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 It's all downhill from here March 16, 2008
11 out of 17 found this review helpful
After the departure of the brilliant Barry Windsor Smith, Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian" reached its artistic peak during the "Queen of the Black Coast" story arc which began with issue 58 and ended with issue 100 (COC volumes 8-12). Following the death of Belit, the series started a steady decline which kicked into overdrive with the departure of Roy Thomas. This volume collects the last of the Roy Thomas stories. I wish I could say that he went out with a bang. Sadly, the quality of the stories here ranges from mediocre to just plain awful. You can't really blame Roy too much. Most of the hardcore REH material was being published in the adult oriented "Savage Sword of Conan" magazine, there was the comics code to deal with, and after the Belit story arc was finished, I guess he was having a hard time coming up with new and exciting stories that rose to the same level of his previous efforts.
The first story "Moon Eaters of Darfar", is okay, as it provides a link to the REH's "Man Eaters of Zamboula" and "Servants of Bit Yakin". I really hate sidekicks, though, and the little Stygian sorceror Erfu is just horrible, and it doesn't make sense for Conan to ally himself with him. Conan hates sorcery, and most of the original stories center around him battling one sorceror or another. Stygian sorcerors, even minor ones, derive their power from Set, the evil serpent god of the Hyborian age. To make Conan's sidekick a junior sorceror makes about as much sense as teaming Indiana Jones up with a member of the Hitler youth.
Sadly, he remains with Conan through several more issues. Next up, an adaption of "Sons of the Bear God", by Norvel Page. Apparently, this was a novel whose main character is a Conan clone; so close in fact that Thomas just changed it into a Conan story. And its bad, really, really mind-numbingly bad, and it goes on for four issues. Of course, its just my opinion. If you like midgets and giant bears, then maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did. It's really hard to take seriously when legions of midgits rush at Conan to be slaughtered one after another while shouting, "The overtall oaf thinks himself our equal! We'll soon show him where he's erred!" It comes off like a Monty Python skit.
This is the Hyborian Age, not Middle Earth. There's a reason REH's world isn't populated with cute little creatures like Hobbits and Dwarves. REH's world is about barbarism vs. civilization, and about survival of the fittest. Dwarves have no place in it.
"The Devil in the Family" is another really lame story, this one involving the son of a demon. Yawn. At least Conan got rid of his annoying sidekick. "Shadow of the Beast" starts out promising, but quickly sinks when Conan goes up against...are you ready...a talking dog. I'm not kidding. Apparently this was "freely adapted" from an non-Conan REH story. Conan fans are used to him battling formidible foes, such as giant snakes and Lovecraftian horrors. Talking dogs just don't rise to that same level. As you'll read in the Afterword by Thomas, even he acknowledges how lame this story turned out.
Roy's final issue, 115, is a double sized issue with special guest star Red Sonja. I wish I could say it was great, but its pretty lame as well. Fans will note that the film "Conan the Destroyer" borrows a plot device directly from this story. However, the plot device was lame and definately not in character for Conan. It doesn't work in either medium.
When I was a small boy I used to subscribe to CTB. Shortly after Roy Thomas left, I let my subscription run out. Now I remember why. Thanks for the memories, Dark Horse.
I gave it three stars because the artwork by John Buscema and Ernie Chan is breathtaking, as always. If you're a sentimental collector like me, you'll want this as part of your collection. However, for the quality of the stories themselves, I can't recommend it. You're better off buying the new Dark Horse series, or the "Savage Sword" reprints. Better yet, forsake graphic novels altogether and just read Robert E. Howard.
 superior February 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This entire series of reproductions of the classic Conan comics from the 1960s and 1970s is superior. The details are incredible and the colors are more vivid than in the originals and the paper quality is superior and you will not have to worry about preservation. A great substitute for the originals ( and more affordable).
 BELIT'S FINAL ADVENTURE November 5, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Dark Horse continues its re-printing of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian series with Chronicles of Conan Volume 12. This trade paperback collects issues #91, and 93 to 100 of the original Conan series as Conan concludes his travels along the Black Coast kingdoms of the south and has to cope with the death of his beloved mate, Belit, Queen of the Black Coast. The Belit saga was certainly the longest of Conan's career, at least as far as comics go, beginning a few years earlier in Conan #57.
You have to give Roy Thomas a lot of credit. With this stretch of some forty issues over three years, Thomas managed to keep the stories fresh and exciting. Outside of only R.E. Howard himself, he is the best Conan writer ever. One of the things that Thomas did so well was to take many of Howard's non-Conan Stories and turn them into Conan stories. An example of this is found in Conan #99, "Devil Crab of the Dark Cliffs". This is adapted from the Howard tale "The People of the Black Coast" although the black coast of that story is not the same of the Conan tales. Howard was nothing if not pragmatic and he often re-used plots and character names freely. Thomas is pretty hard on this story in the commentary section at the end of the book and didn't think it worked very well.
It certainly doesn't have the feeling of complete helplessness that the original story had. In that story a lone man battles off wave after wave of giant crabs before finally, and inevitably succumbing to their vast numbers. Here, Conan, Belit, and several of their warriors find an abandoned Argossean ship along the black cliffs far to the south. They go ashore to explore the mysterious site and find a race of giant, intelligent crabs who have the crew of the Argossean ship held prisoner. Conan, Belit, and their crew have to free them from their prison and battle their way through a horde of devil crabs back to their ship. Thomas has a point with his criticism of the story...upright walking crabs looked just a little too ridiculous and one can make the easy assumption that artist John Buscema just wanted to get this issue done as fast as possible.
The final story from Conan #100 features the death of Belit. She is killed by a winged ape, a descendant of a once powerful race of winged men, which degenerated into bestial forms when their civilization collapsed. This is one of the very few times we see Conan mourn. Thomas would employ elements from this story into the first Conan movie. When he is helpless before the winged ape, the spirit of Belit appears to aid him, just as the spirit of Valeria did in the film.
The real bonus to the Chronicles of Conan is the commentary by Roy Thomas at the end of the book as he shares his thoughts on each of the stories. He has such a special bond for the character that I could listen to him all day discuss plots and whys and hows...
REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON
Conan's Last Adventures Before Belit October 15, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dark Horse's reproduction of Roy Thomas's Conan in the form of The Chronicles of Conan are a real festival not just for for Conan fans, but for graphics novels' readers as well. My favorites are the issues that have John Buscema and Ernie Chan art with Roy Thomas's writing (volumes 5 thru 13). Each volume contains around 6 to 8 issues.
Volume 7 "The Dweller in the Pool" shows the last adventures of Conan before he is accompanied by Belit. What is more, Red Sonja receives a lion's share as co-star.
John Buscema gives us Conan as we have always loved him, brawny, raw, self-confident and down-to-earth. Red Sonja is drawn as a counterpart to Conan. The firey red head is sexy and intimidating at the same time. Buscema manages to give us this combination perfectly with strong contour lines that contrast with feminine details.
Characterization is the strong point in this volume. Thomas highlights Red Sonja's complexities. She is undoubetedly strongly attracted to Conan but her mistrust of men remains stronger. Her independence echoes a rising feminism that seems to have unsettled the machismo Robert E. Howard instilled in his fiction. In the Conan-Sonja advntures, barabarian man and woman are on equal footing. One of my favorite scenes is when Red Sonja knocks Conan unconscious after he has saves her and runs away. She does not want to feel weaker than him, grateful to him or dependent on him.
It is such psychological depth that takes the Chronicles of Conan above most Sword and Sorcery fiction. This is not just the stereotype slay'em all blood and gore. The realistic streak of characterization, both in writing and drawing, makes these volumes unique.
More than Just Sword and Sorcery: Racial and Sexist Issues in Volume 11 October 15, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
In Volume 11 of The Chronicles of Conan, the reproduction by Dark Horse of the classic Roy Thomas graphic fiction run, Conan is more than his usual barbarian. Accompanied by Belit, the she-pirate, he ventures into untrodden lands around Stygia, and meets with a heavier dose of sorcery than most other volumes. What I find interesting here is the social undertones of the plots and characters.
In "The Sorceress and The Swamp" we get a clear hint at Africa. The soroceror Toroa is the black tyrant who terrorizes the lands. We find out that there is war between Stygians and blacks. I was stunned by the demonization of both, with clear hints at Stygians resemblance to anceient Egyptians, enhanced by Chaykin and Chan's drawing of their costumes, and the blacks as African tribes. This might sound clearly racist, but apparently an attempt to lighten the racist element makes Conan befriend a Stygian, and later on refers to the black corsairs on Belit's pirate ship.
The other stories introduce the play with feminist aspects. The illuminating comments by Roy Thomas in the Afterward (one of the best features of this series), tells us how he feminized the word Zulu into Zula to create the black warrior who assists Conan to save Belit in "Two against the Hawk City." The twist is that the "a" is feminine in English but masculine in many African languages. What is more, Zula is given a Mahawk haircut, thus adding to the ethnic background of the character.
As for the artwork, it is as good as can be. John Buscema is the Conan aritst and his version of Conan is indisputably the one that will linger for ages.
In short, the reprint of the Chronicles of Conan is a superb work. My favorites are the issues where John Buscema takes part (Volumes 5 to 13). If you were a Conan comics fan, you will be brought back to the good old days. If you are not already a Conan fan, it is about time you become one.
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