap up unfinished political business while coming face-to-face with a demon!”

(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, #107.)

BY WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

We’re a mere eight issues away from Roy Thomas’ parting-of-ways with our Cimmerian hero. I tend to savor these issues, from #100-115, as many of them came out during the height of my youthful comic-collecting days.

Rascally Roy will disappear from this title from issues #116-239, replaced by other talented writers, including J.M. DeMatteis, Bruce Jones, and later, James Owsley (now known as Christopher Priest). While Bruce Jones is one of my favorite comic writers, even he would not have the subtle grasp of Conan’s nuances that Roy Thomas was able to employ.

Thomas would re-appear to wrap up Marvel’s initial Conan run, scripting issues #240-275. His final issue was an ongoing tale that sees its end in Savage Sword of Conan. In the 1990s, Roy wrote a new series, Conan the Adventurer, which lasted a mere 14 issues. Several mini-series events would follow before the torch would be passed to Dark Horse Comics. You can read the review of one such mini-series, Conan: Lord of the Spiders, here.

But I am getting ahead of myself. For now, there are a few more Roy Thomas/John Buscema issues to enjoy, and many more issues of Conan’s original run to review! Today’s installment is the second part of Roy’s adaptation of “The Snout in the Dark” which began in issue #106.

Review: Conan the Barbarian (Vol. 1) #107

(For background information prior to reading this review, please read Bob Freeman’s review of Conan the Barbarian #106.)

Conan and the Kushite queen Tananda are at a stand-off. The queen is determined to torture Diana, who she suspects of being a political tool and a spy of the cunning Tuthmes. But Conan, her new captain-of-the-guard, isn’t having it. He barks at her, telling her to put down the whip. The political climate in Tananda’s city is tense, and punishing Diana will only rile up rival nobles.

The barbarian wins the argument, despite Tananda’s threats and anger. He takes Diana down from her shackles and carries her out of the room. An angry Tananda screams at the barbarian, accusing him of preferring the captive over her due to Diana’s “lily-white skin.”

Shubba, the street dweller under Tuthmes’ employ, sees Conan leaving with the Nemedian “gift” and rushes off to tell his benefactor. Unamused but unsurprised, Tuthmes indicates that it is time to have the conjuror Muror summon the great pig-demon to kill Diana, should she reveal any of his plans to Conan, and the barbarian as well.

Meanwhile in the city square, Tananda has moved forward with her plan to have a man named Aahmes executed. With tensions already high in the city and unrest over Tananda’s violent rule, Conan knows this will only incite the populace more against the queen. In disgust, he goes off to find Diana.

Conan arrives in the nick of time, as the Cimmerian enters her chambers to see the great pig-demon beginning to form. Grabbing his sword, he rushes to her defense and a battle ensues.

The barbarian stabs the monster repeatedly and for moments it seems as if the beast may have the upper hand. But a deadly blow to the demon’s neck causes it to stagger away, bleeding and half-dead.

Conan trails the monstrosity to the town square, where it falls dead at the feet of the sorcerer Muru – the man who brought it forth! Since Muru is standing with Tuthmes, an angry man in the crowd – Ageera, a “witch smeller” – accuses Tuthmes and the wizard of controlling the beast and the mob attacks.

Queen Tananda orders her soldiers to stop the crowd, but they turn on her, killing her instead. As the city erupts in violence and mayhem, Conan takes Diana and together the duo flees the burning city.

CAPSULE REVIEW: An excellent ending to a good story. While I never read the original tale as written by de Camp and Carter, Roy Thomas did an excellent job in this tale examing the intrigues of the Hyborian Age, even in the uncivilized lands of Kush.

Once again, George Roussos quality coloring is evident in the different hues of the Kushite tribesmen. You can see people from different tribes all in different and subtle hues. This wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish and he deserves kudos for making the artistic distinctions. Even when comparing the Nemedian Diana to Conan we see different skin tones.

Conan again plays second-fiddle in this story to the ongoing plot among the Kushites, but as is always the case with our Cimmerian, he saves the day – or at least the girl – and rides off to fight another day.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this issue a 7.5.