Kull: The Cat and the Skull #3
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: David Lapham
Artist: Gabriel Guzman (cover by Jo Chen)
King Kull has many duties as the leader of Valusia. He doesn’t have many people he can trust, though. His wife, Igraine, and his best friend Brule are about it. He has become entranced with the fortune telling of a cat named Saramese, allegedly an animal that has been alive for hundreds of years telling certain people of its visions of the future. Well, in this issue we find out a secret about the cat, what Brule has been up to, and that Thulsa Doom is alive and well, and so are his forces of evil. Kull thought that he and his men had vanquished the last of the serpent men, but Igraine and Delcardes find out that they are still in Valusia and planning the death of Kull and all he holds dear.
David Lapham is doing a fine job with this mini-series, and I really enjoyed this issue especially. He’s been hinting at the return of Thulsa Doom since issue #1, and anyone with a keen eye and knowledge of Robert E. Howard’s work probably figured it out early on, but it hasn’t taken away from the revelation itself. The action was packed into this issue, but there were also some great reveals as well. I can’t wait for the next issue, and the big climactic battle that’s brewing.
Gabriel Guzman has the perfect style for this book. The underwater fight scenes with Kull and some beasts are absolutely fantastic. I’m a sucker for great battle scenes, and this book really delivers. You have two separate battles going simultaneously with Brule in one and Kull in the other. Guzman has both characters down pat, and I really didn’t see anything that didn’t jive. This combination of Lapham and Guzman is great for this title, and hopefully this series will culminate with a fantastic battle that will be stuck in my head for a while! Rating 4/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
