Conan The Barbarian: Scourge Of The Serpent #2 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT No.2, November 2025

It’s probably a fairly safe bet that many a buyer of this comic book will wholeheartedly agree with its London-based publisher that the publication itself contains “three stunning supernatural stories”. But that’s because the majority of their narratives were actually written by Robert E. Howard way back in the early third of last century rather than today's “Grim Jim Zub”, and – at least as far as both the Conan and King Kull fables are concerned – been adapted for this medium on several previous occasions before.

Indeed, the only thing debatably differentiating these incarnations of “The God In The Bowl” and “The Shadow Kingdom”, is that the Canadian author rather frustratingly insists on repeatedly swapping between the yarns, rather than simply allowing the audience to fully immerse themselves in the well-written worlds of “the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre.” This inter-weaving of the distinct plot-threads might seem a novel way of retelling the already popular (and arguably well known) tales. However, for some bibliophiles it will surely just diminish their fast-paced flow and ultimately greatly ruin their enjoyment of this twenty-two-page periodical.

Furthermore, the inclusion of the then modern-day tale involving Professor John Kirowan may well completely discombobulate anyone not well-versed in one of Howard’s arguably lesser known creations, due to “The Haunter Of The Ring” being neither set in the Hyborian Age or being heavily reliant upon scintillating swordplay. In fact, every time Zub brings his audience forward to 1934 it is like a jolt to the system, and will most likely snap anyone out of the sinister, spine-tingling terrors confronting both the Cimmerian and Atlantean; “Those… words! Ancient, primordial… A tongue beyond time!”

Delightfully though, what does capture the imagination are Ivan Gil’s layouts, which do a very good job of making some of the storyline’s sudden ‘switches’ a bit more palatable – especially towards the comic’s end when the words “Ka Nama Kaa Lajerama” ripple throughout the three adventures almost simultaneously. In addition, the illustrator’s double-splash of “when ancient men fought grisly beings of the Elder Universe” is easily worth this comic’s cover price alone, and should take anyone who enjoys good artwork a long time to properly absorb the breath-taking menagerie of different mythical beasts he has somehow crowbarred in the drawing.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT" #2 by E.M.Gist