In the first issue of this series, Busiek tantalized readers with the promise of Hyperborea, the paradise that Conan left Cimmeria to seek. Not being overly familiar with Robert E. Howard's work, I was expecting that we'd be waiting quite a while before we actually saw it, but Busiek surprises me by revealing Hyperborea in this issue. Conan also finds himself surprised, as Hyperborea is not the paradise he was promised, but the first of many fights for survival in a captive situation that he'll face. Busiek once again portrays Conan as a hero of brains and brawn, and Nord, Yeates and Stewart once again provide stunning vistas of fantasy settings and bloody hand-to-hand combats.
As I said, I'm not familiar with Howard's work to a great extent, so I'm not sure if the narration is actually drawn from Howard's stories or is just "Howard-esque." Either way, the narration of the story, a third person with a touch of bardic flair, is perfect for setting the tone of the book, and as much as the artists are giving the readers a visual sense of the world, the narration really paints the scene just as effectively. I'm reminded of the early days of Wolverine (before he became just another franchise) in the narrative's descripton of Conan's rage, and I like that some of his cunning and intelligence comes through in the narrator's discussion of Conan's thoughts as well.
Of course, while Conan is defined to some degree by his thoughts, it's really his actions that give us the best view of who he is. Busiek and company have been careful in this series to show Conan as an absolute tiger in combat, merciless and powerful and skilled, and yet one never gets the sense that he isn't in any danger. When we see him in combat, he's generally depriving a foe of some important extremity (like their head), but we've also seen him tricked, captured and even, on occasion, bested by larger foes. In this particular issue, there are a couple combats that show Conan taking on a larger group, and they're well-choreographed and exciting fights that show off his prowess and intelligence in combat.
While Conan is well-developed by now, however, it is worth noting that Busiek hasn't skimped on other characters either. I understand the connection that Conan feels to the Aesir who were dragged to Hyperborea for him, and Iasmina, the femme fatale of this piece, reminds me in all the right ways of the seductive and somewhat dangerous women who were peppered throughout Roy Thomas's original run on the book. Even while she's dangerous, however, she's likable, a dichotomy that is noticed by Conan as well, and so the cliffhanger gets the reader's attention and has us chomping at the bit for more.
Then there's the artwork, which is the best argument for digital coloring in the industry. The warriors are chiseled and powerful, the women soft and beautiful, the monsters immense and frightening. And though the expressions called for are somewhat limited, generally somewhere on the fear-anger continuum, Nord and Yeates never fail to convey them effectively. It is in the vistas and the establishing shots, however, that this team really shows its worth. The splash page of Conan's first glimpse of Hyperborea and the scene of the Hyperborean "Day of Farewell" are breathtaking, beautiful and terrible in showing the nature of Hyperborea from the point of view of one of its slaves.
