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March 20th, 2020 
“THE DEADLY TRAP IS SPRUNG AS “INTO THE CRUCIBLE” CONTINUES! CONAN, equipped with only his strength and wits, must survive the deadly traps of the Great Crucible! With a cadre of contestants against him, and only a local boy named DELIAN to translate, can anyone or any THING be trusted?! Who is really playing who…? “
By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer
Can we just get the negative out of the way first so I can enjoy waxing over what a fun comic this is? Do you mind? I absolutely loathe the standard cover for this issue. Understand, I am a E.M. Gist fan. His paintings, from classic Universal Monsters to Kolchak, Planet of the Apes, and more, all showcase brilliant work. But his Conan? Nope. Not working for me, even a little bit. Of course, my comic shop didn’t have the Tommy Lee Edwards variant cover, but it was only marginally better anyway.
What matters, though, is what comes after the cover, and here we get nineteen pages of well-executed storytelling from everyone on board.
I mentioned Jim Zub’s roleplaying roots being on display in my review of Part 1 of “Into the Crucible”. Part 2 is no different. I have described the story as Tomb of Horrors meets the Hyborian Age and that application still applies.
As a storyteller, Zub has a great sense of pacing and throughout this story line he is proving to be adept at building tension and suspense as well.
At the heart, “Into the Crucible” is proving to be a bit of a detective story hidden within a Murder Dungeon module from early TSR. Marginally reminiscent of Howard’s The God in the Bowl in that, there too, we had a similar genre-bending, and with a young Conan to boot.
That may be my favorite aspect of Zub’s take, in that Conan is obviously quite young and new to the world outside of his Cimmerian homeland. It takes a deft hand to pull off that kind of characterization and Zub is nailing it.
As for the art, Roge Antonio’s style is well suited for this adventure. His facial expressions are very animate and articulate. He also has a great sense for movement and the art is narrative, telling the story admirably without the need of exposition.
Israel Silva’s colors are a great compliment to Antonio’s expert line work, with the warm colors and murky tones playing off one another to add to the overall composition.
On the surface, the story is simple, but the team has done a great job of adding layers and depth, with the most obvious example being the threat of an assassin their midst. I have a sense for who it is, but I’ll not spoil it for the rest of you.
The journey’s the thing, and this has been a thrilling one thus far. It certainly took my mind of COVID-19 for a bit.
Speaking if which, I hope you’re all staying safe out there. As long as we’re social distancing, what better way to pass the time than immersing one’s self in some Conan comics? Believe me, it’s how I am spending a lot of my time, to be sure.
Conan #14, Part 2 of “Into the Crucible” is well worth the price of admission. I would gladly toss it 8.5 skulls of my enemies.
