Conan: Road of Kings #10
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Dan Panosian (cover by Aleksi Briclot)
After killing a horde of monstrous insects, and a few dozen zombies, Conan and his companions are faced with the question of who they shall help in the power struggle in the city of Tarantia (capital of Aquilonia). Either help overthrow the current regime, or stop the overthrow from happening. This isn’t an easy choice for a warrior like Conan, because he initially thinks that helping to overthrow the King is a good idea, but he quickly changes his mind when he is told that Prince Arpello is going to replace him. Arpello is pretty much a skunk and a coward, and Conan knows that no good would come of this. Conan helps Countess Thelitis and her friends to infiltrate the inner chambers of the King. Once there, Thelitis uses her stunning beauty to entrance the aroused King into making a quick trip to the bedroom. This leaves Conan and the others in limbo, but rest assured, Conan has a plan of his own that will ensure victory, or at least a lot of spilled blood!
If there’s one thing I love, it’s a great action packed story by Roy Thomas. This guy really knows how to get the story moving in a direction that’s conducive to my liking! The story has enough dialog and subtleties to keep most readers interested, and then the action sequences are just the icing on the cake.
Panosian’s artwork is pretty good. The only time I saw something I didn’t care for was on page four, where the one character’s chin came to a point that could probably be used to chisel tombstone inscriptions. But hey, that’s just me being picky. The Countess was drawn very nicely, and Conan has a few moments where he looked pretty good as well (especially the fight scene with a dragon). The cover by Briclot is very cool, and I hope he stays on for a couple more. I did hear that there are only a couple of issues left to this story line, and that’s cool, but I hope it goes out with a bang! Rating 3.5/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
