After a somewhat disappointing adaptation of a somewhat slow Howard story ("God in the Bowl"), the Dark Horse Conan series gets back on track with this issue, which finds Conan butting heads with the deadly female warrior we glimpsed earlier in the series. In addition to a terrific throwdown between Conan and Janissa (the aforementioned deadly warrior), this issue also features Janissa's background, and it is dark, effective and very true to the pulp roots of Howard's Conan. The plot is not unlike the previous ones in the Conan series, which have found Conan falling in with a job quite by accident and being swept up into something larger, but it also continues to develop a larger story, pitting Conan against the minions of the sorcerer Thoth-Amon, who despite his small presence in this issue, comes across as a dangerous threat. I was also quite pleased that in addition to Nord's beautiful digitally-painted art, the flashback sequence (heavy on the monsters) features work for Tom Mandrake, who is perfect for the subject matter and whose work blends very nicely with Stewart's colors.
Though only four pages long, the second most memorable part of this issue is the physical confrontation between Conan and Janissa. Clearly, Busiek and his artists put a lot of thought into the styles and strengths of these two characters, and so we get a fight that is based as much on skill and speed as strength. Nord gives Janissa some terrific aerial maneuvers that look like modern martial arts, and by using a couple of panels to show some moves, really impresses upon the reader the kind of speed that Janissa has, as if we're watching her move in slow motion. Busiek's narration, rich with pulpy goodness like "but Conan, who had slain panthers in the Cimmerian hills with spear and net, was no stranger to speed," helps to flavor the action even more.
I say second most memorable, because the real shocker of this issue is the truth of Janissa's origins. Or at least, the beginning of the truth. The tale is dark and treads on touchy subject matter, but Busiek and Mandrake don't shy away from the brutality and violence of the act without gloryfing it or over-exaggerating it, and it fits better in the pulp milieu than it does in the superhero genre at any rate. Mandrake's work on the horrible, half-glimpsed demons really helps bring the horror to life even if Busiek's descriptions of them weren't so vivid, and his focus on Janissa's fury and power more than her speed makes an effective counterpoint to her more polished, skilled incarnation in the main story.
While the story is mostly focused on Janissa, both her origins and her first interactions with Conan, that's really not the whole of the plot. Instead, the plot finds Conan bailed out of jail (I'm noticing that prison time is not rare for our Cimmerian rogue) to help bodyguard a holy man who finds himself on the wrong side of a powerful wizard. Busiek does a great job of setting up Thoth-Amon as a powerful and dangerous foe, using the mystical equivalent of satellite surveillance and surgical strikes to give the sense that nowhere is safe, and the quest to destroy a magical artifact before an evil wizard can use it is of course a fantasy classic.
It's funny, on some larger level I know what to expect from Conan, but on an issue-by-issue basis I never know what I'm going to get next. Busiek and company have succeeded in blending the enduring strengths of Robert E. Howard's pulp creation and some exquisite comic-book storytelling to create a modern day masterpiece of the form. Conan fans, judging by the lettercols, are elated, but what continues to surprise me is how fun the book can be for someone who is at best a casual fan of fantasy in general and Conan in particular. 9/10
