Conan The Barbarian #18 - Marvel Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 18, March 2021

Almost exclusively focusing upon the history behind the Tooth of the Nightstar, as well as the mystic blade’s malevolent hold over its long line of wielders, Jim Zub’s narrative for Issue Eighteen of “Conan The Barbarian” certainly contains just the sort of concoction of bloody duelling and magical machinations fans of Robert E. Howard’s Sword and Sorcery hero would probably expect. However, whilst this twenty-page periodical’s plot depicts some truly haunting images as to the hand-weapon’s forging, and its subsequent journey through the ages from warrior to warrior, it is arguably hard not to shake the feeling that much of the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Award-winner’s storytelling would have simply been contained within a black-and-white double-splash illustration during the Seventies, rather than pad out an entire publication.

Indeed, large sections of this comic seem to be solely dedicated to just reshowing the reader the hallucinogenic influence the eternally-glowing foil has over the adventurer’s mind which has previously been seen in this distended tale’s previous instalment; “Now beset on all sides by horrifying creatures he can barely fathom the Cimmerian knows what he must do.” Such repetition undoubtedly reinforces the malignant power stored deep inside the living sword “liberated from the Uttara Kuru leadership”, but it also swiftly becomes a tad boring too, as Conan cuts a swathe through another supposed horde of demonic foes only to resultantly find himself staring upon a hapless caravan of badly-butchered innocent travellers.

Thankfully though, Zub’s lengthy flashback sequences do debatably still contain the odd gem of interest and innovation, with the writer penning a truly disconcerting death for the weapon’s maker at the hands of a goblin-like, hooded apprentice. This marvellously savage scene readily captures the treachery bound within the Tooth of the Nightstar, and is skilfully sketched by Luca Pizzari. In fact, despite the artist pencilling some astonishing panels packed full of sense-shattering combat, buckets of bodily gore, and eye-watering mutilations before it, the cowardly murder of this tale’s hulking blacksmith from behind whilst the bare-headed titan is busy tending to his infamous forge of tormented souls is the highlight of the Italian illustrator’s contribution to this comic.

Writer: Jim Zub, Artist: Luca Pizzari, and Colorist: Israel Silva