Conan The Barbarian: Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1 Review
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Ivan Gil
Colorist: Jão Canola
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith
Cover Artists: Roberto De La Torre
Publisher: Titan Comics & Heroic Signatures
Price: $17.99
Release Date: May 27, 2026
After leaving his native Cimmeria and exploring the
civilized world, Conan reaches the second-largest city in Nemedia. Traveling
alone, the Cimmerian always needs money to fill his purse. If he can't find
work as a mercenary, there are other ways to make a living.
As he visits cities, towns, or villages, Conan often finds
people who lord their status over others. So when he sees a finely-dressed man
treating others like dirt in Numalia, Conan decides this "civilized"
man needs a lesson. What riches will he find when he sneaks into the man's
home? And how will it launch Conan on a journey through space and time? Let's
grab our swords, cry "Hail Crom," leap into Conan The Barbarian:
Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1, and see!
Story
Aztrias Petanius may be the governor’s nephew. But despite
his fine clothes and house, Conan soon realizes burgling the man’s belongings
will net him little. So, when Aztrias points him toward richer pickings, Conan
heads off to find Kallian Publico’s antiques house. But when Conan slips
inside, the watchman Dionus finds him. And instead of spotting a jeweled
goblet, Conan sees Kallian Publico sprawled before an ancient, bowl-shaped
sarcophagus.
Yet Conan The Barbarian: Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1 is not
bound by time. While Demetrio the Inquisitor arrives to question Conan’s
involvement in Kallian’s death, Professor John Kirowan meets with his friends
Michael O’Donnel and James Gordon in Boston in 1934. And when Michael shows a
recent purchase, an antique knife, James reacts with undue fright.
As Jim Zub's narration links these disparate events
together, our guide also travels to the distant past. When Brule the
Spear-Slayer approaches him, Gonar the Seeker advises the Pict to seek out King
Kull in Valusia. While treachery threatens the newly crowned monarch, Gonar
advises Brule of Kull's importance.
As Brule meets Kull and uncovers the palace's secrets,
Professor John Kirowan and Michael O'Donnel help James Gordon determine why
Evelyn attacked him. And while Conan investigates Kallian’s death, words of
power unite them. Time cannot separate them. Yet time, and how it affects the
rise and fall of civilizations, lies at the heart of Conan The Barbarian:
Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1.
Art
Conan crouches in the shadows as the guards ride past on the
dry and cracking dirt road. Stone walls and barred windows guard the houses on
each side. As the sun sinks in the sky, Conan creeps across the rounded top of
a wall, avoiding the spikes rising from the epicenter. Behind him, towers and
temples rise to greet the approaching night.
Close-ups of Conan and a portrait of Aztrias compare the
men’s health and sophistication. Fire from the braziers illuminates the stone
walls and wainscotting. Waning light from the windows also creeps in. Yet as
Conan searches the grand house, armored guards and a dog with a spiked collar
approach.
As Jão Canola lavishes a rich palette of colors and textures
on Ivan Gil’s detailed art, green and gold dominate Conan The Barbarian:
Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1. The aristocracy and high-ranking officials wear
green and gold, while a merchant clad in green attempts to open a golden bowl.
In an earlier era, green images of Conan, Kull, and Kirowan inhabit light-green
smoke. As Gonar counsels Brule, a golden serpent dragon adorns the Pict
warrior's wrist. And far in the future, green drapes line the windows in John
Kirowan’s book-filled study, as James Gordon shrinks from Michael O’Donnel’s
gold-handled knife.
Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith place black uppercase
letters into white dialogue balloons, while the narrator's words fill
green-white boxes. The dialogue grows bold with intonation. Words enlarge with
volume, while broken balloon borders attend lowered voices. And while John
Kirowan consults his friend’s wife, black words in green balloons fill her
mind. Yet at key moments, when the danger rises to unprecedented heights,
giant-colored words fill the air. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review
copy.
Final Thoughts
While we would like to believe that the future will be
better than the past, that's not always the case. People come and go in our
lives. Failure may follow success. And while we may gain knowledge and wisdom
as we age, our bodies gradually lose the strength and vitality of our youth. So
too is it for the Earth. Jim Zub traces the descent of civilization from its
majestic beginnings, from times when men knew the gods, to an era when they are
barely remembered, in Conan The Barbarian: Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my preview of Conan The Barbarian: Scourge of the Serpent Vol 1.
For Conan, Kull, and Kirowan's previous team-up, see my review of Conan The Barbarian: Battle of the Black Stone #1.
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