“INTO THE CRUCIBLE AS THE MARCH TO KHITAI BEGINS! Conan has faced many foes since leaving Cimmeria, but the greatest challenge lies ahead!  A perfect jumping-on point for new readers as Conan finds himself in a city in the mystical Uttara Kuru, further on the eastern border than the young barbarian has ever traveled.  And with the new city comes new dangers!  Unfamiliar with the language, Conan inadvertently agrees to be the latest entrant to the Great Crucible.  The people of the city support their foreign champion…but what deadly traps does the Crucible hold, and what will Conan sacrifice to overcome his ordeal? Writer JIM ZUB (SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, AVENGERS: NO ROAD HOME) and artist ROGÊ ANTONIO (CONAN 2099, X-MEN RED) lead Conan on an all-new journey, as we begin a new era for CONAN THE BARBARIAN into undiscovered country!”

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

Here we are, at long last. With Aaron and Asrar’s arc behind us, we welcome a new creative team to Marvel’s flagship Conan title — Jim Zub and Rogê Antônio. Both are talented creators, but then, so were Aaron and Asrar. Will this pair breathe new life into what has largely been a disappointing reunion between the House of Ideas and Howard’s Cimmerian?

Let’s find out, shall we?

The cover is not a promising start. There is skill there, but E. M. Gist’s Conan is too stiff. The anatomy looks off to me. The sword is at an odd angle for the Cimmerian’s hands. His face is brutish — almost Hulk-like. And the hair is unnatural. I don’t like it. Unfortunately, my comic shop didn’t have the alternate cover by Toni Infante which I find much more appealing. Of course, searching the internet, that cover variant appears to be selling for $15, so I guess I’ll pass.

But one should not judge a book by its cover artist, so let’s see what Zub and Antônio have for us.

Part one of Into the Crucible, “The People’s Champion”, begins with some solid prose from Jim Zub and Rogê Antônio’s art is solid enough. It’s a tad more cartoonish than I generally prefer, but there’s good energy from the illustration, coupled with interesting and varied facial expressions.

So far, so good.

The lettering from Travis Lanham is consistent and non-invasive, while Israel Silva’s coloring is warm and inviting. Silva really enhances the art and takes some of the edges off, creating a pleasurable experience.

As for the story itself, I am intrigued. Tackling a young Conan, slightly more than 15 years of age, he’s brash and over-confident, and easily duped by his being in a foreign land and not understanding the native tongue. It’s a great set-up, and the inclusion of an interpreter helps keep the story grounded.

Once we find Conan inside the Crucible itself, he is in his element. Conan has always been a character with great instincts and quick reactions, so placing him in a death-trap, D&D-esque dungeon is a slick move on Zub’s part, considering his background in roleplaying games. He gets to synthesize the character’s strengths with his own.

I enjoyed the issue, but it certainly seemed to fly by far too fast. The March issue won’t get here soon enough.

I give this issue 8.5 skulls of my enemies. Zub and Antônio are off to a great start. Highly recommended.

I should point out, a firmer editorial hand would be nice. Some of the punctuation is a little dodgy at times, and being an Oxford Comma man, well, the lack of one on the title/credits page had my nape hairs on end.

Also, the lack of a prose tale waiting at the back of the book was met with a touch of disappointment. I had become accustomed to capping off the comic with some fresh Hyborian pastiche, even if the quality of such varied greatly.

I guess my end-cap will be reading some of Scott Oden’s latest Grimnir novel — Twilight of the Gods.

“THE EPIC CONCLUSION OF “THE LIFE & DEATH OF CONAN”! RAZAZEL has risen! CONAN has fallen! CROM may not care, but you CANNOT miss this issue!”

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

Anyone who has been following along knows that I have not been a fan of Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar’s take on Conan. I am a Jason Aaron fan and thought he would be a perfect fit. He wasn’t, at least, not from my perspective. Let’s cover that a bit before moving on to my thoughts on the conclusion to “The Life and Death of Conan”.

I was raised poor on a struggling horse farm in rural Indiana and I loved books more than anything else in the world. I would prowl the creek behind our house, stalking through the woods with a pretend sword, holing up in one of my makeshift forts reading comics and tattered paperbacks. My favorite was Conan.

Roy Thomas led me to Robert E. Howard and I devoured the Ace paperbacks back in 1977. I was 11 years old. Conan and the Hyborian Age have been a huge part of my life ever since and Howard was (and is) my favorite author. I read everything I could afford and borrowed what I couldn’t. I have obsessed over Howard and his most famous creation for more than forty years.

Years well spent, if you ask me.

I can be, admittedly, very opinionated when it comes to Conan. While I have enjoyed Thomas’ adaptations, there are few other writers who have been able to capture the essence of the character. Even brilliant authors such as Karl Wagner struggled. The purity of Howard’s words were and are magic that few men or women can live up to. The only pastiche writer that has even come close as far as I’m concerned is Scott Oden.

I did not care for any of the movies, save for The Whole Wide World, though I thought Jason Momoa was a perfect Conan stuck in a wretchedly scripted film. The cartoon and tv series were embarrassing.

The video games have been less than stellar though Conan: Exiles has its moments. More successful have been the RPGs and board games, with the current products from Modiphius and Monolith being exceptional.

Which brings us back ’round to the comics.

I have enjoyed many of the comics that have come out of Marvel and Dark Horse over the years, though, admittedly, some have been pretty painful as well. All of Glénat ‘s comics have been great so far. They are far better than what Marvel has been able to do with the character since reacquiring the license from Cabinet Entertainment.

Not that there haven’t been bright spots from Marvel’s current tenure. Jim Zub has had some shining moments, and there have been individual scenes by other creators that have stood out. But all-in-all, a pretty lackluster and discouraging relaunch from the so-called House of Ideas.

Conan the Barbarian, the flagship of Marvel Conan, has, by and large, been a disappointment. The 12-part epic from Aaron and (mostly) Asrar has not lived up to the hype. While individual panels have spotlighted some classic Conan ferocity, overall the art has been muddy and incapable of living up to artists who brought Conan and the Hyborian Age to life in years past. Aaron himself has written a tale in twelve parts that would have been a two-parter in Thomas’ day. It just feels drug out. But the worst offenses have been the characterization of Conan. Rarely did this feel like a Conan story…

All of that being said, I was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion to “The Life and Death of Conan”. It was easily my favorite of the run, by leaps and bounds. The appearance of Prince Conn, alongside the Aquilonian Black Dragons, coming to his father’s aid was a high point for me, and the sheer brutality of the final fight with and the defeat of Razazel was a lot of fun.

It started, of course, with another great cover from Esad Ribic, who has been a bright spot throughout the twelve-issue run. As always, the production values are top-notch, with Wilson’s colors and Lanham’s lettering complimenting (and sometimes carrying) the weight of the story.

Asrar’s art has been consistent throughout the run, with some panels simply popping off the page, while others are less than noteworthy. He tends toward awkward poses, to me, and, again, I will use the muddy descriptor. It just doesn’t work as a whole, but there are some great moments that come through.

As for Aaron? Well, I have stated, time and time again, that despite my not enjoying this story arc, I hoped against hope that he would deliver a final issue worthy of the character and for the most part Aaron stuck the landing.

By bringing in Conn, the theme of family was hammered home, and while over the course of the previous 11 issues this was less successful, here, with father and son together, it worked on many levels.

This was not a great comic. But it was good…

The end of the letters page teased Jim Zub and Roge Antonio’s upcoming run on the title (but egads I really hate that cover art) and it promised that King Conan, from Aaron and Asrar, would debut later in the year.

I await both with much anticipation, but for now we must settle scores with Conan the Barbarian. The series as a whole, I cannot recommend. 5 skulls of my enemies at best, but the final issue I warrant has earned 7, though Crom cares not.

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