Best of this Week: Conan the Barbarian #7 (Legacy #282) – Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Matthew Wilson and Travis Lanham
Conan’s heart is as cold as ice.
As such, he has great trouble letting people in and, in all honesty, why would he? He’s a thief and a killer in a world of thieves, killers and maniacs around every corner. The very idea of trust and love is something that Conan keeps far away from his heart as either a distraction or something that can be a grave detriment to any traveler. As such, when this book begins and Conan requests a few ladies of the night to join him on a journey, he is very cold to them initially.
He rides ahead of them on his horse to avoid unnecessary talk while they gossip amongst themselves over his intentions; whether or not he’s going to sacrifice them to a savage god, or planning a robbery and they laugh at the barbarian. It’s not uncommon for anyone to underestimate Conan, but his lack of willingness to touch them or even share a tent with them, given the nature of almost everyone in the Hyborian Age, is a little bit suspicious. We then get our first hints of what the underlying plot of this issue might be as Conan is unable to sleep because of memories of a certain Pirate Queen.
The next morning, one of the girls holds a blade to Conan’s throat and the barbarian doesn’t flinch. The Khitan woman asks where he is leading them and he surprises her by acknowledging what kind of hardships that they’ve shared in life, without any prior knowledge and she, the coldest of the girls sort of falls for Conan, earning him the respect of all of them. That’s what makes Conan great and so admirable, he has lived a life that most Hyperborians could only dream of and has suffered almost every pain imaginable. His eyes are filled with conviction and a darkness that commands respect.
Not only are Conan’s words hard, but his body is as well. I haven’t commented on it in a while, but Asrar’s work still shines amazingly as he draws Conan as a rock hard, man of power as he protects the girls from wolves. Though only one panel, Conan looks as ferocious as the beasts, driving his sword through the wolves, blood splashing from their wounds. His biceps and triceps tighten as he overcomes the animals in his frothing rage. Conan is intimidating and as the girls look on, their various faces from stunned bewilderment to gazes of lustful want only makes this entire book that much more beautiful to look at.
Not only is the action good, but the scenes of downtime are even better. With Wilson’s spectacular coloring, their evening feast feels all the more intimate. Conan, unable to fetch more than a rabbit, is surprised when the girls show up with a nice dinner and the way that they look at him, lit with the warm orange of their fire, is fantastic. Conan sat by and ate their food, thinking it was the finest meal he’d had in months and that was the moment they’d entered his heart. He listened to them tell tales of their various homes and stunning sights and when he did speak after being asked why he left Cimmeria, he looked at all of them and said that he knew that there was a world with sights that would leave him stunned.
He didn’t sleep with memories on his mind that night. The next morning, he reveals his plan to the girls, that they would sneak upon a pleasure ship so that Conan may kill a man that he had his eyes set upon for quite some time, telling the girls of a great reward for his head. Making fun of him for looking like a shipwrecked hobo, they clean him up nicely and board the ship. Unfortunately, Conan’s drink was poisoned and he finds himself dangling over croc infested waters at the mercy of the ships owner, Pheidus, an Argossean money lender. Love had made him sloppy. Pheidus, thinking he has the upperhand because he knew Conan was coming, drops him into the crocs, while taunting him about having the girls captured.
But, amazingly, the girls kill the guards holding them, toss Conan a sword to free himself and tear through Pheidus’ men. Violence is sexy and this scene might as well have been porn because not only did Conan rip and tear as normal, but each of the five girls did as well. They slashed and sliced with daggers and fists, grit their teeth in rage and screamed the same mad scream that Conan is famous for. As Conan tosses Pheidus from the ship, his inner monologue explains why he targeted him with such fervor.
Conan’s thoughts drift to his one true love, Bêlit, and how Pheidus ensured that her father would flounder on a sand dune until he died. This was all personal to him and the sheer amount of depth this adds to his character is astounding. Conan and Bêlit had one of the most beautiful and storied romances in Conan’s history before her death due to greed MANY, MANY years ago. Conan taking revenge on a man that wronged her family whose vice also happens to be greed is mighty poetic.
This book, as with the others in this series was absolutely beautiful. Jason Aaron really understands this character, his moods, his wants and desires and Mahmud Asrar is able to capture it with perfect line art and intensity. The action is amazing and using these one-shot stories to connect the overarching narrative is masterful and I cannot wait to see where this all ends up, high recommend!
Ty Talks Comics 