The Savage Sword Of Conan #4 Review Part 2

 

Writers: Jim Zub, Patch Zircher, Jeffrey Shanks, Fred Kennedy & Ron Marz

Artists: Fernando Dagnino, Patch Zircher, Dean Kotz, Eryk Donovan, Andy Belanger & Mike Perkins

Pin-Ups: Nick Marinkovich, Fernando Dagnino, Patch Zircher, Dean Kotz, Eryk Donovan, Andy Belanger, Mike Perkins & Roberto De La Torre

Letterers: Richard Starkings, Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt

Cover Artists: Alex Horley & Cary Nord

Publisher: Titan

Price: $6.99

Release Date: August 28, 2024

 

The symbol inscribed on a black stone permeates time and space. It haunts the rich and poor alike, tempts people in remote villages and bustling towns, and calls heroes to battle. How might its power challenge Conan, Soloman Kane, and the Pict scout Brissa? And how might it affect lesser-known Robert E Howard characters like Conrad, Kirowan, Dark Agnes, and El Borak? Let’s grab our battle axes, leap into Savage Sword Of Conan #4, and find out! 

 

 

 

Horror From The Tomb: Story

In Jeffrey Shanks’ story, Steve O’Donnell sent John Conrad and John Kirowan an urgent summons. John Kirowan loaned him a dark book about Earth's prehistory, and O'Donnell believed he had discovered a Stygian city. John Conrad doubts O'Donnell's judgment. Conrad’s doubts appear warranted when he spies a box of dynamite in O'Donnell's tent. But the tent and excavations are devoid of people. When Mahmoud left to escort O’Donnell’s friends from Cairo Airport, the dig site was a hive of activity.

 

Jeffrey Shanks’ tale in The Savage Sword Of Conan #4 is a fraught supernatural mystery. Danger forces one partner to reverse his position at the risk of becoming a hypocrite. Their discovery threatens their friendship and raises the ire of the local authorities.

 

 

 

Horror From The Tomb: Art

The three men cross the dunes on camels. Kirowan, Conrad, and Mahoud appear tiny as they descend ladders into the multilevel excavations. Conrad holds a lamp aloft while Kirowan traces imagery on a stone wall. An overhead camera angle shows the men discover a coffin with a familiar symbol inscribed on the top. Eryk Donovan's art evokes the otherworldly history Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan discover when they ignore Ardeth Bay’s warnings and unearth Imhotep in Stephen Sommers’ movie The Mummy.

 

Matrimony: Story

Dark Agnes battles pirates aboard a ship on a storm-tossed sea. Then she climbs a rocky hill toward a manor house surrounded by barren trees. She climbs through a window and enters Duke Ilya Kursonovich's home. Dark Agnes explores an armory. She spies a symbol inscribed on a wooden panel instead of a black stone and bursts into the adjacent room. There, a dark priest captures her in his spell and sends her to a land of dreams where the symbol invades her memories.  

In Fred Kennedy’s tale in The Savage Sword Of Conan #4, Dark Agnes and Etienne Villiers travel east to work as mercenaries. Their plans changed when they reached Chartres. Black magic summoned the dead from their graves. Townspeople lived in fear of human sacrifices and unholy rights. Dark Agnes and her friend decided to investigate the Duke’s home. But Etienne never showed, so Agnes investigated alone. 

 

 

Matrimony: Art

Andy Belanger's haunting and lifelike imagery makes this tale mesmerizing. Belanger uses a variety of highly detailed art styles. Manga mixes with classic children's book illustrations and Prince Valiant. Shading and ink washes are highly refined. You never quite know where you are with each stroke of Belanger's pen or brush, but you know you’ll enjoy the ride.

 

Black Oasis: Story

In Ron Marz's tale, a man recounts his childhood adventure with Francis Xavier Gordon. He was the son of a tribal chief. When he was young, another chieftain abducted him. His father, not wanting to cede money or lands to his rival, hired Gordon to rescue him. Gordon spirits the boy from his imprisonment at night, then transports him across the desert on a camel.

 

Although Gordon hails from Texas, the locals call him El Borak, which means swift in their tongue. Gordon reads the desert landscape like a native. Although six men pursue them, Gordon knows the sun will make the day unbearably hot. Ignoring the boy's protests about dark magic, Gordon brings him to an abandoned temple.

 

 

Black Oasis: Art

Mike Perkins portrays figures clad in Arab robes riding camels across bleak deserts. El Borak and his charge arrive at a temple carved into a sandstone cliff. Unlike Indiana Jones, no Nazis await the Texan inside the labyrinth. But among the pictographs and symbols etched into the stone walls, Gordon spies the sigil of the Black Stone between spiral columns. Robert E Howard’s El Borak stories are more adventure fiction than sword and sorcery, and that’s true with this final story in The Savage Sword Of Conan #4. But it’s a rip-roaring reminder of the frantic fighting that made Marvel’s original series so much fun.

 

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 werewolves howl, a flintlock discharge, Kirowan losing his revolver, Dark Agnes accepting a man's hand, and El Borak bringing a sword to a gunfight. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When the Black Stone assaults Conan’s sanity, other heroes rise against this black magic that ripples through space and time. Soloman Kane, Brissa the Pict, Conrad and Kirowan, Dark Agnes, and El Borak join our barbarian hero in battling the symbol that drives people to evil and raises the dead in The Savage Sword Of Conan #4.

 

Rating 9.6/10