Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown Review

 

Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown Review

Writer: Jim Zub

Artists: Fernando Dagnino & Alex Horley

Colorist: Diego Rodriguez & Alex Horley

Letterer: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith

Cover Artists: Alex Horley & Bart Sears

Editor: Chris Butera

Publisher: Titan Comics

Trade Paperback Price: $17.99

Release Date: May 20, 2026

 

He treks through pastoral lands and rough, barren country. The nomad shields his features from the sun, the darkness, and the fury of the elements. When he reaches the gates of Tarantia, the capital city of Aquilonia, the guards refuse to admit the ramshackle stranger. So he waits, quietly sitting on the ground, his form and features covered by his cloak and hood. Will the King agree to see him? And how will this hermit test King Conan's mettle? Let’s raise our swords, shout “Hail Crom,” leap into Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown, and see!

 

The Nomad: Story

Years have passed since Conan took the crown of Aquilonia. Yet as he sits on the throne, memories of King Numedides linger. The people around Conan wonder why he has agreed to meet this poor traveler. And when he agrees to the visitor's request, they question his worthiness to wear the crown.

 

As days pass, the people in Conan's court ponder why he has taken a stranger into their midst. They test him and express their concerns. Yet Conan stands by his decision to admit the man. And he wonders why they seem so frightened by a man who eats and drinks little, makes no demands, and keeps to himself.

 

In Jim Zub’s story, a threat to Conan’s future will emerge. Yet what troubles Conan more is the life he has settled into. He begins to remember why he passed up offers to rule kingdoms earlier in his life. As a Cimmerian, Conan worries about tangible dangers. Yet in this first story in Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown, people fret about what might happen, and fear losing the ease and comfort King Conan has brought them.

 

The Nomad: Art

Clad in a cloak and aided by a staff, the wanderer walks through complex landscapes. Carved worship rocks emerge from grassy hillsides as snowy mountains rise in the distance. When he abandons a forest, the wanderer forges a stream in the rain. Lightning pierces the darkness, and rain falls as a stone arch beckons him on. As sunset paints the sky with fire, a river slithers toward a city in a valley below him. Yet after the wanderer reaches the golden walls surrounding the city, axe-carrying soldiers order him to halt.

 

As Alex Horley's lushly painted scenes welcome readers into Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown, the guards' helmets evoke birds. A beak shelters their haughty countenances, while the crest rising above their helmets suggests a game piece. Unlike his guards, King Conan doesn't welcome his visitor with a smile. Gold medallions of a lion adorn his chest and throne. The fur warming his shoulders blends with the gray streaks in his hair. Yet the gray-haired stranger’s alabaster skin evokes a warrior-monarch from another world.

 

The Conquering Crown: Story

As Jim Zub steps back in time, King Numedides has withdrawn from Aquilonian society. He admits few to his castle, and fewer still to his throne room. King Numedides even forbids some visitors to gaze upon his countenance. When word reaches King Ferdrugo de Ramiro III that King Numedides has refused to admit Count Trocero of Poitain to his presence, he summons his general. As his court senses weakness in Aquilonia, they expect King Ferdrugo to order an attack on Aquilonia. But instead of attacking King Numedides, the King of Zingara decides to chip away at his rival’s strength.

 

In The Conquering Crown, soldiers ambush Count Trocero and his party as they return home. After they repel the attackers, they realize they cannot return home. The Zingaran army masses outside Culario, attacking the region’s capital city. In response to his request for aid, King Numedides sends the Westermarck Wolves, currently lounging in the palace with time on their hands. Trocero wishes King Numedides had sent his Black Dragon Knights or his royal army instead of a band of mercenaries. Still, the Count soon realizes that he has a resourceful military leader in Conan.

 

While this second story occurs before The Nomad, The Conquering Crown provides a bridge between Conan the Barbarian and Conan the King. After enjoying years of quests, battles, rescues, and thefts, Conan has settled into a life that offers security. So, he grows troubled when he sees the people of Aquilonia going hungry. Conan has seen the effect wars have on people going about their daily lives. As Conan befriends Count Trocero, he uses the respect and power he earns to help those around him in Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown.

 

The Conquering Crown: Art

A soldier stands atop a city wall near a fluttering banner. King Fedrugo de Ramiro III wears a more ornate crown and armor than King Conan. Bracelets and rings festoon his hands. Gray also adorns his dark hair as he contemplates foreign affairs. As Fernando Dagnino portrays a clash of rulers, Count Trocero rides home at the head of a company. Diego Rodriguez colors his cloak purple while red cloaks and crests adorn Trocero’s shoulders. As the riders pass between red-brown hoodoos, arrows fill the sky. Then they spy columns of black smoke rising from a city on the plains.

 

As a messenger approaches his throne, candles fill King Numedides' throne room. While his general stands nearby, adorned in a purple robe, the messenger bows amid hundreds of candles dripping wax onto the steps and dais. Despite the illumination cast from the floor and candlestands, the King cloaks his features in shadow. Yet nearby, a burly warrior with long gray hair and an eyepatch pushes open a wooden door and surveys his mercenaries sprawled across the floor. Chickens climb over the sleepers, seeking crumbs amid the soldiers' clothing and the empty jugs and plates. Conan reclines atop bags stuffed with straw on a wooden riser, while serving wenches nestle at his sides.

 

Lettering

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith fill white and colored dialogue balloons with uppercase black letters. Words in colored boxes also introduce characters and relate narration. Or black words hover in the air, as Conan forges a friendship with Count Trocero. Words grow bold for intonation and enlarge for raised voices. Spiky balloons intensify the conflict, as King Conan battles foes in a mystic realm, and the younger Cimmerian demonstrates his worthiness to wear the crown of Aquilonia. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Age and experience change everything. Once, Conan left his native Cimmeria to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. But after years of seeing the costs of war, his compassion for others overrides his desires for riches and conquest. Then, Conan becomes a man dedicated to peace and fights to build a world in which the virtuous prosper in Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown.

 

Rating 9.7/10

 

For a look inside, see my preview of Conan The Barbarian Vol 7: The Conquering Crown. 

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Conan The Barbarian Vol 6: A Nest of Serpents.