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King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel #4 (of 4)

Reviewed by Wolfgang Parker

Written by: Timothy Truman
Art by: Tomas Giorello
Colors by: Jose Villarrubia
Letters by: Richard Starkings
Cover by: Darick Robertson and Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse
Cover Price: $3.50

As all good things, "King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel" comes to a close in issue 4. I would be bummed, but I have heard Tomas Giorello is coming back for another Conan series. That takes some the sting out of "the end."

Without getting into the story (which is great!) I am just going to urge you to check out the interior pages below, and maybe check out the reviews for the previous issues of this series posted here on ComicRelated.com. Conan doesn't get any better! What I am going to talk about is what this creative team has done with this book...that is, above and beyond the creation of an entertaining Conan comic.

In issue 4, writer Timothy Truman and his team draw an interesting parallel between the imperiled Kingdom of Aquilonia—Conan's kingdom—and America, especially considering the uncertain times in which we live. Our fear that those in power will run roughshod over our rights and rob us all with impunity with our enemies at our gates is, unfortunately, very real these days, and Truman has tapped into that fear. In turn, it drove home why Conan, a character created 80 years ago, has endured all this time.

Conan isn't just a swashbuckler, a warrior, a thief, a freebooter, or a barbarian. He's all of those things, but at his core Conan is a free man, and he values freedom above all else. That love of freedom and the fact that his actions to protect that freedom are immediate, direct, and savage makes him the ideal American hero. In this book we see his reaction to the betrayal of his kingdom, and his unbreakable spirit to never accept defeat or surrender.

These maybe fundamental qualities of many comic book heroes, you can even say they are cliche, old hat even. But considering that every day we log on, or watch TV, or read the news about a sinking economy, constant natural disasters, jobless rates climbing, wars, the threat or terrorism and we see our leaders making little headway due to them putting their political careers ahead of the common good, this cliche barbarian's actions become inspiring, and dare I say...fresh, or even new.

I find it impossible not to long to be one of his subjects. To live my life knowing that when my freedom is threatened my leader will take decisive action without hesitation, and will never accept defeat. Justice will be swift and merciless. It's pretty idealistic, isn't it? And potentially reckless in the real world. But that is what these comics are about: escape from the laundry list of problems we face in the real world for a while.

Truman's Conan is a real American hero in the classic sense. He has honed in on what Conan's creator Robert E. Howard has started with at the inception: the tale of a truly free man. I guess it isn't a big surprise, considering Howard was a Texan. But this is the first comic I have read to make me really root for the good guys, and that has to be worth something, right? My thanks to Truman and company for baptizing me with steel and blood. You can consider me converted and saved.

Long live my king...CONAN!

Reviewer Bio

Wolfgang Parker / Reviewer
Wolfgang Parker is a comics writer currently in the throes of production for his first full-length graphic novel. He is also a recording artist with a couple of albums out, and a published photographer. You can find out a lot just by Googling his name, and if you're on Facebook, look him up.