.jpg)
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Colourist: Jose Villarrubia
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Released: 28th May 2014
For long time fans of all things Conan related this story (an adaptation of Howard’s Hour of the Dragon) will be extremely familiar. This issue follows the part of the tale where Conan meets the vampire Akivasha, makes a run for it, witnesses the priests doing their ceremony with the heart of Ahriman, is startled by the intrusion of a third party and ends up joining the fight himself. So what is new? That’s the question here as the story is already well known, and I don’t want to go through it all over again. Firstly, the art is gorgeous. Akivasha is drawn extremely seductively, and there’s an air of menace to her, an alluring sense of danger like a siren calling a ship onto the rocks. Conan resists, but few men would, and the framing device of an older King Conan explaining how he resisted is something new.
.jpg)
‘That day I saw the hideous reality of immortality. The foul perversion of everlasting life. Perhaps it was the memory of Zenobia’s warm hand which put the lie to Akivasha’s cold, dead touch and kept me free of her spell.’
That is the main difference in this re-telling and others I’ve previously read, but the final panel is also particularly worth mentioning, using a cliff hanging device of Conan being in peril from what appears to be a Mummy creature that you would normally find in a Hammer horror movie. It’s a great way to end the issue, making up for what often comes across as a bit of a weak climax where the main villain Thutothmes is rather easily dispatched, and not even by Conan but by an interloper on the final, climactic scene where the power of the heart of Ahriman is revealed.
Get this book for the art, even if you’ve got dozens of other comic book variations on the Hour of the Dragon tale. Akivasha has never looked so seductively evil, and it’s a lot of fun to see Conan escaping her alluring caresses, even if you know exactly what is going to happen next. Rating 9/10
Thutothemis was not a villain at all in the original work. He was certainly not a mummy either. he was brought back to life, but not all the way. He looked human enough though. But his will was missing. It was Akivasha that was a danger. But again, she was not much of a danger, because Conan got away from her quickly enough, and was strong willed enough that he was rather disgusted to begin with. On the way back, she kept away from Conan because of the heart of Arihaman. I liked the book story much better. There is no reason for Conan to kill everything he sees. Not all magic, even dark magic is a problem. I guess you should expect comic books to be more childish. Zenobia really wasn't a big part of the story in any way, either.
ReplyDeleteAwesome article, it was exceptionally helpful! I simply began in this and I'm becoming more acquainted with it better! Cheers, keep doing awesome! โคนันตอนที่ 1
ReplyDelete