I was happy to get through this issue of Conan because I finally got to see something that I had been waiting a while for.
The good ol' Cimmerian violence.
Conan really paints the town red in this issue, and James Harren does a good job in both the gore and terror department. I could really feel the emotion in the faces of the people who got in the young barbarian's way, and the rage and uncertainty that flowed through the title character's mind was also reflected quite nicely.
And that's something I didn't think I'd welcome in a Conan book: in the middle of a chase scene through a busy city, we have a healthy amount of introspection. Only Brian Wood could pull this off, and in a way that makes it read like it was coming out of a book. Slightly tinted with antiquity, the narration comes off smooth and with a great amount of tact. We get a feeling of what exactly is going through Conan's head (no dilly dallying here!) and it serves to endear us to both the character and the situation he's put himself in.
Like any commitmentphobe, Conan has a mix of fear and uncertainty when faced with total freedom. That sequence makes him a deeper character than just "screw the maiden, kill the guards," and I for one appreciate it.
Conan The Barbarian #6
Dark Horse Comics
$3.50
The Verdict: Showing a confused side of Conan while balancing it out with violence earns this book top marks from me. As a guy who never really enjoyed Conan before, this is entertaining me greatly.
