Have fun storming the castle!
By Crom! The final installment of the first arc in the newly launched Conan the Cimmerian series from Dark Horse Comics has arrived! All those flashbacks, featuring Conan’s grandfather, readers have been reading since May 2008 finally play out as readers discover how hungry, lonely, and fearsome the wolf can be.
As expected, Brecan fears Caollan’s pregnancy will be the end of the two of them, but instead of waiting to get Caollan out of the village, his rage builds to the point he murders her in the Council Hall moments before Conan walks in and discovers the treachery. It’s not a total surprise the king’s son decided to kill his wife, it was referenced in the previous issue, and readers more than likely guessed back then that Conan would fly into a barbarian rage and kill his adversary. The upshot of his actions means Conan now must flee his village and go south to seek his fortune in distant lands as a mercenary.
Once again, this issue features a flashback sequence with Conan’s grandfather that is meant to mirror events in the present story. There is a great moment where young Conan and his grandfather take a trip to the top of a nearby hill where Connacht tells tales of distant lands and adventures. Even though it is not the same scene (or characters) seen in the opening minutes of the Conan movie, I was moved to remember that moment as young Conan’s eyes and mind are filled with wonder. Regardless of thoughts and imagery stirred up, it is clear Connacht dotes on his grandson much like any grandfather would upon seeing a reflection of himself in his grandson’s eyes.
Unlike the stories the grandfather used to mesmerize his grandson with, before leaving, Conan tells one of the village young that all the tales are not filled with golden cities and fortunes waiting to be found. It is a nice attempt for the lone warrior to give a valuable life lesson to those who obviously want to follow in his footsteps, but I have a feeling those words will fall on deaf ears as Conan’s adventures are already stuff of legend to those in the village.
The interior art by Tomas Giorello and Richard Corben is okay, but I think I’d much rather seen an issue done by cover artist Frank Cho. I’m still not a fan of the flashback art, but understand the reasoning behind the art switch for storytelling purposes. With this arc complete I really hope a new art team comes on board to change things up.
This was a different Conan story. Instead of intrigue, mighty battles, and lovely lasses, this is more of a quiet Conan tale that draws parallels between Conan’s past and the fate that awaits him. This issue wrapped up the story nicely, and moves the reader naturally to the next story arc. Conan The Cimmarian #7 earns 3.5 out of 5 Stars.
06/06
