Things have taken quite the turn for Conan over the last few issues. Seemingly overnight, he went from being the Savior of Poitain, heralded through the streets of Tarantia as if he were the king himself, to being named a traitor and narrowly escaping assassination. All because he alone was brave enough to speak out against the madness of King Numedides. But though the mad king tried to silence him, the Barbarian's defiance has already begun to spread through the kingdom, igniting the flames of revolution that will forge Conan's path to the throne of Aquilonia.
*Mild spoilers ahead for Conan the Barbarian #28*
War rages across Aquilonia. All throughout the greatest kingdom of the Hyborian age, those who once sat in fearful silence before the madness of King Numedides now rise up to add their voices to the growing chorus crying out for revolution. Leading its charge is the one who sparked the growing wildfire: a barbarian from the far north, whose only crime was to speak out against injustice.
Alongside Count Trocero and Commander Prospero, Conan and the rebel forces wage a bloody war across the land in the hopes of freeing it from Numedides's cruelty. A hope that looks increasingly likely as victories begin to stack up, thanks in no small part to the unmatchable ferocity of the Cimmerian. But as the conflict continues, one question looms heavy in the minds of the various highborn allied to the rebels' cause: who will rule when Numedides is defeated? Will it be the Count, who officially leads the rebellion? Or one of the other highborn that stand in defiance of the King? Each has as much of a rightful claim to it as the others, and are equally trained in the political games of court as their colleagues.
But could there be another answer? An unlikely candidate, one with little patience for the games of the highborn. One whose mind and heart belong to the battlefield rather than the throne room. Such is the pondering of Prospero, who watches the way Conan interacts not only with the soldiers, but with provincial leaders who seek out the barbarian to meet with rather than the highborn. The Cimmerian may not have the same claim to the throne as the highborn vying for his support, but with each passing day he appears to prove himself more worthy of it than any of them.
Of course, none of this matters until the war is concluded. And though the rebellion grows as the flames of revolution spread through the kingdom, there are still many who stand by the king. The road to the throne will be bloody and hard won, pitting countrymen against each other to decide the fate of Aquilonia.
Conan stories have never wanted for action, and this issue is no exception. The comic immediately kicks things off in the middle of a battle and continues to treat us to scenes of conflict across its pages. Zub takes us from battle to battle at a chaotic pace that brings to life the violence that has overtaken the once peaceful kingdom. He doesn't linger long on any single battle, devoting at most a page or two before moving on to the next conflict.
As well as this pace serves the frantic atmosphere the story is conveying, though, it also proved to be its greatest flaw in my eyes. After two issues of build up to set up the revolution sufficiently, Zub rushes through it in a single issue. The battles are easily won, the potential scuffles over the throne are put to rest with little issue, and even the final bout with Numedides is over almost as fast as it begins.
I'm not sure why this particular arc lasted only three issues instead of the usual four that Zub's previous Conan stories have, but it really would have benefited the story had Zub chosen to extend it into one more issue. If nothing else, it would have allowed the conflict to be drawn out a bit more, making its conclusion feel more earned. Granted, this could be but the beginning of a larger story, the first victory in a conflict that has only just begun, but the ending carries a sense of finality about it that makes me suspect otherwise.
The issue itself is interesting enough, containing plenty of fun Conan-style action while accomplishing what it set out to do by showing us the final steps of Conan's journey to the throne. I just wish it hadn't been so rushed after two issues of setup. Particularly after the last issue, which showcased a lot of the political state of Aquilonia under the madness of Numedides. There could have been more build-up to the final confrontation, moments in which loyalties are defined and greater plots formed from the political schemes of the highborn introduced last issue. Instead, as the story stands currently, it feels like all of that has been swept aside in favor of a quick, clean ending in which (as expected) Conan claims the crown and the throne.
I hope I'm wrong and that the story will continue, with the next arc building off of what was built here to become more a war of schemers and manipulations now that the war of swords is concluded. It would be a nice change for Conan, forcing him into a manner of warfare he's less familiar with to test his worthiness to rule. But only time will tell if that's where Zub will take us, or if we'll find ourselves in an entirely different story next month.
Conan the Barbarian #28 is available now from Titan Comics.
