THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #8 – Review

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #8, by Titan Comics on 4/30/25, delivers four tales of sword-swinging adventure starring Conan and a fifth tale of crusading action with Cormac Fitzgeoffrey.

Credits:

• Writer: Dennis Culver, Fred Kennedy, Zack Davisson, John C. Hocking, Liam Sharp
• Artist: Chris Burnham, Marco Rudy, Max von Fafner, Liam Sharp
• Letterer: Richard Starkings, Tyler Smith
• Cover Artist: Joe Jusko (cover A)
• Publisher: Titan Comics
• Release Date: April 30, 2025
• Comic Rating: Mature (violence, nudity)
• Cover Price: $6.99
• Page Count: 68
• Format: B&W Anthology

Covers:

Analysis of THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #8:

Plot Analysis:

Conan: Treasure Of The Vermin Queen

Conan heeds the enticements of a man named Fleek to invade the lair of the Ver-Men, where a fabulous treasure awaits for stealing. When Conan and Fleek arrive during a ritual, Conan thinks he has the perfect opportunity to steal the treasure unnoticed, but Fleek’s true intentions are to rescue the lovely Delah in the hands of the Ver-Men as a living sacrifice to their queen. Conan is forced to save Fleek and Delah when they interrupt the ceremony, but things go from bad to worse when the Ver-Men leader summons their massive queen from the depths to slay the interlopers.

Dennis Culver’s adventure reads like a kissing cousin to the Schwarzenegger films in terms of tone, atmosphere, wit, and action. Culver’s Conan is more annoyed than brooding, but he’s always up for a fight if a treasure is involved. Plus, Chris Burnham’s art matches Culver’s tone well, tupping just shy of cartoonish, especially with the depiction of the main monster.

Conan: When I Was Young, I Met A King

Conan is given a quest by a dying healer’s last words – protect the healer’s daughter and take her to the Mitra sanctuary before she is captured by the loathe sorcerer Corbin for the gifts in her blood. Conan agrees. What follows is a long, danger-filled journey as Conan and Hana travel to rough towns, rougher wilderness, and more as the black hand of Corbin seeks them out to claim Hana for his own. Eventually, Hana and Conan reach the Mitra Sanctuary, where Hana’s mother awaits, but the travelers find more slaughter than laughter when Corbin and his zombie army arrive at the front gate.

Fred Kennedy’s tale told through Hana’s narration and depicted in montage format by Marco Rudy, depicts a simple tale that presents Conan as a hero of myth and legend. The tale doesn’t have a distinct beginning and end, but in this case, the way Kennedy enters and exits the narrative gives the tale a mythic quality in the same way that tall tales and rumors are spread by a campfire.

That said, the weak point is the art. Marco Rudy’s style and dreamy montage composition look great, but you can tell the art was done in color and translated to greyscale, so the details are lost in several spots. Rudy’s art probably looks fantastic in color but messy and muddy when converted to B&W.

Cormac Fitzgeoffrey: Live By The Sword

Respected mercenary Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, once hailed as the man who saved Richard the Lion-Hearted, completes his latest mission to dispatch the enemies of Lord Montforts. Cormac rejoins his ally and knight in service to Lord Montforts, Sir William de Fontane, when the last enemy is killed. As the warriors travel home, Sir Fontane asks Cormac why he refuses to swear allegiance to any king, lord, or god. Cormac explains gold and coin are the only rewards worth fighting for when kings, lords, and even gods can be corrupted. Suddenly, Sir Fontane turns on Cormac to enact Lord Montforts order – if Cormac can be hired to fight for Lord Montforts, he can be hired to fight against Lord Montforts. The craven Lord will soon come to regret his treachery.

Zack Davisson, who we regularly see on scripting duties with Peach Momoko on Unlimited X-Men at Marvel, takes a stab (heh) at bringing one of Robert E. Howard’s more obscure characters from the time of Robin Hood to the forefront. Davisson took the assignment and made the most of it with a tale that bubbles with the brooding intensity you’d expect from a Howard creation, and the resolution is pitch-perfect. As a big positive, Max von Fafner’s artwork is super-detailed, meaty, and manly in all the right ways. Von Fafner’s depiction of Cormac is not someone you’d ever want to mess with, so this short story is a winner.

Conan: Coils Of The Golden Empress (Prose Story)

Conan walks along the white sands separating the sea from the dark jungle shortly after setting fire to the Tigress. He happens upon a trio of men who make their coin by diving for eggs issued by the Golden Empress, a gigantic jellyfish who lives in a nearby cove. The eggs are prized for the stinging pain as a device of torture by a nearby tribe, and the leader of the trio offers Conan a chance to join their crew. When Conan refuses, the privateers jump him when their leader suspects he is the former first mate of the Tigress and, therefore, wanted by many kings and lords for his prating ways. However, the trio soon discovers that dangerous jobs and dangerous men are not a good combination.

John C. Hocking’s somber tale reinforces the idea that Conan is never far from a fight, even in the lowest moments of his life. A double-crossing trio of jellyfish egg hunters is a weirdly wild setup for a tale of treachery, and Hocking’s narrative style follows in Robert E. Howard’s footsteps beautifully.

Conan: The Wuthering

Conan rides through a dark and lifeless forest to find civilization for food and supplies. Near a lonely tree, he finds a badly injured Aesir-man named Tor Himduhl, who recounts a tale of lust and pain. Tor entered the same woods not long ago, looking for a place to resupply, just as Conan does now. He encountered the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, who offered him supplies and more if Tor could catch her. Spurred on by a supernatural lust, Tor chased her through dark woods like a rabid dog until he ran into a wayward branch that knocked him from his horse and down a small cliff where he now lies. He begs Conan to fight him so that he might have a warrior’s death. Conan refuses, prompting Tor to raise his broken body to attack and earn his place in Valhalla. For this story, however, death is not the end.

Liam Sharp pulls double-duty as the artist and writer on the last short story, and what a phenomenal presentation, indeed. Sharp gets the same tone and style Jim Zub brings to the Conan the Barbarian ongoing series, and Sharp’s artwork is spectacular. I don’t know what it is about Titan and the Heroes Initiative, but they’re bringing out the best in everyone.

First Impressions:

Titan has another winner on its hands in this series with a gaggle of creators who show a passionate respect for Robert E. Howard’s creations. Granted, not every short story is perfect, but they’re all great and should make Howard fans very happy.

Artwork and Presentation:

Every artist brings their A-game in this issue with powerful figures, gruesome action, lovely ladies, and fearsome monsters. It’s hard to pick which artist is the best since the assortment of styles is unique, but there isn’t a bad set of visuals in the bunch.

Art Samples:

Story Positives & Negatives:

The Positives:

Robert E. Howard fans are living well these days with the Hero Initiative at the helm. Each Conan tale fits well enough to be included in an anthology written by Howard, and HI’s move to occasionally spotlight Howard’s lesser-known characters, such as Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, is a winning strategy.

The Negatives:

There are no significant negatives in this issue. Therefore, the only change we’d like to see is a little more attention to other Howard characters, such as Dark Agnes and El Borak.

Final Thoughts:

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THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #8 is a feast for Robert E. Howard fans who love Conan and enjoy meeting Howard’s other lesser-known characters. The four shorts spotlighting Conan’s adventures are different in tone from each other, but all are exceptionally well done, and the surprise inclusion of Cormac Fitzgeoffrey is a treat.

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