Conan The Barbarian #21 Review

 

Writer: Jim Zub

Artist: Fernando Dagnino

Colorist: Diego Rodriguez

Letterer: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith

Editor: Chris Butera

Cover Artists: Dan Panosian, Maria Wolf, Brandon Kenney, Mindy Lee, and J Gonzo

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 11, 2025

 

After Bêlit’s death, Conan transforms her ship into a funeral pyre. Instead of lighting her body on a hill and watching it burn, he sails Bêlit’s Tigress into her beloved sea. Then Conan wanders through the jungle. A local tribe reminds him of Bêlit’s slain crew. But sensing evil in him, they repulse him. So, Conan continues his lonely sojourn until Zula tests him to see if Set has corrupted his soul.

 

After the death of his lover and his battle with a shapeshifter, Conan travels back in time. He fights alongside King Kull and the noble Pict Brule. Conan prevents Thulsa Doom from rising to power. But in the process, Conan loses his taste for the Atlantean sword. The sword he found at Venarium is a painful reminder of Bêlit and the ancient sorcerer. So, when he returns to Shadizar, Conan discards it. Where will Conan's travels take him next? Let's grab our swords and battle axes, shout “By Crom,” venture into Conan The Barbarian #21, and find out!

 

Story

Conan first tries joining a group of mercenaries. The soldiers hail from lands he knows well. Yet he feels like a stranger among them. When he meets the Bamula tribe, they honor him as Amra, the name Conan took when sailing on the Tigress. This pleasant association with Bêlit and his short but intense pirate career gives Conan something he lost. Conan helps the Bamulas combat their enemies. Unlike his time among the Aesir in Conan The Barbarian #16, no one objects when he leads them to victory. So, the Cimmerian makes his home among them.

 

In Conan The Barbarian #21, Jim Zub reminds us that we often find ourselves in unexpected places. Family may be the people who raise us. But we also find friendship, belonging, and love in unexpected places as we grow and change. Jim Zub also honors Robert E Howard’s stories by rejoining Conan’s life after “The Vale of Lost Women.” As in “Sacrifice in the Sand,” Jim’s story in The Savage Sword of Conan #1, Conan rescues a maiden from death. But this time, it is the beautiful Livia who Conan intends to return to her people.

 

Unfortunately for him, fate has a different plan in store for the Cimmerian. He and the Bamula discover a town where people seem incurably happy. Yet their graciousness and kindness feel too good to be true. So in Conan The Barbarian #21, the Cimmerian must once again prove his mettle while protecting the people he has taken under his care.

 

Art

Fernando Dagnino opens with a splash page that evokes Roy Thomas' early Conan stories for Marvel. After glimpses of Conan's recent history, Dagnino shows the Cimmerian as long-time readers remember him: clasping a maiden in his arms as he rides. Then Dagnino shows Conan and the Bamula entering a town with a tower rising from the epicenter. The locals greet their visitors by casting flowers into the air and draping leis around their necks. Then, they lead Conan and the Bamulas to a tavern, where they fill their guests' tankards and bring steaming platters to their table.

 

Diego Rodriguez plays with light, contrasting nights around a glowing orange campfire with fights amid green and blue. Conan and the Bamulas rescue Livia beneath the full moon in a blue sky. The sun's yellow rays burst behind Conan in the orange and blue morning sky. Yet the sky fills with yellow and brown as the travelers reach their evening stop. As Dagnino switches camera angles, many locals watch from the shadows, cloaked in shadows.

 

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith conjure uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and yellow narrative boxes in Conan The Barbarian #21. Words grow bold for intonation, occasionally enlarge, and rarely shrink. Shouts turn red and threaten to burst balloons as Conan insists he determines his future, while green letters warn of imminent danger. Thanks to Titan for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

While protecting new friends, Conan discovers a terrible injustice afflicting towns and villages. Conan The Barbarian #21 reminds us of the familiar patterns we unintendedly follow in our lives. Extra features include an essay from Robert E Howard historian Jeffrey Shanks and an interview with artist Fernando Dagnino.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Conan The Barbarian #21.