Comic Review: Conan the Avenger #13 (Xuthal of the Dusk- Part One)-Lack of effort sinks updated version of a Conan classic

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Guiu Vilanova
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Released: 29th April 2015

I’ve already read this Conan story, in one of my old comic books, and unfortunately for this version, the art and story telling in that old version is a lot better than in this one.

The old version I’m talking about here is ‘The Slithering Shadow,’ by artist John Buscema and writer Roy Thomas. Released back in 1977’s ‘The Savage Sword of Conan’ that older version of the story was absolutely amazing. This new version by writer Fred Van Lente and artist Guiu Vilanova is okay, but when the older version is absolutely stunning, just being okay isn’t really doing anything for me.

The script in this new version is almost identical to the older one, it’s just that it’s not as good, the art isn’t as detailed, and all I get here is a comic book that doesn’t really bring anything new to the story. It’s a shame, because I love just about every Conan story, but what I have here is a noticeably inferior version of an old comic book, and it would be dishonest of me not to acknowledge that in my review.

So how to grade it? If the 1977 version didn’t exist then it would be easy. I would say that the art looked a bit static, and that the script felt a bit different than usual, old fashioned even. I would say that the story was intriguing, but the art wasn’t really doing it for me, and I would have given it a 7/10 rating.

Of course the reason for it seeming a bit old fashioned is because it’s the identical script to the 1977 version, even down to the bit where Conan pats his girl on the backside to show her that she’s not a disembodied spirit. The problem though is that the original butt pat was a lot funnier, and a lot more obviously over the top 1970’s sexist. In this version it is done in a couple of small panels and the impact is minimal. It’s almost like writer Fred Van Lente has taken that old script, copied it panel by panel, and handed it in to artist Guiu Vilanova to do something new with it. His art isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly great either, and all he has done here is remind me of just how good an artist John Buscema really was.

What else can I say? I love Conan stories, but this one isn’t really trying very hard, and because of that lack of effort I have to give it a rare bad rating for a Conan comic book. I hate to do so, but a slightly below average rating is what this comic book actually deserves, so that is what it will get.


Rating: 4/10 (Get the 1977 version instead)

For a better version of Robert E. Howard's 'Xuthal of the Dusk' tale get your hands on a copy of The Savage Sword of Conan #20 from July 1977. You should be able to get a copy on ebay. Here's what the cover looks like: