Kull: The Hate Witch #1
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: David Lapham
Artist: Gabriel Guzman (cover by Tom Fleming)
I agreed to do this review on artwork alone. That’s right, I’ve never even read a Kull comic, but I did see this book in the Diamond Previews and thought it looked and sounded great. I was actually blown away by how much I did like it, to be honest. Usually, I stick to team books like Avengers or X-Men, but I have to admit a while back I read a Conan comic (FCBD I think), and it really turned me on to this genre. The setting and story behind these types of books is fascinating to me because I like stories based on the past. OK, now on to the review.
Much like Conan, Kull is a warrior born and bred, and also a big strapping dude. This probably will come in handy as it seems Kull is not only King of his land (Valusia), but also the general of his army. The story begins by showing us the boredom of a regular day in Kull’s life. We soon find out that the people in his kingdom are restless about the state of things with their neighbors. The Count from the north, Cylob, comes for a visit with his beautiful daughter to talk of settling this dispute over the north lands. Kull welcomes the Count and his daughter and they have a feast in his honor. The feast is interrupted by a witch who has a prophesy of doom for Valusia as long as Kull is on the throne. The witch has been around for centuries, allegedly, and also comes from the same land as Kull (Atlantis). Needless to say, a tragedy befalls the Count and his daughter with Kull believing the witch is behind the vile act. Kull gathers his best warriors and the chase is on after the witch, who seems to be heading back to Kull’s homeland of Atlantis.
Again, great book from top to bottom here. The artwork fits the story perfectly. There was only one panel that I thought looked a tad bit off. The story was a perfect set-up for this 4-issue limited series, and I hope all the fans of Kull and Robert E. Howard pick this up!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
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I’m gonna need someone to help me understand the differences between Kull and Conan. I was introduced to Conan first and just see Kull as a 2nd stringer.
@Speech- The backstory is basically that Kull pre-dates Conan in the Superhero timeline. So before there was Conan, there was Kull. He was around before Atlantis sunk into the ocean depths and actually was exiled from Atlantis (his homeland) for killing some chick. 😀
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kull_of_Atlantis
Wow I’ve been mistaken for quite some time! lol It just seems as if Conan became a bit more popular than Kull giving him a lot more exposure. Atlantis seems to be a bad spot for guys like Conan, Thulsa Doom, and Kull so maybe it’s a good thing it sank 🙂
Good review Billy. I love the Conan stuiff. May hafta look itno this one.
@Jam- This was definitely a good #1 to get you primed for a great mini. Thanks for stopping in Jam!