Review: Conan #4

Anyone who's a fan of action/adventure and is not reading this comic is either ignorant of it's awesomeness or otherwise straight out insane. Brian Wood's retelling of the classic Robert E Howard novella 'Queen of the Black Coast' has been nothing but amazing. Conan and his new queen Belit set their mind on action, specifically looting and pillaging the port town of Messantia, Argos. Conan has earned the respect of his new crew, and the hatches a plan that requires complete faith in his lessers.


Wood is telling one hell of a compelling tale here. it's not a deep, emotionally reflective story, In fact character development is reduced to an effective minimum. what it is is a fun adventure, classily written. The relationship between Conan and Belit is believable without being realistic. The drama is tense, the dialogue is strong and the action is exciting. This issue takes Conan to a dark and lonely place that is so well written it's beautiful.

James Harren relieves Becky Cloonan as an artist, which is sad on paper, but in practice it makes little difference. Often when a book changes artists between arcs it can be jarring, but not so here. Harren's work is glorious. There's a double page spread as Conan and Belit sail the Tigress into the port that is breathtaking in it's beauty. Dave Stewart's colours complete the bridge between the two artists as the general aesthetic of the book is kept.

Seriously, buy this book. It's insanely good.