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SPOTLIGHT ON CONAN
It seems odd now to think that just two years ago, I wouldn't have called myself much of a Conan fan. I wasn't crazy for the movies, and my image of the character was a muscle-bound warrior short on brains. However, once Dark Horse got hold of the license and began reprinting the beloved Marvel series as well as producing a new series that is, if anything, better than those comics treasures of old, I saw the light.
It's been a little while since I've given the Conan comics any significant coverage on the site, and some of the back issues and trade paperbacks have been stacking up for me, so I figured, what better way to catch up than a spotlight column on comics' most prominent barbarian? In this column I'll be reviewing the first Conan trade and a number of recent issues, most of which have been self-contained jumping-on points, as well as a look at Red Sonja, Dynamite Entertainment's Conan-era heroine inspired by the success of Dark Horse's relaunch. If you're looking to check in on Conan and see what all the hype is about, hopefully something in this column will give you an idea where to look.
 The most obvious place to start, of course, is at the beginning, and that's what this trade paperback offers. Collecting issues #0-6 and part of #7, it comprises the entirety of Conan's first adventures into the world outside of Cimmeria, beginning with his journeys with a band of Vikings, including a stopover at one of Robert E. Howard's most memorable Conan stories and culminating in Conan's adventures in the magical and terrifying land of Hyperborea. Busiek, Nord, Yeates and Stewart get right to business in this collection, and they offer up plenty of blood-soaked fantasy violence, tantalizing beautiful women, exotic lands and a protagonist who is cunning as well as brawny. There's also a terrific balance between the pulp roots of the property and the modern storytelling style being applied to this interpretation of it.
Busiek begins his his tale from the point-of-view of a decadent and cynical prince in a corrupt kingdom, which is clever both in terms of creating an interesting framing device and creating an instant contrast with the character of Conan as ruler. This point-of-view, of a series of tales being told by a vizier to a young prince, gives way easily and subtly to something more akin to a pulp writer banging out fiction, so that the narrative captions turn into a type-written exploration of what's going on in the pages. While the captions echo or even contain passages from Howard's prose, however, Busiek never makes the mistake of simply restating what's going on in the art. Instead, the text adds flavor and spice to already effective storytelling.
This version of Conan is a pretty solid blend of borderline melodramatic (but perfectly appropriate) characterization and fast-paced, brutal action. The first time we see Conan, he's cleaving a guy in half to rescue a woman from a no doubt horrible rape and murder. You know everything you need to know about the character, right off the bat. Noble badass. Three pages. His disdain for the Aesir who are quick to assume the worst about him, and his quick turnaround to becoming a ball-busting joker around the fire with them when things are straightened out, are other sides of his character. The result? A well-rounded character, not just a battle monster but someone who can be fun to watch and who has cunning and intelligence as well.
In reading these stories collected, I was struck that the fast-paced nature of the story didn't leave as much room for supporting characters as I had originally thought. Busiek does what he can with the space he has left, but the deeper connection between Conan and Iasmini, or even the bonds of friendship between Conan and the Aesir warriors are built more or less off-panel, which makes the emotional resonance of those subplots less than they maybe could be. The balance between deep characterization and fast-paced action is a tricky one, though, and if Busiek doesn't nail it absolutely perfectly, he comes about as close as can be expected. Certainly I didn't feel like Conan's anger and sorrow was unearned or tacked on, at any rate.
The digitally painted panels by Cary Nord, Thomas Yeates and Dave Stewart have the majesty of a Frank Frazetta or other classic fantasy artist. There's a lush, painted look to it that gives the sense of the frozen and yet beautiful landscape, and Nord and Yeates do a fantastic job of portraying the youth of Conan while also showing him to be shrewd and intelligent beyond his years. There's also an imaginative and colorful tableau for the story to play out against, and a variety of fantastic characters to help separate it from the norm. The depiction of the frost giant's daughter makes her as visually impressive as Conan's narration promises, and Nord and Yeates really sell the beauty and allure of Iasmini, the slave girl in Hyperborea who steals Conan's heart. The monsters of the piece are not given short shrift either, as the artists give us monstrous, hulking frost giants, the terrifying brute warriors of Hyperborea and the cold, alien looking Hyperboreans themselves. Even something as simple as a lion takes on a ferocious, otherworldly appeal when viewed through Conan's eyes, as depicted by these artists.
In addition, the backdrops created for these stories are breathtaking. The splash page of Conan's first glimpse of Hyperborea and the scene of the Hyperborean "Day of Farewell" are vivid and effective, the loneliness and stark beauty of the frost giants' hunting ground very clear. In addition, the smaller scope backdrops like the city of Hyperborea or the roads leading out of the Aesir lands are lush and real, giving us a context that makes Conan's adventurers seem just slightly less exaggerated and slightly more grounded in familiar territory.
Even in this early going, Busiek makes it clear that Conan is something of a stranger to these more civilized (relatively speaking) lands. He's quite capable of facing physical dangers, but at this point in his life, he really isn't prepared for guile, betrayal and seduction. His furious shock at Sjarl's betrayal and angry disbelief when he discovers the truth about Hyperborea show him learning more about the "civilized" world. Even the frost giant's daughter is a different form of danger for Conan, a trickster instead of a fighter, although Busiek gives her enough flares of anger to make her a character, and not just a seductive foil.
While Conan learning the ways of the world on his way to his kingly destiny is definitely part of this story, at this early date, a lot of the focus is on Conan as adventurer and warrior. Busiek and company 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 he is occasionally bested by numerically superior foes, so there's still a sense of danger in the fights. There's also a sense throughout that Conan has a destiny, and is more than just an average adventurer. The ease with which he segues into a leadership role with the Aesir, both in tracking their foes and in leading them to revolt against the Hyperboreans, speaks to something deeper in his character than just a battle lust.
 This issue contains the second in a series of stories about Conan's youth in Cimmeria, featuring art by Greg Ruth instead of series regulars Nord and Yeates. Despite being the second of the stories, however, it's basically a standalone tale, a story of when the young boy Conan became a man in the eyes of the warriors of his village. These stories are fascinating, completely different from the stories in the ongoing book and yet a perfect complement in terms of tone. Busiek uses a wolf metaphor to explore young Conan, and relates a story from the past to hint at Conan's future away from his tribe, and the result is that even at this early age, Conan is set apart as something different and special, an ideal quality for a heroic protagonist.
Leaving aside the general strengths of the story, though, there are also any number of specific, memorable moments in "Wolves in the Woods," the story in Conan #15. Conan choosing to stay and battle a pack of wolves rather than abandon the warrior Cruacht and the intense battle that follows, or Conan watching two outlanders and choosing not to betray them, these are moments that speak to the heart of the character. Greg Ruth's lush painted artwork perfectly captures these moments and more as well. His choice of general color palette gives Cimmeria a gray, cheerless look that sets the scene for Conan's upbringing but has a sort of grim charm as well, and his style, a lovely mix of pretty solid photo-realism and more expressionistic brushstrokes, is just beautiful to behold in general. Ruth captures both the beauty of the unspoiled land and the ugliness of such a rugged life in perfect measure.
 Issue #16 is, in some ways, the beginning of a new "story arc" for Conan. Except that it's a loose story arc, more tied together by a general theme than by plot. That theme is that Conan is making his first real forays into civilization, trying to understand it so it doesn't destroy him. This issue serves notice that we're getting into new territory by returning to the prince and vizier in the framing device (hinting at a deeper connection between the vizier and Conan than originally expected), and then proceeds to pick up with Conan in mid-story, waking up in an inn after a night with a pair of comely thieves. Busiek gives the first part of this issue some very funny humorous touches, including Conan's "bull in a china shop" approach to civilization and even a wry comment from the narrator about the innkeeper's lack of consciousness after his run-in with Conan.
It is the second half of the issue, though, that really astounded me, although certainly there's nothing wrong with the lighter touch in the earlier part of the issue. However, the second that the gorgeous splash page of the demons pops up in the story, the tale takes on an urgency that it hadn't previously had, and it's another great example of Conan using both brains and brawn to defeat a foe. Nord and Stewart give the demons as much stature and power as they did the monsters and demons in previous stories, and Busiek gives them a memorable, haughty speech pattern as well. Like most of the issues of Conan thus far, this one also has a terrific economy of storytelling, featuring action, comedy and touches of character development all together.
 In this issue, Conan has made his way to the city of thieves, and learns some important lessons about being a thief in the civilized world. Busiek continues to give Conan rough edges, with little time for social niceties and customs, but it's also clear that he's a quick study, picking up on the necessity for a fence and engaging in a little subtlety to follow his newest contact. True, he still relies on his brawn, in a spectacular fight sequence that again pits him against dangerous odds and makes use of the terms "lion" and "wolf" to indicate his feral temperament and ability in a fight, but much of what makes this issue so entertaining is seeing Conan adapt to civilization just a little bit. There's a sense of adventure and fun at work in these early tales of Conan in civilization that I quite liked. The roguish reaction he has when caught stealing a goblet gave me a chuckle, and the story closes on a wry note as well.
 Conan #18 is something of a departure for the series. It features two stories, only one of them actually starring Conan, and two artists, neither of them regulars on the book. It is also an exceptional issue, because the stories are both entertaining in just the way they're meant to be and the artists are legends in their fields. The larger story is the tale of Conan's helmet, as it passes from owner to owner through the course of bloody history, and features beautiful artwork by industry legend John Severin. The smaller story is essentially a well-paced gag story that features art by animation vet Bruce Timm, who is the first to break the "nipple barrier" in Dark Horse's Conan in depicting Conan's gorgeous girl of the moment.
"Helm" has a fair amount in common with "Wolves in the Woods," in that it's looking at a legendary character (in this case, Conan's helmet) through a "man on the street" type of viewpoint. There's more than a little bit of whimsy at work as numerous bearers of the helmet meet ignoble ends, but it's also just sort of an interesting snapshot of life in Conan's world long before Conan was born. Severin does exquisite work here, especially on the double-page splash of a village under attack. There's an impressive attention to detail, most notably in the crowd scenes, and the style has similarities to legendary Conan artist John Buscema, making it a great stylistic fit.
"Conan's Favorite Joke," the other tale in the issue, is short and sweet. It's essentially a visual gag, paid off with a slow burn punchline, and Busiek and Timm sell it perfectly. The more cartoony elements of Timm's style are perfect for this humor-tinged story, but he doesn't skimp on the action poses, the fantastic musculature or the ornate costuming required for this type of piece either. Conan #18 is an interesting change of pace issue, not really representative of the series as a whole but a fun issue nonetheless, and a good indication that Dark Horse editor Scott Allie is capable of changing things up to keep the series fresh.
 "The Crown of Tiamat," the story in this issue, is the most direct continuation of the story arc begun in #16 thus far, but it still remains mostly standalone. Readers who have been following the book all along will be rewarded by the developing relationship between Conan and two of his women, and the Hounds of Marduk making an appearance is a nice callback to their threatened appearance in #16, but it's easy enough to read this as a self-contained tale of Conan coming face to face with dangerous magics. It's also a clear indication of Conan as ladies' man, albeit one who isn't completely clear on the duplicity of most of the women he's found himself with, although he's not entirely clueless on that score either.
Nord and Stewart continue to impress, with an expansive portrait of the city as the High Priestess of Tiamat makes her way through it, as well as enormous temple structures, crowded alleys and open markets. There's also a lot of character storytelling going on in this issue, particularly with the reactions of the two women, and Nord and Stewart deliver on that score as well.
 This issue is the last of the jumping-on points for a while, because while it continues the tales of Conan in the "civilized" land of Zamora, it is also the beginning of the adaptation of "The Tower of the Elephant," one of the Conan classics from Robert E. Howard. Given the strength that this creative team brought to "The Frost Giant's Daughter," I had pretty high expectations for their work on this story, and so far, they don't disappoint. This issue is mostly the tip of the iceberg, as we see Conan finally learning more about the Tower of the Elephant that has been teased in dialogue throughout the last few issues, and witness another run-in with civilization that ends in violence.
This more extended build-up helps to make the Tower feel like something big, an epic adventure and not just another bit of thievery for Conan. It's not extended by modern standards, in which writers are often using two or three issues just for build-up, but it's more of an extension for the fast-paced work that Busiek has been doing on Conan. The stylistic shift works, though, and the story still moves plenty fast, even if it isn't concluded in a single issue like the past four issues have been. There's also a fairly detailed description of the tower and its defenses as Conan enters, and Nord and Stewart do a really good job of conveying the open spaces and resulting paranoia that would cause for a thief. This effective building of suspense pays off with a shocking (to Conan, if not the reader) ending that again rewards those who have been paying close attention to background mentions of characters throughout the story.
 It's probably not completely fair to compare Red Sonja to Conan, if only because Busiek and company have gotten their character so right and have had twenty issues to establish their take, but I can't help but feel disappointed by Dynamite's offering of the female warrior so often linked with Conan in the past. Clearly, Dynamite is aiming to hit the same market, with the general writing and art style echoing the work being done at Dark Horse, but as with any copy, it fades a bit from the original.
Judged solely on its own, without any context from the market or other fantasy comics or Conan, Red Sonja has its moments. Oeming and Carey give Sonja a domineering personality and quickly let readers know that a dominant female is a rarity in her society, and while her sexuality is made clear, there's only one panel in the book that seems like a gratuitous butt shot, and even a mildly amusing joke made at why she wears such revealing armor. It doesn't hold up under logical scrutiny, but it's a cute gag. The plot, wherein a lone warrior rescues someone from an ambush and finds themselves pulled into a new mystery, is fairly standard, but solid enough, and the creative team does offer up an interesting enough action sequence to open the book, using Sonja's archery as a way to distinguish her further from Conan's swordplay.
Unfortunately, when compared to Conan, Red Sonja falls far short, and it's not an unfair comparison, given that this book is clearly aimed at the same audience. The look of the book is pretty solid, reminiscent of the Conan comics if perhaps subtly lacking when compared in terms of background detail. The storytelling, though, lacks the polish and perfect pacing of the Conan books. Even in the early going of the Conan books, there was a sense that a story had been told in each issue, even if it were part of a larger story. Red Sonja doesn't really finish its story, instead just barely introducing the antagonists and sketching out the setting before introducing a cliffhanger that doesn't carry a lot of weight because the reader isn't as invested yet. In addition, while the Conan comics have a sense of place, as little details of the setting are dropped into the narration, Red Sonja feels fairly bland and generic in terms of setting.
After just one 16-page issue of Conan, the creators at Dark Horse had turned around my opinion of the character and made me a fan. One 22-page issue of Red Sonja leaves me thinking that my initial impressions were more or less correct, that she's a less interesting character than Conan whose more lurid charms are what gave her popularity in the first place.
So that's it for the recent stuff. It's still going to take some time for me to get through the Chronicles of Conan series, so those reviews will show up from time to time on the site as I get a chance.
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