Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Sergio Davila
Dark Horse Comics
$3.99

I’ll start off being honest and telling you I’m not terribly well versed in the Conan mythology outside of the old movies. That’s why I figured I was well suited to be the one to review this new series, compliments of Dark Horse. If Conan the Slayer can win over someone whose never shown any interest in a franchise made famous by the Governator, then Cullen Bunn has a winner on his hands.

The first issue has our Cimmerian hero, battle worn, alone and on the hunt. But things get tense quickly as the fatigue from Conan’s wounds takes him from the frying pan into the fire. For the most part, the tension is pretty high throughout the lion’s share of the book, but the narration does take a little wind out of the sails. It’s like watching a wild tiger on the prowl on Animal Planet but having to sit through some voiceover droning just when it’s getting good. Bunn has the right idea but he has to know when to step back and let the suspense unravel itself which, to be fair, does in the second half of the story. There’s a lot of sneering and tough guy talk, but nothing that can be confused with character development. However, this book doesn’t pretend to be that kind of story so it’s not that big of a deal.

Visually, Sergio Davila brings about a very classic, pulp feel that a comic like Conan should have. The action beats are relentless and, at times, unsettling and the faces are beautiful and expressive. Every good comic book should have at least one panel that sums up your character and the feel of the comic all in one swoop. There’s a moment when Conan pounces on his enemies in the first half that accomplishes just that (on a related note, Conan is absolutely terrifying) and sets the tone for the sort of book you can expect.

Bottom Line: If the point of this book is to attract new readers to an old franchise, Conan the Slayer is just good looking and right-to-the-point enough to do the job.