Conan Volume 5: Rogues in the House HC Edition
© Dark Horse

Mania Grade: A
Comic Trade: Conan Volume 5: Rogues in the House HC
Issue: This volume collects Conan #37, 38, 41-44
Author: Timothy Truman
Publisher: Dark Horse
Pages: Full color, 160 pages
Price: $24.95

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Trade Review: Conan Volume 5: Rogues in the House HC

Rogues in the House and Other Stories by Timothy Truman, Cary Nord and Tomas Giorello is the fifth volume of Conan comics from Dark Horse. The stories that lie within are adapted form from Conan’s creator Robert E. Howard. Immediately I know what you are thinking. Why should I jump in at Volume 5? Timothy Truman has adapted the story well enough that even the occasional reader can get a great sense of Conan and his world. The first few pages alone are enough to understand what is going on. How do I know this? I am not a reader nor have I ever been of Conan but these stories were straight forward and easy to follow.

The first set of stories in Rogues in the House and Other Stories is from the Nemedian Chronicles. Unbeknownst to Conan and his current companion, Nestor Gunderman, they have stolen a magic elixir. The dark magician Tzilus needs the elixir and places a bounty on their heads. Conan, who is down to a loin cloth and broad sword, has reverted to his thieving ways so that he and Nestor can afford to buy armor which will enable them to join the army. 

Conan and Nestor’s relationship is flushed out and we learn that the true thorn in his side is Conan’s current lover, Jiara. Jiara, like all those in this savage land, looks after herself first and everyone else falls to the wayside. 

What becomes apparent in this part of the Nemedian Chronicles is that Conan’s life is a seesaw of personal victories mixed with heartfelt crushing defeats. With each small victory Conan has to suffer an even greater loss. The greatest of which will resurface in Conan issue 50 (yes, I have already read ahead).  

The second part to Rogues in the House and Other Stories plays out as a mission impossible story. Conan finds himself an agent of the current ruler, Prince Murilo. Murilo offers Conan his freedom in exchange for the assignation of the Red Priest, the prince’s chief rival. Breaking into the Red Priests home Conan finds a fun house of traps to navigate. He will unravel a monstrous mystery allowing Conan to come face to face with a beast more savage than himself.  

Cary Nord and Tomas Giorello create a lush and beautifully archaic world in which Conan dwells. Each panel and page demanded a second viewing before turning to the next. With all the blood that that exists in Conan’s world Nord and Giorello soak the pages with it and yet it still never seems to be enough. 

Rogues in the House and Other Stories were a great introduction into the mind and soul of Conan. The story began and ended with our hero riding into the unknown. Here he is on his perpetual quest to find his place in the world and kingdom to call his own. This is the kind of story telling that outshines the spandex clad world of squabbling superheroes any day.

Rogues in the House and Other Stories is a direct market exclusive hardcover.

Scene from Conan Volume 5: Rogues in the House HC Edition

© Dark Horse