Absolutely epic.
Creative Staff:
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Artist Brian Ching
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
What They Say:
As Conan lays siege to Khauran, inside the city the soldier Valerius desperately seeks evidence that a fiendish impostor has replaced his beloved queen. Even if he uncovers the proof he needs, can Valerius gather enough allies in time to save the true queen and restore her to the throne?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Forces move both inside and outside Khauran as “A Witch Shall Be Born” comes to its penultimate issue. From the inside, Valerius—still loyal to the rightful queen—discovers that Taramis is alive and held in the city’s dungeons. Aware of Conan’s imminent attack, but unaware of the barbarian’s intentions, he stages a plan utilizing the chaos of battle to free his beloved queen and return Khauran to its rightful state. Meanwhile, Conan stages a brilliant battle that will prove disastrous to Salome’s consort, Constantinus.
A pall hangs over the city, a tension that grows and grows until it has no choice but to break, and when it does, the world becomes a storm of blood and sand accompanied by the thunder of hooves and the screams of dying men. Brian Ching does an amazing job of bringing Robert E. Howard’s “red writing” to life. There is a verve, a tenacity, a sense of raw life and power that permeates his pencils making the battle come to vivid life. The pacing of the comic is excellent as well. It begins with more-or-less small panels and single-page spreads, but once the battle starts, the panels become longer and wider and we’re treated to several double page spreads of the fight.
Of course, the pencils only count for part of the effect. Michael Atiyeh’s colors practically sing. They set the mood and bring even greater vigor to Ching’s art. Ching and Atiyeh again and again prove to be one of my favorite artist-colorist pairings in comics today.
Because comics is such a collaborative media, it’s difficult to properly attribute credit, and when you get something as good as Conan the Avenger—where every part works together to form a seamless whole—the job becomes even harder. That being said, Fred Van Lente stands as a large part as to why this is my favorite Conan comic series since Dark Horse first revamped the line with Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord. Like Busiek, Van Lente has a natural ear for Howard’s style, and also like Busiek, he updates it to make it more palatable for modern audiences.
According to the solicitations, this storyline will end this series. The next series will move us into the next phase of Conan’s life, but I have no idea who will write and draw it. Whomever they are, they’ve got some big shoes to fill.
In Summary:
Conan the Avenger 24 is so good that I’ve run out of superlatives. It’s an excellent adaptation of the classic Robert E. Howard short story, and it’s an excellent standalone story. Dr. Josh gives this an…
Grade: A+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 30th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
