Tuesday, February 07, 2023

You don't see 'how Conan got his groove back' stories very often.

Although, it's a perfectly legit plot, that fits in with Conan's history. I do wonder if he gets tired of getting in situations and knowing, yeah, gonna have to murder that guy soon enough...From 2016, Conan the Slayer #1, "Blood in his Wake, part 1" Written by Cullen Bunn, art by Sergio Dávila.
In the Turanian desert, a beaten and bleeding Conan laments a rare tactical error: he had led his Zuagir raiders to early victories, that led to over-confidence. He had bit off more than they could chew, his men had been slaughtered, and a wounded Conan was being trailed through the sands. While he's able to kill his pursuers, their horses get away, leaving him with a long, dry trudge until he collapses at a camp. One goonish type considers putting him out of his misery, but the leader, Mykylo, is curious about the massive northsman.
While Conan isn't interested in Mykylo's "squabbling" family drama--that'll be for a later issue!--Mykylo has no love for the Turanian hunters who come around asking about the barbarian and not showing the proper respect. But, Conan admits, he's no "Zuagir warlord," but a fool who led other fools to their deaths. Mykylo doesn't need a warlord, but might be able to find a use for the barbarian...
I haven't read the rest of this storyline yet, but while the smart money would be on one of Mykylo's sons killing him, jealous of Conan; there's still a not-zero chance Conan ends up killing Mykylo. Odds of him making it out alive...well, it's not a good bet. Conan's going to kill at least one of his sons, and the odds of him sleeping with the one woman we see here? Not a stone lock like they would've been in a Marvel title, but still good. Also this issue: another "The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob," from the life of Robert E. Howard, by Jim and Ruth Keegan. This one...gotta say, I don't think that's how REH wanted that one to go down.

No comments: