Conan the Cimmerian #25

The first Conan series from Darkhorse ended perfectly after 50 issues and this wraps up the second story line ‘Conan the Cimmerian’ with issue #25.

I like to think of Conan existing somewhere outside the realm of popular culture despite the campy films. If you mention Conan in a comic book shop you’ll usually get strange looks from non readers. Who wants to see a huge half naked barbarian swing his sword around in a comic book?

The Conan mythos start with stories by Robert E Howard and weave in and out of comic books and paperback novels by several different writers. I’ve read a good ninety percent of what’s available and rank the Darkhorse stories at the top. They’ve taken what Howard created and wisely added to it instead of revamping it.

Howard himself is an interesting figure whose life and story have been told with collected letters wherein he stated to other writers that he believed Conan was real and actually existed at some unknown time, so while his sanity was questionable his grasp on the entire world of Hyperborea and Cimmeria is solid, and Darkhose has paid close attention to their reference material.

The Cover of this issue by Cary Nord reminds me that Darkhorse has done so many great Conan stories in the last few years I really need to go back and re read them.

I can’t see a lot of new readers picking up a last issue and it’s a shame because this is a fun comic. The 13 page fight between Conan and a huge man eating Grey Ape is worth the 2.99 alone, and that’s before you get to the actual wrap up story and the huge pin-up section.

Conan is so much more than fantasy fiction where statues come to life and magicians lurk in dark caves waiting to attack. From the beautiful cover to the last exciting page this book feels like a classic.