Conan And The Songs Of The Dead from Dark Horse Comics by Joe R. Lansdale with art by Timothy Truman is, as you have guessed, another Conan story. But Joe Lansdale writing a Conan story?!!! How awesome is that, and he's a Texan to boot. Who better to understand Robert E. Howard than another fellow Texan!
Conan meets an old aquaintance, Alvazar the thief, who was hired to find a particular magickal tome known as "The Book Of Nameless Cults" (Ring any bells)? On their quest they join forces with a female warrior named Ohala who is also looking for the book. Husbas, an evil sorcerer and student of Thoth-Amon, is also looking for the scroll so he can use it to call forth the Elder Gods. Conan and his companions fight their way through mummy warriors, Picts, demons and even The Worms Of The Earth to obtain the scroll.
Joe R. Lansdale's writing style has been described as "Gonzo", and this story is no exception. The story itself was decent but at times the anachronistic language got a bit old. And it is a bit risque in parts, just incase you were planning on letting your 10 year old read it.
Timothy Truman's artwork is superb! He's well known for illustrating Grim Jack. His depiction of Conan is spot on! He's a battle hardened roque, not a hollywood pretty boy.
Over all, I really enjoyed the graphic novel and would highly recommend it to Conan fans. Some of the anachronistic language and situations seemed out of place.
The Great White Barsoomian Ape gives it 3 thumbs up!
5 comments:
sacLIKE!!!
Delete that one please...it's just supposed to say
LIKE!!!!
I really liked this tale.
I don't remember the language being anachronistic, but I do remember having a 'WTF? moment' at their choice of using an actual typeface for the lettering in the book's captions.
Couldn't someone at Dark Horse have come up with a more appropriate font, one that actually looks a little archaic, and fits the theme?
That was too anachronistic for me...
Great White Barsoomian Ape... that's a great ratings system.
I always felt that the Busiek/Nord era of the title was the best ever, but this was pretty good. I'd have to agree with you on some of their dialogue. I also felt like they were overzealous with the cheezy lines.
I can't really think of one, off the top of my head, so I'll just make up an example: "That wench from Shadizar sure is popular. She's had more humps than a camel farm."
Agreed, that Barsoomian ape rating system is a nice touch! Got me thinking about Dejah Thoris and it gave me one thumb up (so to speak).
Too funny Kaiser...nice to see that you're still around, haven't seen a lot of activity from you of late.
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