Comic Geek Update No. 9

2 Winners from DARK HORSE COMICS...

Dark Horse strikes with the 2nd issue of KING CONAN, which will be of interest to monster and barbarian fans alike.  Issue 1 left off with Tsotha's gigantic yellow-eyed snake, Satha, about to take a bite out of our favorite Cimmerian.  This issue begins with an older King Conan continuing to tell us the story of THE SCARLET CITADEL, and thanks to writer Timothy Truman, Conan gets out of things in an unlikely way...but he still spends the entire issue trying to escape Tsotha's dungeon, encountering a few strange creatures before coming face to face with Pelias the Sorcerer (who looks like a cross between a zombie and Godzilla's one-time plant-hybrid foe, Biollante!).  I can't get enough of this stuff...

Between Conan's resurgence and this new incarnation of CREEPY, I've been feeling like a kid in the 70s all over again.  This 5th issue features a cover by classic CREEPY artist Sanjulian, and begins with a lengthy tale titled BLOOD OF THE SKY, about a female shaman who commits suicide in order to rescue her son from a demon (Timothy Truman--man is this guy busy around Dark Horse this month--provides the story AND the neat artwork).  THE FIELD features retro-looking art (and storytelling) courtesy of David Lapham, and reads like a cross between THE DEVIL'S RAIN and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (are you salivating yet?).  The final tale, MURDICIDE, is a revenge-type tale with a nifty little twist ending.  What surprised me most was this issue's 'Loathsome Lore' piece, usually reserved for mythical beasts and the like; this time it's about religious cult leaders (!), and even makes an interesting comment on why they're not ragging on Scientology!*
Fans of old-school horror comics will love every black and white, terror-filled page...
(*-Scientology is notorious for suing those who oppose or even mock it.  Apparently writer Dan Braun did his homework here...)