Conan The Barbarian #5 Is A Tale Of Survival With An Unexpected Twist

Each issue of Marvel’s rebooted Conan The Barbarian has been about a defining aspect of the hero’s personality, jumping around in time to show us how he came to be the character we know so well. Conan The Barbarian #5 continues that theme, but not in the way we may first think.

Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Matthew Wilson and Travis Lanham put Conan in perhaps the most harrowing situation he’s been in so far in the series.

Conan is stranded at sea, his only company a cursed idol and the corpses of his crew. The idol has drawn a great evil onto the ship, as well as a curse upon everything that it touches. Can Conan survive long enough make it to shore, or will the curse consume him as well?

Aaron has explored different parts of Conan’s personality with each issue. Here it’s kind of fun to try to figure out what he’s going for- is it his determination, his ability to survive?- but in the last few pages, he flips what we thought we were seeing on its head, making this issue the most intimate and emotional story in the run so far. On top of that, it’s all wrapped up in an exciting story about Conan surviving against overwhelming and bleak odds, which really shows how great this arc is.

Asrar and Wilson continue to show their skill as an art team. Asrar’s Conan is fierce and angry, but when he lets his guard down we see the mortal man behind the legend. Without his work, Aaron’s story wouldn’t make the impact it needs to. Meanwhile, Wilson is able to enhance every bit of the story- without him, the storms Conan face wouldn’t be terrifying, and the monsters haunting him wouldn’t disturb us. It’s truly a fantastic issue.

This series continues to impress, connecting us with the Cimmerian better than we could have in a long time.

Conan The Barbarian #5 is available now from Marvel Comics.