The Fellowship was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of the KING CONAN: THE SCARLET CITADEL trade paperback from Dark Horse Comics. Timothy
Truman writes, Tomás Giorello pencils, José Villarrubia colors, and Richard Starkings
and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt are credited for the letters. This volume
combines the four-issue run which adapts Robert E. Howard’s story.
A young minstrel is sent to an aging King Conan to learn
some new stories, and it seems the old warrior is in a talking mood. The
Scarlet Citadel is a place that few have escaped, and the grizzled old king
weaves the tale of his own imprisonment there, as well as the vengeance he gave
to his captor.
It would be difficult to make any significant comment on the
story, of course; it comes from the source. It’s a pretty standard “dungeon
crawl” with monsters, swords and sorcery, from a time when these things were
still being defined. All disclaimers aside, though, I think it’s adapted well
here. Mr. Truman gives it to us from a fresh perspective without compromising
the epic fantasy feel. The art is both gritty and imaginative; there are some
nice horror aspects to this story in addition to the sword battles, and both
are handled well here.
I definitely recommend this book. The style translates well
to the medium, and this might be a nice way to introduce young readers to the
epic fantasy genre.
KING CONAN: THE SCARLET CITADEL trade paperback is available
2/15 at your FLCS or by order from darkhorse.com.
~Mike
