ARIA

“Conan the Barbarian” #13 by Brian Wood and Mirko Colak is an issue that takes pause after the tumultuous emotional rollercoaster in the previous arc “The Death.” With another artist shift, readers also get a new location and the relationship between Conan and Bêlit is drastically changed. This issue is more about the coiled spring than the usual Cimmerian release. After the events of “The Death,” Conan and Bêlit go their separate ways until fate conspires to bring them forcibly back together. Conan is in a low place in this issue with his emotional stores depleted, which negatively affects his decisions. A marauding army sweeps him up and assimilates him into their ranks, but not their cause. The foreground of this tale then becomes the campaign of these strangers against a stronghold that now houses Bêlit. This is a great set up for a mammoth tale of romantic and epic action, but the setup is all this issue holds. The final sequence of the soldiers talking about the gorgeous wom

“Conan the Barbarian” #12 from Brian Wood and Declan Shalvey is a perfect example of why giving an open rein to a creative team yields the best results. Wood ventures into unknown territory with this issue in an astounding journey into the emotional heart of Conan. The resolution of this arc is a bold step not to be taken lightly by readers, and brings out so much depth to this lead character. Wood is not afraid of going down new paths with a boldness that will benefit all readers. There is a lot of smart and well paced dialogue in this issue. Wood brings vibrancy to the world of Conan and enough sharp wit to keep the reader amused. This arc is yet another three issue story which means the narrative flows quickly and there isn’t a lot of wasted time or space. Wood moves everything forward and with his final reveal we see so much click into place. ‘The Death’ is the sort of story that could well define this run entirely in the grandest possible ways. It often feels like Wood’s script

Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan have a busy week; Wood wrote “The Massive” #3, Cloonan drew “Batman” #12 and the pair of them together created “Conan the Barbarian” #7. It says a lot that readers have ended up with three strong books from these two creators this week, all worthy of one’s attention. With “Conan the Barbarian” #7, Wood and Cloonan take Conan and his love Bêlit back to Conan’s home village in Cimmeria. Any sort of story involving Conan returning home has the potential to be noteworthy. What makes “Conan the Barbarian” #7 work, though, is that Wood has Conan see his town through the eyes of an outsider. As Bêlit is teased, taunted and treated with scorn, it’s in many ways a reversal to the treatment that Conan’s received in the rest of the world. Cimmeria should be a refuge from the rest of the world for Conan, and without laying it on thickly, Wood’s quietly turned the table. This set-up wouldn’t work half as well if it wasn’t for Bêlit herself, who in just seven issue

“Conan the Barbarian” #5 feels incredibly fresh. It offers us the usual barbaric action, muscle against muscle and devious plots, but it also shows weakness where we normally wouldn’t find it. The opening pages are honestly harrowing as Brian Wood and James Harren slowly walk us through the city of Messantia. Heavy prose captions build a sense of tension until we settle on the face of our beaten Cimmerian. This isn’t where we normally find Conan and the subversion of his place and status draws us in and down so very deep with a violent path in order to come back up. Wood writes the style of Robert E. Howard while honoring the specifics of a comic page. Layout and form match with tone and manner. The text layers one aspect of the narrative while what we see and feel offers up another angle. Seeing Conan not only defeated but finally understanding defeat is a crushing scene with which to open. Our hero is completely lost — all for the touch and attention of one lady. The power of lust

Becky Cloonan is some big shoes to fill. So it’s even more impressive that James Harren is able to pick up art chores so beautifully on the new arc for Brian Wood’s “Conan The Barbarian” #4. Wood continues the story of Conan and his queen Bêlit with the beginning of new arc “The Argos Deception” and he smartly writes this issue in a way that isn’t boring for continuing readers and easy to follow for those who might want to jump on now. In this issue, we get to see a great turn as Conan, Bêlit and the crew of the Temptress begin the execution of a tricky plan that involves Conan being captured and likely executed if anything goes wrong. Conan being separated from his new crew and queen is wonderfully handled, as Conan almost immediately begins to doubt himself and the plan as he realizes how exposed he is and how much trust he has placed in his queen. It’s some solid emotional character work that mixes nicely with the otherwise high adventure story. Harren’s style is significantly d

“Conan the Barbarian” #3 wraps up the first act of this seafaring tale with Conan’s former allies dead and the mistress behind their demise asking him to join her. It’s a tough spot, especially when this mistress is drawn by Becky Cloonan. This issue is a turning point where we can truly isolate Conan’s character, what he stands for and what we can expect from him. Conan isn’t a hero. It says it right there in the title, he is a barbarian. Such a label alone automatically paints him as not automatically being a nice guy. Powerful? Yes. Pragmatic? Absolutely. A good person deep down? Not necessarily. Conan lives and kills with honor. One might expect him to make the larger noble decision with the choice presented to him but they will be let down. Conan at his best assesses a situation and ultimately does what is best for him. He also lives with passion and Bêlit stirs things in him he is excited to explore. This is the moment where the true Conan appears. The possibility of sailing w

My interest in reading a”Conan The Barbarian” comic is right around zero (despite secretly being a fan of the movies). However, when you tell me that comic is going to be written by Brian Wood and drawn by Becky Cloonan, I suddenly have a completely different idea of what that Conan The Barbarian story might be like. I was not disappointed. In this first issue we meet Conan mid-escape, as he heads to the coast and hops aboard a ship against the captain’s will. But in no time he’s made them his best friends and pledged to defend them so long as he’s aboard. The captain regales him with tales of BÄ“lit, Queen of The Black Coast, and Conan is immediately drawn to the stories. By the end of the issue, Conan has met the Queen herself, and it’s had a profound effect on him. Wood does an excellent job of setting the stage for Conan, quickly building a world that a reader could easily believe. Even more importantly, however, you immediately get a sense of Conan as a character. He’s roguish

In all honesty, Grant Morrison’s writing on “Joe the Barbarian” hasn’t entirely won me over yet. I like the interplay between the ‘real’ and ‘fake’ worlds that Joe inhabits as a result of complications with his diabetes, and that Morrison is letting his imagination run wild with the fantasy world, playing with conventions on the heroic quest story. However, something is lacking, something essential that captures me on an emotional level. Intellectually, I think the writing is very good, but emotionally, it doesn’t hit me on that gut level. Thankfully, intellectual appreciation for craft and Sean Murphy’s absolutely stunning art is more than enough for “Joe the Barbarian” #6 to be a strong comic. In this issue, the story begins to head towards the end as Joe finally makes it to Hearth Castle only to find that shelter is worthless when the enemy will go undefeated. Morrison continues to surprise by having characters not react as expected with Queen Bree not wanting to help fight agains

There’s a sequence in the middle of “Joe the Barbarian” #5 that captures the essence of the series and shows the genius-level artistry of Sean Murphy. As the hallucinating/dimensionally-displaced Joe and his pet rat/warrior companion Jack prepare to cross the hallway/bridge, they find themselves confronted by a rabid dog. In the “real world,” it’s just a dog — albeit ferocious and wild-eyed. In the “fantasy world” it’s a monstrous, armored dog-demon, fifty times the size of our heroes. Murphy cuts back and forth between the reality and the fantasy on alternate pages, spinning the perspective 180 degrees as we see the heroes from the front, then we jump behind the heroes, then the real (and frightening enough) sight of a drooling, feral dog is replaced by an image of fangs and red eyes peering through the stone gate of the bridge. The double-page spread across the staples shows the demon dog in full pounce, with the tiny-by-comparison Jack holding his swords ready, saying in a whispe