Review: A Mournful Gloom Clings To The Cimmerian In ‘Conan The Barbarian’ #3

Welcome to the table,

“…Cursed to service and slaughter.” 

One of my favorite parts of sword and sorcery stories is the random gems of evocative narration that paint a picture with a handful of letters and universal understanding. Titan Comic’s Conan The Barbarian has some truly wonderful moments like the above “Cursed to service and slaughter” found in issue #3, and it truly makes this offering from Titan one of the best in the comic book Conan stories.

This series keeps delivering on its grim and melancholy trek through forsaken landscapes and dank caves as Conan and his companion Brissa hunt for the true source of the undead plague that has fallen over the land.

Written by Jim Zub with art by Rob De La Torre, colors by Dean White, and lettering by Richard Starkings, Conan The Barbarian continues to be a hauntingly enchanted crown jewel in the current sword and sorcery landscape. It’s not that it captures the weight of the moment and the unforgiving nature of the landscape of witch-haunted Hyperborea. There is something deeper present in the story, a sorrow that comes with stories of Conan that often gets forgotten. There is a mournful gloom that clings to the Cimmerian like a cloak in a torrential downpour and Jim does a great job of keeping that moody mirthless mood throughout.

There are plenty of moments of chaos and conflict with undead, snake-men cultists, and other far sinister things that lurk between worlds in this issue. Coupled with moody colors and grim artwork, Conan The Barbarian continues to hit the mark that I want from this particular brand of sword and sorcery story.

If you are a fan of the sullen Cimmerian, sword, and sorcery, or just a moody story with low magic and high mystery then you will not be disappointed with this offering from Titan Comics and the exceptional team they have put together here.

Until next time, “I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”