Review by Joshua Pantalleresco
I eagerly awaited Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan on
Conan. I’ve been a big fan of Brian’s
since he released Channel Zero way back in the mid nineties. It was angry, rebellious and thoughtful. Ever since, he has done a number of
excellent books including Demo, Local, Northlanders and DMZ. I’m happy to say so far Conan continues
that trend.
This Conan series is a direct adaptation of the story Queen
of the Black Coast and deals with Conan’s first serious romantic relationship
with the character Belit. The story
begins with Conan’s retreat from the city of argos as he forces himself on
board the trade ship Argus. After a
brief and abrupt negotiation, Conan finds himself acquiring passage.
My favorite part of the story is Conan’s story about how he
found himself running for his life. You
get a real glimpse with how he found himself running for his life. Here is where you get a real good glimpse
into Conan’s character and I think this in particular is where Brian Wood
shines. Conan’s run in with the law
shows that while he is still young and very brash, yet you understand exactly
where he is coming from with his actions.
He quickly befriends the ships captain Titus who tells him
about the dangerous and beautiful Belit, the fierce queen of the black coast
who terrorizes trade ships with her cunning and ruthlessness aboard her ship
the tigress. Conan is enticed by the
story as her description matches the stories of the winged goddesses of the
north that as a youth he dreamed about.
Finding themselves in her waters, and unable to go back to
Argos because of Conan, they press on.
Shortly thereafter Belit enters the book right at the end with her and
Conan looking eye to eye.
Issue two is the battle between the Argus and the
Tigress. Another great little touch in
this book is Conan firing arrow after arrow into the Tigress’ crew as the ship
approaches. He has the opportunity to
perhaps hit Belit and waivers. He says
crom as he fires. Did he want to miss? Or was he regretful that he was about to kill
her?
The battle intensifies and Conan witnesses the death of
Titus and vows to go down swinging. He
becomes an angel of death and proceeds to cut down anything in his path. In the end it’s Conan facing down the whole
crew by himself. That fight is
interrupted by Belit, who views Conan in much the same way he does her; a myth
made real. She makes an offer that
catches him completely by surprise and ends the second issue right there.
This review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Becky
Cloonan. Her Conan is devious, young and
clever. Her Conan isn’t the muscular
Arnold Schwarzenegger type. He looks like
a lean and capable warrior, which is probably a lot more realistic. And she nails the character perfectly. Those splash pages on page two and three of
issue one is perfect. My other favorite
conan is him standing definitely aboard the tigress just daring them to come at
him, outnumbered and outgunned. She gets
Conan and manages to mix honor and brashness into his demeanor.
Belit is beautiful, bold and clever. Page 1 she looks absolutely fierce and as
defiant as Conan is later in the issue.
She hasn’t been featured in the book as much as Conan as of yet but I
know that will change from here on out. When she has been on screen she has been
able to captivate the pages she has graced herself into. All in all, you have two very strong and
clearly defined characters. It’s a
strong start and worth a read.
Issue three is out now.
I suggest you go and pick it up along with the first two issues. You won’t be disappointed. I can’t recommend this book enough.
