I Reads You: Richard Starkings

Showing posts with label Richard Starkings. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #9

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #9 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: Dean White

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Chris Butera

COVER: Mike Deodato with Jão Canola

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: E.M. Gist; Mike Deodato; Ickpot, Roberto de la Torre; Chris Moreno; Francesca Baerald

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2024)

Suggested for mature readers

“The Age Unconquered” Part I: “Suffer Not the King of Wonders”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932). In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they launched a new Conan the Barbarian series in 2023. The current story arc is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by Dean White; and lettered by Richard Starkings. Entitled “The Age Unconquered,” this arc finds Conan's body and/or soul transported 80,000 years into the past

Conan the Barbarian #9 (“Suffer Not the King of Wonders”) opens in the wake of the incidents related to Conan's involvement in the theft of the artifact known as “Tarim's Touch.” Conan recognized the artifact as a shard of the cursed “Black Stone,” which he'd once broken with the help of a Pict blade. The theft led to the death of Conan's cohorts, the “Gloryhounds”...

… and left Conan apparently transported eighty thousand years into the past, to the time of Kull of Atlantis, also known as “Kull the Conqueror.” Conan also meets the legendary figure, Brule the Spear-slayer, a Pict. After proving his mettle, Conan is allowed to travel with Brule and his men to Valusia, “the City of Wonders.” There, Conan will meet King Kull, but it will be like nothing he expects.

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #9 is one of them.

Writer Jim Zub has moved the Conan the Barbarian comic book series in a new direction. Conan has been transported from “the Hyborean Age,” the age in which Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard, set his adventures, to “the Thurian Age,” the time in which Howard sets the adventures of Conan's precursor, Kull of Atlantis.

It is a big change, but it allows Zub to make Conan a stranger in a strange land, and that itself presents new opportunities for conflict and tension. This ninth issue delivers on that potential with a showdown between Conan and Kull.

What really makes this story work is Roberto de la Torre's haunted storytelling. Mixing elements and graphical styles of Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, and John Buscema, de la Torre guides this first chapter from the mists of lost time to the brutal death match between the two beasts of Howard's oeuvre. It is nice to see de la Torre recall the Conan comic books of yesteryear in telling this fantastic story, and it is nice that Dean White's colors amplify the mystery rather than brighten it. Richard Starking's stark lettering is the pounding audio track to this fine opening chapter.

“The Age Unconquered” may end up conquering us, dear readers, as it carries us to a new direction for Conan the Barbarian.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Shining Cities and Stone Age Kingdoms: Robert E. Howard's Thurian Age” the ninth installment of Conan/Howard essays by Jeffrey Shanks.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THE AGE UNCONQUERED VOL. 3 trade paperback is available at Amazon.

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #8

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #8 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Doug Braithwaite

COLORS: Diego Rodriguez

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Chris Butera

COVER: Ashleigh Izienicki

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Patch Zircher; Greg Broadmore

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2024)

Suggested for mature readers

“Thrice Marked for Death!” Part IV: “Sacrifice”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932). In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they launched a new Conan the Barbarian series in 2023. The current story arc is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Doug Braithwaite; colored by Diego Rodriguez; and lettered by Richard Starkings. Entitled “Thrice Marked for Death!,” the arc finds Conan taking up with a thieves guild known as “The Gloryhounds,” and the target of their latest act of larceny is a fine-cut, dark stone that only Conan realizes is dangerous.

Conan the Barbarian #8 (“Sacrifice”) opens with Conan alone, wandering the streets, and possessed. Only recently, he ran with the thieves guild known as the “Gloryhounds.” They wanted to steal an artifact known as “Tarim's Touch,” but only Conan recognized it as a shard of the cursed “Black Stone,” which he'd once broken with a Pict Blade. Now, all the Gloryhounds are dead, their violent deaths caused by the spirits within Tarim's Touch.

Now, it's Conan's turn. All the spirits of the shard are inside him, and they want him to find the blade he once used against the stone. Because he'd sold it, Conan must now go on a rampage through darkened Shadizar in order to find it. When he finds it, will that bring him peace and freedom or more trouble and damnation?

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #8 is one of them.

Writer Jim Zub spends the narrative of his script for issue #8 working himself and the story into a corner. “Thrice Marked for Death!” must come to an end, but it doesn't seem that Zub will come up with an end that makes sense in the context of the situations in which he has placed Conan. But, of course, Zub does it. He saves the day and sends Conan on a new adventure, with the kind of tremendous surprise I would never expect.

Artist Doug Braithwaite continues to summon the ghosts of Conan's greatest comic book artist, John Buscema, with strong storytelling. Issue #8 is a sound and fury signifying a storm of trouble for Conan, with powerful, brutal and violent action that boggles the mind even of a longtime Conan reader like myself. The art shines brilliantly under Diego Rodriguez's remarkable colors. All the while, Richard Starking's lettering maintains a soundtrack of doom.

People looking for good comic books should be reading Titan Comics' Conan the Barbarian. This is the real Conan deal, and dear readers, I think you will enjoy this as much as I keep enjoying it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of,” by Jeffrey Shanks. Although labeled as “Part Six,” it is also the eighth installment.]

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THRICE MARKED FOR DEATH! trade paperback is available at Amazon.

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Thursday, April 3, 2025

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #6

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #6 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Doug Braithwaite

COLORS: Diego Rodriguez

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Mike Deodato

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Patch Zircher; Dan Panosian; Joey Spiiotto

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2024)

Suggested for mature readers

“Thrice Marked for Death!” Part II: “The Cursed”

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they launched a new Conan the Barbarian series in 2023. The current story arc is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Doug Braithwaite; colored by Diego Rodriguez; and lettered by Richard Starkings. Entitled “Thrice Marked for Death!,” the arc finds Conan taking up with a thieves guild known as “The Gloryhounds,” and the target of their latest act of larceny is a fine-cut, dark stone that only Conan realizes is dangerous.

Conan the Barbarian #6 (“The Cursed”) opens with what happens when Conan is ignored. One of the Gloryhounds has touched their quarry, the dark stone known as “Tarim's Touch,” which only Conan realizes is a shard of the dreaded “Black Stone.” Now, malevolent specters have emerged from the stone, and they are ready to possess some unwary human flesh. The thieves will have to use all their skills to escape these dark spirits, but only Conan's savage swordsmanship can save them from the guards of the Temple of Bel.

Also, Conan ruminates on the loss of Belit, captain of the Trigress and Queen of the Black Coast. Haunted by memories of his greatest love, Conan may not realize that the heist of Tarim's Touch may have caused him to plunge ever deeper into chaos.

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #6 is a recent arrival.

Halfway through this new Conan the Barbarian story arc and writer Jim Zub is still throwing down like he's been throwing down. His first Conan the Barbarian story arc was a brawny jewel true to the tradition of the weird fiction that spawned Conan over nine decades ago. This second arc, “Thrice Marked for Death!,” is downright murderous and is unremittingly dark. And I like it. I like that Conan is also vulnerable and lost in a kind of grief that is as unrelenting aggressive as he is.

Doug Braithwaite, the artist for this story arc, recalls all the shadowy textures and muscular storytelling that the late great artist, John Buscema, brought to all his Conan comic books. Braithwaite made the first chapter of this arc, “The Heist,” dark, creepy, dirty, and nasty. For “The Cursed,” Braithwaite goes full action movie with daring escapes and a kinetic sense that thrums between the panels. Diego Rodriguez's colors make the action pop all the more.

Once again, Richard Starking's letters give this Conan the Barbarian comic book an audio track so that the reader might imagine to hear the clash of swords. So, dear readers, you must give this comic book a try. Every page is a pure Conan joy to read.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of” Part Six, by Jeffrey Shanks.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The trade paperback that collects this issue, CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THRICE MARKED FOR DEATH VOL. 2, is available at Amazon.

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Thursday, February 6, 2025

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Doug Braithwaite

COLORS: Diego Rodriguez

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Mike Deodato

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Patch Zircher; Rebecca Puebla; Roberto de la Torre; Liam Sharp; Mike Deodato

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Thrice Marked for Death!” Part I: “The Heist”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932). In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they launched a new Conan the Barbarian series in 2023. The current story arc is entitled “Thrice Marked for Death!.” It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Doug Braithwaite; colored by Diego Rodriguez; and lettered by Richard Starkings.

Conan the Barbarian #5 (“The Heist”) opens in Shadizar where Conan drowns his sorrows in his drink. This is some time after his high seas adventures with the female pirate, Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast, which ended tragically. [This tale was told in the 1934 story, “Queen of the Black Coast,” written by Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard.]

Conan has taken up with a thieves guild known as “The Gloryhounds.” Conan is mainly the muscle for the Gloryhounds apparent leader, a female thief named Chaundra, also known as “The Chat.” Now, a mysterious religious figure, Yakur the Found, has come offering gold for a “retrieval.” He wants them to recover a fine-cut dark stone he calls, “Tarim's Touch,” that was stolen.

It is located deep inside the Temple of Bel, with Bel being the god of thieves and trickery. Conan and the skilled thieves of the Gloryhounds can certainly penetrate the temple. However, none of them know just how dangerous their quarry is – none except Conan.

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #5 is a recent arrival.

I was happy to see that Titan's new Conan the Barbarian series ended its first story arc after only four issues. If I had my way, other comic book publishers would do this more often. I am even happier that a new story line begins because that means writer Jim Zub is going to keep throwing down like he's been throwing down. His first Conan the Barbarian story arc was a brawny jewel true to the tradition of the weird fiction that spawned Conan over nine decades ago. Here, Zub gets right to it with creepy-ass cults, thievery, and some flesh-rendering that damn well looks like Conan is trying to make hamburger meat out of human flesh.

Artist Doug Braithwaite joins Zub for the new story arc, and he recalls all the shadowy textures and muscular storytelling that the late great artist, John Buscema, brought to all his Conan comic books. Braithwaite makes this first chapter, “The Heist,” dark, creepy, dirty, and nasty. Here, the shiny kingdoms like blue mantles beneath the stars get the chamber pot treatment. With his colors, Diego Rodriguez captures all that is odd and befouled in this opening chapter, as well as making the story pop with dark energy.

Once again, Richard Starking's letters give this Conan the Barbarian comic book an audio track and also a soundtrack of darkness. So, dear readers, you must give this comic book a try. Every page is a pure Conan joy to read.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of” Part Five, by Jeffrey Shanks.]

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Wednesday, December 18, 2024

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: Dean White

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Roberto de la Torre

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Giada Marchisio; Nick Percival; Cary Nord; Roberto de la Torre

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part IV: “Vengeance of the Lost”

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series. It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by Dean White and José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings. The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

Conan the Barbarian #4 (“Vengeance of the Lost”) opens inside the Citadel of Black Stone. There, Conan sinks into the depths of the abyss beneath the black altar. Now, Conan will learn the secrets of the band of undead Picts known as the “Tribe of the Lost.” In order to find victory, Conan must hear the words of Brule, Chieftain of the Borni Tribes. Is this legendary figure a wraith or salvation? And can he point Conan towards victory?

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #4 is a recent arrival.

I am happy to see that Titan's new Conan the Barbarian series ends its first story arc after only four issues. If I had my way, other comic book publishers would do this more often.

As I said in my review of the earlier three issues of this series, Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' revival of the Conan the Barbarian comic book series is definitely edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 revival. Writer Jim Zub has recalled the ass-thumpin, p***y-pounding, blood-splattering pulp storytelling of Roy Thomas. Zub's ending to this first story arc is his own dark and mysterious concoction that offers escape more than total victory for Conan.

Artist Roberto de la Torre has brought Zub's script for this final chapter to comic book life in a veil of magic, smoke, and mysticism, whereas the earlier issues were all fire, blood-and-guts, and mountain-leveling thunder. Dean White brings the magical mists of confusion to de la Torre's art, while Richard Starkings' lettering gives it the ominous soundtrack that it needs.

Seriously, dear readers, if you love Conan comic books, you will hate yourself for denying yourself this new Conan the Barbarian.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of” Part Four, by Jeffrey Shanks.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Friday, September 27, 2024

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: Dean White

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Doug Braithwaite

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Patrick Zircher; Max Von Fafner; Roberto de la Torre; Doug Braithwaite

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part III: “The Fortress”

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series. It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings. The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

Conan the Barbarian #3 (“The Fortress”) opens as Conan and Brissa of the Pictish Gurian Tribe enter the citadel of black stone that has risen from the frosty ground of Cimmeria. They are following figures swathed in hooded robes that are seemingly the escorts of the band of undead Picts known as “Tribe of the Lost.”

Along the way, Conan and Brissa discover a band of Cimmerians imprisoned in a rock-hewn cell. Now, joined by a trio of Cimmerian warriors: Hydallan, Mago, and Tormey, Conan makes his move on a skull-clad priest and the source of the undead plague.

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #3 is the latest.

As I said in my review of the first two issues of this series, Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' revival of the Conan the Barbarian comic book series is definitely edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 revival. Writer Jim Zub has recalled the ass-thumpin, p***y-pounding, blood-splattering pulp storytelling that recalls Roy Thomas. The spirit of Conan's eccentric (perhaps, mad) creator, Robert E. Howard in every word of Zub's scripts.

I'm trying to find the words to describe the storytelling of artist Roberto de la Torre. He brings Zub's script to comic book life with fire, black magic, and mountain-leveling thunder. De la Torre's art feels like a true inheritor to the comic book master of Conan, the late John Buscema (1927-2002). Dean White brings out the magic in de la Torre art, while Richard Starkings' lettering gives it the thunderous soundtrack that doesn't quit.

Whew! Time for a cigarette. Seriously, dear readers, if you love Conan comic books, you will hate yourself for denying yourself this new Conan the Barbarian.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of” Part Three, by Jeffrey Shanks.]

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Tuesday, May 28, 2024

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: Dean White

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Matt Murray

COVER: Alan Quah

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Roberto de la Torre; Gerardo Zaffino; E.M. Gist, Dan Parent

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part II: “Homeland!”

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series. It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings. The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

As Conan the Barbarian #2 (“Homeland!”) opens, Conan and Brissa of the Pictish Gurian Tribe watch from the shadows as what is left of “Hauler's Roam,” an outpost in Northern Aquilonia, is destroyed by the “Army of the Lost.” Also known as the “Tribe of the Lost,” this band of undead Picts has unleashed other-worldly carnage … and Conan's homeland, Cimmeria, is next.

It may be too late to save Cimmeria, but Conan will try, and what he cannot save, he will brutally avenge. However, Conan and Brissa may not be prepared to face the true darkness behind the Army of the Lost when it finally begins to reveal itself.

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Conan the Barbarian #2 is the latest.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' revival of the Conan the Barbarian comic book series is definitely edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 revival. I did not find the latter worth the cover price, although the stories were mildly amusing. On the other hand, Titan and Heroic's revival leaves me stunned. In Conan the Barbarian #2, writer Jim Zub has composed the best-written Conan comic book that I have read in probably a decade. This Conan has ripped my bodice in a way not done since Tim Truman, Tómas Giorello, José Villarrubia, and Richard Starkings were putting it down hard on their comic book adaptation of Robert E. Howard's sole Conan novel, Hour of the Dragon, a decade ago.

Zub's script reads like a Conan novel, full of intimate details and pulpy, two-fisted action-adventure. Boots are knocked, and heads are lopped off; still, the story has depth beyond the obvious thrills.

The art and storytelling by artist Roberto de la Torre brings Zub's script to comic book life with fire and black magic. De la Torre's art here resembles of mix of the late John Buscema's Conan the Barbarian comic books and the late Joe Kubert's Tor comics. At this rate, de la Torre will soon be in the pantheon of great Conan comic book artists and storytellers right next to Buscema, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Tómas Giorello, to name a few. With the lovely colors of Dean White and the hoary lettering of Richard Starkings, this new Conan is visually and graphically savage.

I like Conan enough to have watched three Conan films: Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Conan the Barbarian (2011), many times. So I won't lose interest in this new Conan the Barbarian comic book, and I will keep singing its praises.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of,” by Jeffrey Shanks.]

A+

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://titan-comics.com/

https://twitter.com/ComicsTitan

https://www.instagram.com/titancomics/

https://www.facebook.com/ComicsTitan

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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: José Villarrubia

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Phoebe Hedges

COVER: Dan Panosian

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Roberto de la Torre; Artgerm; Patch Zircher; Mike Mignola; E.M. Gist, Dan Panosian; Jae Lee; Colleen Doran; Chris Jones; Dave Wilkins; Mark Schultz; Junggeon Yoon; Ian Nicholls; Eric Ray; Jay Anacleto; Chris Ehnot

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part I: “Scourge of the Dead”

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series. It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings. The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

Conan the Barbarian #1 (“Scourge of the Dead”) opens in Northern Aquilonia, specifically at the outpost known as “Hauler's Roam.” Recently arrived, Conan the Cimmerian is the closest that he has been to his homeland of Cimmeria in eight years. But first, he must extricate himself from “the Bleeders,” the band of mercenaries of which he has been a part.

A weary Conan has returned to his homeland to seek rest and solitude, but a mysterious scout, Brissa, rides into Haurler's Roam” with a warning of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will Conan and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

THE LOWDOWN: Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now. Their debut Conan title, Conan the Barbarian #1, is the latest.

When Marvel Comics resumed publishing Conan the Barbarian comic books in 2019 – for the first time since the late 1990s – I was somewhat exited. I read a few issue, and while they did recall some of the best of classic Marvel Conan for me, I saw no reason to keep reading past the first six months of the revival.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' debut Conan the Barbarian #1 seems a bit edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 Conan the Barbarian... at least, in hindsight to me. Part of it may be that writer Jim Zub's introductory story fits itself in with some of the literary Conan chronologies. For instance, “Scourge of the Dead” references the “Sack of Venarium,” also known as the “Battle of Venarium,” which is depicted in the 2003 Conan novel, Conan of Venarium, written by Harry Turtledove.

Conan is apparently 14 or 15 at the time of the battle, but Zub may be setting his age at 16. Eight years later, this story, “Scourge of the Dead” begins, and Zub references Conan's “twenty-four summers.” In an interview, Zub said that this story takes place after the original Robert E. Howard Conan short story, “The Frost-Giant's Daughter.” In some Conan chronologies, Conan is almost 30 at this point.

That said, by firmly planting Conan in a literary tradition, Zub makes this story feel like something substantial in the catalog of Conan fiction and storytelling. This is something more than just another licensed comic book tie-in. Also, having Conan face a seemingly unstoppable horde of ravenous killers also gives the story a kick.

The art and storytelling by artist Roberto de la Torre is what really sells Zub's script. De la Torre's art here resembles of mix of the late John Buscema's Conan the Barbarian comic books and the late Joe Kubert's Tor comics. De la Torre makes me feel the blood, violence, and the heat of bone-breaking, and he creates a sense of foreboding and then, terror when the horde strikes.

The art looks even more gorgeous under the colors of José Villarubia, one of the best and most skilled comic book colorists working in American comic books over the last three decades. Richard Starkings' lettering is the cherry on top of this excellent graphics package.

Will I lose interest in this new series? There is a good chance that I will, eventually, but I may stick around for longer than I did with the Marvel relaunch. This new series is not standard Conan the Barbarian, and I like Conan enough to have watched three Conan films: Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Conan the Barbarian (2011), many times.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of,” by Jeffrey Shanks.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://titan-comics.com/

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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

#IReadsYou Review: BATTLE CHASERS ANTHOLOGY

BATTLE CHASERS ANTHOLOGY

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Joe Madureira and Munier Sharrieff

PENCILS: Joe Madureira; Adam Warren

INKS: Tom McWeeney with Joe Madureira; Adam Warren

COLORS: Liquid!; Christian Lightner; Aron Lusen; Ryan Kinnaird

LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft

COVER: Joe Madureira with Grace Liu

ISBN: 978-1-5343-1522-8; paperback (September 25, 2019)

32pp, Colors, 24.99 U.S.

Rated “T/ Teen”

Battle Chasers created by Joe Madureira

Battle Chasers is an American fantasy comic book series created by artist Joe Madureira. Launched in April 1998, the series was sporadically published for nine issues over a period of a little over three years. Battle Chasers #1 to #4 (cover dated: April to October 1998) were published by Image Comics' studio, Wildstorm Productions, via its “Cliffhanger” imprint. Issues #5 to 8 (cover dated: May 1999 to 2001) were published by DC Comics via Wildstorm Productions and its “Cliffhanger” imprint. The series returned to Image Comics for Battle Chasers #9 (cover dated: September 2001). Although there was some art produced for a Battle Chasers #10, the issue was never published.

Well, Battle Chasers #10 finally arrives June 14th, 2023 (at least 21 years late) albeit with new series artist. So I decided to go back and reread the original run, and there is a handy way to do that.

Battle Chasers Anthology, originally published in September 2019, collects every Battle Chasers comics story. That includes Battle Chasers #1 to 9; the eight-page story from Battle Chasers Prelude (cover dated: February 1998); the 10-page story published in Frank Frazetta Fantasy Illustrated (cover dated: Summer 1998); and the Joe Madureira-Adam Warren “Red Monika: Interlude” serial, which was originally published in Battle Chasers #6 and #9.

[This volumes also includes a 21-page sketchbook section; a 10-page pin-up and illustration gallery; and 27-page cover art gallery.]

Battle Chasers takes place in a “steampunk” nineteenth century-type fantasy world. It focuses on five main characters. The first is Gully, a ten-year-old girl who possesses a pair of magical gloves left behind by her father, the great warrior, Aramus, who disappeared. Next is Garrison, a legendary swordsman and grieving widow; he has a powerful magical sword. Knolan is a powerful 500-year-old wizard. His companion is Calibretto, a towering “Wargolem,” who is also an outlaw and the last of his kind.

The four join forces to find Gully's father. They must also stop four extremely powerful villains that were inadvertently released from imprisonment by the fifth main character, Red Monika, a rogue and a voluptuous bounty hunter. Meanwhile, the legacy of Aramus, the machinations of King Vaneer of the Unified Territories, and the secrets of Knolan begin to poison everything and everyone around them.

THE LOWDOWN: I was a huge fan of Joe Madureira a.k.a. “Joe Mad” in the 1990s. I used to call him “the young master” because his talent, abilities, and art seemed to explode every few months into something even better and more beautiful. I even collected multiple pages of Joe Mad's original art.

So I was ecstatic when his first creator-owned comic book, Battle Chasers, was announced in 1997. I was so excited about Battle Chasers when it arrived in the spring of 1998 that I also bought one of the variant covers. I enjoyed the series, but it was a bit hard to follow because … well, because Mad took two and a half years to deliver nine issues. For instance, there was a 16-month delay between the publication of Battle Chasers #6 (August 1999, DC Comics) and #7 (January 2001, DC Comics).

In the end, Joe Mad abandoned the series to work in the video game industry and went on to co-found a video game company. Eventually, he did return to Battle Chasers, and Battle Chasers Anthology was published in 2019.

It is through Battle Chasers Anthology that a reader can see how imaginative, inventive, and fun to read Battle Chasers was and is. Having the series gathered in one book allows a reader to enjoy the series without waiting months or a year-and-half to read each chapter. The story flows, so the overall narrative comes across as impressive and well-thought out, and except for some wonky names for people, places, and beings and some awkward dialogue, the script writing by Munier Sharrieff is really good. Engaging plots, interesting character, and surprising cliffhangers make this an exciting and gripping read. Battle Chasers is a wild gumbo of video games scenarios, Dungeons & Dragons, and anime and manga. Still, it is original rather than being a pastiche, although on the surface, it might appear to be as such.

To that end, along with the end of his run on Marvel Comics' Uncanny X-Men, Battle Chasers is peak Joe Mad art. His creature design for this series is still impressive, and there was nothing like it, at least in American comic books, back then. Battle Chasers' character design is also quite good, simply because none of the lead characters or main supporting and guests character look remotely alike.

Like Tim Townsend did when he inked Joe Mad, Tom McWeeney uses his inks to control the wild energy and eccentricity that showed itself in Mad's comic book art after he left Battle Chasers. In the 1990s, I thought that there were no better comic book colorists than Liquid Graphics a.k.a. Liquid! Twenty years later, the studio's work on this comic book still looks amazing. Even the lettering by Richard Starkings & Comicraft stands out as exceptional – even today. I'm starting to believe that, in spite of their lateness, Battle Chasers and the other two original Cliffhanger titles were not only peak 1990s mainstream comic books but also a peak in mainstream comic books in general.

I wanted to read Battle Chasers Anthology just in case I decided to read the finally arrived Battle Chasers #10 (Image Comics). I enjoyed this collection so much that I feel that I have to at least read this new issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of artist Joe Madureira and of his former comic book series, Battle Chasers, will want Battle Chasers Anthology.

[This volume includes an introduction by Jeph Loeb and an afterword by Joe Madureira.]

[MISC ART: Joe Madureira; Joe Madureira and Tom McWeeney with Liquid!, Joe Maduriera and Alex Garner; Joe Madureira and Vince Russell; Joe Madureira and Richard Starkings; Ed McGuiness and Liquid!; David Finch and Liquid!; Travis Charest and Richard Friend; Ed McGuiness and Jason Martin with Justin Ponsor; Travis Charest and Richard Friend with Liquid!; Joe Chiodo; Adam Warren with Liquid!; Humberto Ramos and Sandra Hope with Liquid!; J. Scott Campbell and Richard Friend with Liquid!.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://twitter.com/JoeMadx

https://www.airshipsyndicate.com/

https://twitter.com/ImageComics

https://imagecomics.com/

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Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Titan Comics Returns "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" to Comic Books Shops on August 2nd

"Conan the Barbarian #1 COVER D." "Retro Theme" variant cover art by Patch Zircher.

ROBERT E. HOWARD'S LEGENDARY CONAN IS BACK IN A NEW TALE OF BRAVERY AND HEROISM! CONAN THE BARBARIAN FCBD EDITION LEADS INTO THE DEBUT ISSUE

Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 (ONGOING):

Writer: JIM ZUB

Artist: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE

Colorist: JOSÉ VILLARRUBIA

Letterer: RICHARD STARKINGS OF COMICRAFT

Publishers: HEROIC SIGNATURES & TITAN COMICS

FC, 32pp, $3.99, On sale: August 2, 2023

Issue #1 covers:

MAY231133 COVER A: DAN PANOSIAN

MAY231134 COVER B: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE

MAY231135 COVER C: ARTGERM

MAY231136 COVER D: PATCH ZIRCHER RETRO THEME

MAY231137 COVER E: MIKE MIGNOLA

MAY231138 COVER F: E.M. GIST

MAY231139 COVER G: WRAPAROUND HYBORIAN AGE MAP

MAY231140 COVER H: COLORED BLANK SKETCH

MAY231141 COVER I: FOIL CONAN MOVIE NOVEL REPLICA VIRGIN

MAY231142 COVER J: 1:10 INCENTIVE: ROBERTO DE LA TORRE VIRGIN B&W INKS

MAY231143 COVER K: 1:25 INCENTIVE: DAN PANOSIAN VIRGIN B&W INKS

MAY231144 COVER L: 1:50 INCENTIVE: MIKE MIGNOLA VIRGIN B&W INKS

MAY231145 COVER M: 1:100 INCENTIVE: ARTGERM VIRGIN B&W INKS

APR238820 FOC JAE LEE VIRGIN

APR238821 FOC MIKE MIGNOLA VIRGIN

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Friday, May 14, 2021

#IReadsYou Review: THE BATMAN'S GRAVE #1

THE BATMAN'S GRAVE No. 1 (OF 12)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Warren Ellis
PENCILS: Bryan Hitch
INKS: Kevin Nowlan
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Richard Starkings
EDITOR: Marie Javins
COVER: Bryan Hitch with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Jeehyung Lee
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2019)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

The Batman's Grave is a new twelve-issue, comic book maxi-series. It is written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Bryan Hitch (pencils) and Kevin Nowlan (inks). Ellis and Hitch worked together on the comic book, StormWatch (1997), and are best known as a team for their run on the hit comic book, The Authority (1999), which the two created. Colorist Alex Sinclair and letterer Richard Starkings complete the creative team. The Batman's Grave finds Batman a.k.a. “The World's Great Detective” forced to inhabit the mind of a murder victim with a half-eaten face in order to solve the crime.

The Batman's Grave #1 opens at Wayne Manor, the stately home of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman. We find Bruce's butler and Batman's brother-in-arms, Alfred Pennyworth, tending to the graves of Bruce's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. There is a third grave. It is empty, and Bruce will one day fill it.

In Gotham City, Batman saves a young couple and their child the way no one saved young Bruce and his slain parents. Alerted to an unanswered 911 call, Batman finds himself at a rundown apartment building. There, he finds the corpse of Vincent William Stannik. By his own admission to Alfred, Batman can only think like a victim. And this almost psychotic identification with murder victims causes him to immerse himself in the lives the victims and to obsess over every detail of their deaths. But will this focus on the victim as he approached death lead Batman to his own grave?

I often lament that comic books featuring the world's greatest (comic book) detective are more often than not more superhero-action comics than they are mystery comics. After reading this first issue's 24 (not 20) pages, I think that The Batman's Grave will be a mystery comic book that will have Batman play detective to solve murder cases. At the same time, The Batman's Grave's creative team will investigate the minds of both Batman/Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth.

In fact, I love (and yes that is the word I want to use) Warren Ellis' depiction of Alfred Pennyworth as a tired, old friend, exhausted by a war on crime of which he wishes Batman was also exhausted. Ellis presents Bruce Wayne and Batman as one in the same – psychotic. I am especially curious to see where Ellis takes this series.

The artists of The Batman's Grave, Bryan Hitch on pencils and Kevin Nowlan on inks, are a dream team. Hitch's eccentric, stylish pencils can only be inked by a veteran and/or supremely talented inker, and of course, that is Nowlan. The resulting art is beautiful, mysterious, and haunting – the perfect graphical storytelling for a tale of murder, obsession, and graves. Alex Sinclair, as usual, colors the crap out of the art and embellishes this story with a perfect mood that recalls Edgar Allen Poe. Letterer Richard Starkings, as usual, does standout work; I guess if you have Ellis, Hitch, Nowlan, and Sinclair, you have to have Starkings on the team, also.

So I am ready for more, and truthfully, this is the only Batman comic book I feel like I have to read right now. I recommend that you try at least The Batman's Grave #1.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Friday, March 13, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: KING CONAN: Wolves Beyond the Border #1

KING CONAN No. 21
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ARTIST: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Tomás Giorello
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2015)

Wolves Beyond the Border: Part 1 of 4 “The Iron Crown”

Conan the Cimmerian (also known as Conan the Barbarian) was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932). In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books, and with only few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for over four decades.

Many Conan comic book stores are adaptations of or are, at the very least, based on the Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard. One of the most acclaimed Conan comic book writers of the last decade, Tim Truman, has taken an original REH story, “Wolves Beyond the Border,” to create the new comic book miniseries, King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border. The artist for the series is Tomás Giorello, who has worked with Truman on earlier Conan comic books. Series colorist is José Villarrubia, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft provides the lettering.

King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #1 (“The Iron Crown”) opens in Tarantia, the capitol of the nation of Aquilonia, where an aged Conan is king. Conan's bodyguards, Crassus and Dariun, wait in the shadows of the “Street of Dogs,” while their king lurks in the shadows of a den of thieves-type tavern. In one of his dark moods, Conan spoils for a fight., but someone is also lurking and watching the king. He is Gault, and he has come to tell a dark tale of a cursed crown, of the Picts, and of the wolves of the border.

The story “Wolves Beyond the Border” is a story that REH began writing in the 1930s. It became a fragment that Howard did not finish, nor was it published in his lifetime. Conan is mentioned in the story, but does not appear in it. In a piece that is published at the end of this first issue, Truman writes that he has loosely based King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border on the “Wolves Beyond the Border” fragment. That may not matter to many readers. Truman also hints that he may use the story to connect REH's three most significant characters: Kull, Conan, and Bran Mak Morn. That may matter more to the fans of REH's fiction and to fans of comic books based on his work.

I am a huge fan of Tim Truman and Tomás Giorello fantastic comic book adaptation of Hour of the Dragon, the only Conan novel that REH every wrote. Obviously, I was more than excited when I read about Truman and Giorello coming together again to work on King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border, and I am not disappointed by the resulting work.

Roy Thomas was the first to write Conan comic books, and I have always thought of him as the best Conan comics writer. Truman is the next guy up for me. He retains the power and sensibility of REH and if his prose, but Truman can also create original text that seamlessly blends with REH's words. Truman's work has always mixed a sense of adventure that was every bit as imaginative and inventive as it was brawny. He does that here. Every panel is filled with language that strains against the grain, determined to break loose and to send the story careening off into adventure.

Giorello takes the muscularity of Truman's storytelling, delivering the most beautiful art work that surges the narrative forward. Many of the panels are like small paintings, capturing the spirit of REH and the power of Truman's script.

OMG, I need a cigarette. Four issues won't be enough, but, dear readers, we will have to take what we can get. I heartily recommend this exceptional comic book to Conan fans and to readers looking for quality comic books.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Saturday, September 7, 2019

Review: INCREDIBLES 2: Crisis in Mid-Life and Other Stories #1

INCREDIBLES 2: CRISIS IN MID-LIFE! & OTHER STORIES No. 1 (OF 3)
DARK HORSE COMICS/Disney Comics – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

SCRIPT: Christos Gage; Landry Q. Walker
LAYOUT: Emilio Urbano
PENCILS: Gurihiru; J. Bone; Andrea Greppi
INKS: Gurihiru; J. Bone; Roberta Zanotta
COLORS: Gurihiru; Dan Jackson; Angela Capolupo
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt; Chris Dickey
EDITOR: Freddye Miller
COVER: Gurihiru
VARIANT COVER: J. Bone with Dan Jackson
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles is a 2004 computer-animated film written and directed by Brad Bird. The Oscar-winning film focuses on the Parr Family, a family blessed with super-powers, as they unite to face a vengeful foe. This year saw the release of the long-awaited sequel film, Incredibles 2, also written and directed by Brad Bird.

The nominal head of the family is husband and father, Bob Parr, a.k.a. "Mr. Incredible," whose powers include “mega-strength and invulnerability.” Wife and mother, Helen, a.k.a. “Elastigirl,” has the power to bend, stretch and twist into any form. Eldest child and only daughter, Violet, has the power to become invisible and to create force fields. Son and middle child, Dashiell, a.k.a. “Dash,” has the power of super-speed. Baby and eventually toddler son, Jack-Jack Parr, is a polymorph and has an array of powers, some of which have not yet been revealed.

The Parrs are the superhero team, The Incredibles, with the parents portrayed as being middle-aged and having been superheroes since they were at least in their twenties. Lucius Best, a.k.a. “Frozone,” is Bob's best friend and a superhero with the power to freeze water and ambient moisture in the air into various shapes and forms – from a small ball of ice to huge sheets of ice.

Dark Horse Comics published a four-issue comic book adaptation of the first film as The Incredibles (2004). In 2009, BOOM! Studios published a four-issue miniseries, The Incredibles: Family Matters #0-3. BOOM decided to make The Incredibles an ongoing series that began with the issue #4, and the series continued into 2010 before ending with issue #15.

The Incredibles return to comic books this year (2018) via Dark Horse Comics with the new three-issue miniseries, Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories. [This is not a comic book adaptation of the film, Incredibles 2.] The main story, “Crisis in Mid-Life!” is written by Christos Gage; drawn and colored by Gurihiru; and lettered by Jimmy Betancourt.

Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories #1 opens with Mr. Incredible receiving an honor he once did as a much younger superhero. This time the ceremony ends with decidedly different results. So now, it is time for a midlife crisis, but Bob Parr takes it in stride and initiates a plan to pass his super-heroing knowledge and skills onto the next generations – his kids Violet and Dash!

Also, Bob's silly bedtime story (with some fibbing) for Jack-Jack turns into the beginning of a true story for Violet and Dash in “Bedtime Story.” “In a Relaxing Day at the Park,” Jack-Jack comes to the rescue of a fellow toddler who is in distress, while Papa Parr gets some rest.

The respective creative teams on the three stories in Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories #1 do such good jobs that I hope publishing Incredibles comic books will be a long-term project for Dark Horse Comics. Christos Cage captures the spirit of the Incredibles films and the personalities of the characters in his two stories (“Crisis in Mid-Life!” and “Bedtime Story”). Landry Q. Walker reproduces the magic that is Jack-Jack in the vignette “A Relaxing Day at the Park.”

The artists and colorists each present their own unique take on the visual and graphical elements of the Incredibles, but stay true to the look of the films. Letterers Jimmy Betancourt and Chris Dickey deliver fonts that recall the lettering in classic 1960s Marvel Comics titles.

I have been careful in this review to be vague about many details of the stories contained in the first issue, but trust me, dear readers, Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories #1 is true Incredibles. Hopefully, this comic book will become the standard of what it means to be a true Incredibles comic book.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Review: HAWKMAN #1

HAWKMAN No. 1 (2018)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Robert Venditti
PENCILS: Bryan Hitch
INKS: Andrew Currie and Bryan Hitch
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Starkings & Comicraft
EDITOR: Marie Javins
COVER: Bryan Hitch with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVER: Stejpan Sejic
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Awakening” Part One: “What's Past is Prologue”

Hawkman is a DC Comics superhero. There are multiple versions of the character, and two of them are the best known. The first is the “Golden Age” Hawkman, a human archaeologist named Carter Hall, who is the modern-day reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince named Khufu. That character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville and first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published in 1940 by All-American Publications (which eventually entered a merger that would form DC Comics' predecessor, National Periodical Publications).

The second is the alien police officer, Katar Hol, from the planet, Thanagar. Created by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert, Hol first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34 (cover dated: March-February 1961). The common denominator among the various versions of Hawkman is that they wear large, artificial wings, attached to a harness made from the special Nth metal that allows them to fly.

There is a new comic book series starring the character, entitled Hawkman. It is written by Robert Venditti; drawn by Bryan Hitch (pencils and inks) and Andrew Currie (inks); colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Starkings & Comicraft. The series finds Hawkman/Carter Hall trying to unravel the secrets of his many pasts.

Hawkman #1 (“What's Past is Prologue”) finds the superhero Hawkman flying over an island twelve miles south of Santorini, Greece. Carter Hall is an archaeologist and an explorer of the ancient and unknown, and the greatest unknown seems to be Carter Hall. Hawkman is searching for a relic, “the Nautilus of Revealment.” With the help of Madame Xanadu, Carter will use the Nautilus to make discoveries about his reincarnations and surprisingly, to discover something about his fate.

After reading a few pages of Hawkman #1 2018, I was sure that I would not like it, but by the end of the first issue, I was really liking it. I don't think I need to go through a litany about the creative team. Robert Venditti is an imaginative writer. Bryan Hitch is an influential stylist, and inker Andrew Currie usually captures both the power and grace of Hitch's pencil compositions. Colorist Alex Sinclair is subtly muting his usual vivid coloring here to serve the moodiness of the story. Starkings & Comicraft's lettering shifts fonts and designs and is excellent... of course.

What really stands out is that Hawkman #1 suggests that Hawkman 2018 is trying for something different. Like Carter Hall, this new Hawkman comic book will offer a story that is about exploring the ancient and unknown. There is a sense of mystery and of a little magic. Venditti and Hitch are trying to do something than can truly be described as different. I hope...

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Review - KING CONAN: Wolves Beyond the Border #4

KING CONAN No. 24
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ARTIST: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Tomás Giorello with Jose Villarrubia
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2016)

Wolves Beyond the Border: Part 4 of 4 “The Worms”

Conan the Cimmerian (also known as Conan the Barbarian) was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932). In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books, and with only few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for over four decades.

One of the most acclaimed Conan comic book writers of the last decade, Tim Truman, has taken an original REH story fragment, “Wolves Beyond the Border,” and has created a four-issue comic book miniseries, King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border. The artist for the series is one of the best Conan comic book artists of all time, Tomás Giorello, who has worked with Truman on earlier Conan comic books. Series colorist is one of the best Conan color artists ever, José Villarrubia. Richard Starkings & Comicraft provides the lettering for this miniseries.

In King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border, Conan is the aged king of the nation of Aquilonia. He is alerted to a conspiracy involving his longtime enemies, the Picts. Kwarada, Witch of Skandaga, plans to gather the various Pictish tribes to her side, a confederacy that she will use to invade Aquilonia and eventually all the lands to the east.

In order to convince the other tribes to follower her, she needs the lost “Crown of Brule,” but not all Picts will follow her, in particularly, the Wolf Tribe. The crown, an iron circlet, has come into Conan's possession. In order to stop Kwarada's plot, Conan forges a tenuous alliance with an “old friend,” the high priestess Nai, and the war leader of the Wolf Tribe, Bril.

As King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #4 (“The Worms”) opens, Conan and the wounded Bril travel through the forest in order to reach “Uamh-Dagon.” There, Kwarada plans to sacrifice the boy, Brune, Bril's nephew and the next chief of the Wolf Tribe. With the boy's life and an incantation, Kwarada hopes to raise a dark army from the bowels of the earth.

Robert E. Howard began writing “Wolves Beyond the Border” in the 1930s, but it remained a fragment that he did not finish. Conan is mentioned in the story, but does not appear in it. In a piece that was published at the end of the first issue of King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border, Truman wrote that he loosely based King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border on the fragment. That may not matter to many readers. Truman also hinted that he might use the story to connect REH's three most significant characters: Kull, Conan, and Bran Mak Morn. That may matter more to the fans of REH's fiction and to fans of comic books based on his work.

What really matters is that King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border is an excellent Conan comic book. I consider Tim Truman, Tomas Giorello, and Jose Villarrubia to be the modern gold standard in Conan comic book creative teams. How good is this comic book? Well, I was sad when I came to the last page because I could have read at least one more issue.

Truman's sense of adventure is in evidence here, and as always, his story and script are imaginative and inventive. Of course, Truman would never leave out the brawny storytelling that the best Conan comics require, but this isn't some phony masculine fantasy. Wolves Beyond the Border can be enjoyed by anyone who loves Conan or the genre known as swords and sorcery.

Giorello takes Truman's script and creates the most beautiful art. Giorello's graphical storytelling captures the essence of the world of Conan, where sullen-eyed, sword-wielding warriors, slayers, thieves, etc. tread the world. Villarrubia's colors finish the process, adding the final touch that creates an undreamed of age of shining kingdoms spread across the blue mantle of the world like stars embedded in the firmament.

King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #4 delivers on the promise of the first issue. Four issues are not enough, but still, they are four great issues.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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