I mostly read fantasy so, instead of buying something with superheroes or zombies in it, I thought I’d see if there were any graphic novels or comics in a similar vein (I’d already read some Slaine so figured there had to be more out there!) And there was! A whole shelf full of Conan graphic novels beckoned me over and issue two of Dark Horse’s new ‘Conan the Cimmerian’ looked like a good idea as well. I bought the comic and ‘Born on the Battlefield’ (Volume 0 of Dark Horse’s collected Conan series) and headed off home to do some reading...
Conan is a product of the pulp fiction era where men were men (in every sense of the word) and women were commodities there to be traded, rescued (and carried off over a shoulder), betrayed by and eventually... you get the idea.
The cover for issue two of Conan the Cimmerian lives up to this approach with a brawny looking Conan carrying a skimpily clad woman over his shoulder. Some hot coals have fallen on the floor so maybe he didn’t want her feet to get burned? No, I didn’t think so either...
What makes me laugh about this cover isn’t so much the pulp style but the fact that the picture doesn’t relate to anything within the comic at all. Yes, at no point does Conan rescue a woman from burning coals; in fact he barely features in the ensuing story at all....
This issue sees Conan sheltering, from a storm, with a kindly stranger who weaves a tale of Conan’s grandfather (Connacht) and the price that he paid for looking after two orphaned children. The trio are stalked by a ravenous beast that eats both their horse and the daughter of a farmer that they are working for. Connacht must face the beast but will encounter a truth that will turn things upside down...
Issue Two of ‘Conan the Cimmerian’ is a fast paced read with a sinister atmosphere and an air of growing tension until an explosive finale. The story itself is simple but effective but it’s the evocative artwork that really adds to the proceedings and kept the pages turning for me. I’m not sure that I’d buy ‘Conan the Cimmerian’ regularly but it’s still worth a look anyway.
‘Born on the Battlefield’ takes a leap back in the time right to the very moment of Conan’s birth (in an attempt to fill in some of the gaps left by Robert E. Howard in his original works) and takes us through selected moments right up until the Battle of Venarium and Conan’s subsequent farewell to the village where he grew up.
The manner of Conan’s birth (literally, on a battlefield) marks him out for greatness at a very early age and the book explores the affect that this has on his life as a child and a young man. The villagers are not sure whether to respect or fear him and end up doing a little bit of both. All Conan really has is his Grandfather who fills his head with tales of his youth and ultimately sets Conan on his journey into a wider world (with echoes of a similar journey made by Erikson’s Karsa Orlong, I’m not sure who inspired who in this case...)
‘Born on the Battlefield’ is very much a rites of passage tale but as Conan is such an iconic character I ended up ignoring the familiarity of the plot devices and just settling back to enjoy the ride. And what a ride it is! Life in the Cimmerian Highlands is harsh and unforgiving which means a host of dangers that Conan must face in spectacular fashion. Highlights include Conan facing down a mad cannibal, on the skull strewn remnants of Britta’s Field, and the part he plays in the battle of Venarium. Conan must also face up to loss as well and you can see, through a mixture of events, how Conan becomes the man that he is in later years.
If you’re a fan of Conan then the ‘Conan the Cimmerian’ series is worth a look at least but you really need to get yourself a copy of ‘Born on the Battlefield’ how it all began. I reckon I’ll end up collecting the graphic novels...
‘Conan the Cimmerian’ Issue Two – Eight out of Ten
‘Born on the Battlefield’ – Nine and a Half out of Ten
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