Conan #43

Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Tim Truman

Penciler: Tomas Giorello

Colorist: Richard Isanove

Duelling underbites.

In part three of Tim Truman’s adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s “Rogues in the House,” Conan, Murilo (a nobleman) and Nabonidus (a corrupt priest) are trapped in the basement by Thak, the angry gorilla-man. Thak proves to be the sneakiest primate since Lancelot Link (Secret Chimp) when he uses Nabonidus’ death traps to dispatch of a few would-be assassins. The three titular “rogues in the house” make their way upstairs to try and escape…

It doesn’t matter what an interpreter(s) tries with this issue. This is a low point in the original story with little action or excitement. It’s like adapting the parts of the Odyssey where Odysseus floats around, between adventures. That said, Truman and Giorello try their best, and there is a compelling flashback sequence. Guest penciler Tomas Giorello draws Conan satisfactorily, but his version of Thak is lifeless.

Richard Isanove’s colors continuously overpower whatever penciler he works with. His colors are lush and full, but they call attention to themselves, rather than working with the pencil-work. It’s not that Isanove’s untalented (quite the contrary), it’s that he’s not a decent fit for Conan. As with last issue, Isanove does one thing very right amidst his wrongs: Conan’s eyes. Isanove makes the Cimmerian’s eyes as striking as Howard described them, and capturing the effect of Howard’s prose in visual art is no easy feat.

Worth the money? Only if you’re intent on collecting the entire arc. Wait for next month when something happens in the story.