TheCC Staff
06-04-2008, 03:21 PM
Conan ends its current run with a fast paced, exciting conclusion to the four part story arc “The Hand of Nergal.”
by Justin Leiter
June 4th, 2008 - When you’re reading a Conan comic there are a few things that you’re expecting to find. First and foremost you want to see Conan kicking some ass–or, more to the point, slaughtering some bad guys with a fair share of guts and gore. Slashing and hacking are certainly the order of the day. Next, you figure there should be a few fair maidens–okay, actually sexy, half-dressed, nubile young girls–running around. Finally, you’re going to want some sorcery and monsters along with your swords.
Dark Horse’s run on the book has given us that, and more. Now, with the current series running to its final issue at #50, before a reboot, we come to the conclusion of the four- part story arc, “The Hand Of Nergal.” Working from a story fragment by Conan’s creator,Robert E. Howard, veteran comics writer (and artist) Timothy Truman’s take on “The Hand of Nergal” delivers on all these counts, in a fast-paced, exciting story.
A little background information is necessary to gain a full appreciation for what Truman has done here. “The Hand of Nergal” was originally a Conan short story penned by fantasy author Lin Carter, based upon an unpublished story fragment by Robert E. Howard. Only a few elements of the final story were in the original pieces he had written, with Carter adding much to flesh it out, including the title. Later, when Marvel went about adapting Conan stories for their comics, original Conan scribe Roy Thomas wanted to adapt everything that Robert E. Howard had written, as well as the new tales of Conan written by authors like Carter and L. Sprague DeCamp. Unfortunately, after a deal was in place with DeCamp to allow these adaptations, he reneged, but Carter, who partnered with DeCamp on Conan stories, worked out a deal with Thomas, where the only story that included the credit “By Lin Carter and Robert E. Howard” on it, would be translated into comics form in Conan The Barbarian #30. That story was of course, “The Hand Of Nergal.” I’ve never read the original prose version of the story, so can only go on the reprinting of Conan #30, included as a backup here, but, even using this as a basis, Truman has added much to the tale. As Roy Thomas himself states in his foreword to the reprint, only a very few panels from the original Conan #30 telling of “The Hand of Nergal”can be directly attributed to Howard.
This issue #50 of Conan, though part four and the conclusion of the “Nergal” story arc, begins with a bit of backstory, so that a reader just picking it up without having read the previous three issues will have some idea of what’s going on. Still, I recommend that you get the full enjoyment out of the story by going back and picking up those books.
Click Here To Read The Whole Review (http://thecomiccollective.com/Comic_Books/Reviews/2008/Justin_Leiter/Conan_50/)
by Justin Leiter
June 4th, 2008 - When you’re reading a Conan comic there are a few things that you’re expecting to find. First and foremost you want to see Conan kicking some ass–or, more to the point, slaughtering some bad guys with a fair share of guts and gore. Slashing and hacking are certainly the order of the day. Next, you figure there should be a few fair maidens–okay, actually sexy, half-dressed, nubile young girls–running around. Finally, you’re going to want some sorcery and monsters along with your swords.
Dark Horse’s run on the book has given us that, and more. Now, with the current series running to its final issue at #50, before a reboot, we come to the conclusion of the four- part story arc, “The Hand Of Nergal.” Working from a story fragment by Conan’s creator,Robert E. Howard, veteran comics writer (and artist) Timothy Truman’s take on “The Hand of Nergal” delivers on all these counts, in a fast-paced, exciting story.
A little background information is necessary to gain a full appreciation for what Truman has done here. “The Hand of Nergal” was originally a Conan short story penned by fantasy author Lin Carter, based upon an unpublished story fragment by Robert E. Howard. Only a few elements of the final story were in the original pieces he had written, with Carter adding much to flesh it out, including the title. Later, when Marvel went about adapting Conan stories for their comics, original Conan scribe Roy Thomas wanted to adapt everything that Robert E. Howard had written, as well as the new tales of Conan written by authors like Carter and L. Sprague DeCamp. Unfortunately, after a deal was in place with DeCamp to allow these adaptations, he reneged, but Carter, who partnered with DeCamp on Conan stories, worked out a deal with Thomas, where the only story that included the credit “By Lin Carter and Robert E. Howard” on it, would be translated into comics form in Conan The Barbarian #30. That story was of course, “The Hand Of Nergal.” I’ve never read the original prose version of the story, so can only go on the reprinting of Conan #30, included as a backup here, but, even using this as a basis, Truman has added much to the tale. As Roy Thomas himself states in his foreword to the reprint, only a very few panels from the original Conan #30 telling of “The Hand of Nergal”can be directly attributed to Howard.
This issue #50 of Conan, though part four and the conclusion of the “Nergal” story arc, begins with a bit of backstory, so that a reader just picking it up without having read the previous three issues will have some idea of what’s going on. Still, I recommend that you get the full enjoyment out of the story by going back and picking up those books.
Click Here To Read The Whole Review (http://thecomiccollective.com/Comic_Books/Reviews/2008/Justin_Leiter/Conan_50/)