“Conan and Diana are free from the clutches of Tananda, the queen of Meroe – but have they stumbled into a new nightmare as they find themselves face-to-face with the Devourers of Darfar? In this issue, we see the return of a familiar face and our Cimmerian acquires a new traveling companion for his long journies.”

By ANDY MAGLOTHIN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

(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) #108.)

In this month’s issue, we catch up with Conan and Diana riding a horse through a dense rainstorm north of Kush. A pair of Kushite sentries stop them, requesting that Conan and Diana surrender their weapons. Conan attempts to explain his identity, yet the sentries do not accept this and attack. Conan quickly kills one and the other escapes. The dead Kushite’s horse remains, so Diana mounts it and they ride to shelter for the night.

Diana explains how over the past few months, she became a slave in Kush. Her father was sent to Messantia as part of the royal court. A plague broke out, which was perceived to be a curse, and the woman’s father decided they should leave on a ship headed to Zingara. Buccaneers took over the ship, slaying her father in the process. After having their way with her, the buccaneers sold her to a slave trader and subsequently to Shubba. Conan “keeps her warm” during the night and in the morning they ride off to Sukhmet.

As they ride through the high grasses, Conan spots a group of Darfari who were lying in wait for someone to attack.

One of the savages pulls Diana from her horse, but Conan slays him and scoops her up to flee. The Cimmerian and Diana stumble upon a group of people, one of whom he recognizes: Thutmekri. The Darfari are on their heels and Conan negotiates with Thutmekri to join forces long enough to fight off the group of attackers.

Thutmekri’s group is small, and even with the Cimmerian’s assistance, they are overwhelmed by the sheer number of savages. The Darfari’s language is understood only by Conan, and he learns they wish to capture Diana to use in their moon-dance ritual. It’s time for more negotiation, as Conan and Thutmekri agree to give two men to the Darfari instead of Diana, so Conan and Erfu, servants to Thutmekri, are sent off with the Darfari.

With Conan and Erfu chained up to separate poles, the moon dance beings. We discover Erfu is a sorcerer’s apprentice and has a potion that weakens his chains, allowing him to free himself. He uses a small amount on Conan’s chains, too, but not before the Darfari notice their captives are both free. A battle ensues, but Conan and Erfu are outmatched by sheer numbers so they flee the scene, finding a single horse and rapidly getting away.

A few days pass before they reach Sukhmet where they find Thutmekri and Diana. Conan is ready to leave with Diana but she decides to stay with Thutmekri. Conan and Thutmekri agree to Erfu and only two steeds joining the Cimmerian on his next journey.

CAPSULE REVIEW: A very mediocre cover to a likewise mediocre issue. The cover features Conan carrying Diana, running away from a group of Darfari savages. There’s a lot of negative space and for some reason the combo of Buscema and Layton does not work for me. Conan’s face is off-kilter and the proportions are odd. I’ll give it credit for capturing a scene in the comic, but it is a very average cover.

The story provides a brief background on Diana and Erfu, but neither story makes you care for the characters at all. Eh…Diana was a love slave for the bucs…she’s almost captured by the Darfari…she stays with Thutmekri…YAWN. Erfu’s assistance to free himself and Conan was a nice spin, but again, his character is a bit bland. The end made me chuckle as Conan and the talkative Erfu ride away. Conan simply asks him to keep his mouth shut, but Erfu continues with a story of riding the desert with a Eunuch.

The most redeeming quality of this issue is the interior artwork. It features Buscema / Chan artwork with George Bell’s work on colors. The characters’ facial features, size and skin color allow the reader to differentiate people and races. Background details are missing in some panels but others have enough detail to see the texture and depth of the scene. One of the best scenes is when Conan breaks free from the post and uses the chain to slay one of the Dafari savages.

On a scale of 1-10, I give it 5.5 Aquilonian Luna.

Living life my own way – Andy from Aquilonia