Conan The Barbarian #35 Review
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Fernando Dagnino
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith
Cover Artists: Gerardo Zaffino, Nick Marinkovich, Ashleigh Izienicki & Benito Gallego
Editor: Chris Butera
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 30, 2026
The Red Brotherhood ruled the seas. But while a storm clutched the Briney Wren in a death grip, a specter with red eyes haunted the night. Amid the raging seas, it murdered the First Officer and attacked Conan. In the morning, Captain Quinn steered his broken ship to the shores of a mysterious island where a crystal pillar embedded with Human skeletons met the crew's weary gaze. But that was only the beginning of the Red Brotherhood’s problems.
Now, Conan watches a cult in black robes carry his surviving shipmates through the jungle. Can he rescue Captain Quinn, Valeria, and the rest of the survivors? And why do the servants of Jaggta-Noga want the Cimmerian? Let’s shout, “Hail Crom,” leap into Conan The Barbarian #35, and see!
Story
Morley sweet-talked Valeria as they fought side by side. Yet, as a fellow member of the Red Brotherhood, he never pressed his affections unduly. Valeria regarded him as a jovial rogue that she could control. Then he robbed her of her voice. And with the aid of robed cultists, Morley imprisoned her in a cave.
As Conan The Barbarian #35 follows Valeria’s perilous journey, it also shows Conan’s loyalty to his comrades. Morley's cult may wear dark robes. Yet, Conan slips through the night, striking cult members without warning and disappearing when they threaten to overwhelm him. He seeks to free his brothers-in-arms by striking fear into their captors. And as they strive to capture him for their foul purposes, Conan seeks only their deaths.
While Jim Zub's story follows Conan's merciless attack on the island's Human predators, it also follows the evolving relationship between Valeria and Morley. Like any relationship, it is one of discovery. Morley believes he knows everything he needs to know about her. Valeria discovers much more about who Morley is, what he prizes, and what he'll do to reach his goals. Yet, as she observes more of his eldritch powers, Morley discovers that Valeria and her Cimmerian friend can still surprise him in Conan The Barbarian #35.
Art
With their wrists bound in ceiling-mounted restraints, the members of the Red Brotherhood hang in vertical panels. Standing on the sloping cave floor, Morley looks up at Captain Quinn and Valeria. He may resent looking up at these two pirates who held power over him. But as a worshipper of Jaggta-Noga, Morley is used to gazing up at his betters.
As Fernando Dagnino shows the Red Brotherhood's peril, the robed cultists search the forest. They carry torches as their eyes dart in all directions on another page of three vertical panels. But Conan crawls through the forest canopy like an Englishman bred in the jungle, only dropping down for a quick game of death.
Streaks of white light create sparkles in the blue-and-green cavern. Like the searchers’ torches, yellow flames blaze in braziers by cultist guards. As yellow, orange, and pink signal morning’s arrival, orange fills backgrounds during moments of violence and tinges attacks when scarlet flies. Yet just as pink heralded the coming of a new day, it also celebrates another visitor’s arrival.
As Diego Rodriguez’s bright palette illuminates Conan and Valeria's dark journey, Jim Zub's narration fills yellow boxes. Cultists and pirates' black uppercase dialogue fills white balloons. While intonation makes words bold, broken balloon borders convey lowered voices.
As cultists descend into the darker levels of their domain, Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith cast enlarged uppercase words into balloons with serrated edges. Enlarged red letters accompany acts of surprising strength. Still, Morley isn't the only person who speaks large red letters in Conan The Barbarian #35. Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Conan is only a man. Yet his fierce determination to survive and his preternatural fighting abilities have seen him surmount overwhelming odds. Crom may never speak to him. Yet as he defeats sorcerers and foils their plans, the Cimmerian becomes someone the gods cannot ignore in Conan The Barbarian #35.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see Conan The Barbarian #35 Preview.
Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures for sharing this cover preview with us.
For the Red Brotherhood's first day on the Island of Death, see Conan The Barbarian #34 Review.
For Conan's battle with a specter with crimson eyes, see Conan The Barbarian #33 Review.
For how this series began, see my review of Conan The Barbarian TP Vol 1.
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