Like Conan to God – review of the comic book “Conan the Barbarian: The Life and Death of Conan”, vol. 2

Market monopolization is never good. And here not only is Marvel a power on the superhero comic book market, but also acquires rights to new licenses, such as Star Wars or upcoming positions with Alien and Predator. But how can you be fully angry, how can really good titles come out of such situations? The best example of this is Conan ‘s Life and Death .

According to Wikipedia, “barbarian” is “a wild, primal, uncivilized, cruel man, with primitive reflexes, not familiar with European culture.” Yet the most famous barbarian of pop culture – Conan – is definitely not. The Cimmerian is not only a mountain of muscles, but also intelligence, cunning, excellent tactical and command skills. All these elements allowed him to gain the throne of Aquilloni. The main storyline of Conan’s Life and Death takes place precisely in this period, when the hero has already had an adventurous period behind him.

After death

At the end of the previous volume, Conan lay dying on a stone altar. The Scarlet Witch met in the first notebook, as well as being a buckle for the remaining episodes (often taking place over tens of years and thousands of kilometers apart), decided to use the hero’s blood to awaken the god Razazel. The second volume tells the end of the story, but before that, screenwriter Jason Aaron will re-present some of his previous adventures. In the first, the barbarian buys courtesans from captivity, who are to help him in revenge for the death of his former beloved. In another, Conan returns to his native Cimmeria years later, but the way he is greeted is far from expected. In addition, while in the gut of the monster, he will have to face – quite literally – the demons of the past. But all this is just a starter to the aforementioned main plot, in which, among others, the warrior stands face to face with Crom. This duel with the god, whose name the barbarian called in difficult situations, is definitely my favorite episode. After all, it is rare to see a situation where a deity gets such a spectacular booty.

Conan comics were originally published by Marvel, then in the years 2003-2017 the rights to the brand passed to Dark Horse, and finally returned to the House of Ideas.

During this time, several hundred notebooks about the adventures of the Cimmerian were written. And yet it was only the return to the original publishing house that made me reach for the comic book with this protagonist. And if there’s even a shadow of a chance that ten percent of my previous adventures are as good as Life and Death , then I know I made a big mistake. Aaron’s script is heroic fantasy in a great edition. Conan, when needed, can use every inch of his muscles – there are plenty of epic fight scenes here, and in each notebook there is a place to get to know the protagonist better, including showing his affection and romance. The very theme of the death of the protagonist was also very ingeniously played, although I will not reveal anything more here.

Tongue on a corpse

Mahmud Asrar is again responsible for the graphics. The artist may not have a particularly distinctive style, although he does his job very diligently. Conan is properly packed, all women are alluring, and the monsters and deities are suitably terrifying. The specific “fetish” of Asrar, which I mentioned in the previous review, also returns here – this creator has a strange tendency to draw characters with the tongue sticking out. For the animated corpse of the Scarlet Witch, it is almost a permanent element of appearance. The eighth book, guest-drawn by Gerardo Zaffino, is again a master’s level. I love the style of this cartoonist and I hope he will have more time to work on the adventures of the barbarian. The colourist Matthew Wilson, who is not afraid to use fully saturated colors, did an equally great job.

Yes, god to Conan

Both volumes of Conan’s Life and Death are equally excellent and should satisfy both the protagonist’s longtime fans and readers who are just getting to know his comic book adventures. Jason Aaron has a great sense of the muscular protagonist and I hope that someday I will read other adventures of the Cimmerian from his hand. Marvel has another great title.