The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 Review
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala & Walt
Simonson
Colorist: GFB Group
Cover Artists: Bart Sears & Earl Norem
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $11.99 US
Release Date: October 14, 2026
As Conan stands in the burning sand, his companion collapses
at his feet. Natala, racked by sobs, cannot go further. Only one jug of water
remains. It's not enough to help them survive in this seemingly endless desert
until they reach a town or village. Will Conan force the weeping woman to
struggle on? Or will the Cimmerian put Natalia out of her misery? Let’s shout
“Hail Crom,” leap into The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7, and see!
The Slithering Shadow: Story
Conan is no soothsayer. Yet as he stands in the vast desert,
the Cimmerian envisions a dire future. Then, a shimmer on the horizon gives him
hope. After giving Natala all the remaining water, her spirits rally. Still,
Conan carries her across the dunes, unwilling to let Natala expend her
remaining energy on a likely mirage.
In Roy Thomas' adaptation of Robert E. Howard's story,
dreams can come true. Conan and Natala reach the city and gain entrance. As
they explore its confines, they encounter mysteries, such as the dead returning
to life. Natala's fright at each bewitching occurrence may play on the fatigued
Cimmerian's nerves. Still, he insists that they regain strength before
returning to the desert.
This story in The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 is
divided into chapters. When fate separates the travelers, the story follows one
character. Then, the clock rewinds to chronicle the other character's journey.
Conan has a very different temperament from Professor John Kirowan. Yet each
strange occurrence makes Conan yearn to understand it.
Along the way, Roy Thomas blends Conan and Natala's recent
past into Robert E. Howard's supernatural mystery. Peril and battles may threaten
them. Yet as Conan and Natala struggle to survive in this ancient city, their
fierce loyalty binds them more securely than any shackles.
The Slithering Shadow: Art
As the sun beats down, Conan presses his hand to his
forehead. When he glances down, Natala gazes up and clasps her throat. While Natala
drinks, he looks away. Sweat rolls down his features. After the water jug lands
in the sand, Conan carries Natala. Images of a battle on horseback and a
silhouette of two people riding a camel merge with Conan and Natala’s journey
toward a cloud hovering over a city.
As John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala fill The Savage Sword of
Conan: Reforged #7 with detailed scenes, the GFB Group enlivens the art with
color. The four-color recreation enhances the green city as towers rise above
the walls. Inside, gray stone surrounds white columns and gold architectural
features. As the adventurers explore rooms, lavish tapestries depict animals,
and interior supports evoke plants. Silk cloths drape elegant furniture. Amid a
preponderance of green, Natalia shines in her red clothes. Yet Conan’s gold
bracers, arm rings, and sword handle link him with the city’s inhabitants.
As black uppercase letters fill white dialogue balloons,
raised voices enlarge letters and distort the balloons. White and colored
letters fill black boxes as the narrator guides readers through the story.
Larger colored letters swim on unseen breezes, as screams echo through the
ancient city.
The Hyborian Age Part IV: The Beginning of the End: Story
The Battle of Venarium set Conan’s sandaled feet upon a
quest to explore the Hyborian world. Just as the Aquilonian fort in Cimmeria
awakened Conan's dauntless spirit, the Aquilonians’ later desire to expand
their empire drew the curtain on the Hyborian Age. Ironically, another of the
ethnic populations they attempted to subjugate played a role in the empire's
downfall. And once again, Conan forged a link between them by working as a
scout and mercenary for the Aquilonians.
The Hyborian Age Part IV: The Beginning of the End: Art
As Roy Thomas charts the end of the Hyborian Age, Walt
Simonson begins at the end, with broken stonework and fallen columns lining an
empty street. Then, using two or three panels per page, armies and warrior
bands clash. As civilization falls, the principal players in its collapse take
the pages. A full-page collage closes this chapter of Robert E. Howard's essay.
Extras
Robert Yaple provides a three-page essay on some of the gods
of the Hyborian Age. In-text citation numbers and a sidebar reveal his sources.
A picture enlivens his description of one deity in The Elder Gods: Part III of “The Gods of the
Hyborian Age.”
Instead of interspersing the story and essays in The Savage
Sword of Conan: Reforged #7 with pin-ups, The Corben Conan provides three
splash pages. Quotes from Robert E. Howard stories accompany each illustration,
revealing Richard Corben's inspiration. Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic
Signatures for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Within the haunted rooms and corridors of Xuthal, Conan and
Natala discover a city of untold riches. Yet despite its grand heritage, the
inhabitants have lost the will to live. Conan may be exhausted. But while the
residents of Xuthal accept their fate, Conan refuses to submit to their ruler.
Still, the Cimmerian doesn't expect the inhabitants to thank him for trying to
free them from tyranny in The Savage Sword of Conan: Reforged #7.
Rating 9.8/10
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