From the character who seems to have had more Number Ones than a public toilet on a busy day, comes this re-re-re-reboot. After a prologue that shows us how and why he first took up arms we see him at a crossroads in life, perhaps wondering if his solitary, nomadic days are ideal. But lo and behold along comes a buxom beauty to try and warn the settlement of an army of zombified Picts she has been tracking. Together – in more ways than one, of course – they try their best to make sure the deadly undead don't get whatever it is they want.

And whatever that it is is bodged somewhat by the structure of the story – one time they're zombies, harvesting human corpses, then the concentration of the plot is this and then it's that, and it's not really coherent enough. Yes, it's timeless evil, but that Lovecraftian catch-all fits ill with the Conan world that was always so well-built, with this tribe north of that tribe, and that river separating those two peoples etc. So it's all a bit random here – but not completely sinfully. The writing nudges the text towards the old excess, especially at one mention of the blood being spilled, but this is not as stodgy, up-itself and hokum as some. There are, after all, only so many ways a fit bird can get Conan into battle – the way it happens here is pretty much as successful as it can get – three and a half stars.

Conan Bound in Stone Review

A tale of a younger Conan, not following the way of any of the films, where Conan quipped and fought his way through everything without pausing to consider what was going on around him, but instead, the more cerebral Conan, showing the strategist and leader that always made Conan more than just another muscular barbarian.

The story begins in the town of Haulers Roam, where Conan rests from his latest battle, close to Cimmeria, but not close enough that he wants to make the journey back. But then creatures come, thought to be picts, but soon learning that the undead roam the world and now hunger for the flesh of the living, as well as growing their army with those that aren’t eaten outright.

Asssted in the battle by Brissa of the Gurian tribe, a warrior much like himself with the same anger and need for vengeance against the undead. They journey to the place where the undead come from, there to investigate what has been happening, but not just rushing in and trying to kill everything there, instead gathering support where they can and investigating further, to where the true enemy waits.

Battle is joined and saga’s are crafted, Brissa goes missing and Conan swears to find her, but as the story comes to a close, the enemy may not be defeated, and as this is only the first volume, it ends with that most regretful of endings…

To be continued…

The artwork is superb, rough and ready as the characters it depicts, the letterwork is good, ensuring that the action is not interrupted, and the script is snappy and direct, letting the reader go over the story at the pace it requires. Conan is and has always been an action story, no matter which version you read, and so being able to read a good paced tale that has room for more is always a treat.

Looking forwards to the next installment.

Leaving aside the broader question of why there's even such a thing as an official Conan licence in 2024 when Conan's creator died in 1936: recently Marvel lost said licence again, this time to Titan, who here take advantage of that fresh start by immediately hiring...Jim Zub, the writer behind some of the less interesting Conan comics of the second Marvel run. Meaning I approached this with more unhealthy curiosity than enthusiasm. But it swiftly becomes apparent what was wanted, and where Marvel went wrong: they put Conan into modern Marvel comics, sometimes literally*, whereas this feels much more like an homage to the original seventies run, right down to the credits listing the creative team as Grim Jim Zub, Ravaging Rob de la Torre, and Villainous Jose Villarubia. Not even those comics as they'll feel if you buy the fancy new editions advertised in the back, though, with the colours bright on high-quality paper, but how they look on faded newsprint originals - or maybe, even beyond that, magical memories of those originals, years after reading. In short, the vibes of the art are perfect, the colours muted without being drab in a way that conjures the appropriate storybook mood. Though it's good that the mood is caught so well, because the details aren't as reliable; faces can distort a little too far at times of high emotion, and there's a sword whose crucial role in the plot is not enough to ensure its hilt is always the same way round.

As for the story...well, mostly it threads the needle of avoiding the dodgier aspects of the originals (in either the thirties or seventies sense) while keeping the majority of the feel, sometimes down to exact phrases (take a drink for "cat-like speed"). And if Zub sometimes gets carried away with the pastiche and uses a word that doesn't quite mean what he wants it to, well, the charitable interpretation is that this too reads like emulating Roy Thomas scripts. I was going to say that the adventure, in which Conan and a beautiful Pictish scout fight an undead army, feels back-to-basics compared to the ambition of something like the Aaron/Asrar run, that like the art it's more concerned with slotting easily alongside the sort of Conan stories you'd get back in the day. But then Jeffrey Shanks' afterword** makes clear that actually it connects to the wider Robert E Howard legendarium, so maybe not. Still, a much better - and more explicable - read than I'd expected.

*Though if only Conan's arrival at Titan had overlapped with the Doctor Who licence there, imagine the possibilities of something similar - especially if the TARDIS had then taken him into their Rivers Of London series...
**Which also makes the 'interesting' decision to talk in some detail about the racial histories, the fascination with purity and degeneration, threaded through Howard's imagined prehistory, without any acknowledgement of the awkward real-world implications thereof.

(Netgalley ARC)

I grew up with the character of Conan in my life, thanks in part to the two Arnold Schwarzenegger movies that I had access to as a kid (way before they were appropriate), and the wonderfully fun animated series Conan the Adventurer. I had Conan toys, I watched the show and films, but I never encountered any of the books or the comics, and even to this day I was yet to pick up a Conan comic. Luckily for me, Titan Comics had recently taken over the licence from Marvel, and had started a whole new series; with the first four issue being collected together into a brand new graphic novel.

Conan the Barbarian: Bound in Black Stone Vol 1 begins with a brief history lesson, for those who might be unfamiliar with, or only have a passing knowledge of. This introduction to the character is short, and fairly basic, but it doesn't try to do too much or muddy the waters. We find out who Conan is, what his people are like, and what has driven him to leave his homelands and see the rest of the world, things that will prove to all be important points in the story that is to come.

As the story begins in earnest, we find Conan in a small settlement on the side of the road, a waystation for travellers, adventurers, and those out to discover themselves. He's just been through an adventure with a group of warriors, and come to blows with one of the group having disagreed with them on a moral stance. We instantly see that despite being a barbarian warrior Conan is a decent man, one driven by a sense of honour and a drive to do some good in the world. This comes into play shortly after when a woman comes riding into the place under a dark sky, shouting a warning for them all to flee as an army of the dead is on its way.

Due to the woman, Brissa, is a Pict, and as such is met with doubt and suspicion; but the army of the dead is hot on her heels and soon overwhelms the warriors and residents of the waypoint. During the chaos of the combat Conan and Brissa end up fighting side by side, and the two of them come to an alliance, knowing that they will need each other's help to survive. Following the attack, Conan and Brissa set out to discover the sinister origin of the undead scourge that's sweeping across the landscape; a scourge that has also found its way to Conan's homeland.

Whilst I've not had much experience with Conan comics, this story is very much the kind of fantasy story that feels at home in any fantasy setting. Warriors brought together by a common foe, a deadly, magical enemy that is set to destroy everything, and a journey into danger in order to discover answers. Because of this there's a sense of familiarity and comfort to the book for me, where even though I've not read a Conan comic before it ends up feeling natural to do so. I'm no worried about the world its set in, in keeping track of everything, or even caring about if other stuff came before this that I need to know about. The book instead flows quite naturally and almost leisurely, with me happy to go along on the journey to see where it leads.

It's clear that Jim Zub, the author of the series, knows his fantasy well, and the book very much has a kind of timeless quality, and this story feels like it could have been written decades ago. The book has the feel of those old 70's sword and sorcery tales you can find in battered paperbacks with amazing painted art on the cover.

The art also kind of reflects this, with a style that you could have found in a comic from decades past. Artist Roberto De La Torre and colourists Dean White and Jose Villarrubia give the book an older feel. The art is nicely detailed, with attention paid to things like characters and important action, but with blank, empty backgrounds employed a lot, which sometimes leads the page to look like it has art spilling out of panels as there can at times be no borders to the art, with the action spilling out into the spaces between panels. The colours that are used also have a more muted look than you'd expect to find in modern books, almost looking hand coloured rather than digital art. This all comes together to create a book that I could believe was first printed in the 80's.

In many ways it feels like Conan the Barbarian: Bound in Black Stone Vol 1 is the perfect first step into this world. It's a universe full of rich history and deep lore, but it ignores much of that (or at least uses it subtly enough that it's not overwhelming) that anyone unfamiliar with the setting can read this first volume with relative ease. Fans of the fantasy genre will feel right at home here, and whilst I can't talk for long time Conan fans I can at least say that it was an enjoyable experience throughout, and one that I'd happily recommend to others.

A staple of the ‘barbarian’ archetypes and arguably one of the first to introduce true sword and sorcery Conan has stayed an icon since his creation by Robert E. Howard in 1931. Throughout the years others have continued on Conan and Howard’s legacy and I am glad to say that Jim Zub’s graphic novel story does the originals proud. I will say that I believe this is aided wonderfully by Roberto De La Torre’s art work which brings the story to life. Bound In Black Stone is a perfect tale for Conan fans both new and old. It is a brilliant way to get into the large canon that exists. Set relatively early in Conan’s life Zub gives a good understanding of how the Barbarian works, what drives him, his homeland and people.

I never like to spoil books but I will say that this is perfect in execution. It has action, adventure, bloody battles, a sprinkle of romance, brilliant characters and a satisfying ending which leaves it open for more adventures with the popular Barbarian. Definitely one for fans and those just entering the canon, written in a way that mirrors the tales of old but with a new premises and concept.

Conan The Barbarian is the barbarian archtype, when Robert E. Howard created him he also basically created not just the Barbarian fantasy character but also slotted him into the wandering antihero genre which suited pulp fiction perfectly. You can do a short story, and bring as much or as little baggage as you want with you. This run, by Jim Zub (who has fantasy previous with Skullkickers) comes after a weird and somewhat incongruous sojourn of Conan in the Marvel Universe, where he even had his own team of Avengers built around him. The rights got bought out by Titan and its clear with this volume that we are back to the stoical wanderer, getting involved in something at his doorstep, righting a wrong because it is there. There is one Conan story, it is every Conan story.

Zub tries to tie this in to Howard's work, there is a nifty prologue telling a vague origin of Conan's wandering, and the tale is set relatively early in Conan's career (it suggests a first encounter with Thulsa Doom after all). Conan is lodging in a village which first encounters a Pict scout with a warning, and then the zombified horde that is the substance of the warning. Everyone dies bar them, and Conan realises the horde is heading for his homeland of Cimmeria and goes to save the day. He romances, he kills, he has a slightly trippy interrogation with powers beyond his ken. And at the end it might as well not have happened, time for another adventure of the week. This is a positive thing, this kind of storytelling is great for the newcomer and is classic Conan. The real draw in some ways is the art by Roberto De La Torre who has that grimy but clear expressionism of fights, and the nicely washed out colourwork. There is one Conan story, and there are a lot of them out there. If you don't want to real one from the seventies, or nineties, and you want it to be completely accessible, this would work well enough too.

It’s always a pleasure to read Conan and this graphic novel is excellent from start to finish, great story, great artwork, more please