Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Fernando Dagnino
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith
Editor: Chris Butera
Cover Artists: Dan Panosian, Riccardo Federici, Enid Balam, Valerio Giangiordano & Jason Shawn Alexander
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 9, 2025
The Bamula tribe respects Amra's conquests alongside Bêlit. So when Conan meets them, they accept him as their own. Conan agrees to help them defeat their enemies.
Kushites captured Livia's caravan. Before they could barter a ransom from the magician-rulers of Kheshatta, Bajujh’s Balakah tribe killed the Kushites. Conan and the Bamula rescued Livia when they attacked the Balakah camp. But when they travel north to return Livia to her people, Conan and the Bamula fall prey to the people of Daynt. Will the grinning townsfolk kill the Bamula and Livia with kindness? Or can Conan help them escape? Let's grab our swords and battle axes, shout “By Crom,” venture into Conan The Barbarian #22, and find out!
Story
In Jim Zub’s story, the townspeople threw Conan, the Bamulas, and Livia in a pit with other prisoners. Their warders kept the prisoners drugged. Conan ate and drank as little as possible to avoid his companions' lethargy. When she arrives, the enchantress Athyr-Bast brings the prisoners to Kheshatta. As in John Milius' movie, Conan enters an arena. This time, he faces Krum-Va the Carver.
Conan The Barbarian #22 revolves around Conan’s trials as a gladiator and Athyr-Bast’s hunger for prestige among the magicians of Kheshatta. Like Conan’s master in the 1982 movie, Athyr-Bast realizes Conan is her ticket to success. So, she treats him like a star gladiator. But Conan is still a slave. The Cimmerian fears that he will accept this status and live for the acclaim of the populace.
Like the Aquilonian village of Hauler's Roam, Daynt sits along the border between two kingdoms. Athyr-Bast may not transform people into a zombie army. But she can perpetuate a great evil while attracting little notice from outsiders. So, nobody in Kheshatta questions how the enchantress acquires Conan, Livia, and the Bamulas in Conan The Barbarian #22.
The Stygian king invited Livia to live in a mansion or palace in Kheshatta. Then, the Balakah killed Theteles. Instead of enjoying the prestige that came from being the sister of a powerful sorcerer, Livia is a slave. And owners can use, punish, sell, or kill slaves at their pleasure.
Art
Krum-Va evokes the Nephilim, who walked the Earth before a flood wiped away the spawn of angels and Humans. The champion towers over Conan in his full-face helmet, clutching his rake-like swords. Conan glances at his knife like a dispirited Crocodile Dundee. Athyr-Bast dominates a page of fight scenes, while Fernando Dagnino shows a glimpse of Thulsa Doom among his council. Krum-Va tosses Conan with such force that he breaks apart a stone wall. Then he grabs Conan and treats him like a puny Cimmerian.
Diego Rodriguez imbues the jeering crowd with green highlights. Like the snake men Solomon Kane battles in Africa, the spectators gaze down at the golden bowl. Conan and Krum-Va's skin tones harmonize with the surrounding beige, tan, and brown as they return to the dust from which they came. But when Conan gains an advantage, Thulsa Doom and Athyr-Bast lean forward in adjacent panels.
Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith conjure uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and yellow narrative boxes in Conan The Barbarian #22. Words grow bold for intonation, occasionally enlarge, and never shrink as Conan braves the silhouettes and shadows of his new home. Shouts turn red and threaten to burst balloons as the crowd realizes Amra’s sense of worth, and the announcers decide that he matters. Thanks to Titan for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
When the beautiful enchantress of Kheshatta makes Conan her champion, the Cimmerian helps her rise among the social elite. But while the crowd greets him each day with howls of lust and fury, Conan cannot protect his friends in Conan The Barbarian #22.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my preview of Conan The Barbarian #22.
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