A long, bloody trail of death.
Creative Staff:
Story: Cullen Bunn (Issues 6 & 7)
Art: Sergio Dávila (Issue 6); Admira Wijaya (Issue 7)
Colors: Michael Atiyeh (Issues 6 & 7)
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft (Issues 6 & 7)
What They Say:
Issue 6: In pursuit of his traitorous brother, the inexperienced new chief of the Kozaks has foolishly ventured into the bowels of Gorey Castle. The callow youth’s only hope now is his bodyguard, Conan—will the Cimmerian reach him in time? Superstar writer Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Uncanny X-Men) and artist Sergio Dávila (Red Sonja, Swords of Sorrow) wrap up their first thrilling story arc!
Issue 7: Superstar writer Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Uncanny X-Men) and artist Sergio Dávila (Red Sonja, Swords of Sorrow) kick off a brand-new story adaptation in their highly praised Conan run: The Devil in Iron! The barbarian visits the remote island of Xapur and discovers an ancient city in ruins. What deadly secrets does the place hold?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Death and Conan are well acquainted. Although the Cimmerian has avoided Death’s icy clutches for most of his life, he has delivered scores of people to the afterlife. Death, as the comic tells us, is an inevitability in Conan’s worldview, and the barbarian doesn’t lose sleep over the lives of a few brigands and warriors.
But that’s only one flavor of death, one type. Try as he might to protect them, those closest to Conan die, and that does rob him of his sleep. In issue five, Taraslan, the young Kozaki Hetman, died when he tried to be as brave as Conan. Now his tribe burns him on a pyre and debate on who will be the new Hetman, and what will they do against the hostile nation Turan.
Their deliberations end before they get started when a group of Turanian assassins strike. Conan and the Kozaki repel the invaders, and something happens in the climax that causes the tribe to elect Conan their new Hetman—apparently whether the Cimmerian likes it or not. One thing’s for sure: Turan better look out.
In issue six, Conan begins his campaign against the mighty nation. He meets with a group of pirates on the deserted, supposedly cursed island Xapur and then rides out with them on a raid. The pirates catch a Turanian cargo ship by surprise and overtake them with minimal casualties, and it’s in the raid that we see Conan’s melancholia slip through his steely façade. First, he stumbles upon a gorilla in the cargo hold (no doubt being traded from one ruler to the next for their various menageries). They fight and the pirates almost kill the ape when Conan tells them to let it go. The ape jumps ship and seemingly drowns, but I’m betting dollars to donuts that we’ll see it again.
Conan then spares the lives of the remaining Turanian sailors, saying, “Let’s see if…for a change…a man is worth more alive than dead.” Clearly, Taraslan’s death hit the barbarian hard, as did the revelation that a creature—a carrion eater—has been stalking the Cimmerian and feasting on the remains of his slain foes.
Bunn and crew have done a nice job in their run of playing with Conan’s more thoughtful, contemplative side. Dark Horse has been great about this, but there are plenty of examples in media where Conan is portrayed as a dumb, animalistic brute when he’s actually nothing of the sort. He’s a man of immense passions and intense melancholy, and that doesn’t always get the play it deserves.
This also adds an interesting wrinkle to this adaptation, as Taraslan, this carrion-eater, and this general mood Conan experiences were not present in the original story. I skimmed “The Devil in Iron” in preparation for this review, and in doing so, I garnered a new appreciation for what the first six issues were doing. Not only were they setting the stage for this adaptation, but they also set up these changes. It will be very interesting to see how else they change the original story.
Sergio Dávila and Admira Wijaya do fine jobs with their respective issues, but I have to say that Dávila’s style is a bit cleaner when it comes to characters and more exciting in the action scenes. He’s clearly a hard act to follow. Michael Atiyeh does excellent work on colors, as always, using them to establish mood and give the characters and backgrounds a sense of depth and clarity.
In Summary:
Conan the Slayer issues 6 and 7 are solid comics full of great action and character work. If you’re a Conan fan and you haven’t jumped on board, now’s the perfect time as a new storyarc is just starting. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. Dr. Josh gives this a…
Grade: B+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: Issue 6: January 25, 2017; Issue 7: March 29, 2017
MSRP: $3.99 apiece
