Customer Reviews

Conan And The Songs Of The Dead (Conan (Dark Horse Unnumbered))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Artwork:

Although I like the artwork of the Conan Volumes (Busiek/Nord) better, the artwork in this one is still pretty decent. I think it renders Conan fairly accurately. It is a different style, so it's not going to look the same as other Conan works. That being said, I have a real issue with people that say "the art sucked". Every person's opinion is going to be different. If you're not sure if you're going to like it, go to the top and preview a couple pages.

Story:

This is basically an odd couple story: Conan is the straight man and Alvazar is the comic relief. Yes the story is a bit silly at times, but it is basic Conan: Balls to the wall blood, guts, sorcery, and topless women. If you're looking to be intellectually stimulated you're in the wrong place, and you are obviously not familiar with Conan.

Long story short, if you are a fan of Conan you will probably like this, if you're not you will probably consider it a so-so read.

This gorgeous rendition of Conan and the Cimmerian's world is a blast! Fans of sword & sorcery adventuring will find this the colorized epitome of strong classic S&S. Incorporating all of the components--horror, humor, sex, violence, drink, and treasure--in a no-holds-barred fashion by both author and artist, this is a great read.

While I have seen better eye candy, Truman does a marvelous job with such an iconic character, getting better as the book progresses. In fact, the b&w sketches and discussion of his work throughs at the conclusion were simply thrilling. As for Lansdale's tale, I'd never read a thing by him before, so with no expectations, I felt he delivered an action-packed tale at a satisfactory level. Sure, the evil sorcerer did seem to die too quickly come final confrontation, but he gave a good fight throughout and the momentum of the action and the shifting foe somewhat alleviated that.

And dialogue? Banter? Locker-room camp? Since when is S&S above that? Or Conan for that matter? Sure, the great man spoke a bit more than is norm, but he also had a companion that wouldn't shut up. Conan simply rose to the occasion.

I give this 5 stars for entertainment value, not just for quality (though that would probably rate a 4).

Definitely for a mature audience though.

Enjoy!

Script is way off the mark with this ball of yarn. it reads stupid, art is good through, but story is what kills this book. Read Roy Thomas, Kurt Busiek or Howard's Conan.

I would have given this graphic novel a Three Star rating. What kept me from doing so was the ending of the novel.

Spoiler Alert

Conan would never kill a female friend. It is against everything he believes in to harm women!! I was so angered in the very end when he struck down his lady companion! He could easily have slapped her to stun her; but kill? No way should that have been done because Conan would not have done it! The storyline was pretty good as was the artwork. I'd have readily recommended the novel had the ending been more realistic. But the slaying of a woman by Conan's hand left a bad taste in my mouth. No woman-- especially a beautiful woman-- should ever be killed.

A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

Songs of The Dead was to say the least different, but I enjoyed it. "Adult Humor" runs rampant, and Conan's sidekick provides a lot of the jokes. This particular arc doesn't take itself to seriously, however again, this isn't a bad thing. What I really didn't like was that after reading the book once it has completely fallen apart. This isn't the quality of come to expect from Darkhorse's offerings. - Mike

Of all the Conan graphic novels I've read, this is one contained the most adult humor and themes I've encountered. It is without a doubt, a nice fit in the Conan universe and one that I would recommend to any a Conan fan. The only real thing I felt funny about is the drawings, which are not bad by any means but I don't hold them at relatively the same quality I would hold other Conan graphic novels.

A typical Conan adventure. This book breaks no new ground for storyline or graphics.

The plot - Conan teams up with a wisecracking sidekick Alvazar to look for 4 items which can awaken some unnamed horror. They are up against a wizard bent on world domination. Naturally, they thwart the wizard and Conan and Alvazar rides off into the sunset. That's it.

There is quite a bit of dialogue here. The normally taciturn Conan responds to Alvazar continuous commentaries with quite a few of his own. It is funny in parts but generally, the wise-cracking is too Spidey-like and is definitely out of character for Conan.

The genie (djinn) is drawn with exposed breasts at first, then with covered breasts later. There is a rather risque scene of lovemaking between Conan and the djinn (so adults might want to check on the suitability of this book for minors).

The colouring is awful. The drawings are not great. The figures look stilted and awkward.
If not for the colouring, this book resembles the earlier b/w Savage Sword of Conan tales which were neither good nor bad.

You'd think that a comic featuring Conan against a wizard who can forcibly shapeshift other creatures, leading up to the bringing of a Lovecraftian nasty into the world at the climax, would be a great ride.

Alas, this one isn't. Besides being pretty much a retread of a hundred other bad Conan pastiches, "Songs of the Dead" suffers under a painfully bad script full of lame locker room humor. Yes, Conan has descended to poop jokes and verbal pissing-contests. Not pretty.

The few things that are good about "Songs of the Dead" are quickly disposed of (most notably an intriguing djinn character who sadly gets reduced to just another cheesy babe for Conan to have sex with, and a wizard with some interesting moments of characterization who is killed in short order once he gets within reach), and the rest never really manages to get better than "mediocre and done better before by other people".

"Conan and the Songs of the Dead" was a real disappointment, and should be shunned by Robert E. Howard fans.

This Conan saga is very much in keeping with the Conan movie that Governor Arnold made famous, and very much like REH portrayed in his stories of the adventurous Cimmerian... Like the movie, Conan in this graphic novel is paired up with a sniveling complaining cohort who helps bring levity to a very dark story. And as in most of REH's stories Conan is pretty much out for himself... The artwork is top notch, especially the coloring; it is lush and sets a dark malevolent mood of danger and adventure. I have almost all the Conan Graphic novels and I feel this one while different is on par with those by Cary Nord, the artistic genius and the many others that have been allowed to render Conan. And in many respects I prefer this one because the coloring is beyond the softness of Nord's books and there is a lot more black on these pages making the characters more solid looking. This may not be an REH story, but it is very much like the Conan movie, which I feel is an incredible interpretation of REH's Conan.

Arrived when it was supposed to, and in very good condition. Packaged with care! Thank you.