Savage Sword Of Conan #3 Review

 

Writers: Frank Tieri, John C Hocking, Patch Zircher, Alan Quah, Jim Zub

Artists: Cary Nord, Patch Zircher, Alan Quah, Alex Horley, Roberto De La Torre

Letterers: Richard Starkings, Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt

Cover Artists: Alex Horley & Cary Nord

Publisher: Titan

Price: $6.99

Release Date: July 10, 2024

 

A howl rends the night as wolves hunt the snow-covered lands. A hairy giant ripped from myth and magical realms holds a farmer's child hostage. A trap leads travelers to their doom. What dangers will Conan and Soloman Kane face? Let’s grab our battle axes, leap into Savage Sword Of Conan #3, and find out!

 

Wolves Of The Tundra

Story

A family sits around the dining table in their remote family home. Then, a wolfman tears the front door off its hinges. The parents and children abandon their discussion regarding the following day and smile at his howling. Then they transform into wolves and snarl. Moments later, the wolfman stumbles outside and transforms into a Cimmerian warrior.

 

After this bloody introduction, Frank Tieri steps back in time. Conan rides along a remote mountain trail in Wolves Of The Tundra. He comforts his horse and hopes to find a lodge soon. The Hungry Claw seems heaven-sent. He enters a tavern filled with revelry and laughter. Yet silence descends, and frowns greet him. Conan strides between the disdainful locals and orders refreshments and a bed for the night. The locals won't let him eat in peace. Conan dislikes anyone getting between him and his snarling stomach. But when he gets fight-y, the locals get bitey. Darkness falls. When Conan awakens, The Hungry Claw is empty. Yet when he steps outside, Conan transforms into a snarling beast.

 

Often compared to a wolf, our Cimmerian hero becomes one in Savage Sword Of Conan #3. Conan has never shied away from violence. But a curse means someone controls him, and independence is paramount to Conan. So he hunts for who did this to him and how to escape his unwanted curse. Despite lapses into savagery, Conan focuses on his goal. Amid all the bloodletting, Tieri’s story sparkles with moments of tenderness and humor to make Wolves Of The Tundra a fast-paced, entertaining story featuring a very Human hero.

 

Art

Cary Nord contributes ink-washed paintings to Frank Tieri’s story in Savage Sword Of Conan #3. A black wolf treads through white snow, while a gray sky reveals the white silhouettes of trees and the family home. Black claws scratch wood framing as the Cimmerian wolf stares through a snow-kissed window at a bearded father seated beside his son and a mother and daughter wearing dresses and bonnets. When the door flies off, the family stands against an inked background. Moonlight paints them in white and gray. Their eyes shine white, and their lips part to reveal pointed teeth. Conan regards his horse as a friend and greets the unwelcoming locals with his barely contained savagery. A montage of images cascades around a farmer as he tells Conan his tale. A double-page spread centers upon Conan's face, half transformed into a howling wolf, surrounded by battle scenes, as the Cimmerian strives to free himself from the unwanted curse.

 

Master Of The Hunt Part Three

Story

No one rests easy in the Vale of Glamorgan. Gwenllyan Maddocks worries about what became of her husband, son, and hired hand. Soloman Kane sought them out on the woman’s behalf. His search leads him to Castle d’Orbec. Like the Incredible Hulk, the Gawr dislikes puny Humans and doesn't take kindly to strangers. This final act of Patch Zircher’s tale reveals the Gawr’s history, his place in Tylwyth Teg society, and why he fled the Otherworld for ours. In this tale steeped in magic and mythology, Robert E Howard's Puritan hero discovers that no man is an island and that belief in a monotheistic god doesn't preclude the existence of other divine beings.

 

Art

Patch Zircher’s detailed art portrays the elegant city of Annwyn, compares the half-breed Arawn with the high-born population, and shows how hard the Bigfoot-like Gawr toils for little reward. Zircher frames the sword and flintlock-wielding Puritan against decaying grandeur. A stream flows through the abandoned castle while a ferocious giant charges through the water to destroy the intruder.

 

Novel Excerpt

Savage Sword Of Conan #3 boasts an excerpt from John C. Hocking’s Conan and the Living Plague, one of two novels in Titan’s new omnibus Conan: City Of The Dead. Conan joins a team sneaking into the city of Dulcine through the graveyard’s catacombs. Hocking paints a vivid portrait of the heinous creatures who guard the city’s dead from intruders. In an interview, he mentions that his father introduced him to Conan through the Lancer paperbacks. Hocking followed the Cimmerian's adventures through comics and pastiches. He eventually wrote two Conan novels. Publishers purchased both, but only one reached bookshops until Titan published both in an omnibus last month.

 

Call Thee To Crom

Jim Zub’s poem recalls The Riddle of Steel and the battle of Venarium, the crucibles that forged Conan's character in Robert E Howard's stories, John Milius’ iconic movie, and Zub’s Conan The Barbarian series for Titan. Roberto De La Torre’s drawing of Conan evokes John Buscema’s art in Marvel’s classic series.

 

Lure Of The Pit Creature

Conan rides through the forest in Savage Sword Of Conan #3. Without warning, he and his horse plummet into a chasm. Conan wakes to discover someone is watching him. Yet when he pursues, she flees. Alan Quah illustrates his silent story with inkwashed panels filled with atmosphere and action. Quah packs his tale of maidens and monsters with panels that invoke excitement and awe.

 

Lettering

Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt, and Tyler Smith fill dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase and lowercase words. The Gawr speaks giant white words in black balloons. Sound effects help us hear a flintlock discharge, claws slash, teeth bite, and werewolves howl. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

In Frank Tieri’s blood-dripping tale, Conan is Once Bitten, Twice Shy. Patch Zircher’s Soloman Kane finale evokes classic adventure tales by H Rider Haggard. Alan Quah drops the Cimmerian into an underworld guarded by a menacing monster. The stories and art in Savage Sword Of Conan #3 celebrate the barbarian hero's origins in Weird Tales magazine.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.