THE CHRONICLES OF CONAN Vol. 14: Shadow of the Beast
© Dark Horse
Mania Grade: B+
Written By: Roy Thomas
Art By: John Buscema
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Pages: 168
Price: $16.95
Written By: Roy Thomas
Art By: John Buscema
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Pages: 168
Price: $16.95
THE CHRONICLES OF CONAN Vol. 14: Shadow of the Beast
By: Tim JansonDate: Saturday, May 10, 2008
Dark Horse continues its re-printing of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian series with Chronicles of Conan Volume 12. This trade paperback collects issues #108 through #115. Conan is making his way back from the southern black kingdoms to more civilized lands as the book opens. The first story, “Man-eaters of Darfar” finds Conan and the Stygian apprentice wizard Erfu, captured by the savage Darfar tribesman, cannibals who file their teeth to razor sharpness.
Next up is an oddity but one that shows how resourceful Roy Thomas was in his 10 years at the helm of both Conan the Barbarian and The Savage Sword of Conan. Roy frequently adapted non-Conan stories that had been written by Robert E. Howard and turned them into Conan stories, generally with great results. The four-part “Sons of the Bear God” is not a Conan story. In fact, it’s not even a Howard story; this tale was written by another great pulp writer, Norvell W. Page. Page is best known for his numerous pulp novels featuring the avenging masked hero The Spider that he wrote under the pen name of Grant Stockbridge. The hero of his story, Prester John or Hurricane John, was a warrior in the Conan mold. This story was first printed in the pulp magazine Unknown in 1939 and later reprinted in paperback in the 1960s. The tale finds Conan, and now sidekick Erfu, rescuing some northern Aesir warriors from some malignant dwarfs who were keeping them in thrall. A little long but it’s a fast-paced Conan story with lots of action.
The two best stories in the book are “A Devil in the Family” and “A War of Wizards”. In the first story, Erfu is injured by bandits and calls upon a wood witch for aid. The Witch and her son help nurse Erfu back to health but Conan soon finds that there is a monstrous demon hunting the woman and her son and Conan’s steel will be of little use against the creature. This is a great story and one in which Conan is more than happy to have a little sorcery on his side.
The last story, “A War of Wizards” is a tenth anniversary tale that reunites Conan with warrior maiden Red Sonja. Zukala, a powerful wizard that Conan contended with years earlier seeks to employ Conan to kill the Stygian Priest Karanthes. Conan refuses at first but then agrees when the wizard promises he can resurrect Conan’s deceased love, Belit. However doing so will cost Red Sonja her life. Interesting tale because it shows an emotional side of Conan you rarely see. So desperate was he to have Belit returned to life that he would even sacrifice his friend, Red Sonja.
Artists John Buscema and partner Ernie Chan probably produced the best-looking Conan ever in comic format. While Jack Kirby was the top artist of the 60s, Buscema was the standard bearer in the 70s and no one drew as many issues of Conan as Big John. The colors have been re-mastered and probably look even better than the newsprint they were first printed on. As with all the other volumes, Roy Thomas concludes the book with his notes and anecdotes about these tales. Many thanks to Dark Horse for making this material available again.
