That darn horde.
Creative Staff:
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Brian Ching
Color: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
What They Say:
The second thrilling chapter of the newest Conan the Avenger arc by Fred Van Lente is here!
Conan and his comrades join forces with the very brigands they once fought! Swords and personalities clash as Conan’s plan to steal a legendary treasure right under the nose of his new “ally” is in danger of being revealed!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Nippr, City of Ziggurats, is a plum, but well-guarded jewel. The exiled prince Almuric—on Conan’s suggestion—decides that it’s one he must possess in his dash to return to power. Little does he know that the real reason Conan targeted it was because Natala—slave and sister to the tongueless Diana—is held there, and she knows the location of a fabulous treasure. While the barbarian from Cimmeria may despise civilization and its machinations and treacheries, he plays the game better than the most pampered and perfumed potentate from Aquilonia.
Wheels turn within wheels in this issue. Moves and countermoves are made, and Eamon the Flayed plots against Almuric’s new favorite mercenary captain, Conan. All of this is set against the storming of the fabulous city and great gobs of bloody action. Van Lente keeps several plates spinning in this issue, crafting a plot that’s both quick and entertaining, but also full of depth, allowing for moments of exposition and character development.
I particularly liked the scenes between Eamon and Diana. They advance the plot while also establishing character. Eamon’s lines after he discovers that Diana is tongueless are excellent and really make you hate the man: “Ah, what’s this? No tongue? Well, lass, I was taken with you before…but now I think you’re the greatest woman I ever met.”
That scene also showcases Ching’s storytelling prowess. He purposefully leaves out any setting and frames the characters in completely black panels in order to keep the reader’s focus on them and the moment. His body language and facial expressions capture Diana’s pain and fear and the strength and joy with which Eamon terrorizes her. This all leads to a final, wideshot panel where the character’s faces in profile occupy opposite sides. Eamon dominates the left side, filling it from top to bottom to the point where the top of his head is cut off. Diana, on the other hand, barely takes up any space at all on the right. Her face is angled and enters the panel from the bottom so that she’s looking up at Eamon. Her lips are open, her eyes are wide, and the impression it creates is terror and domination, making us feel the emotion of the scene.
Ching is equally good at action scenes, which is especially impressive given the scale of the fighting in this issue. He creates a strong sense of motion and speed and his characters possess a sense of weight and mass, which is necessary in order to sell the moment to the reader.
His art is supported by Michael Atiyeh’s colors. Atiyeh favors a dark palette rich with earth and autumn tones—particularly yellows and reds. The rich colors help create the desert environment and subtly suggest the harsh conditions of the men and the world in which they live. Ching (whom I assume is the inker since no inking credit was given) adds to this with liberal use of shadows and thick, black lines. He uses silhouettes quite a bit to create a sense of power, fear, or urgency, and it works quite well.
In Summary:
Van Lente, Ching, and Atiyeh have put together another solid Conan book. The pacing was excellent, the action exciting, and the plot and character development were solid. This is one of the books where there are no wasted lines, panels, or words. Recommended, by Crom!
Grade: A+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: 26 November, 2014
MSRP: $3.50
