Savage Sword Of Conan #2 Review

 

Writer: Jim Zub, Patch Zircher

Artist: Richard Pace, Patch Zircher

Letterers: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith

Cover Artists: Dave Dorman, Nick Marenkovich

Publisher: Titan

Price: $6.99

Release Date: May 1, 2024

 

Conan awakens in darkness. He inhales ashy air. His fingers grasp against the surrounding dirt. Who buried him among the fallen? Can he escape this ignoble end? Let’s grab our battle axes, leap into Savage Sword Of Conan #2, and find out!

 

Leaving The Garden

Story

Conan went down fighting. But that wasn’t good enough for him. He’s a follower of Crom, not Kahless. He'll die when he chooses, not overwhelmed by a raving horde. So, in Jim Zub’s story, Conan claws from his wrappings and the shallow grave until he draws clean air into his lungs, and the driving rain cleanses his dirty, bloody body. As lightning cracks and booms, Conan realizes his legs don't work. But he can't remain in this graveyard. He drags his broken body through water flowing around more burial mounds until he reaches a decline, then pulls himself into a muddy ditch and shelters beneath an uprooted tree.

 

Conan hadn't planned to spend the night with Pesach The Plenty. But the merchant offered to pay his debts, and Conan enjoyed protecting his convoy. He got along with his fellow guards. Pesach's son admired him. The boy yearned to hear more stories of his exploits. But then an inhuman horde attacked. The beastly warriors killed everyone except him. But wounds cover Conan's body, and a broken spear remains in his leg, so the beasts mistook him for the dead. If only he'd left the convoy and ridden north alone!

 

Jim Zub forces Conan to confront his greatest fear in Savage Sword Of Conan #2. Wounds have weakened his body. His legs are useless. All Conan has is his determination and survival skills. Then, a boy from a nearby village finds him. Tarif admires Conan, so he brings him food. Still, the Cimmerian must face the predators that rule the night alone.

 

Conan discovers a community where life resembles a nightmare in Savage Sword Of Conan #2. He couldn’t save Pesach’s son, but Conan dares to think he could save Tarif from a cruel fate. And perhaps for the first time, Conan begins to contemplate what it would be like to raise a child.

 

Art

Richard Pace’s primitive art is as rough and brutal as the Hyborian Age. Furious slashes and angry lines show Conan's battles with animals and monstrous warriors. Dots swarm amid shadows and darkness. Unlike in John Milius’ movie, Valeria doesn’t force a sorcerer to call upon demons for healing. Yet perhaps she's there in spirit as Conan wrenches a broken spear from his body and fashions new ones instead of sharpening his sword. Does she inhabit the montage of images surrounding Conan and Tarif as the Cimmerian regales his young benefactor with tales of his exploits? Sadly, Pace's art will come to a furious end one moonlit night when apparitions rise from the burial mounds near Conan's place of shelter. 

 

 

 

Master Of The Hunt Part Two

Story

Soloman Kane strides through the forest. He grasps the reigns of Nicodemus while old Gruffud rides his steed. Soloman extends a lamp to light their way through the darkness. After seeing Lord Arawn ride through the Welsh countryside, Gruffud tells Soloman a story about the Lord Of The Underworld in Savage Sword Of Conan #2.

 

This talk of otherworldly spirits rankles Soloman Kane. As a Puritan, these tales of gods and monsters clash with his beliefs. Yet he cannot deny what he has seen. And as Gruffud tells him, his Lord Christ is old. Yet there are beings older still. Some are monsters that prey on beasts and men alike. While Soloman and Gruffud search the woods for a farmer and his son, gods and monsters stalk the night. And a tower of great evil will beckon.

 

Art

Patch Zircher’s art in Master Of The Hunt Part Two resembles paintings. Instead of colors, Zircher loads his palette with black and shades of gray. An opening page reveals Soloman’s chiseled features, the flintlock resting in the belt of his tailored suit, while a hat adorns his head, a cloak shelters him from the elements, and leather gloves cover his hands. Gruffudd bears a saintly expression while the surrounding trees extend their branches toward the searchers. Then, a hairy arm sweeps toward the aging storyteller. And a beast, as black as the Wampa on Hoth was white, roars. Sadly, Zircher only gives us eight pages of story and art to savor in Savage Sword Of Conan #2. But Nick Marinkovich follows Gerardo Zaffino and Rafael Kayanan’s lead with a rain-soaked Soloman Kane pin-up to close the issue.

 

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith relate dialogue narrative boxes with uppercase and lowercase words. Font and word size ranges through these haunting stories and a letter column. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy of this sword and sorcery magazine for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Inhuman monsters kill villagers and plant the dead in gardens, while gods walk the Earth and guide their worshippers' thoughts in the Savage Sword Of Conan #2.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.