Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
Conan the Barbarian #47 – “Goblins in the Moonlight” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Dan Adkins
Last issue, Conan was on his way to Phalkar to deliver an amulet to the regent of that city when he got sidetracked by (what else?) a beautiful woman. He saved the woman (Stefanya) from a bloodthirsty mob who accused her of sorcery, but Stefanya told Conan the real sorcerer was her hated master, Zoqquanor. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 47, Conan the Barbarian 48”
Conan the Barbarian #45 – “The Last Ballad of Laza-Lanti” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Crusty Bunkers
This one starts with Conan drinking in a tavern in Shadizar, trying to forget Red Sonja. A minstrel sings a sad ballad and Conan takes a liking to it, so when local toughs start giving the minstrel a hard time, Conan kicks their asses. The bard (Laza-Lanti) turns out to be a fighter too and saves Conan by tossing a dagger into a thug trying to sneak up on the barbarian. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 45, Conan the Barbarian 46”
Conan the Barbarian #43 – “Tower of Blood” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan and Red Sonja (remember her from issues 23 and 24?) being pursued by bounty hunters from the City of Thieves. Apparently, Sonja was chosen as a Hyrkanian king’s concubine but stabbed him instead of marrying him, plus one of Conan’s wenches accused them both of murder, so now there’s a price on both their heads. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 43, Conan the Barbarian 44”
Conan the Barbarian #41 – “The Garden of Life and Death” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan arriving at a small village about a week away from Zamora. He runs into a mob chasing a girl and naturally, he defends her. The mob claim the girl (who they refer to as Zhadorr, although it seems more of an appellation than a name) is a demon in human form, but Conan still won’t let them near her. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 41, Conan the Barbarian 42”
Conan the Barbarian #39 – “The Dragon from the Inland Sea” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema
This one starts with Conan riding through some wastelands on his way to Zamora. He’s waylaid by some bandits and ends up killing them all, but his horse is lamed and he’s forced to kill it. While contemplating his next move, Conan is bitten by a snake. He sucks as much poison out as he can, but succumbs to what remains inside his veins, passing out in the desert. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 39, Conan the Barbarian 40”
Conan the Barbarian #37 – “The Curse of the Golden Skull” – Roy Thomas/Neal Adams
This one starts ages ago, with a dark wizard of Lemuria (Rotath) being killed by King Kull. The dying Rotath put a deadly curse on his own bones, a curse that would affect whoever found his remains. Millennia later, a hillsman was exploring a lost valley and found a ruined city and Rotath’s skeleton, now made of solid gold. The hillsman couldn’t resist the lure of gold, but as soon as he touched the skeleton, he was taken over by Rotath’s spirit. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 37, Conan the Barbarian 38”
Conan the Barbarian #35 – “The Hellspawn of Kara-Shehr” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan and his new companion Bourtai (who he met last issue) travelling across the desert on their way back to Aghrapur. They come upon some desert warriors harrying a lone man and Conan rides in to help. The raiders try to kill the loner, who apparently holds some kind of valuable secret. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 35, Conan the Barbarian 36”
Conan the Barbarian #33 – “Death and 7 Wizards” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
Last issue, Conan was sent to the city of Wan Tengri in Khitai by a Turanian commander who wanted him to gather information for a possible invasion. The city is ruled by seven mysterious wizards who fill the skies with flames from a high tower. Conan ran afoul of one of the wizards and ended up fleeing the city guard, swimming through a watery tunnel where he fought an octopus-woman (which may or may not have been an illusion) before crawling out of a pool in the garden and collapsing. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 33, Conan the Barbarian 34”
Conan the Barbarian #31 – “The Shadow in the Tomb” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan serving as a mercenary with a cohort of Turanian soldiers. They’re looking for rebel hill tribes and find them soon enough, when the hill-men ambush them near some rocky cliffs. Conan is in the middle of the fight (naturally), but the Turanians are badly outnumbered so their captain (Malthuz) orders a retreat into the rocky hills. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 31, Conan the Barbarian 32”
Conan the Barbarian #29 – “Two Against Turan” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan arriving in Aghrapur, capital of the Kingdom of Turan, where he turns a few heads even among the jaded city dwellers. As he walks the streets, a statue of the “living god Tarim” is paraded past and the people go into a frenzy of worship. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 29, Conan the Barbarian 30”