Conan and the Jewels of Gwahlur (Hardcover)

by P. Craig Russell (Author, Artist) "RIDING AT FULL GALLOP, MAN AND HORSE BREAK OUT OF THE JUNGLE AND INTO THE CLEARING AS THE MORNING SUN CRESTS THE HORIZON..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jewels of Gwahlur, Barry Smith, Oscar Wilde

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The latest in the many tales of Conan kicks off with his mercenary side, as he sets out to steal the Jewels of Gwahlur. The story starts slowly—too slowly, in fact. The only thing to hold a non-diehard Conan fan's attention in the first 25 pages is the art—Russell is an acknowledged master and his work here approaches the best in fantasy comics art. Conan sneaks into the palace of Alkmeenon, only to find the slave-girl Muriela impersonating the oracle of the dead queen Yelena. Together they try to trick the priests out of the jewels, but only after Muriela is kidnapped does the story get interesting. Russell's strong point is that he's content to leave certain things—the demon servants of the priests, the jewels themselves, the magic preservation of a corpse—as mysteries. In some ways, Conan resembles old, old travel writing, albeit travel writing to a fantastic world: it chronicles rather than explains. The plot gets fun at the end, hinging on character, not action. Despite their loincloths and metal bras, the characters are fully –formed, and Russell's art is always worth savoring.
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From Booklist
In recent years, veteran comic-book artist Russell has concentrated on comics adaptations of classics in other media that range from Wagner and Mozart operas to Oscar Wilde's fairy tales. Here he adapts one of the 1930s stories of Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard that introduced the durable character. Seeking the fabled treasure of Gwahlur, Conan treks to abandoned Alk-meenon, where the city's last princess, the oracle Yelaya, watches over the jewels, though long dead (but magically undecayed). The barbarian's eye for ladies quickly descries that Yelaya is actually a dancing girl compelled by his old enemy, Thutmekri, to ensure that the jewels wind up with her master. Set relatively late in the character's fictional career, Gwahlur is, for a Conan yarn, light on swashbuckling and sorcery and heavy on palace intrigue and double-crossing. Russell's more stately depiction of Conan and his art nouveau-influenced style recall the early-1970s Conan drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith. Since many consider Windsor-Smith's the definitive rendition of the character, such resemblance is a definite virtue. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 88 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; 1 edition (January 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593074913
• ISBN-13: 978-1593074913
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #280,120 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Russell does it again!, March 20, 2006

By	TorgosPizza (Deep 13) - See all my reviews

Anyone that has enjoyed Russell's previous work adapting Norse mythology and opera might appreciate this, as well. Honestly, PCR's view of the character is one of the most accurate yet, and his ability to adapt the writings of others is astounding in it's depth. Still, I must admit the main reason I enjoy his art so much isn't the layout, so much as the gorgeous line work. Dark Horse really gave Conan fans a treat by recruiting PCR for this collected miniseries--the pairing of artist and subject truly was inspired--and the only complaint I can offer is that the ride is over far too swiftly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story, July 22, 2008

By	R. Rodriguez (Palmdale, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is another excellent Conan story, my only word of advice is if your planning to or already own volume three of the Savage Sword of Conan graphic novels. You'll have two almost identical versions of the same story. Having read both versions, I'd have to say the one in volume three of the Savage Sword of Conan is better as well a better bang for your dollar, since it over 500 pages while this one is a scant 88.