Product Description: Conan has won the throne of Aquilonia and the hand of the beautiful Zenobia. With a kingdom to rule and an heir on the way, will the Cimmerian finally put up his sword for good? Don't bet on it. When his bride and country are attacked by a sinister Stygian sorcerer, Conan strikes back at Stygia with all his might - and the might of Aquilonia - in a move that threatens to throw all Hyboria into chaos! Written by Joshua Dysart (Swamp Thing, Violent Messiahs) and drawn by upcoming Kull artist Will Conrad (Serenity, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Conan and the Midnight God is an exciting new chapter in the adventures of the barbarian king.
Frickin Awesome. Great story. Reaches you on many levels. Classic Conan with a gripping plot. Its all of why Conan is awesome at so many levels, and zero complants with the graphic novel. A Must Must read. Great story, great content, great art. Fricknin Awesome.
CLUMSY BUT DECENT STORYLINE I will tell you straight up that I was never all that fond of Marvel's King Conan comic series. I found the whole idea of Conan being "tied down" in a palace with a wife and kids and dealing with affairs of state to be completely opposite to the spirit of the adventurous spirit of the character. It's also worth noting that Conan creator Robert E. Howard's only tale of Conan as king was the novel "Hour of the Dragon" which takes place just after he usurped the throne of Aquilonia yet prior to his marriage to Zenobia. In fact this novel features his meeting of Zenobia as the slave girl helps free Conan from imprisonment. I simply preferred the stories of Conan as an adventurer, traveling wherever the winds of fortune took him.
Conan and the Midnight God collects the five issue series from Dark Horse and tells a tale of Conan as yet a new king. By this time he is married although he does not have any children as of yet but Zenobia is pregnant although Conan seems distant towards her, a mild plotline that is never truly resolved. News has reached Aquilonia and the other southern kingdoms such as Koth and Shem of trouble brewing in dark Stygia (more trouble than usual, I suppose). Conan receives and emissary from Stygia who has come to squash rumors of the genocide taking place in his land although Conan sees it as mere frailty and dismisses Ambassador Ra-Sidh. That night, Zenobia falls ill and her child is still-born. An Enraged Conan blames Stygian sorcery and summons forth his army to track Ra-Sidh across neighboring lands and into Stygia itself. Bent on revenge, he throws diplomacy out the window although the Aquilonian army proves to be so formidable that the King of Shem assists Conan by providing ships to cross the River Styx.
Conan takes a handful of his best men to undertake a covert mission into Stygia to find the sorcerer Ra-Sidh but finds a land of horrors awaits him, with an evil far more ancient than even the oldest known Gods of the Hyborian world.
Howard was a friend and frequently corresponded with H.P. Lovecraft and the pair often shared ideas with Howard infusing a number of his stories with Lovecraftian monsters and concepts. Writer Joshua Dysart does the same with this story as Ra-Sidh is serving a deity akin to Lovecraft's Elder Gods who built a nightmare realm populated with the pre-cataclysmic serpent people. I enjoyed the basic plot although I found it a bit clumsily handled and improbable. I do not see Conan as being reckless enough to leave his kingdom, and risk open was with neighboring lands all to track down a lone Stygian sorcerer. This was the same mistake made in the similarly themed Conan and the Demons of Khitai written by Paul Lee. Conan is painted as impetuous and easily baited in both of these stories...perhaps possible in Conan's youth but not so much when he had grown into a wise King, now in his forties.
Will Conrad's art isn't on a part with Cary Nord's who's established himself as the best Conan artist since John Buscema but his dark and moody style is a good fit with this particular story.
REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON
King Conan Lives! This Graphic has all the makings of an excellent Conan story. It takes place in the period of Conan's Kingship (He is in his 40's). It is drawn and written in a very grim and dark Howardian style. I won't ruin the plot. The story takes place in Tarantia in the beginning and end, but the bulk of the story takes place in Stygia. This is a must for any Conan fan. It's also a great introduction to the character if you are new to Howard's creation.
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