Conan The Barbarian #14
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Mirko Colak (Cover by Massimo Carnevale)
Colors: Dave Stewart
A few weeks ago, Conan and the crew of the Tigress were caught in a wild squall out at sea. It was here that Conan and Bêlit had a quarrel that ended with the two lovers feeling doubt about their relationship. Back in the here and now, Conan readies his men for an evening stealth attack on the citadel. He’s hoping to catch them off guard, and find the woman he’s rapidly losing. Well, let’s just say that his “stealth” plan doesn’t really pan out how he wanted. But honestly, we know what Conan can do when his back’s up against the wall and he has a sword in his hands!
Another strong issue from Brian Wood! It may seem redundant to say that he’s doing new, great things with Conan, but it’s true. On one hand you might say he’s sissified Conan, but honestly, it’s such a new direction to see Conan actually worried about a woman he loves, you don’t really think about it in any other context. You still get your action scenes with Conan decapitating people and the like, but you get a bonus with the other new material, too. It’s honestly going to be a rough road for any new Conan readers to go back from, but the lifers will be just fine.
Artistically, Mirko Colak is fitting in nicely on this title, making his recent transition very smooth. His scenes of the ship fighting against the storm were really well done, as were the panels of Conan and his shipmates scaling the citadel walls, then an archer dealing out some death (below). This is just a sample of the great things within these pages. Massimo Carnevale works his usual magic on the cover, and that is just another consistency with the overall great book that is Conan The Barbarian! That crimson dress on Bêlit is absolutely stunning. Definitely put this one on your pull list, you wont be sorry! Rating 4/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
