THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4, by Titan Comics on 8/28/24, delivers six tales of six Robert E. Howard characters who face challenges from humans, monsters, and more, all under the eye of the Black Stone.
Credits:
- Writer: Fred Kennedy, Jim Zub, Patch Zircher, Jeff Shanks, Ron Marz
- Artist: Patch Zircher, Fernando Dagnino, Andy Belanger, Eryk Donovan, Dean Kotz, Mike Perkins
- Letterer: Richard Starkings, Tyler Smith
- Cover Artist: David Palumbo
- Publisher: Titan Comics
- Release Date: August 28, 2024
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover Price: $6.99
- Page Count: 86
- Format: Triple Sized Magazine
Covers:
Analysis of THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4:
First Impressions:
Good gravy on a biscuit! Why can’t every anthology be this good? We’re used to singing the high praises of the Conan stories since Titan took over the license from Marvel, but this anthology is almost scarily good. Contrary to the title, you get a whole host of Robert E. Howard characters to tickle your pulp-loving fancy, so if you haven’t guessed by now, this comic is a winner.
Plot Analysis:
Birthright in Black
Conan stalks the woods near Pictish territory when he’s overcome by a vision of the Black Stone’s influence in a dark-eyed sigil. The eye transforms him into a primitive man confronted by a tribe of enemies, leading to a brutal fight for survival. Conan eventually prevails but is then tempted by delights and pleasures that would appeal to any hot-blooded man. Through the vision, Conan recognizes the tests and temptations of the Black Stone’s influence, and he shakes off its dread power to steel himself for the challenge to come.
Writer Jim Zub and artist Fernando Dagnino deliver a powerful teaser to the forthcoming next volume in the main Conan the Barbarian title. Zub captures the grim determination in Conan to set the stage for whatever evil awaits, and Dagnino’s brooding out is magnificent.
Blood From A Stone
Solomon Kane travels with a group of mercenaries and loyalists of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I against Turkish supply chains during the conflict against the Ottoman Empire. After a relatively successful series of raids, the group’s luck ran out. Now, they’re on the run from relentless Turkish soldiers.
Captain Kodaly leads the raiders through precarious trails and deep woods into the forest of Transylvania for a night’s rest. In the early hours, the raiders were ambushed by Turkish soldiers, but Solomon noticed the man on the watch was quietly killed and had his heart removed. When Solomon and the only other survivor break through the forest into a clearing, they see Captain Kodaly offering a fresh heart to an otherworldly obelisk made of black stone. Soon, a dark beast enters our world via Kodaly’s offering to unleash Hell on Earth.
Patrick Zircher’s one-and-done story is a pulp fantasy readers’ dream on multiple levels. First, Solomon Kane keeps his wits about him in a heroic fashion in the midst of a horrific battle between men and a very large monster. Second, Zircher’s detailed and cinematic art style looks amazing. Third, the means by which the monster is brought forth, the Black Stone, form a connection line between Solomon Kane and Conan to confirm the possibility of crossovers, connections with other Robert E. Howard characters and many more challenges that echo Lovecraftian lore.
Ever and Never Beyond
Brissa, Conan’s sometimes Pictish companion and tracker, embarks on her own adventure. During the final battle in Conan the Barbarian #6, Brissa and Conan are separated within the Black Citadel. Now, we see Brissa chose to fight rather than flee, and during her combat against the undead, the ground gave way, tossing her into the same brackish pool where Conan nearly met his end. There, Brissa received a vision from a loving face telling her to forge a new path. When Brissa awoke, she found a new adventure awaiting, but not in the time or place she expected.
Writer Jim Zub and artist Dean Kotz deliver another strong teaser/prologue that bridges the gap between the first Conan the Barbarian arc and Brissa’s return in the forthcoming ‘Battle of the Black Stone.’ We won’t spoil the big twist on the last panel, but it’s a sure bet you’ll never guess where Brissa winds up.
Horror From The Tomb
Prof. John Kirowan and John Conrad are summoned to Egypt in 1935 when treasure-hunting acquaintances of theirs, Brill and O’Donnell, report a mysterious find that predates Egypt. Skeptical, the archaeological adventurers arrive to find the excavation camp abandoned, Brill dead, and otherworldly chanting coming from the darkened chamber beneath the tomb. The horrors they find beneath the sands of the desert will haunt them for years to come.
Now, we’re digging deep. Writer Jeffrey Shanks and artist Eryk Donovan resurrect Robert E. Howard’s proto-Indiana Jones characters for a classic pulp serial adventure that reinvigorates the characters for new audiences. Kirowan and Conrad were part of Robert E. Howard’s contribution to Lovecraft lore, so their inclusion in this anthology and the appearance of the Black Stone makes perfect sense. Shanks crafts an engaging adventure that just might prompt readers to go back and read Kirowan and Conrad’s original stories.
Matrimony
Dark Agnes de Chastillon walks through the countryside as she waits for her partner-in-crime, Etienne, to arrive for the next leg of their journey. Through the woods, Agnes sees a gothic estate belonging to Duke Ilya Kursonovich, an estate laden with ancient treasures and baubles ripe for the thieving. Agnes decides to sneak in and look for a few priceless items to pluck while nobody notices, but she’s quickly surprised by the Duke, who casts a spell of sleep on Dark Agnes.
When the swashbuckling adventurer wakes up, she’s with the family of her youth and preparing for her wedding day. However, nothing is as it seems.
Fred Kennedy’s tale of sorcery and evil hits the bullseye with another lesser-known Robert E. Howard character, who gets entangled in dark rituals that only her wits and prowess with weapons can save her from. Further, Andy Belanger’s art is surprisingly detailed and energetic, but the overlarge, Manga-inspired eyes on Agnes seem a little out of place.
Black Oasis
Francis Xavier Gordon, otherwise known as El Borak, is enlisted by a Chieftan to rescue his son, who was kidnapped by a rival desert tribe. After the rescue succeeds, the flight from the kidnappers begins. El Borak and his charge are forced to take refuge in a blasphemous, ancient temple that men avoid whenever possible.
It isn’t long before six of their pursuers catch up to El Borak within the temple. What follows is a miraculous fight to the death beneath the all-seeing eye of the Black Stone sigil.
Ron Marz takes a pulp adventure and gives it a foreboding twist when the temple where El Borak takes refuge links this story of yet another lesser-known Robert E. Howard character to the Black Stone. Readers unfamiliar with El Borak will enjoy this introduction to the Arabian-base gunfighter from Texas. Plus, Mike Perkins’s art looks fantastic here. As a side note, we’ve encountered Mike Perkins’s style several times at DC Comics, and we believe his brand of visual storytelling works much better in B&W.
Overall, The Savage Sword of Conan #4 is a feast for Robert E. Howard lovers everywhere as the collective of creators achieve pulp adventure greatness with familiar and not-so-familiar Howard characters. There isn’t a bad story in the bunch. All the artists brought their A-Game, and this anthology just might prompt new readers to explore the broader collection of Howard’s characters, which is always a good thing.
Art Samples:
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
If it wasn’t obvious from the plot analysis, the connective tissue in this anthology is the eye sigil of the Black Stone, first seen in Conan the Barbarian #1. In some cases, the Black Stone is a prevalent force. In others, the sigil lingers in the background, but the net effect is a sense of continuity that stretches across time and space, which makes each story feel bigger and part of a grander whole.
Final Thoughts:
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THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #4 is a pulp adventure lover’s dream as a cavalcade of creators regale readers with short tales of popular and lesser-known Robert E. Howard characters. The Black Stone provides the connective tissue that links the stories across time and space for one of the best anthologies we’ve read in years.
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