Looking back into a character’s past can be somewhat exhausting to any audience member, but is this latest journey into everyone’s favorite barbarian King’s history worthy of your money and time?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

King Conan has faced many threats to his throne in Aquilonia—but none more deadly than a traitorous alliance backed by the resurrected sorcerer Xaltotun, at whose command mountains crumble!

Come with me to a far away place where a brutal man became ruler of a land and had to deal with all the problems that followed therein.  What we have here is creative yarn that embraces the hokier aspects of this property while cementing its overall quality with the current ongoing series.

The script by Timothy Truman is solid from the first page to the final dramatic panel.  He channels the title character well as he embraces a style of storytelling that follows the perspective of a narrator recounting a tale first told to him by the man with the iron crown, and by Crom, what’s put on display is wonderfully put together.  There are certainly some missteps here and there as some of the dialogue comes off rather corny and the pace at times drags for a bit.  Especially near the center of this escapade a lot of these problems occur, but truth be told these instances do little to sully an otherwise engaging experience.

Tomás Giorello handles the art with a great level of skill.  The talent bridges the gap between the supernatural and his realistic sensibilities as he offers up a soft form with pristine execution.  I was particularly impressed with the amount of consistent attention paid to the backgrounds, as there were points that I found myself transfixed as I simply stopped reading and gazed on the lavish sets being brought forth before me.  Absolutely can not wait to view the upcoming illustrations in the second issue.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #1 is a release that has some missteps here and there but it still earns a high marks and a recommendation.

4/5