SONJAVERSAL #3

“Chapter 3”

Writer: Christopher Hastings

Artist: Pasquale Qualano

All the Sonjas have been brought to Hell. There Hell Sonja gives them the offer. They have to kill Red Sonja and the Sonja who does will be released from her oath. A young high school girl is just La Crosse Sonja and doesn’t have any fighting skills. She is befriended by Hell Sonja, and she overhears the conversation between Hell and Saint Sonja. Saint Sonja says even they may have to fight Red Sonja if all the others fail. Meanwhile there are some Sonjas that are just trying to escape. Blue Sonja, Yellow Sonja and White Sonja have found a way out. Red Sonja gets help from the spirits of Sonjas that she killed. They believe Red Sonja when she says she never broke her vow. They think something more sinister is going on. So Red Sonja joins up with the other three Sonjas trying to escape Hell.

This is a very wild issue. All these different Sonjas in a free for all. There seems to be some driving need to kill Red Sonja which is the main mystery for this story. Red Sonja gets some companions in other Sonjas. Blue is one with all these guns. Yellow has some steampunk tech. White is a futuristic one and La Crosse is the innocent one. A fascinating idea that I look forward to the next installment.

KING CONAN #5

“Conan’s Last Stand at the Edge of the World Part Five: The Ballad of Thoth-Amon of the Ring”

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Mahmud Asrar

Young Thoth-Amon was a terrible student when he entered the seminary for Set. He was arrogant and refused to learn anything. So, the priests punished his fellow students. Naturally these students punished Thoth-Amon and gave him a beating with live snakes. Thoth-Amon cleaned up is act and the day finally arrived for graduation. Everyone was to bring a sacrifice to Set. Thoth-Amon locked the temple doors and set the place on fire. This was his sacrifice for Set. Set approved and entered him. Now Thoth-Amon had to find the Ring of Set.

Many years later he sits in a bar talking about how he lost his ring. The patrons mock him, and he disgorges the snake in him to kill everyone. He knows where the Ring of Set is and will soon have the power. After all the proper sacrifices he needs the blood of a king. He hears Conan has went exploring and goes after him. His ship is shipwrecked on the zombie island. He considers killing himself when he sees that Conan is on the island.

Now the story jumps to the present. They are temporarily allied to escape. They come on the ship that was Thoth-Amon’s. It is filled with tar that Conan uses to set fire to the hordes of zombies.

This issue we get the origin of Thoth-Amon. How and why, he ended up on the island. I don’t think in all the incarnations of Conan comics has an origin been done for Thoth-Amon. I have to say that this origin is brilliant. A very true and Howard like origin for Conan’s greatest foe. I think the writers are kicking it for the last Marvel Conan series. Can’t wait to see how it ends.

DOORWAYS #4

“Untitled”

Writer: George R.R. Martin

Artist: Stefano Martino

The old guy and his granddaughter are being robbed by the biker gang. They try to rape the granddaughter and she runs into the forest. They shot the grandfather. Only luckily Thomas, Cat and Trager arrive to rescue them. They go to a postal station and commandeer a delivery blimp to take the grandfather to the hospital in Denver. Thomas and Trager can’t come because there isn’t enough room. So they have to make their way by horse. The grandfather gets saved and Thomas and Trager arrive. Only Thane is on their trail. So, the three of them manage to make it to a doorway in an abandoned subway tunnel. A big alien and his servants are waiting. A fight ensues with Trager sacrificing himself so Thomas and Cat can escape. They land on Mount Rushmore only it has different faces.

The final issue of this failed TV pilot. Obviously, it ends on them in another alternate Earth. This was supposed to be an ongoing TV series. There were actually six scripts commissioned and written. It is a shame this was never picked up. It had a lot of potential. I doubt that Martin will ever bother turning it into a book. I mean the guy can’t write a continuation for a popular series with a solid fanbase. This has no fanbase. Well maybe some service will pick this up as a new series. They are always looking for content. This might actually be good.

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #166

“The Blood of Brothers”

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artists: Mike Docherty and Ernie Chan

King Conan is on a diplomatic mission to Vendhya and decides to take a shortcut back home by crossing the Eastern Ocean. A storm wrecks the ship and only Conan and a sailor named Gobo survive. They get captured by the locals and taken to the city of Kuzko the sacred city of the Lord-Inka. Here Conan gets involved with a power struggle between two factions. The ruler a child who is married to his sister have a proposition for Conan. If he can steal back the mummified body of their father from the rebel brother, then they will give Conan a ship to return home. He agrees and infiltrates the fortress of the rebel brother. He has to fight the reanimated corpse of the father but hears that the sister plans treachery. So he takes the mummified corpse and mounts it in the city square. This angers the people, and they destroy the sister and child king. The rebel brother furnishes Conan a ship to get home.

We get a new writer in Gerry Conway which is a nice change of pace. The storyline involves Conan in the New World version of the Hyborian age. Obviously, this is the equivalent of the Incas in our world. There would be two other installments of Conan and his adventures in the Americas of the Hyborian age. I liked this idea and look forward to more adventures in the Americas.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #196

“The Beast”

Writer: James C. Owsley

Artists: Val Semeiks and Geof Isherwood

An old dinosaur is half blind and about to die. It sees the village in the distance and decides to visit. At a checkpoint Kiev is arguing with an old crone who doesn’t speak any known language. Simeon comes and talks to her. A group of Hyrkanians then charge past. In the village, Conan has to put an arrogant general in his place. The old dinosaur comes into the village and Conan knocks it out. He orders that it be left alone. Later he meets up with Red Sonja. She tries to convince Conan to leave this mad endeavor and come with her. The Devourer of Souls visits Bahkt who is still angry at Conan. The Devourer has taken all of Bahkt’s men’s souls. He feeds one of the souls to Bahkt to transform him. The arrogant general decides to have his archers fire on the sleeping dinosaur. This pisses it off and it goes on a rampage.

Well, this is an issue filled with story. There are little vignettes that jump all over the place. Conan has to deal with an arrogant general. The Devourer has recruited Bahkt by transforming him into some as yet unknown creature. Red Sonja joins the story. That is something I look forward to. She is my favorite character from the REH stories, and this is already giving the plot a bit of punch. Ends with an old dinosaur causing trouble. Lots of stuff going on for the next issue to resolve.

SONJAVERSAL #2

“Chapter Two”

Writer: Christopher Hastings

Artists: Pasquale Qualano and Vincenzo Carratu

We get a montage of various Sonjas from different worlds. We also get a Red Sonja who meets a young warrior named Warrick the Conqueror. This warrior manages to defeat Red Sonja in battle and fulfill the requisite to release Sonja from her vow. Back to the present Red Sonja is trying to get answers from Orange Sonja. Orange Sonja activates her tech and comes at Red. Orange says that she does this to get penance from her goddess. Red Sonja now knows why all these other Sonjas have come for her. Red Sonja is adamant that she has always been faithful to her vow. She cuts off Orange’s head. This act starts portals opening up to suck in all the Sonjas including Red. They end up in Hell with a Hell Sonja waiting for them.

The story is getting more interesting with all the Sonjas getting sucked to Hell. It seems that Hell Sonja is responsible for all the fights with the Sonjas. Red Sonja also seems to be of special interest. When she still wins another battle that is when all the Sonjas are sucked to Hell. I am interested in all the versions of Sonja the writer can come up with.

KING CONAN #4

“Conan’s Last Stand at the Edge of the World Part Four: Conan vs. Conan”

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Mahmud Asrar

Conn decides to fight Conan instead of going into exile. The two have some give and take and Conan manages to throw young Conn into some thorn bushes. When Conan gets concerned, Conn comes out swinging. Back at the island Conan laughs and dares the princess to kill Thoth Amon. She sends her red apes to attack. Conan fights them off and one dies from the poisoned blood of Thoth Amon. Conan and Thoth Amon escape into the caves. There they make a pact to ally themselves until they escape from this island. Then they swear to kill each other. The issue ends with the flashback of the fight with his son. Conn demonstrates that he knows everything to be king and defeats Conan. Conn decides to exile Conan since he sees that his father longs to wander the horizon. The two embrace.

Wow was this an intense issue. Conan states that this is his greatest battle with pride. Young Conn show himself to have grown into a wise and responsible man. Ready to take on the kingship. He wisely sees that Conan in his old age needs to leave and continue his wandering adventures. Thus, we get to see how Conan was no longer king of Aquilonia. The main plot was really a side story in this issue. Yet also an important one as two great enemies join forces in a temporary truce to escape this island. The ending was a truly touching moment for Conan which showed that in spite of his harsh extreme parenting, he still very much loves his son. A truly brilliant issue.

DOORWAYS #3

“Untitled”

Writer: George R.R. Martin

Artist: Stefano Martino

Thomas and Cat have escaped Thane and are now on an alternate Earth. They find a highway with a sign saying Denver but no traffic. Only one abandoned car. Soon a horse drawn truck comes along. An old man and his granddaughter are carrying peanut oil to Denver. The old man gives the two a ride and they find out that on this Earth 15 year ago there was an oil spill in Australia. To clean it up, they released a microbe that eats oil. Only it got out of control and ate all the oil and other petroleum products including plastic. Now this world has no oil.

They stop at a truck stop and Cat gets a signal that Thane is now in this world. She tries to steal a horse and gets arrested by an alternate version of the FBI agent killed. He starts them off to Denver. The old man who gave them a lift joins up with a woman and her son to be safe in numbers. Only the woman was part of a biker gang (they ride bicycles) that rob them. Cat manages to grab a rock and beam the sheriff on the head.

Now the story is really getting interesting. The first of the alternate Earths has a lot of potential. A world without oil. They meet up with an alternate version of someone from their world which sets up that there are many alternate versions of people. Cat is a fascinating character. She is so naive and innocent but a very badass girl. Sad that this series never made it.

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #165

“City of Rats”

Writers: Charles Dixon and Gary Kwapisz

Artist: Gary Kwapisz

Conan has been hired to guard the heir to the throne of Iranistan. He is only a young boy and with his sister are the sole survivors of the dynasty. The government has agreed to have the boy come back to be crowned but there are those that still want him dead. A criminal league of assassins manages to kill the boy and girl under Conan’s protection. Naturally Conan has to get revenge. He goes around the city looking for the assassins and beats up many people in the process. The league sends assassins, but Conan easily kills them. Then disguised as a returning assassin he confronts the leaders. They flee into the slums with Conan after them. He stalks and kills them.

“Siege”

Writer: John Arcudi

Artist: Tony Salmons

Kull is ambushed by followers of Ohris Dehjmal. Kull takes an arrow in the chest and must recuperate from this wound. The cult lays siege to the camp and later launches an attack. Kull in a fever gets up and sees monsters attacking. He attacks and this inspires his men to fight. The cult is driven off and Kull is back to health.

This was a good issue. The story was a fairly standard one of Conan getting revenge against those that killed the children under his protection. Storywise it was nothing new, but it had plenty of cool artwork with him hunting down various assassins.

The Kull story was also an OK if nothing new story. Kull gets ambushed and, in a fever, fights off the attackers. What I didn’t care for was the artwork. It was very crude and not the style I like. All in all, a decent read on a Sunday morning if nothing spectacular.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #195

“Blood of Ages”

Writer: James C. Owsley

Artists: Val Semeiks and Geof Isherwood

In the temple of Mitra where Kaleb killed the Devourer of Souls, the villagers are looting it. One gets greedy and grabs the Devourer’s sword. A bolt of lightning kills the guy and resurrects the Devourer. Meanwhile the rebel army Conan commands has its own issues. Kobe has to go and round up horses and gets ambushed and captured by bandits. The bandits are led by Bahkt who has a grudge against Conan. He hopes that Kobe will be bait. At the court of the emperor of Koth, the emperor hires Red Sonja to convince Conan to abandon this revolt or kill him. Solaise plays with the cat Sedrick and causes several flashes of light. One blinds Conan long enough for Bahkt to escape his battle.

This is a fairly meandering story. It sets up a new opponent for Conan in the crazy Bahkt. We see that Kobe is an arrogant ass that needs to get rescued by Shapur. Solaise has serious power with her newfound cat and the Devourer is still alive and wants that power. Oh, and Red Sonja is entering the story. Not a bad move as I believe her series was cancelled at this time, but she is still a very popular character. Another strange story but one that does keep the reader’s interest.