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Posts Tagged ‘Esad Ribic’

November 20th, 2019 By Bob Freeman, Conan (2019), Reviews Comments Off on REVIEW: The Ball is Dropped – And Punted – In Conan #11

REVIEW: The Ball is Dropped – And Punted – In Conan #11

“BY CROM – THE BARBARIAN VS. HIS GOD! As Conan shuffles off this mortal coil, he stands face to face with his God, CROM! But Crom does not care for the fate of some weak mortal…Unless Conan MAKES him! CONAN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE CONAN!”

By BOB FREEMAN – PM Library Writer

We have reached the penultimate chapter in Jason Aaron and (mostly) Mahmud Asrar’s twelve-part saga — The Life & Death of Conan. It has been, for this reviewer, a dismal exercise that has highlighted the worst tendencies of modern comics.

I don’t want to be that guy … you know, the old gray-beaded curmudgeon recalling the glory days of comicdom when god-like beings named Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Buscema, Kubert, and more strode the earth. The guy who bemoans, “Back in my day, why comics were something special…”

But it’s kind of true.

The greatest crime Aaron and Asrar’s Conan has committed has been taking too darned long to get to the point. In the 70s, this would have been a Roy Thomas three-parter. The pages would have been dripping with elegant prose and Buscema and Chan would have delivered artwork to elevate the story even higher.

Aaron and Asrar have given us a decompressed, slow and plodding plot, filled with illustrations that rarely raise themselves to the levels of artistry one used to take for granted.

Conan finally realizes he is dead and facing Crom in Conan the Barbarian #11.

So, here we are, at the 11th hour of their tale and what do we get? Sparse words and panel after panel where the colorist does the heavy lifting by establishing mood and tone.

Oh, this is probably the second or third best issue in their run. There are some decent individual moments. But overall, we knew Conan would be coming back from the dead to face Razazel. It was telegraphed from the beginning.

The indomitable spirit of Conan was there, buried in a painfully extended narrative, throughout the run, but especially in this issue. The sentiment was not the problem, but the execution certainly was.

Aaron and Asrar are both talented creators. Conan just got away from them. But they shouldn’t take it too hard. Thomas and Davis sort of dropped the ball over on Savage Sword, too.

Maybe it’s not the creators. Maybe it’s Marvel and their editorial shortcomings. Maybe its the stewardship. Maybe it’s… Maybe…

Maybe I need to hole up in my woodland shack with Robert E. Howard’s collected Conan tales, complete and unmarred by other hands. That’s where Conan is.

Maybe I need to take a deep breath and remind myself, these are just comic books. Maybe I should climb down off the mountain and return to my people in the village. Yeah, maybe I should…

But by Crom, I’m not ready to lie down just yet.

Skulls of my enemies? 5 out of 10 of them I guess. One issue remains. While it’s impossible for redemption, I still hope its a worthwhile conclusion to the tale. But mostly, I hope Jim Zub’s ready to take up the mantle and deliver the Conan we deserve.

August 27th, 2019 Conan (2019), Reviews Comments Off on REVIEW: Esad Ribic’s CtB: Exodus Not A Comic Book

REVIEW: Esad Ribic’s CtB: Exodus Not A Comic Book

“Calling this product a comic book is stretching it. In fact, it is a magnificent portfolio in comic form of Esad Ribic’s artwork. While working only a short time on the Conan property, he’s destined to become a legend in his own right and is paving his way into the illustrated legacy of Robert E. Howard.”

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

There’s no question that Esad Ribic is an extremely talented artist. From his work on interiors in Thor to his recent covers for Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian, he has become a fan favorite and a respectable candidate to carry the torch as beloved illustrator of Robert E. Howard’s signature creation.

But Conan the Barbarian: Exodus is an artistic soliloquy and not a traditional comic. The few scripted words are in runes (I tried to translate them to no avail), and the bulk of the story is silent. It’s a tale of Conan’s move from youthful barbarian in the North to the barbarian we begin to know in the Conan canon. With the quality of Ribic’s art, few words are necessary.

If you’re looking for a traditional Conan read, this book gets a hard pass. But if you’re a Ribic fan, this comic – er, art portfolio – is a must have.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give this issue a 7.5 – points are taken off because Ribic isn’t good at Conan’s face in close-up images, but his backgrounds and sequential storytelling are first rate.

August 1st, 2019 Conan (2019), Reviews 4 Comments »

REVIEW: Conan Goes Home – to Find Thoth Amon at Work!

“THE TWISTED SPELL OF THE WIZARD THOTH-AMON! CONAN returns home to Cimmeria! But things aren’t exactly as he remembers them…Is he that out of touch…or is he falling right into the trap of the wizard THOTH-AMON?! “The Life & Death of Conan” continues!”

By BOB FREEMAN – PM Library Writer

I am bone weary. Truly. While the first few pages of Jason Aaron’s narrative had me excited, the feeling quickly evaporated like one’s icy breath on the chill wind.

Here we find Conan returned home to the village of his youth, seeking out his grandmother and bringing gifts for his clansmen, only to find the wizard Thoth Amon has reached out to mentally enslave these familiar faces as the Stygian plots his vengeance against the Cimmerian.

It is all pretty ridiculous, to be blunt about it.

It’s not serviced by the guest artwork of Gerardo Zaffino either. His blocky, muddy inks are mere sketches doing little to bring the Hyborian Age to life.

I am so tired of being negative about this book, but they’re not giving me anything to work with.

Matthew Wilson does an admirable job with the colors. He’s really good at setting mood with his color palette. And Travis Lanham’s lettering is not distracting in the slightest.

I am left to praising the colors and letters. Crom, preserve us.

There have been two consistent praise worthy aspects of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian relaunch — the first being Esad Ribic’s covers. This one is no different — the muted blue tones, the towering Thoth Amon looking ghostly and fearsome, and Conan surrounded by his kinsmen as he draws his blade is a ‘trapped in amber’ kinetic moment that is never duplicated in the inner pages.

The second item of consistency lies in John Hocking’s Black Starlight. While Hocking continues to write ‘rpg prose’, it’s still an entertaining sword and sorcery yarn and the only thing that keeps me coming back.

Well, that and a completest mentality that I’d really love to squash.

Anyway, enough rambling. This issue gets 3 skulls of my enemies. One for the cover. One for Hocking. And one because I’m feeling generous because I actually enjoyed the first two pages of the story…

—Alba Gu Brath,
Bob Freeman
occultdetective.com

May 9th, 2019 Conan (2019), Reviews Comments Off on REVIEW: Conan #6 Has Bright Spots, But Still Flawed

REVIEW: Conan #6 Has Bright Spots, But Still Flawed

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

Conan is fighting, and surviving, in skirmishes with Stygian assassins while in the service of King Yezdigerd of Turan., climbing the military ladder from mercenary to Great Commander, all the while becoming seasoned for sacrifice to the death god Razazel.

If you’ve been following along, you already know where this review is headed. I’ve not been overly enchanted with Marvel’s relaunch of Conan the Barbarian. While the plot is solid enough, the actual execution has missed the mark, in both words and pictures.

Conan deserves better. Robert E. Howard’s legacy deserves better.

But rather than continue to dwell on the negative, let me point out three things I do like about this book:

Esad Ribic’s Covers

Ribic has produced six covers for Conan the Barbarian thus far and each has been a thrilling depiction of the Cimmerian that compliments the interior tale, though, to be fair, this is my least favorite of the lot.

Overall, it is Ribic’s color pallete that sells it. With a thin line to frame the illustration, it’s the muted, earth tones that bring the pictures to life.

Matthew Wilson’s Colors

If you had told me going into Marvel’s relaunch that the best feature of the comic would be its colorist I would have scoffed, but let’s face facts, Wilson is a force of nature.

With a definitive command of color theory, Wilson makes each and every panel pop off the page, often doing the heavy lifting when the line art falters.

John C. Hocking’s “Black Starlight”

As we encounter the sixth installment in the serialized prose tale from Perilous Worlds, Hocking delivers another exciting chapter in this sequel to his 1995 novel, Conan and the Emerald Lotus.

Conan pastiches are really hit-or-miss (mostly miss), especially those Tor novels from the mid-90s. Hocking was one of the better authors to pen tales of everyone’s favorite Cimmerian and Black Starlight, while not great, is a serviceable addition to the stable of Conan yarns being spun anew.

CAPSULE REVIEW: We’re halfway through Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar’s The Life & Death of Conan. So far, their track record is not a good one, but their are flashes of brilliance, more than enough to warrant sticking around to see how it all ends, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I am looking forward to see what creators come along next.

I long for the thrilling days of yesteryear, when the likes of Thomas and Buscema tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under their sandaled feet.

As for this comic, I rate it 5 of 10 skulls of my enemies.

April 3rd, 2019 Conan (2019), Reviews Comments Off on REVIEW: Beautiful Art, But Still Not “Howard’s” Conan

REVIEW: Beautiful Art, But Still Not “Howard’s” Conan

*Review: Conan the Barbarian (2019) #5*

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

I am growing weary of this book. Five issues in, not even halfway, and I am desperately trying to maintain my objectivity.

I don’t want to dislike Conan the Barbarian. I have loved the character for 40 some years. Marvel’s original run is my all-time favorite comic. I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of Dark Horse’s work on Conan. I am not asking for the singular vision of Roy Thomas from a bygone era. All I’m asking for is a comic that stays true to the character that Robert E. Howard breathed life into.

Dozens of comic creators have accomplished this in the past, many of them in recent memory. I expected the same from Marvel’s relaunch.

You can say that I’m out of touch, that I’m old and curmudgeonly because I do not like what I’ve seen so far from the House of Ideas. My time has passed and comics are different now. You can say that, sure, but maybe, just maybe, Marvel (and the whole comic book industry) is on a downward spiral, hemorrhaging readers because they’ve forgotten how to tell all-ages comic book stories…

Synopsis: Conan the Barbarian #5 (2019)

Conan is alone at sea, trapped on a ship of the dead. Having stolen a wooden idol, Conan booked passage on a ship so he could deliver it to a buyer in Messantia. Pirates, however, attacked, with the sole purpose of stealing the idol.

Conan makes short work of them, but once the idol tasted blood, bad things happened, and the Cimmerian awoke, alone, and was forced to sail the ship as best he could, fighting off mutated monsters from the deep and from the charnel house below decks. Eventually, another pirate ship appears and Conan kills a third of their crew before being named captain.

They set fire to the battered ship and it and the idol sink to the depths of the ocean. As the Cimmerian recants his tale, he realizes that, although he views most men as fools, he is drawn to their company. He was not meant to be alone.

CAPSULE REVIEW: Jason Aaron is an accomplished name-dropper. Here we have the mention of Messantia, the capital of Argos, as well as the characters of Belit and Thoth-Amon. But there’s no weight to it. No emotional resonance. Why? Because this character is simply not Conan.

The writing is just not good. I continue to think the plot is solid enough. It’s salvageable, but the actual words on paper just are not working for me. None of it rings true, largely because Conan’s characterization is off.

I was more enamored with Mahmud Asrar’s artwork in this issue. There were certain panels that were absolutely stunning, and the splash-page in which Conan boards the pirate ship should go down as one of the most iconic interpretations of the character in comic book history, but he continues to be inconsistent.

The colorist, Matt Wilson, delivers some beautiful work that really elevates Asrar’s inked pages.

This run could have been really special. No one is more surprised than me, a Jason Aaron fan, that it is ultimately on his shoulders that the book has so consistently missed the mark.

Black Starlight by John Hocking, the companion serializtion, continues to be the book’s brightest spot.

Conan and his companions fight off another supernatural threat attempting to steal the emerald lotus from Zelandra, this time in the form of a leech like creature with wings and arms, and speaking in crude R’lyehian.

This was the weakest chapter thus far, though I suspect it would have faired better had I been reading the novella in its completed form rather than as a sliver of the whole.

Hocking has some skills as a writer, but his stories always seem a little too “Dungeons & Dragons” for me, and that’s speaking as someone who is a huge D&D fan. What I mean is, Hocking gets Conan as a character, but he puts him in situations that seem out of place. more akin to an adventuring party facing an rpg module than a story culled up from the annals of prehistory as Howard’s tales cam across.

Still, all in all, an entertaining read.

As for the comic itself, on a scale of 1-10 skulls of my enemies, I would rate this issue worthy of 6, mainly because, at least Conan isn’t dressed up like a medieval Punisher.

Alba Gu Brath – Bob Freeeman (aka The Occult Detective)