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Post by Jason Aiken on Nov 19, 2019 22:22:10 GMT -5
This had the best art by Asrar yet. He's really shaping up to be a solid s&s artist.
I like the idea behind the rogues gallery mechanic, and even some of the designs, too.
It wasn't bad, one of the better new CtB issues. Probably the best by the Aaron and Asrar combo.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Nov 19, 2019 22:42:52 GMT -5
This was pretty good and a welcome return to the main storyline. I don't have all my issues with me, but are those shark creatures from the first SSOC arc earlier this year?
I was wondering if those kids were Conan's, but I'm glad they aren't.
Not a bad issue at all. Aaron's run had a lot of potential but it really lost focus once it started jumping around in time. That only works if each issue works and stands on its own, then it can afford the main threat to be lurking in the background.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2019 10:52:08 GMT -5
A pretty good review by DISPATCHDCU of Weird Science Marvel Comics: weirdsciencemarvelcomics.com/2019/11/20/conan-the-barbarian-11-review/Readers, this issue was truly one of a kind. Often times, comic fans gaze at covers and get conned into thinking that one thing will happen when it actually doesn’t occur in the narrative at all. So, at first glance, it transpires from the cover that Conan is literally going to challenge Crom. Next, comic enthusiasts scan through the previews and solicits to get a small taste of what the issue will be about. In this case, it specifically declared that Conan was going to stand ”face to face” with Crom. Therefore, again this reviewer still couldn’t imagine that Conan was actually going to take on his God. Maybe this was some sort of sorcery or mystical trial? Maybe Crom simply assembled beings to fight for him? Either way, this reader did not expect Crom, the God who cares nothing for his people would actually care enough to battle Conan. Boy was this reviewer wrong!
This issue was outrageous. Jason Aaron has truly outdone himself and has possibly created my favorite Conan issue of his run, if not out of any Conan issue this critic has ever read. Now, maybe Conan has done this before BUT he fought Crom for $&@$ sake! This wasn’t a dream or a premonition. Conan withstood the supernatural being that he cursed day in and day out for his entire life. This reader was incredibly shocked, awestruck, and astonishingly amazed to see this throw down unfold before my very eyes AND would put this fight in my top 10 all-time. Fans of action, adventure, or just fictional battles will fall in love with this issue.
As for this specific tale, Jason Aaron finally nails the driving heart and passion for the grizzly Cimmerian. Aaron focuses on Conan’s tenacity, vigor, love, and respect for humanity. Conan lives in the moment and will always stand for those in need regardless of his personal circumstances, which Aaron shows every step of the way as Conan relentlessly treks the mountain to unravel what‘s going on. He’s ambitious, loyal to a cause, kind, and won’t stand for ignorance, terror tactics, and arrogance, which Aaron amplifies during each stubbornly unyielding attack on Crom. Sure, the issue focused on one thing: Conan verse Crom. However, Aaron used this fight to truly exacerbate the reader’s attention to the fine minutia that makes Conan’s character so outstanding. Aaron finally cranks a home run and takes the character of Conan out of the park!
And if the above wasn’t enough to sell new and old readers to take a peek, Mahmud Asrar’s illustrations should simply be the peanut butter icing on the chocolate cake. Asrar’s art is so incredibly vibrant and extensive that it will draw readers into the heart of the narrative and lock them into the story until the remarkable splash page that ends the issue. Asrar’s art is violently stimulating yet polished and smooth with a clear overtone that practically smacks the reader in the face and hypnotizes them throughout the entire narrative. Furthermore, this reviewer adored the additions to the story that Matthew Wilson’s colors and Travis Lanham lettering brought specifically to Crom. Together with Asrar, this creative team made Crom into this gargantuan mountain of a God (literally) that would make any man cower in their boots… except for Conan of course. Conan fans, Aaron may have written his best story to date however, this art team really upped its game and broke through the glass ceiling. If this creative team is reading this review, let me be the first to thank them for an unbelievably impressive issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jason Aaron not only magnifies Conan the Barbarian’s characteristics wonderfully but he also builds an overly entertaining story that this reader has never seen before in a Conan narrative. The issue is fast-paced, enjoyable, and actually helps make the overarching story feel more complete. Aaron writes a tale that’s easy to follow, fascinating, and fits thematically within his story as well as the character development of the Hyborian-born Cimmerian. And if you’re searching for more, Asrar and his art team add that extra flavor making this one of the best Conan issues this reviewer has ever read. Conan and comic fans alike need to read this tale. If it’s your first time reading a Conan issue, you very well may be hooked after reading this one. Pick this issue up and thank me later. It will totally be worth every penny!
9.8/10
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2019 11:00:32 GMT -5
Aaron certainly took his time getting round to telling the actual story. This could work when or if Marvel decide to collect all 12 issues into one volume.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2019 14:01:22 GMT -5
This was pretty good and a welcome return to the main storyline. I don't have all my issues with me, but are those shark creatures from the first SSOC arc earlier this year?
I was wondering if those kids were Conan's, but I'm glad they aren't. Not a bad issue at all. Aaron's run had a lot of potential but it really lost focus once it started jumping around in time. That only works if each issue works and stands on its own, then it can afford the main threat to be lurking in the background. Yeah, the sharks are from CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5.
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Post by mindboggled on Nov 20, 2019 21:36:39 GMT -5
This my favorite issue of the new CTB. Sure, Howard would never write a story like this featuring Conan. So its not Howardien, but, that does not stop it from being extremely fun to read. Crom is visualized and characterized fantastically here. Enjoy seeing him immensely; even if, in Howards stories he was perhaps not meant to be "real". Conan battling Crom brought many great video game bosses to mind and, Godzilla, when Crom shot that energy beam out of his mouth. So now Conan will bear a curse that is identical to Kane's from Karl Edward Wagner's tales.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Nov 20, 2019 21:58:01 GMT -5
This was pretty good and a welcome return to the main storyline. I don't have all my issues with me, but are those shark creatures from the first SSOC arc earlier this year?
I was wondering if those kids were Conan's, but I'm glad they aren't. Not a bad issue at all. Aaron's run had a lot of potential but it really lost focus once it started jumping around in time. That only works if each issue works and stands on its own, then it can afford the main threat to be lurking in the background. Yeah, the sharks are from CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5. Ah, cool. Thanks. For some reason I thought SSOC but that's what happens when you essentially have a main title without a consistent story arc and a secondary title that also doesn't.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 11:57:30 GMT -5
The Ball is Dropped – And Punted – In Conan #11 a review by Bob Freeman:www.paintmonkslibrary.com/2019/11/20/review-the-ball-is-dropped-and-punted-in-conan-11/We have reached the penultimate chapter in Jason Aaron and (mostly) Mahmud Asrar’s twelve-part saga — The Life & Death of Conan. It has been, for this reviewer, a dismal exercise that has highlighted the worst tendencies of modern comics.
I don’t want to be that guy … you know, the old gray-beaded curmudgeon recalling the glory days of comicdom when god-like beings named Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Buscema, Kubert, and more strode the earth. The guy who bemoans, “Back in my day, why comics were something special…”
But it’s kind of true.
The greatest crime Aaron and Asrar’s Conan has committed has been taking too darned long to get to the point. In the 70s, this would have been a Roy Thomas three-parter. The pages would have been dripping with elegant prose and Buscema and Chan would have delivered artwork to elevate the story even higher.
Aaron and Asrar have given us a decompressed, slow and plodding plot, filled with illustrations that rarely raise themselves to the levels of artistry one used to take for granted.
So, here we are, at the 11th hour of their tale and what do we get? Sparse words and panel after panel where the colorist does the heavy lifting by establishing mood and tone.
Oh, this is probably the second or third best issue in their run. There are some decent individual moments. But overall, we knew Conan would be coming back from the dead to face Razazel. It was telegraphed from the beginning.
The indomitable spirit of Conan was there, buried in a painfully extended narrative, throughout the run, but especially in this issue. The sentiment was not the problem, but the execution certainly was.
Aaron and Asrar are both talented creators. Conan just got away from them. But they shouldn’t take it too hard. Thomas and Davis sort of dropped the ball over on Savage Sword, too.
Maybe it’s not the creators. Maybe it’s Marvel and their editorial shortcomings. Maybe its the stewardship. Maybe it’s… Maybe…
Maybe I need to hole up in my woodland shack with Robert E. Howard’s collected Conan tales, complete and unmarred by other hands. That’s where Conan is.
Maybe I need to take a deep breath and remind myself, these are just comic books. Maybe I should climb down off the mountain and return to my people in the village. Yeah, maybe I should…
But by Crom, I’m not ready to lie down just yet.
Skulls of my enemies? 5 out of 10 of them I guess. One issue remains. While it’s impossible for redemption, I still hope its a worthwhile conclusion to the tale. But mostly, I hope Jim Zub’s ready to take up the mantle and deliver the Conan we deserve.
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Post by johnnypt on Nov 21, 2019 13:01:30 GMT -5
I would this individual issue higher (probably 7 or 8), but that review is pretty much my thoughts about the past year. Could've been 4-6 issues and pack a far stronger punch.
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Post by kemp on Nov 22, 2019 9:28:03 GMT -5
Only thing missing are Wolverine's claws coming out of Conan's knuckles in that depiction.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2019 10:36:26 GMT -5
Only thing missing are Wolverine's claws coming out of Conan's knuckles in that depiction. CROM COUNT THE DEAD! BUB
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 11:05:39 GMT -5
Review by Bill at Comic Book University:
Conan The Barbarian #11 Review | COMIC BOOK UNIVERSITY
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Post by Char-Vell on Nov 29, 2019 14:14:47 GMT -5
Conan's interaction with Crom in this issue might be my favorite bit of writing in the series.
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Post by kemp on Nov 29, 2019 21:13:41 GMT -5
I liked how Conan found it funny that in the end after surviving wild Picts, Stygian wizards and Kozaki marauders that it was two small kids that finally did him in.
However, I did not like how Conan was complaining about Crom’s lack of action in aiding his people. I mean, Conan knows the score with Crom, why complain about it. It seemed it was never an issue in the old SSOC days and the original stories. Crom always seemed far away and that was good.
The bit about Conan going on about how he ‘carried’ Crom’s name across every kingdom and bent those kingdoms to his will, and whining about Crom never noticing it, what up with that !?!.
Maybe Conan has spent too much time amongst the civilised nations, at least in this new Marvel version.
A pattern seems to follow. Marvel has made Conan a little too much out of character as of late, maybe a little too opinionated, like Conan has a twitter or one of the other social networking accounts or something, and to think some people used to gripe about the old Lancer/Ace/Sphere paperbacks series with some new stories and rewritten REH stories, or based on manuscripts and fragments.
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Post by mindboggled on Dec 7, 2019 14:39:48 GMT -5
This is Conan for the video game generation. Light on dialogue, light on thought provoking subjects and big boss battles. It's dumb, but enjoyable.
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