Savage Sword of Conan #16
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist, “Conan: Massacred Memories”: Nicola Scott
Artist, “The Ghosts of Wahpeton”: Chris Campana
Artist, “Zuleika: the Warrior Within”: Sean Izaakse
Cover Artist: Joe Jusko
Publisher: Titan Comics
Savage Sword of Conan #16 features three stories all written by regular Conan scribe Jim Zub, and they all tie in to this year's miniseries event Tides of the Tyrant King. How does that work, when one of the stories features a Western gunslinger and another stars a young girl in the early 1900s? Let's find out…
Touched by Evil
The first, and longest, of the three stories ties back to the very first story arc of Titan's Conan the Barbarian, "Bound in Black Stone." The story is from the perspective of Hydallan, or Hydal for short, a Cimmerian sword-brother of Conan's. We see them grow up together, Hydal always a few steps behind Conan. When our favorite barbarian leaves to slake his wanderlust, Hydal stays behind and builds a life for himself. A wife, a child soon to be born. But fate has other plans, and both are lost in childbirth. Later, a black citadel and a reunion with Conan (see the first four issues of Conan the Barbarian for this full story, it's really good). Will Hydal succumb to his cowardice and his jealousy of Conan, making him easy prey for powerful dark forces?
The gunslinger Steve Corcoran has lived a life on the side of both good and evil. After his last bout with darkness, that cost him everything he held dear, he is trying to find another way. A chance encounter with a strange man puts him on a path that will put him face-to-face with a greater evil than he could ever imagine, and will he be able to resist its call?
A young girl in the early 1900s is sold into slavery and sent to work in a house of ill repute. She finds herself reading as much as possible, and as her knowledge and awareness grow, she starts to experience visions—memories?—of a life long ago, where she was a mighty warrior. She too is soon brought before a great evil, and will she be able to hold onto herself and all that she has learned about her past life?
Omens of Doom
This was a great issue, with three very strong stories. The fact that all three are written by Jim Zub runs counter to the "mission statement" of Savage Sword, but since he's setting up for the Tides of the Tyrant King event it makes sense here. We'll get back to the regular anthology format next issue.
The first story about Hydal is the longest, and in my mind the strongest, of the three. It was interesting to see Conan through the eyes of another Cimmerian, and especially one who was a few steps behind in almost every way. It's not that Hydal is a terrible warrior—he'd never survive if he was—but he's not the most proficient one, either. This story does a great job of making you feel for him, as he grows up in Conan's shadow and later experiences greater loss than any man should have to endure. And when he is faced with the dark powers of Thulsa Doom, all of that inadequacy and pain adds up to something that is going to be a major problem for Conan.
The second tale stars gunslinger Steve Corcoran, who I admit to not being familiar with—I've never read Vulture of Wahpeton, the Robert E. Howard story featuring this character. So I appreciated the extended recap at the beginning of the story before we got down to the weirdness of it all. I'm a sucker for a Western story, and the Lovecraftian weirdness Steve encounters here calls to mind Deadlands, which is an awesome setting, so overall I enjoyed this story. Something tells me we're not going to see any more of Mr. Corcoran going forward, and that's too bad.
The final story stars Zuleika, who is another Howard character. This functions as a sort of origin story for her, as past and present tie together in a mix of story and memory. Although she hides her presence from Thulsa Doom here, we know from prior Howard stories that she will unwillingly become an agent of his. Again, a lesser Howard character that I am not very familiar with, but I am interested enough to learn more now.
Black and White and Blood
Jim Zub brings the same strong Howardian voice to all three of these stories that he does the ongoing Conan series each month. These all being relatively short stories, they are rather quick-paced, but none of them feel rushed. I do think the Corcoran story ended maybe a bit too abruptly, but I understand that is in line with the horror tone that was being established there.
We have three great artists working on these stories. For the Hydal story, we have the awesome Nicola Scott, who brings her clean and detailed style to this story of a long and difficult life. Her Conan appears larger-than-life, even as a youth, which fits the feelings of inadequacy that he unwittingly instills in Hydal. The many battle scenes are bloody and brutal, and the reveal of the altered man at the end is ominous.
On the Corcoran story, artist Chris Campana brings us pages full of non-traditional panel layouts that are still easy to follow. His characters are strong, but some of his faces are a little awkward for my taste. There is not much action in this tale, but there is plenty of Lovecraftian weirdness, and he handles that well.
For the Zuleika story, Sean Izaakse handles the art duties. His work is incredibly clean and expressive, and he handles the imagery of Zuleika being like a mushroom growing in a foreign garden well. Her dreams (memories) are full of the kind of bloody violence you expect from a Savage Sword tale, and the whole thing has me hoping that he gets to do a Conan-starring tale soon.
A quick note on coloring: Savage Sword of Conan is published in a magazine-sized format and all the art is black and white. This gives it the same look and feel of the much-beloved Savage Sword magazine from the 1970s. Back then, it allowed these stories to have more mature or "adult" content than the regular ongoing series (although this mattered more back then with the Comics Code Authority than it does now, where creators have a lot more freedom).
Rising Tides
Savage Sword of Conan #16 is another strong issue of an anthology book that is always a reading highlight. Here all three stories come from the same voice, Jim Zub, and tie to the impending Tides of the Tyrant King event in different ways. If the intent of this issue was to get readers hyped for the event, I can say that it definitely worked on me at the very least.