Customer Reviews

The Hall of the Dead and Other Stories (Conan, Vol. 4)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 4th volume will be hard to beat. Unlike a complaint I read that the art is not Cary Nord's best, that it's "sketchy", well I cheerfully disagree. In fact I'd say this was Nord's most solid looking work to date. The coloring affects created by Dave Stewart are also the best so far. These tales are an uncluttered stream of the closest attempts at Getting Robert Howard's feel into these stories yet. What's funny about that is that other than the fragment, "Hall of the Dead", an unfinished Conan tale that has been finished almost masterfully by Mike Mignola, there not a lick of Howard's prose in the lot. Kurt Busiek, sadly, finally comes into his own at the end of his run. His writing feels downright channelled by Conan's creator and author. Even Tim Truman delivers a gutsy tale of Nestor coming to Conan's aid when you least expect him to do such a thing. The focus on Mignola's tale finishing out the fragment was a natural selection. His Hellboy and BPRD tales are very evocative of H.P. Lovecraft cosmic horror tales. Robert Howard was very much an admirer and also a colleague of Lovecraft's and this tale is one of the the best invoking that spirit of the ancient horror which Lovecraft loved to weave his tales around.
I have a prediction: despite the best efforts in the future I find it hard to believe this will ever be done better. I know that sounds pretty arrogant and cynical but this machine was really rolling despite having three different writers. The fact that these stories flowed so seamlessly is an example of a good vibe, a sound spirit and a solidly shared, creative effort.
For me this series could end right here and I'd be happy.
Here's hoping I'm proven wrong.

In this latest installment of Dark Horse's Conan comics, everyone's favorite Cimmerian brigand is still in the thief-city of Zamora and gaining quite the reputation as a master burglar - until his most recent exploit runs him afoul of a jealous local thief, his latest lover, and a powerful magistrate who wants his head. Chased out of town by a veritable army and winning through only by the skin of his teeth, Conan finds himself in a ruined, forgotten city ruled by unspeakable creatures - and its former inhabitants. Can Conan survive his explorations of the Halls of the Dead? And if so, what other dangers await him beyond? You'll have to pick up this volume to find out.

One of the more interested elements in this volume is the fact that it marks the end of Kurt Busiek's run on the comic (he wrote the first two chapers) and includes three installments written by Hellboy's Mike Mignola, as well as two by Timothy Truman (who you might remember from his work on Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo in the 1990s, among others). The Mignola installments are an especially satisfying treat - it is noted in the book that Mignola provided page layouts for series penciler Cary Nord to work off of, and the pages of Mignola's three chapters practically bristle with his singular style; fans of Hellboy will delight in seeing how Mignola's visions of monsters, undead, and just plain creepiness translates into a Conan yarn - and how beautifully it works. Truman's installments are entertaining as well - by turns toungue-in-cheek, brutal, intense and amusing; and the amazing artwork of Cary Nord and Dave Stewart will stun you throughout. Not to be missed!

First off I'd like to say that I'm a huge Conan fan, and I love these stories by Kurt Busiek. It's just great how he integrates the original work and create something new from it. In this series we're introduced with new writer Tim Truman who will be taking over for Kurt Busiek, and in all respects the book was ok. The storyline was interesting but I felt like the whole thing was rushed and it seemed like it was not finished. I guess i expected more after waiting for awhile for this book to come out. On top of that I love the artwork of Cary Nord (Probably the reason why I love these comics so much and also the reason I noticed it right away), but in this installment the artwork changed a little, but it still kept the essence from the previous ones. I found it to be more sketchy if anything. So overall not the best of the installments despite having 3 writers including Mike Mignola, but it's still worth the read.

It seems that some poeple tend to think this was the lesser of this volume, but I think that is unfair. This is a excellent continuation that I feel has a great sense of building up for the next installment. A lot of things happen, and though you can certainly tell where Mignola contributed, it still feels like a true Conan story throughout. It just wasn't as rip-roaring as some of the previous ones. I eagerly look forward to the next installment.

Conan the badass Cimmerian is back in the fourth installment of the awesome nemedian chronicles. This time we get to see 3 different writers in action, Kurt Busiek, Mike Mignolia (a personal favorite), and Timothy trueman. Illustrated once again by Cary Nord. One of the Greatest features of the book is it goes into great detail as to the beginnings of a unique relationship between Conan and Nestor. Like the other volumes in the series you'll get all of your gory hack and slash action, but this book throws in a more mythical aspect, and definitely less human interaction between Conan and his typical foes.
I hope that this review has helped you in your decision.
-D
PS: Beware of the frogs.

The storyline has started to pick up from last issue. Presumably because the last issue featured the "Tower of the Elephant" which was such a familiar storyline. I note that there is a transition of writers here. Whatever, there is a glaring discontinuity. Conan was shot thru the left shoulder with an arrow after he survived a jump over a chasm. In the next few pages, Conan is depicted without any wound!
The fight scenes with the toad god appears disjointed, one moment the toad god had been badly slashed, the next page the toad god had fully recovered and was just as feisty.
I continue to like this slightly amoral Conan, killing Osshur on a supposition of betrayal and tricking Nestor to fall into the hands of his captors. He is equally matched by the scheming Jiara. This is what Conan is all about. Pure debauchery.

The abrupt departure of writer Kurt Busiek didn't slow the momentum of one of the best comic books on the racks. Mike Mignola deftly handles the creepy "Hall of the Dead" adaptation following a very strong prequel story from Busiek introducing Nestor, the rogue Gunderman. Hall is a a weird story and very well suited to Mignola's strenths and minimalist scripting.
Cary Nord produces some of his best solo work in this volume, and even though this story arc was plagued by chronic lateness, the results make the wait worth while. Absolutely beautiful.
The final two chapers are written by new regular scribe Tim Truman and herald some good things to come. Here's to more like this!

Book was received promptly and in stated condition. Great deal, good seller. Would definitely usethis seller again. Wish I could have found the entire Conan set but happy to find the missing volume for less than I paid for shipping most of the other volumes!

This fourth volume of the top-notch new Conan series keeps up the intensity and true-to-Howard feel that has helped make these stories so much loved by old die-hard Conan followers and new fans alike. It also continues the absolutely beautiful artwork that makes this series stand out as unique in Conan comics, and has attracted so many to these pages. The stories related in THE HALL OF THE DEAD pick up right where THE TOWER OF THE ELEPHANT left off, with Conan in the City of Thieves living off the land (or off of other peoples coffers). His treasure seeking leads him into trouble when he not only robs, but seduces the wife of, a powerful city magistrate, who ends up hiring another thief (and a great new character), Nestor the Gunderman, to capture/kill Conan. These two end up in an abandoned city, where the principle story adapted from a REH outline takes place. After robbing this place, and somehow escaping a powerful evil there, Conan finds that Zamora has become a bit to hot for comfort and heads off for new adventure with the beautiful (but spiteful) Jiara. All of the stories related here are full of excitement and all kinds of awesomeness that is sure to please fans of Conan, and the direction of the story promises more greatness in future volumes.

I was initially somewhat concerned about loosing Kurt Busiek, but was pleasantly surprised by the writing of newcomer Tim Truman. The two chapters here written by Truman are excellent in my opinion, and I think the future of the saga remains in more-than-capable hands. Personally, I very much look forward to continuing the series!

I just got this the other day and I've already read it twice. I can't add anything else that the other reviews haven't already said. I really like Nord's art, it gets really tight in the middle of the book, he's excellent, and the story is deep and the characters are great, This book is adult material, so I don't know if anyone mentioned that. This book is thick, 200 pages, looks to be more though. The price that Amazon offering it for is a steal of a deal. I'll probably look at it again to night