Conan the Barbarian #77 – “When Giants Walk the Earth” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one continues from last issue, with Conan tossed into the pit where he finds a meteorite fragment and its guardian, the giant Gol-Thir. The brute attacks and Conan is hard-pressed to hold him off. The barbarian is knocked down and Gol-Thir raises the meteor to split his skull. Up in the city of Harakht, Neftha begs the priest (Mer-Ath) to save Conan but he’s more worried about his brother (and co-ruler) bringing the wrath of the Stygian king upon the city because of his use of giant falcons to raid
merchant boats. When her pleas don’t move Mer-Ath, Neftha tries seduction instead. Meanwhile, the aforementioned brother king (Hor-Neb) reiterates his offer to Bêlit for her to become his queen and pledge her corsairs to his service. Bêlit is ready to kill him (or die trying), so Hor-Neb has her taken away to die. In the pit, Conan manages to turn the tables and is about to smash Gol-Thir with the meteorite, but stays his hand when the giant implores him to end his miserable life. Conan spares him instead and Gol-Thir tells him how exposure to the meteorite has made him grow to huge stature, showing him the falcon eggs that have also grown because of the meteor. Gol-Thir shows his 
honourable side by letting Conan go after freeing him from his chains. Conan climbs out of the pit to look for Bêlit, but ends up in an arena where Hor-Neb has set a test for him. Behind one door is Bêlit, behind the other a hungry leopard. Conan tries to get to Hor-Neb but the walls have been greased, so he’s forced to choose a door or be killed by the guards’ arrows. Neftha learns the safe door from Mer-Ath and signals Conan, but it turns out Hor-Neb was expecting that and gave Mer-Ath false information. As the leopard comes for Conan, Neftha pushes a guard into the arena and tosses his sword to the barbarian, who quickly finds Bêlit behind the other door. Gol-Thir is brought up to kill Conan, but after seeing Conan and Bêlit the giant tosses the barbarian up into the seats so he can go after Hor-Neb. Conan wastes some guards and
knocks Hor-Neb into the arena, where the leopard takes care of him. Neftha begs Mer-Ath to spare Conan and since the barbarian got rid of his rival, Mer-Ath agrees. But the leopard threatens Bêlit (who was drugged by Hor-Neb), so Conan jumps back into the arena to kill the wild cat. The guards cheer their new leader, Mer-Ath, who’s much more peaceful than his late brother and certainly won’t use the giant falcons to prey on the river trade. We get a look at Gol-Thir and find out the reason he went against his king to help Conan is because Bêlit looks a lot like Gol-Thir’s dead wife. This is good conclusion to this story 
arc, with some cool gladiatorial action and a nice redemption for Gol-Thir. Things wrap up pretty neatly, with the peaceful brother being left in sole charge, although I’m not sure what’ll happen between him and Neftha. He seems enamoured of her (and I think she kinda likes him too), but she seems to want to get to Luxur for some reason, so she might stick with Conan and Bêlit. Conan’s choice of doors reminds me of that old story “The Lady or the Tiger” by Frank Stockton, although in this case it’s a leopard instead.
Conan the Barbarian #79 – “The Lost Valley of Iskander” – Roy Thomas/Howard Chaykin/Ernie Chan
If you’re wondering what happened to issue 78, it was a reprint of a story from Savage Sword magazine. I’m using the Chronicles of Conan for these reviews and since they skip issue 78, so do I. Anyway, this issue starts with Conan in the desert, waking when a stealthy attacker tries to stab him in his sleep. After killing the ambusher, Conan recognizes him as his guide, Ak-Ner and we get a flashback to explain what Conan is doing here. After Hor-Neb’s death, Mer-Ath asked Conan to deliver a priceless jewel (the Eye of Set) to a village in the hills called Attalus. The jewel is one of a pair that
are exchanged whenever Harakht or Attalus has a change of ruler. Conan agrees to deliver the gem in exchange for safe passage to Luxur afterwards, but the new high priest (Hun-Ya-Di) isn’t happy about not getting to choose the city’s messenger. Mer-Ath insists on sending Conan, but Hun-Ya-Di does choose the guide who’s supposed to show him the way to Attalus … the very same guide who just tried to stab him and take the Eye. More attackers come after him in the darkness, forcing him to flee. He slips and falls into a narrow gorge, knocking himself out but avoiding his pursuers. When he awakens the next day, Conan tries to climb out of the gorge, but the brigands are waiting for 
him. He spots Hun-Ya-Di with them, obviously wanting to get his hands of the eye of Set so he can stake a claim for rulership of Harakht. Conan kills a guard with an arrow and his falling body starts an avalanche of rocks. Conan hides behind a crag while his attackers are buried in the rockslide. Conan suspects Hun-Ya-Di might’ve survived the avalanche, but he’s more worried about starving in the barren land. He finds a blonde woman (Bardylis) trapped under a rock who takes him for a Stygian until he frees her. They’re attacked by more of Hun-Ya-Di’s men and flee through the rocks, Bardylis leading the way to her village (which conveniently turns out to be Attalus) in a hidden valley. Bardylis tells Conan how Attalus was founded by a warrior named Iskander (who we learn was actually a time-travelling Alexander the Great), who rode out of some blue mist ages ago, built the city, and disappeared
again, leaving a bunch of his men and their concubines to populate the village and await his return. Conan tells Bardylis he’s there on a mission from Harakht and she takes him to see the king, Ptolemy, who doesn’t seem all that friendly. This story, set in a city founded by a time-lost Alexander the Great, is based on a non-Conan tale by Robert E. Howard, which I’ll talk about more in my next review since this story spans three issues. This is mostly recap and set-up (with Bêlit not even appearing in this story), bringing Conan to Attalus and giving us an intriguing look at the city’s background. Bardylis is pretty hot, but Conan seems to only have eyes for Bêlit, so I assume nothing will happen between them. It’ll be interesting to see if Ptolemy turns out to be a friend or an enemy.