Robert E. Howard would be proud.
Creative Staff:
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Guiu Vilanova
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
What They Say:
Conan and Natala must fight for their lives in the cursed city of eternal dreamers, Xuthal! When they are separated, Conan faces an army of zealots while Natala must defend herself from torturers and beasts! Can they escape the city alive?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Separated by the scheming Thalis, Conan and Natala fight for their lives in the dreaming city, Xuthal. While Conan fights off a veritable army, Natala must endure Thalis’ torture and the touch of the city’s God, Thog.
This latest story arc is adapted from the original Robert E. Howard short story of the same name, and this both works to its advantage and to its disadvantage. In my previous reviews, I wrote about my confusion over the switch in Natala’s character and the portrayal of the Stygian, Thalis. I knew that the changes weren’t due to any deficiency in Fred Van Lente’s writing, but I had difficulty reconciling it with his previous work on this title along with his work overall. The problem was that I didn’t think about this being an adaptation of Howard’s story. Van Lente has stated that he was being faithful to the original text, and once I learned that, everything began making sense.
That faithfulness really shows through in this issue. Stephen King once described Howard’s style as “red writing” and Van Lente captures the raw, bloody, passionate voice that made Howard such a powerful storyteller. It is possible that Van Lente is taking whole passages from the original story, but since I don’t own it, I can’t compare. Offhand, I would guess that he borrowed choice phrases here and there and mixed it in with his own style. However, regardless of whether he took whole paragraphs or just took whole phrases, there was never a moment when I could clearly say, “That’s Van Lente” or “That’s Howard.” He blends it seamlessly with his own style, and that’s a hard thing to do.
Returning to the King quote, Van Lente’s writing coupled with Vilanova’s art and Atiyeh’s colors make this a very red issue. Thalis, jealous of Natala and hurt by Conan’s rejection, kidnaps the woman and takes her to a torture chamber. She strips Natala, chains her to a wall, and whips her. It’s an inherently uncomfortable scene made moreso by the writing and art, which dip into the more fetishistic side of the pulp genre: “She had never guessed the punishing power of hard-woven silk cords. Their caress was more exquisitely painful than any birch twigs or leather thongs. They whistled venomously as they cut the air.” The scenes are drawn in stark reds and blacks, with deep shadows and flecks of blood hovering in the air. Those details alone would be enough to sell the moment, but Vilanova’s faces take it to a whole other level. You see Natala’s pain, you see Thalis’ insane anger, and it places you right in the situation.
The text and pencils make this moment walk a fine line between the horrific and the erotic, and in some ways this is the most powerful moment in Van Lente’s run just for the visceral reaction it elicits. What truly makes this work, though, is Atiyeh’s colors. While I may hedge my statement on the writing and pencils, I think that this is definitely Atiyeh’s best work so far—not just for this scene, but for the entire issue. The panels where Thalis drags Natala away are dipped in blues and blacks. The two women are little more than silhouettes, and the darkness creates a strong sense of danger. The color palette shifts from blues to reds with the torture scene, and when Thog arrives, the reds take on a sickly orange tint that highlights the disgust Natala feels at the dark God’s touch. When she and Conan finally make their way out of the catacombs, they come across a room with a fountain, shaded with white and light blues, offering a feeling of comfort and succor. The color choices frame each story segment and provide a subtle-yet-powerful atmosphere that supports the events being portrayed. I’ve been a fan of Atiyeh’s colors for some time now, but this issue really showcases his talent.
In Summary:
“Xuthal at Dusk” has been an odd reading experience for me. I did not realize that Van Lente was adapting the original Howard tale and that he was being as faithful as possible to the original text. I mentioned before that this is both a strength and a potential weakness for this arc. The strength lies in the power of the source material. Van Lente does an excellent job of capturing Howard’s voice as well as dipping into the sadomasochistic and bondage elements of the pulp genre. The weakness—if it can even be called that—is that tonally it doesn’t quite jibe with what he did before, primarily in regards to the character Natala. I haven’t read many other reviews of this story arc, but it seems like most reviewers aren’t picking up on this, so I think this is just a quirk on my part. There are times when certain story elements just stick with a reader for whatever reason. Still, even with this minor note, this story arc is just another feather in Van Lente and Co.’s cap. This is a top-notch team that created a genuinely creepy and enjoyable story. Professor Josh gives this an….
Grade: A
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: June 24th, 2015
MSRP: $3.50
