I've never really cared for barbarian stories or comics. The Conan movies did nothing for me, and the comics -- most of them from Marvel -- did little for me. Well, when I was a kid -- a really young kid -- I'd thumb through the pages of Savage Sword of Conan hoping to catch a glimpse of a boobie or two. But beyond that pubescent fascination, barbarian comics just have never held my interest. There's no common ground for reader, no gateway into the characters' world or personalities to which I could relate. That holds true here as well, but it's not a criticism of the creators' efforts, but rather points to my general distaste for the genre.
Andacanavar learns that a Ranger, one of his brethren in the cause of justice, has been slain in a foreign land, a place peopled by those intolerant of outsiders. He seeks answers regarding his fellow Ranger's murder, but soon, he's drawn into a different crime: the attempted assassination of Vatol Murgan, the ruler of the faraway, hostile city. Meanwhile, Grave Mungo -- Andacanavar's mysterious and mystically inclined compatriot -- makes contacts of his own in the city.
Appropriately, Tocchini's linework here elicits comparisons to the work of the late, great John Buscema, who is best identified as the seminal Conan artist. The line artists capture the sinewy intensity of the warrior characters, and they foster an atmosphere of mystery and dark magic. The women are as exotic as the men are mountainous and muscled. The antagonist revealed on the final page seems a rather generic villain of demonic origin, though.
Ciencin offers up an accessible story; one needn't check out the previous DemonWars series in order to get up to speed for this one. Still, the writer doesn't seem to take the necessary time to get the reader on board with Andacanavar's quest. He's searching for a murderer, but Ciencin doesn't take us into the protagonist's mindset. We don't feel his rage, his need for revenge.
I think what I find the most off-putting about barbarian books is that the main characters are always such... jackasses. They're egotistical blowhards who experience only extremes -- sexual conquests and triumphant glory of battle, or bloody losses and never-ending curses. Andacadavar falls too easily into that category, and he's just not engaging as a character. I didn't feel the urge to root for the hero here, and as a result, I didn't feel any real involvement in the story.
