CONAN THE BARBARIAN #25 – New Comic Review

Conan the Barbarian #25, by Titan Comics on 10/8/25, dares to celebrate the Cimmerian’s legacy by hurling him headlong into his own nightmares… and some of his most glorious victories.

Credits:

• Writer: Jim Zub
• Artist: Alex Horley
• Colorist: Alex Horley
• Letterer: Richard Starkings, Tyler Smith
• Cover Artist: Alex Horley (cover A)
• Publisher: Titan Comics
• Release Date: October 8, 2025
• Comic Rating: Mature (gore, nudity)
• Cover Price: $5.99
• Page Count: 62
• Format: Double-Sized Issue

Covers:

Analysis of CONAN THE BARBARIAN #25:

First Impressions:

This issue hits like a thunderclap – mysterious, grand, and a little haunted by its own history. The art is wild and unchained, leaping panel to panel with a painted flourish. There’s enough nostalgia and dread here to make even a hardened barbarian sweat.

Recap:

Previously, Conan sits uneasily upon the throne of Aquilonia, ruling a kingdom forged in blood and iron after unseating the mad King Numedides. Battle-scarred and aging, he faces the challenges of the crown, especially when a cryptic stranger, face hidden and motives unclear, appears at his gates and politely demands three days of hospitality in exchange for a mysterious “gift” that will change Conan’s fate.

Plot Analysis:

The issue opens on a kingdom tested by time and a king tested by boredom. Conan is no longer the restless youth of myth, but a ruler forced into reflection. When a hooded stranger arrives and insists on three days of royal hospitality in exchange for a grand reward, Conan’s curiosity and stubborn pride override the protests of his court. Each day that follows sows more unease: servants fret, Queen Zenobia sees portents of doom, and even the stoic Black Dragon Guards prepare for assassination threats that may never come. The stranger’s presence builds a tension that hovers like a storm cloud ready to burst.

On the third day, rain thunders down, and the castle’s feast hall is alive with nobles sniffing for scandal. Just as Conan tries to break the tension with revelry, the stranger unleashes his “gift,” stripping Conan from the physical world into a surreal dimension of nightmare and memory. Conan relives key moments of his past: savage battles, regrets, and the ever-taunting specter of Belit, the Queen of the Black Coast, whose death still gnaws at his heart. The challenge is spiritual as much as physical; every regret and error rises up to be answered with the blade.

The heart of the issue is this supernatural trial: the stranger, revealed as an almost cosmic judge, pits Conan against illusions and past failures, forcing him to question what makes his legend endure. Spectral enemies, twisted visions from youthful bravado to kingly doubt, all crash together in a fevered montage of Hyborian history. Conan’s fiercest internal battles are laid bare, his legacy dissected amidst flashes of sword and sorrow.

Yet the Cimmerian doesn’t fold. Brutal, battered, and more stubborn than a mountain, Conan seizes his myth with both hands, roaring defiance at gods, ghosts, and the relentless tide of age. The trial breaks like a fever, returning him and the court to banquet tranquility—only the reader and the king know the price of this gift: a brutal reminder that legends aren’t born; they’re forged, blood-soaked and unyielding.

Story

Jim Zub scripts Conan with relish, hitting every line with a testosterone-laden confidence that’s never afraid to wink at the old tropes. Dialogue swings from regal to rowdy with perfect timing, and the internal tension of a king-turned-myth echoes through every challenge. Plot and pacing refuse to drag, using each page to ramp up tension and reward long-time fans with rewarding callbacks. Every challenge posed to the barbarian is well-earned, never bordering on melodramatic. The script nails what it means for a legend to look back at his own mythos and refuse to blink.

Art

Alex Horley’s fully painted interiors are the star attraction. Total sensory overload in the best possible way. Every page bursts with color and energy, flipping between misty memory and present-day menace. Horley’s Conan is both battered and iconic, hulking through hellish landscapes and courtly intrigue with equal impact. Memorial montages would make Frazetta proud. The painterly style adds heft to moments of violence and sorrow, packing each panel with texture and ferocity. Sometimes the brushstrokes blur detail, but the overall impact is closer to epic tapestry than a comic page.

Characters

Conan is tested not by mere assassins, but by himself. A clever spin that pushes the legend beyond brute force. Zenobia and the court serve as effective foils, their doubts sharpening Conan’s resolve. The stranger’s cryptic stoicism makes for an excellent antagonist, his mystery deepening the sense of peril rather than upstaging the main event. Even spectral cameos feel like earned beats, celebrating Conan’s ludicrously chaotic back catalog while dodging full-on self-parody.

Positives

Conan the Barbarian #25 is a love letter to longtime fans, cramming every page with callbacks that reward the attentive. The writing delivers pathos and bravado in equal measure, while the painted art delivers on spectacle and mood in ways that simple linework could never manage. The supernatural trial at the issue’s core is a perfect playground for Conan’s history, whether as a punchline or a painful scar, every memory cuts deep and lands true.

Negatives

All this grandeur sometimes verges on self-indulgence: the painterly art style, while beautiful, sometimes blurs clarity in action scenes. New readers may find themselves adrift in quick-fire references and ghostly cameos. The issue’s metaphysical finale teeters on the edge of melodrama, but the script reins it in just before things get too purple.

Art Samples:

Final Thoughts:

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Like its hero, CONAN THE BARBARIAN #25  is battered but unbowed. A triumphant spectacle that raises a goblet to legacy and dares myth to swing back. If this is what barbarism at fifty looks like, civilization never stood a chance. The king endures, the legend grows, and any reader with a taste for sword-and-soul is left only wanting more.

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