Ablaze Publishing 2020
Adapted by Sylvain Runberg from the work of Robert E. Howard
Illustrated by Jae Kwang Park
Coloured by Hiroyuki Ooshima
Lettered by Dezi Sienty
In the kingdom of Vendhya, the king has just died, struck down by the spells of the black prophets of Yimsha. The king’s sister, Yasmina, decides to avenge him…and contacts Conan, then chief of the Afghuli tribe. But several of Conan’s warriors have just been killed by the men of the kingdom of Vendhya, further complicating the matter. The princess thought she could use the Cimmerian, but rather it is she who will serve his interests…
Oh my stars and garters this run of Conan stories has to be one of the top books I am currently reading. It is nice to see a new set of creators on board for this story and while it is still an adaptation it does feel like Sylvain is coming up with something new and fresh. I am sure there are many out there who have never read the original works and I hope that after reading this that they have the desire to find them and see what the original was like. This is far superior to what Marvel is currently doing though I will say the Dark Horse work was closer but still leagues away.
I love the way that this is being told. How we see the story & plot development move forward through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The way we see this story unfold is spectacular and to basically take a short story and turn into this shows some real talent. The character development that we see is beyond extraordinary and how we see through the words and the visuals to get such a clear picture of the emotions or sense of status that comes with them is really rather stunning stuff. The pacing is stupendous and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story and this world we see some amazing things happen. The way this is structured and how we see the layers of the story within it as well as how everything works in concert to create the story’s ebb & flow is meticulous.
While I never was a Conan fan, not even after my grandmother took me to see the film though woof did Arnold look good, but I cannot get enough of these stories. Ablaze is an amazing house and outlet for stories we wouldn’t see any other way in the States so if you think Conan is your dude you need this, if you think he isn’t for you, check this out and tell me again this isn’t for you.
The artwork that we see on the interiors here are utterly bloody marvellous. The linework that we see and how the varying weights and these gorgeous techniques that are being utilised make this a surefire standout for me. To see more than simple linework variations to create the interiors is darn near a lost art in itself and to see this this way brings me untold joy. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised and how they show depth perception, that sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is mindbogglingly well presented. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this remarkably masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work that we see is divine. The way that we see hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is phenomenal. Also the little things like the different tones of stone utilised in the construction of the buildings and how light sources can change the colour tones so much is beautifully rendered.
Folks this is one of the best franchises around and regardless that it stars Conan because the work and the adaptation that we see is so spectacularly well rendered that we are engaged and sitting on the edge of our seats until we’re left wanting more. It really doesn’t get much better than this.