Written by: Jim Zub, Joe Pruett, Matthew John
Art by: Goran Sudžuka & Ivan Gil
Cover by: Doug Braithwaite
Published by: Titan Comics
Summary:
This issue features three stories: “Conan: Dwellers of the Oasis”, “Prose: Conan, Faces of Doom” and “Belit: Becoming a Goddess”.
Dwellers of the Oasis starts with Conan leading the charge in a skirmish battle between warriors and the bandits of Zuagir, as he has been hired as a mercenary to bring back the queen of Zuagir. After capture and crucifixion, Conan is in the middle of the desert, fighting skirmishes and inspecting footsteps with Zuagir’s strongest bandits: Nergui, Chono and Uksen. Conan and the men are overtaken by a quicksand pit that leads them deep underground, to an ancient temple that has treasures, and a lurking secret maintained by Lady Lagrietta, a goddess. Action-packed story that ramps up and has consistent pacing. Jim Zub delivers engaging prose for this story.
9/10
Conan faces of doom/Belit: Becoming a Goddess starts with the tigress, the queen of the black coast, with her crew along the ship of the Belit. This issue overall seems to have a reoccurring sea theme; as the crew of bandits are discovering an island that appears to be cursed at first glance: no wind in the sails, no appearance of human life on shore. Tigress’s curiosity leads her and her crew to investigate the cursed jewel that hides within the island temple. The dialogue is denser in this story, as we follow the reason for Tigress obtaining the jewel. The pace seems to rush towards the end, but still delivers a solid story.
7/10
Overall: 8/10
India Williams is a comic writer and reviewer based in Florida. She is a lifelong comics fan, with favorites including Thor, Conan, G.I. Joe, and Speed Racer. When she’s not writing comics or reviewing them, she enjoys toy photography.
