Product Description: Eisner Award-winning writer Kurt Busiek (Astro City, Superman, Marvels) teams up with some of the best artists and writers in this collection of stand-alone stories from Conan. In "Helm," Busiek and Fabian Nicieza (X-Men, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) write and EC Comics legend John Severin draws the story of a certain very famous horned helm. Renowned comics and animation artist Bruce Timm (Batman The Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited) lends his styling to the darkly comic "Conan's Favorite Joke." Current Conan writer and Conan and the Songs of the Dead artist Timothy Truman takes pencil in hand as the Cimmerian's influence crosses generations in "Seeds of Empire" and "The Blood-Stained Crown." Eisner Award-winning Goon creator Eric Powell draws the poignant story of a young and unsung hero in "Storyteller," Dark Horse's centennial tribute to Conan creator Robert E. Howard. And classic Savage Sword of Conan artist Rafael Kayanan returns to the world of Hyboria with "In the Tower of Tara-Teth," a gritty adventure set during the Cimmerian's years as a mercenary and pirate.
Not Bad... I've been an avid follower of Dark Horse's Conan series (written, until recently, by the great Kurt Busiek and illustrated by the dynamic duo of Cary Nord and Dave Stewart) and so felt honor-bound to pick this volume up. What Conan: The Blood-Stained Crown offers is a series of stories, all penned by Busiek, and illustrated by various artists, that are little fill-ins that, while not integral to the story, are still entertaining.
Some of the stories are quite good, notably two: "Storyteller," Busiek's tribute to Robert E. Howard that puts a Howard-esque character in the Conan universe and sees how he fares (this is handled with much more sympathy and pathos than it sounds), and "Conan's Favorite Joke," a darkly comic tale illustrated by Batman the Animated Series' designer Burce Timm, which shows just what kind of things Conan would find funny. Most of the additional tales are fair, but not earth-shattering; most notable of these is the titular story, "The Blood-Stained Crown," illustrated by Timothy Truman, which goes more into the relationship between the vizier and the prince who's travels serve as the framing mechanism for the series itself.
As a whole, this is a nice volume, but not great. The stories were written as supporting features, and this shows - they simply don't shine as brightly as the stories in the series proper. Additionally, faithful fans will sorely feel the absence of Cary Nord and Dave Stewart's artistry. I recommend this only for die-hard Conan comics fans.
Excellent collection of short stories The Blood-Stained Crown is a collection of side-comics written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by other artists because Cary Nord couldn't draw fast enough (and maintain the same quality) for a 12-month comic.
Understanding that, I really enjoyed this book - both the writing and the art work. I've started collecting all of the Dark Horse (Busiek/Nord) Conan trades, and this is an excellent addition to my collection.
Sorry, but this book is a fraud. It must be said that I really wanted to like this book. I have a been a fan of the original R.E. Howard Conan for decades. I purchased the recent Darkhorse Busiek/Cary Nord graphic novels and enjoyed them immensely.
This latest GN features fantastic cover art by Cary Nord and Dave Stewart. It isn't the art depicted with the title here on Amazon.com BTW, its a brilliant Frazatta-esque work of art. Other than that, I believe that Cary Nord has two other illustrations (and one of them is a repeat from "The Frost Giant't Daughter"). The cover, alas, is by far the best thing about the entire GN. Kurt Busiek seems to have written one rather weak story that has Conan in it as a side character at best.
Overall, the art (not counting the cover) ranges from pretty good (Tower of Tara-Teth) to downright mediocre (the Sergio Argones style "Helm")
If you are looking for Conan stories by Kurt Busiek and art by Cary Nord, re-read the previously released Darkhorse titles and find yourself a print of the cover art for this book. Once you've seen the front and back covers, it's all downhill from there.
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