King Conan vols. 3 & 4: The Hour of the Dragon & The Conqueror

The legend of King Conan lives on in this two-volume adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s only “Conan” novel!  As part of recording the chronicle of his life, the beyond-grizzled, ultra-cantankerous Old King Conan relates the story of how he was deposed as King of Aquilonia through the sorcerous machinations of its former rulers who have revived the dread wizard Xaltoun.  Dead for three-thousand years, the wizard wastes no time in defeating Conan’s army and imprisoning the king in his dungeon.  This is only a temporary setback for our hero, as Conan is aided and abetted in his escape by the slave woman Zenobia who he swears to come back for when this is all over.  From there, he journeys across the land, encountering old friends and foes on his quest for the source of Xaltoun’s power:  The Heart of Ahriman.

Powerful wizards.  Ferocious beasts.  Treacherous humans.  Conan murders them all as they stand in the way of reclaiming his throne and the woman he loves.  These two volumes really do make for a good encapsulation of everything that is appealing about the title character and his world.  They’re also further proof that writer Tim Truman and artist Tomas Giorello really can do no wrong when it comes to chronicling Conan’s adventures.  The dialogue is overwritten enough just to be fun, with Conan always knowing what to say in order to sum up any situation, or puncture any potential pretentiousness.  Giorello continues to render these adventures in fantastic detail, displaying incredible versatility in the many fantastic creatures and scenarios he is called upon to draw.  At twelve issues, this is the longest story the two have worked on together, but it rarely drags and would make for a fine end to their “Conan” work.

I say “would” because Truman lets us know in the afterword to “The Conqueror” that he and Giorello have another story they’d like to tell, this time involving the Old King Conan character who has been part of the framing sequences for their “King Conan” comics.  Even if the character isn’t part of Howard’s stories, the creators have done a great job extrapolating what Conan would be like as he heads into old age.  Restless, irascible, irreverent to the point of urinating on a monument of himself erected at the order of his councilor, I have no doubt that the character would wind up like this as he lives out his golden years on the throne.  More of Old King Conan would be great as I’ve really enjoyed what the creators have done together so far.  For those of you who haven’t thought much of the creator’s work, or just aren’t interested in “Conan,” then these two volumes will likely come off as the worst kind of overkill.  Ultimately, the story being told here is one for the converted — who will find themselves thoroughly entertained by it.