The Savage Sword of Conan #10 Review — Slither through the ages with three epic tales from Jim Zub

Jim Zub has been teasing his upcoming new Conan mini-series Scourge of the Serpent for months, and in this newest issue of The Savage Sword of Conan, he continues to raise the hype with not one, not two, but three new stories! Spanning across the ages and featuring a host of characters from Conan creator Robert E Howard, each story seemed quite different on the surface. But lying within each is an ageless evil that refuses to be subdued, and may very soon threaten all of Robert E Howard's timeless creations. 

*Mild spoilers ahead for The Savage Sword of Conan #10* 

We begin our story with…well, Conan, of course. The Barbarian is happily spending a night drinking with his fellow mercenaries in the Free Companions. His night of revelry comes to a premature end, however, when he catches a glimpse of someone he knows. Someone to whom he would very much like to repay for an old betrayal. Not all is as it appears, though, and Conan soon finds himself embroiled in a conflict with the shapeshifting servants of the serpent god/goddess, Set. 

But it’s not only Conan who finds himself forced to contend with Set’s disciples. In the prehistoric setting of Howard’s Spear and Fang stories, A-Aea returns to her mountainside village eager to be reunited with her betrothed, Ga-Nor. What follows is something out of a horror movie, as she discovers that the villagers have all been murdered and replaced by Set’s shapeshifting followers. 

Finally, Zub brings us closer to the modern age, as Sailor Steve Costigan unwittingly comes into contact with a gang of criminals possessing the ring of Thoth-Amon (a name readers of Jim Zub’s current run of Conan the Barbarian will be familiar with). But these are not ordinary criminals who happened to stumble upon the ring purely by accident. They know exactly what this artifact of the Hyborian Age is, and what gifts the magic permeating it can bring. 

Each story is almost entirely standalone, neatly wrapping up their respective plots within their pages with only a few references to previous stories in the Conan storyline. However, what each story represents is far larger. No matter how many times it’s defeated, Set’s evil continues to return to threaten the world once more. Something that will undoubtedly be explored fully in the upcoming Scourge of the Serpent mini-series Zub has been setting up for some time now. Whatever’s coming is going to be big. 

But in regards to the stories presented here, each are fun adventures for Robert E Howard’s legendary characters, presented with all of the things Zub has perfected on his Conan run. There’s intrigue, there’s danger, and, of course, there’s action aplenty. Each protagonist faces a common evil in different forms, presenting them with different challenges despite fighting the same immortal foe. 

Manning the artist’s pen are a trio of illustrators: Doug Braithwaite for Conan, Mike Rooth for the prehistoric Spear and Fang, and Roberto de la Torre for Sailor Steve Costigan. Each presents their respective stories in black-and-white, which while slightly jarring at first after growing accustomed to reading Zub’s Conan stories in color, the choice works really well here. The lack of color adds a rawness to the scenes, especially in the faster paced action scenes, where the colorless panels allow the images to almost blur together in such a way that they feel more intense. In the case of Sailor Steve, this artistic choice also adds an almost nostalgic feel to the story, as if I’m watching a vintage cartoon like Popeye. 

If these stories are a taste of what is to come from the upcoming Scourge of the Serpent mini-series, I can’t wait to see what lies in wait for us. But even disregarding the connection to the upcoming new adventure, the trio of stories contained in this issue are well worth a read, especially if you’ve enjoyed Zub’s other works. They’re fun, they’re action-packed, and they continue the timeless legacies of the works of Robert E Howard. What more could you really ask for?

The Savage Sword of Conan #10 is available now from Titan Comics.