Conan The Barbarian #15 Review

 

Writer: Jim Zub

Artist: Doug Braithwaite

Colorist: Diego Rodriguez

Letterer: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith

Editor: Chris Butera

Cover Artists: Mahmud Asrar, Jessica Fong, Doug Braithwaite, Fernando Dagnino & Ariel Diaz

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 25, 2024

 

Even after defeating the Aquilonian invaders at the Battle of Venarium, Conan was appalled by the Vanir’s slaughter of an Aesir village. He joined Wulfhere’s scouting party while Niord raised an army to battle the Vanir. How will Conan fare when a blizzard abates and Wulfhere’s scouting party stands before the Vanir raiders? Let's grab our swords and battle axes, shout “By Crom,” venture into Conan The Barbarian #15, and find out!

 

Story

Wulfhere’s reavers met the wolves of Bragi on the frozen plain. Now, only Conan and Heimdul remain. The Vanir warrior thinks he will be the victor. But all too soon, Heimdul lies dead at Conan's feet. Suddenly, lights blaze around the survivor, and a young woman appears. Her radiant hair shines gold like the Aesir and red like the Vanir. When she refuses to name her tribe or nation, he inquires about Niord’s war party. Again, she refuses to answer and soothe Conan’s concern for his Aesir friend. And she takes offense when he swears by Niord’s silent god. She runs into the snowy hills after telling Conan that he is too weak to follow and runs toward the snow-covered hills.

 

In Conan The Barbarian #15, Conan has weighed his soul against Crom. He has tested his strength against stone and steel. As Conan pursues the daughter of Ymir, northern lights shine in the sky. Soon, he will face Atali’s brothers. Although larger than Bragi's raiders, they fall before Conan’s blade.

 

In Gods Of The North, Chapter Three of his story Frozen Faith, Jim Zub takes on “The Frost Giant’s Daughter.” Zub’s retelling of Robert E Howard’s story reflects the difficulty in discovering one's identity. Atali may be the daughter of a god, yet she finds life with her father far from heavenly. Atali seeks something to call her own, but her father demands sacrifice. So, Atali begrudgingly offers Conan to her brothers.

 

Conan's fervor in battling mortals also aids him when facing demigods. His refusal to back down to anyone made him worthy of becoming her worshipper. However, the obstinance she admires prevents Conan from becoming Atali’s slave. Like the Autobots who refuse to bow before the Decepticons’ oppression, Atali discovers more than meets the eye in Conan The Barbarian #15.

 

 

Art

As dead Aesir and Vanir litter the ground, a sword handle edges into the foreground like a cemetery cross. Conan exhales a cloud, while Heimdul appears transcendent. He wields a sword as a spear using a two-handed grip. Then Conan stands amid the dead in his Aesir armor. Atali hovers before him. Her hair and gossamer gown defy gravity as she radiates blue light. Her gold and red hair evokes Heimdul’s beard, yet hers glows like the gold encircling her neck, arms, wrists, and ankles. Her diaphanous lavender gown matches the purple and magenta sky.

 

Then orange and yellow blazes in the sky like the Cimmerian's passion, and a purple plume rises behind Conan in the blue heavens. Frost speckles the red and gold hair and beards of her blue-skinned brothers. Ymir's supersized sons sport little more than Barsoomian battle gear and horned helmets in Conan The Barbarian #15. Blue fills the sky as they battle Conan. But then red fills the background when Conan slays and emerges the victor.

 

Amid Doug Braithwaite’s lifelike art and Diego Rodriguez’s vibrant coloring, Richard Starkings adorns Conan’s interlude with Ymir’s children with black, uppercase lettering in white dialogue balloons. The stylized font of the flame-haired woman's thoughts inhabits blue lowercase letters in white narrative boxes. The utterances and musings embolden for intonation, occasionally enlarge, and never shrink. Shouts deform balloons and change the font color to match the runes spoken by mirthless giants. Thanks to Titan for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Conan found comradeship in Niord, who admitted that he also wondered if his god heard his prayers. In Conan The Barbarian #15, the gods live. But they are jealous, and their familial relationships prove as dysfunctional as on the mortal plane.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To view interior art see my preview at The Dragon's Cache. 

 

To read Jim Zub's reasons for covering The Frost Giant's Daughter, read my Jim Zub Interview Part 4.

W0rldtr33 #3 Review

 

Writer: James Tynion IV

Artist: Fernando Blanco

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: Aditya Bidikar

Cover Artists: Fernando Blanco; Marcos Martin; Aaron Campbell; Ariel Diaz; & Martin Simmonds

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 28, 2023

 

Ellison climbs into his lawyer’s car. Silk and Nicky don’t want to release him, but the FBI agents can't arrest him for his brother's murders. As Ellison realizes no one else is in the car, it drives away from the police station, and a man’s voice pours through the speakers. What happens next? Let's climb into W0rldtr33 #3 and learn more!

 

 

Story

The voice pouring through the speakers calls himself Gabriel. He explains he's back at the police station, stealing his late brother's laptop and cell phone from the evidence room. The car stops behind the police station, and the wealthy technologist climbs inside. As the FBI agents guess they've made a fatal error, an explosion rocks the car. Ellison looks out the window. The police station is in flames. What has he gotten into?

 

Fausta—Ellison’s podcast producer, and perhaps more—had searched his late brother Gibson's house while the FBI agents detained him. She found an internet address and password on his desktop computer. Although he killed sixty people, she can't resist seeing what the Undernet revealed. Now she's mesmerized. 

 

 

Darren and Amanda—two members of Gabriel’s team that discovered the Undernet—intended to torch Gibson's house. Now they attempt to rescue Fausta, unaware that PH34R—the naked, tattooed woman--has ignited their fire.

 

What kind of person is Gabriel? Who gives Silk and Nicky their marching orders? Can Darren and Amanda rescue Fausta and escape? While some things get murkier in W0rldtr33 #3, others grow clearer. Ellison has entered a nightmare he may never leave.

 

 

Art

Fernando Blanco spoils us with 196 panels across 24 pages, ensuring we never miss a moment. He draws buildings, vehicles, and characters with precision and attention to perspective. It's easy to care about Ellison. It's harder to read Gabriel and his cohorts. One minute they appear heartless, and the next approachable. If Silk and Nicky look cold and uncaring, their boss is a block of ice. Yet no one compares to PH34R. The naked, tattooed blonde strides through the suburbs in W0rldtr33 #3, serene, stately, and unabashed. If she smiles at you, run away as fast as you can!

 

Whether in Gabriel's car, the police records room, inside Gibson's former home, or anywhere else our characters travel, you feel like you're there too. Many creators would waste an entire page—or devote a double-page spread--to the explosion Gabriel unleashes. Blanco gives it nearly half a page, along with seven small panels. If any other creators out there average eight panels per page of art so detailed and representative, I want to read their comic!

 

 

 

Ellison looks gray against the car's gray interior. Gabriel searches the gray police evidence room wearing a gray pinstriped suit. When he opens the back door and slides in beside Ellison, orange twilight is fading to gray. The cars on the highway reflect the fading orange light as they speed across gray asphalt. Guess what color Gabriel's hair is? I'll give you a clue. It's not orange.

 

While Jordie Bellaire seems fixated upon gray, orange, green, and blue in W0rldtr33 #3, she delivers nuanced and contrasting colors that deepen the mood, intensifies the drama, and heighten the reality. Yet all pales before the howling kaleidoscopic void that opens when the Undernet invades our world.

 

 

 

Aditya Bidikar helps us hear dialogue with (mostly) uppercase black letters in white balloons. The font makes for easy reading, but I wouldn't mind it slightly larger. The Underworld's ZIZZ grows unintelligible as it assaults Fausta. A WUFF overwrites Gabriel's face as he turns off all lights in the police station. The white letters baDEEP, outlined in green, hover over the bomb. The yellow, orange, and red KRAKOOM reveal the intensity of the explosion.

 

Final Thoughts

W0rldtr33 #3 overturns our preconceptions and ponders how readily we may advance objectives detrimental to our well-being.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.