Coverart for CONAN: BORN ON THE BATTLEFIELD(2008).
© Dark Horse Comics
Mania Grade: B
Graphic Novel: Conan: Born on the Battlefield
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Greg Ruth
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Pages: 128
Price: $17.95
Buy it now!
Graphic Novel: Conan: Born on the Battlefield
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Greg Ruth
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Pages: 128
Price: $17.95
Buy it now!
Graphic Novel Review of Conan: Born on the Battlefield
By: Tim JansonReview Date: Wednesday, July 09, 2008
With the latest Conan trade paperback, writer Kurt Busiek takes a look at a period of Conan’s life that has been hinted at, but never fully explored; namely, his birth and early life in Cimmeria. Even Conan creator Robert E. Howard never touched on the subject. The earliest mentions of Conan are as a teen during the “Sack of Venarium”, an Aquilonian frontier outpost that was destroyed in a massive attack by various Cimmerian clans.
Do we need to know about Conan’s youth? And is Kurt Busiek the right man to tell the story? I’ll shrug my shoulders to both questions. Busiek is a fine writer although there have been better Conan scribes. It’s important to note that what Busiek or any other modern writer pens about Conan isn’t to be taken as canon. Outside of Robert E. Howard’s original stories and the fragments completed by people like L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter, nothing else should be considered canon, although I’d be more inclined to offer that boon to Roy Thomas for his work on the original Marvel series as he was the most influential writer when it came to putting Conan back in the public eye.
Busiek’s tale literally begins as Conan is born on a battlefield, his pregnant mother even killing an attacker just before she gives birth. That Conan was born amidst a battle is taken as a great omen by the Cimmerians. His father was a blacksmith and Conan developed a powerful physique even as a child by working the bellows for his father. Conan is not even ten years old when he kills a full-grown wolf to protect one of the men of his village who is trapped under a fallen tree. Conan’s reputation for ferocity begins to develop, as does his ability to serve the village as a skilled hunter.
As a young teen, Conan accidentally kills another young man of the village with a single blow. The boy’s father wants revenge but other men hold him back, reminding him, “It’s Conan!” Conan, while not ostracized exactly, feels its best for him to leave his village and live on his own. The book concludes with the famed and often mentioned Sack of Venarium. The Cimmerians, grown weary of Aquilonian oppression, strike back, destroying the fort and forcing the invaders from their land.
I had problems with two aspects of Busiek’s story…first, that Conan was viewed as the sacred cow of his village and he was seemingly allowed to do whatever he wanted, no matter what the consequences. I do not see that characteristic as being part of Conan’s makeup at all. Busiek is making an huge stab in the dark and I’d guess that Howard wouldn’t approve and knowing Howard, he’d probably pummel Busiek just for fun. Secondly, Busiek assigns a much greater role to Conan during the attack on Vanarium than has ever been suggested. Busiek makes Conan the lead figure in the attack and I don’t care how skilled Conan was, he was still only 15 or so and not yet the seasoned warrior that many of his fellow Cimmerians were.
Greg Ruth’s painted art makes the book. His style is vastly different from regular series artist Cary Nord. His color palette and gritty style perfectly reflect the cold, gray, grim setting that I’ve envisioned Cimmeria to be. An “A” for the art and a “C” for the story.
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I'm biased but I agree with you. My first books about Conan were the Howard/Decamp/Carter series (the ones with the Frazetta artwork) - then I moved to others... but they were never as good. Even Decamp's and Carter's attempts were not as good as REH's - but they were passable. What's been interesting as of late is to read the unedited REH stories... I'm not sure I like the way the story is going based on the review - but I'll pick it up just to see how bad/good it is...