Sex slave of the sea hag!
Creative Staff:
Story: Cullen bunn
Art: Sergio Dávila
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
What They Say:
While on a raid, Conan and a small party of Kozaki riders—including the chief’s son—are separated from the rest of the tribe and attacked by a sea witch. Meanwhile, in their absence, disastrous events are unfolding at the Kozaki camp . . .
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Taken in by a Kozaki tribe, Conan quickly makes a name for himself, rising to the position of protector to the Chieftain’s youngest son, Taraslan. The Kozaki—a band of nomads and criminals—face threats both from the outside and the inside. The Turanians hope to put them under their heel, and the Chieftain’s oldest son, Kyrylo, desires power and brooks no other applicants for the throne. Kyrylo makes a deal with both the Turanians and supernatural creatures to clear his way to the throne, and his machinations just might succeed.
Conan, Tarsalan, and the warrior Oksana went in search of a missing scouting party, only to be ambushed by Turanians. They fought their way to freedom, but were caught in a surprise attack by giants from the sea. At the beginning of this issue, Conan awakens in the bowels of a sunken ship. There the mother of the creatures that attacked his party approaches him. She tells him she won’t kill him outright. Instead, she will keep him alive so she can sire more sons. Conan doesn’t like the offer much until the mother shoves a fish into his mouth. The fish apparently exudes some sort of opiate through its skin, putting Conan in a suggestible state. The mother uses this with her magic to make her appearance far more enticing to the Cimmerian and suddenly the barbarian doesn’t seem too reticent anymore.
Meanwhile, on the beach, Taraslan, Oksana, and a lone surviving Turanian sit bound on the beach, waiting their turn to die. The sons mill about them, making idle threats and gnawing on raw horsemeat, and each human sees something different. Taraslan views them as trolls while Oksana sees squid-headed creatures from the deep. The Turanian perceives them as monsters from the depths of hell. The form the sons take help them better intimidate the prisons, making them more tractable.
Fortunately for the rest, Conan understands magic well enough to know that what he sees isn’t necessarily reality. All he knows is that they can bleed, and therefore can be killed. Conan tricked the mother and made his way to the beach where he freed the other captives and led them in a counterattack.
Cullen Bunn does a good job of capturing the stark simplicity of Conan. Although by no means stupid, Conan possesses a very black-and-white point of view. This provides him a laser-like focus that cuts through bullshit, magical or otherwise. This simplicity and his willingness are two of the reasons why Conan is such a fun character to read. He’s a force of nature, just as mercurial and unexpected as a hurricane, but somehow manages to steer himself with an idiosyncratic but rigid moral code.
This comic has finally hit its stride with this issue. Conan feels like Conan, and the added complications and worldbuilding create a greater sense of depth and texture to this series. It doesn’t quite possess the same ugly, beautiful brutality of the previous series, but it’s definitely tapping into the spirit of the character and his stories more.
Sergio Dávila does a great job of drawing the mother and her sons, and the setting is beginning to come to life now. While I do miss the more stylized lines of Brian Ching, there’s really nothing for me to criticize with Dávila’s art. It may not be what I’m looking for, but the man knows how to tell a story, and that’s the name of the game here.
It helps that Michael Atiyeh colors the book. Atiyeh, for my money, is one of the best colorists out there right now. His colors are always vivid and interesting and do a great job of helping the words and the pencils tell the story.
In Summary:
Conan the Slayer is starting to grow on me. Honestly, I’m being unfair to it a little bit in that I keep comparing it to the previous series. Taken in isolation, this is a solid Conan comic that stays true to the character and the world Robert E. Howard created. Thankfully, the series is beginning to find its voice and its unique slant on the Cimmerian. It’s not setting my world on fire, but it’s fun enough to keep me coming back. Dr. Josh gives this a…
Grade: B
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 28th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
