Conan: Road of Kings #12 by Roy Thomas and Mike Hawthorne

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Conan: Road of Kings #12
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Mike Hawthorne, John Lucas, and Dan Jackson

This issue of Conan is entitled “Conan’s Day in Court”. A fitting title for this little editorial review.

Dark Horse has long told the definitive tellings of Conan the Barbarian, and as the latest chapter draws to a close, you’d be forgiven for wondering why I’m only now spotlighting the series.

I do it because I don’t just review books on a ship date basis. I do it because my interests in comics extend beyond relaunching universes and cross over banners. There are those who tell me my words are wasted if I’m not discussing the bigger superheroics smash ups going on around the industry, but I don’t accept that. Spandex and superheroes have their place, but the industry is bigger than that, has more depth than that, and that’s why I love comic books. It’s a limitless, genre-less medium. And truth be told, even a super man owes some of his success to Conan.

Road of Kings #12 is the final issue of the third edition of Conan, and I do Roy Thomas and his artists a disservice in not writing about it sooner. The latest tale of Conan begins February 8th, and I intend to be on board with it. More on that later. For now, let’s look at the Road of Kings and whet your appetite for the back issue and trade bins.

When we last left Conan, he was ambushed and overtaken by some foes he had upset prior: He had killed the captain of the guards in a bar brawl. He is now jailed for his crime. The jailors and fellow prisoner speak of the judge who will oversee the Cimmerian’s trial, and it soon becomes apparent that the warrior’s fate is already sealed.

As he stands before the court, he is insulted and goaded into taking action. It is then the blood and blades fly free.

The scripts of Roy Thomas perfectly capture Robert E. Howard’s pulp fiction. The story and dialogue are not jaw droppingly impressive, but it does the rare trick of making you forget you’re reading a comic book, and actually pulls you into the world. The dialogue is perfectly clipped, the action is brutal and glorious, and throughout the entire run, Thomas manages to consistently screw over his hero in classic pulp hero fashion. Even this final issue ends on a cliffhanger that stands consistent with Conan past and present.

While it’s not the most mind-bending read on the shelves, it’s fun, and there are few books that can consistently lay claim to that like Conan has (all three recent editions, in fact).

Mike Hawthorne penciled the majority of the series, and finishes off this saga with style. He has a consistent style and energy to his work that simply flows from page to page. The linework is deceptively simple, the kind of comic art that inspired you as a kid to draw, and in fact, surely you could draw this well…except you can’t. Like Paul Smith, Alex Toth, Mike Mignola, or Mike Oeming, while the art seems simple in appearance, it’s simply note reproducable. There’s a hidden talent involved, weaved in with the art.

John Lucas and his inks define that illusion even more, and Dan Jackson’s colors simply shimmer on the page. Like Hawthorne, the work is clean and simple, but accomplishes much more than some more in-depth renderers ever have.

If you have not read it, but crave violence, scantily clad (sometimes naked) women, grim heroics, and have a longing for something different than the latest mega event, do yourself and your shop (or Dark Horse Digital Distribution, wink wink) a favor and check out Conan: The Road of Kings to see one of the most legendary characters, Conan, penned by one of the most legendary writers, Roy Thomas.

And then you’ll be up to speed for February’s next adventure: Conan the Barbarian #1, the new ongoing by Brian “Demo and Channel Zero” Wood, Becky “Demo, Wolves, and Lover of Iron Maiden” Cloonan, Dave “Umbrella Academy, New Frontier, Too Much Awesome To List” Stewart, and Massimo “Y The Last Man and Northlanders Covers Are Godly” Carnevale.

I’ll be back to cover that from the start on the 8th. For now, look to the great and forbidding Western Ocean and the unglimpsed lands to which it leads…

Matt Graham is a freelance contributor when he's not writing and illustrating for himself and others. A screenwriter and illustrator with experience in nearly every role of comic and film production, he spends most of his time rationalizing why it's not that weird to have a crush on the female teenaged clone of the hairiest, barrel chested man in comics.