RISING TIDES LIFT ALL BARBARIANS!

Tides of The Tyrant-King #1 cover art by Roberto De La Torre

This September, the latest annual Conan The Barbarian event mini-series kicks off from Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures. 

Penned, as ever, by the ineffable 'Grim' Jim Zub, with art by Jésus Merino, Tides of The Tyrant-King, teased in this year's Free Comic Book Day offering, has Conan believing that Thulsa Doom's evil has been banished forever, but...

"...the Atlantean necromancer’s dark power stirs once more and, if it cannot be stopped, the dead shall overtake the living!

"The Tyrant-King of Atlantis returns and all shall suffer, unless Conan and his brave allies can turn back the tide! 

"The story follows Conan the Barbarian and Stephen Costigan, both warriors in different times - their battles are mirrored, as both of them are connected by a familiar evil that seeps its way into both stories…"

Variant cover art by Gerardo Zaffino

Variant cover art by Jésus Merino

Variant cover art by Roberto De La Torre

Variant cover art by Stuart Sayger

Variant cover art by Utsab Chatterjee

The first issue of Conan The Barbarian: Tides of The Tyrant-King is due to wash ashore in comic book stores on September 23, but on September 16 the glorious black-and-white magazine The Savage Sword of Conan #16 will include three tales connected to the wider Howardverse arc, all written by Jim Zub.

These yarns include:

"...a mesmeric Conan tale of corrupted memories and creeping madness with artist Nicola Scott, a return to the weird western world of Howardian gunslinger Steve Corcoran in a sequel to the classic Robert E. Howard tale Vultures of Whapeton with artist Chris Campana, and a descent into the shadowed past of mini-series femme fatale Zuleika with artist Sean Izaakse."

The Savage Sword of Conan #16, cover art by Joe Jusko

The Savage Sword of Conan #16, cover art by Nick Percival

INSPIRATION! INSPIRATION! INSPIRATION!

Although I sometimes feel a bit of a heathen, the majority of my inspiration for gaming is visual (e.g. movies, TV, comics etc), which is why I have a soft spot for art books.

As much as I enjoy reading, ultimately it's "the pictures" that more often hook me into a particular narrative or environment.

While not in the slightest artistically gifted myself, a great piece of art sets my creative neurons firing, giving me a new window into the current fantasy setting of choice - generally one of my own creation for whatever roleplaying game I'm "into" at that moment.

As we speak, I'm really hungry to play (run?) a swords-and-sorcery roleplaying game, which is why my comic book pull-list is increasingly filled with titles that either land squarely in that genre or, at least, have some tangential connection.

Yes, I have many comics, graphic novels, omnibuses etc, along with a broad library of movies and TV shows that scratch that particular itch, but there's always room for the straight-forward art book, with erudite commentary.
 
Thus, this week, I've acquired a second-hand, hardback copy of Paul Kidby's The Art of Discworld and the brand new, just-published softback edition of The Book of Jusko.

Joe Jusko's striking artwork can be seen on the covers of sword-and-sorcery, sword-and-planet, horror and superhero comics, as well as paperback novels, calendars etc

You can open either of these tomes at a random page and be swept away to another world, which is exactly the kind of extra fuel I need to keep the mental fires of my fantasy gaming dreams from fizzling out.

Forthcoming Howardian Comics That Piqued My Interest

Legendary scribe Gail Simone is bringing us The Ring: The Man Who Beat The Man in June, courtesy of Dark Horse.

The eight-issue series, produced in co-operation with venerable boxing magazine, The Ring, follows:

"...veteran Ring Magazine journalist Cameron Duggan and rising broadcast personality Lisa Wolfe, a former podcaster who has transitioned into television commentary. As the pair travel the boxing world covering a new wave of contenders chasing championship glory, they encounter the ambition, rivalries and politics that shape the sport at its highest level.

"Each fighter approaches the pursuit differently, but the goal remains the same, reach the top of the sport and prove himself as the man who beat the man. As Duggan and Wolfe document the journey of these fighters, they also find themselves navigating the pressures and personalities that surround the sport."

While not directly a Robert E Howard story, Two-Gun Bob was a massive fan of boxing and wrote plenty of pulp tales set in that world - including those of my favourite character, Sailor Steve Costigan.

However, the next comic that caught my eye - and will be added to my pull-list PDQ - is pure Howard.

The incredible writer/artist Patrick Zircher brings his take on Howard's Puritan monster-hunter Solomon Kane back for another miniseries from Titan Comics in July.

Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant sees our hero travelling to India, guided by a "mysterious black-maned lion" where he is drawn into a "confrontation between the warrior queen Rani Durgavati and the mighty Mughal Empire".

"But the coming battle is more than a clash of armies. Ancient powers are stirring, gods and demons walk among the living, and Kane’s arcane Atlantean staff may hold the key to it all. Steel meets the divine. The Sword of Vengeance answers a higher call."

Joe Jusko cover art

The final forthcoming comic with serious Robert E Howard vibes is Dan Panosian's Fire And Ice: Darkwolf, from Dynamite, which also kicks off in July.

This is a spin-off from the gorgeous - but erratically published - Fire and Ice sword and sorcery comic book series.

"Born from the immortal imagination of fantasy illustrator supreme Frank Frazetta, Darkwolf storms into a new era of savage fantasy-brought to life by writer Dan "Urban Barbarian" Panosian and powerhouse artist Andrey Lunatik.

"Dynamite's acclaimed exploration of the world of Fire and Ice continues in this new series!

"It all begins when a mother and her twins flee the warlock who sired them - until a masked warrior descends from the mountains and unleashes hell upon their pursuers. But saving them is only the beginning. 

"Violent. Mythic. Unrelenting. This is Darkwolf, and the legend begins here - a fierce, visceral rebirth of one of fantasy's most iconic warriors

Dan Panosian cover art