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| CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 25, November 2021 |
Leading the charge into the second half of this “oversized spectacular” is Dan Slott’s somewhat humorous take on an evidently well-drunk titular character being unwisely recruited by a gang of rogues to steal a jewelled egg. The Eisner Award-winner definitely should be lauded for trying something different with this adventure’s story-telling, as the six-pager contains absolutely no dialogue whatsoever. However, “Night of Oblivion” is possibly so tongue-in-cheek with its waggish larks that it probably struck many a reader as being something more akin to “Groo the Wanderer” than Robert E. Howard’s sword and sorcery hero.
Indeed, it is hard to imagine Conan ever being so inebriated that he would mistakenly cause the senseless demise of the three thieves accompanying him during the subsequent blood-soaked burglary, especially when the barbarian clearly still has the wherewithal to snatch a blazing torch to burn a giant eagle to death, kill the tower’s resident wizard and rescue a helplessly bound damsel-in-distress straight afterwards. Perhaps therefore this narrative’s main takeaway can be found in Marcos Martin’s amusing artwork, most notably the Spanish illustrator’s incredible ability to pencil the look of sheer horror upon the last surviving burglar’s face as he witnesses his companions' horrible ends, and angrily realises the real threat to his life is actually the sword-wielding drunkard he recently hired.
Somewhat dishearteningly rounding off this ‘celebration’ is debatably this comic’s weakest link in the guise of James Owsley’s “Black Orchid”, which depicts an enfeebled Conan the King once again facing off against the demonic Devourer of Souls. White-haired and unable to even lift his great sword without debilitating chest pains, the American authors pens a truly depressing fate for the abdicated ruler of Aquilonia as he skewers his worm-wolfing adversary with a final, fatal effort; “My heart, Demon, is Cimmerian. You want this sword back? Come and take -- Uurrrkk --!”
Luckily, such a disconcerting destiny is soon revealed to be nothing more than a bad dream. Yet even this revelation is heavily darkened by regret and unhappiness, as the bearded monarch, who is drawn by Roberto Del La Torre as apparently sleeping whilst still wearing his crown, bemoans the fact that he has settled down to a “living hell” with Zenobia and their children rather than grown old out adventuring…
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| The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #25 by Geoff Shaw & Edgar Delgado |
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