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Conan and the Demons of Khitai #1-4
Conan and the Demons of Khitai
Set many years in the future from the award-winning ongoing series, Conan and the Demons and Khitai marks Conan's first appearance as King in Dark Horse's best-selling comics revival of the legendary fantasy hero. When King Conan receives an invitation from the Eastern kingdom of Khitai to open trade in precious jewels and spices, he decides that he will travel into this long-mysterious land. Yet to do so is perilous, as those who have requested his company may have far more devious intentions, and beasts unseen by Western eyes lurk amidst the shadows.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 20, 2024
This volume stars King Conan, as it is set after he's become king of Aquilonia. This story finds Conan in the far east, specifically Khitai. He has to battle creatures both natural and supernatural. The far east flavor is really interesting, with ninja and samurai type warriors making an appearance. The art fits the story well.
If you're a Conan fan, you should enjoy it!
If you're a Conan fan, you should enjoy it!
April 29, 2020
Yoshida spins a King Conan tale using a far Eastern setting, creatures, people, villains, and flavor in this trade which was originally a 4 issue mini-series from Dark Horse. Paul Lee paints each panel depicting Conan with a lantern jaw, trimmed bangs and long straight black hair along with neat scars and an older look to him since by this point in his career he has to be in his 50's or so.
A trade mission sends Conan, his main general Pallantides, and a 4 "red shirt" soldiers to the far east where they get caught up with a demonic turtle creature called a Kappa and captured by the ruling body of the land. Conan and some others go on a mission to take out a demonic enemy who turns out to be the lackey of another enemy.
Yoshida does a great job with Conan not understanding the language and miscommunication leads to a lot of the issues in this overall story. I like the use of far eastern creatures, fables, and looks of the main cast. It is a story that could have fit in well with the former ongoing Marvel King Conan series.
A trade mission sends Conan, his main general Pallantides, and a 4 "red shirt" soldiers to the far east where they get caught up with a demonic turtle creature called a Kappa and captured by the ruling body of the land. Conan and some others go on a mission to take out a demonic enemy who turns out to be the lackey of another enemy.
Yoshida does a great job with Conan not understanding the language and miscommunication leads to a lot of the issues in this overall story. I like the use of far eastern creatures, fables, and looks of the main cast. It is a story that could have fit in well with the former ongoing Marvel King Conan series.
February 10, 2013
A King Conan Quest. — East Meets West - Hyborian style, heh
No big deal, an older version Conan's been all over and seen pretty much all there is to see by this point in his life. He can't really be called a Barbarian (at least, not to his face) anymore as he's been living the Kingly life for a while by now.
Nice story with nice artwork... nowhere near great, but still a fun and entertaining read. I guess, seeing as it's quickly forgettable, I could always re-read it in a few years and get a sense of "déjà vue newness" to it.
No big deal, an older version Conan's been all over and seen pretty much all there is to see by this point in his life. He can't really be called a Barbarian (at least, not to his face) anymore as he's been living the Kingly life for a while by now.
Nice story with nice artwork... nowhere near great, but still a fun and entertaining read. I guess, seeing as it's quickly forgettable, I could always re-read it in a few years and get a sense of "déjà vue newness" to it.
October 26, 2016
A very fun Conan tale. Great writing, artist, and colorist.
October 21, 2016
In this early (2005) miniseries, we get a flash-forward to King Conan's travels to the far reaches of the Hyborean world. Here, he is invited to Khitai (presumably loosely based on China and Japan) by a mysterious sorceress, only to discover plots and machinations, demons and monsters.
I found it to be a decent story and art. There were occasional flashes of brilliance and a few innovative techniques not usually seen in Conan, but overall it seemed a bit... forced, I suppose. I am no Conan canon expert (!!!), but this is not from the Robert E. Howard branch of Conan's tales. The Hyborean Age was roughly 10,000 years ago (with a long interregnum of barbarism) so I understand that place names and mythology may have passed down for that long, but customs and styles of dress and armor and weapons? Hardly. Conan's behavior is spot-on, but those around him seem set-pieces in comparison. Conan gets the beautiful outcast slave girl. Check. Everyone treats him as a barbarian. Check. Honorable enemies create tension within his 'team'? Check. The squad dies one by one? Check.
Decent and Conan-fun. Yes. Great, worth searching out or waiting for or purchase? Not for me, thanks.
I found it to be a decent story and art. There were occasional flashes of brilliance and a few innovative techniques not usually seen in Conan, but overall it seemed a bit... forced, I suppose. I am no Conan canon expert (!!!), but this is not from the Robert E. Howard branch of Conan's tales. The Hyborean Age was roughly 10,000 years ago (with a long interregnum of barbarism) so I understand that place names and mythology may have passed down for that long, but customs and styles of dress and armor and weapons? Hardly. Conan's behavior is spot-on, but those around him seem set-pieces in comparison. Conan gets the beautiful outcast slave girl. Check. Everyone treats him as a barbarian. Check. Honorable enemies create tension within his 'team'? Check. The squad dies one by one? Check.
Decent and Conan-fun. Yes. Great, worth searching out or waiting for or purchase? Not for me, thanks.
January 24, 2018
Mildly entertaining Conan tale with a multiracial cast and diverse cultural points of view. Pleasant and wholesome if somewhat lacking in excitement and glamour.
October 2, 2020
Me encantó, además la mezcla entre la historia y la fábula estuvo bien integrada.
July 3, 2024
"Your fallen hero has turned his attention to Aquilonia. He's just another man with a sword. No magic can protect him from me."
King Conan journeys into the Far East to negotiate a trade agreement between his nation and Khitai. However, when he arrives, he learns the invitation was a ruse. He has been lured into fighting a demon warrior in an abandoned temple.
[Note: Most of the Conan material from the Dark Horse years 2004-2015 has been collected into graphic novels in the Epic Collection trade paperbacks, which runs to 10 volumes. However, some of the miniseries and one-shots are omitted, so I am delving into out-of-print collections to complete the series.]
Paul Lee's artwork is engaging and intriguing, especially its use of interior perspectives. The story by Akira Yoshida is somewhat pedestrian, but not terribly so. I enjoy how it incorporates the Japanese myth of the Fox Woman. On the other hand, there is at least one cringe moment: When Shinzen steals Hikkiba, the blade of balance, all I could think of was the Hattori Hanzo sword from Kill Bill.
This 2005 four-issue miniseries marks the first appearance of King Conan in the Dark Horse continuity. The series was gathered into a trade paperback graphic novel the following year, but it has never been included in any omnibus volume by Dark Horse, Marvel, or Titan.
I think this miniseries has been ignored because in its marketing campaign Dark Horse trumpeted the Asian ancestry of both Yoshida and Lee. They said they wanted an authentic feel for the land of Khitai, which is mentioned but never seen in the original Robert E. Howard stories. However, it came out years later that Akira Yoshida is actually a pseudonym for Chester Cebulski, a white American male.
3 stars.
King Conan journeys into the Far East to negotiate a trade agreement between his nation and Khitai. However, when he arrives, he learns the invitation was a ruse. He has been lured into fighting a demon warrior in an abandoned temple.
[Note: Most of the Conan material from the Dark Horse years 2004-2015 has been collected into graphic novels in the Epic Collection trade paperbacks, which runs to 10 volumes. However, some of the miniseries and one-shots are omitted, so I am delving into out-of-print collections to complete the series.]
Paul Lee's artwork is engaging and intriguing, especially its use of interior perspectives. The story by Akira Yoshida is somewhat pedestrian, but not terribly so. I enjoy how it incorporates the Japanese myth of the Fox Woman. On the other hand, there is at least one cringe moment: When Shinzen steals Hikkiba, the blade of balance, all I could think of was the Hattori Hanzo sword from Kill Bill.
This 2005 four-issue miniseries marks the first appearance of King Conan in the Dark Horse continuity. The series was gathered into a trade paperback graphic novel the following year, but it has never been included in any omnibus volume by Dark Horse, Marvel, or Titan.
I think this miniseries has been ignored because in its marketing campaign Dark Horse trumpeted the Asian ancestry of both Yoshida and Lee. They said they wanted an authentic feel for the land of Khitai, which is mentioned but never seen in the original Robert E. Howard stories. However, it came out years later that Akira Yoshida is actually a pseudonym for Chester Cebulski, a white American male.
3 stars.
March 9, 2021
2.5 A decent, if unremarkable read. Set during Conan's reign as king, Conan finds himself lured to Khitai (the Conan setting's proto-China) where he runs afoul of threats more of the Far East variety than his home turf. The art is fine and the writing is okay, if I think a bit too mannered for Conan. The C-man is overly respectful and deferential in his dealings with the Khitai people, which is nice and all, but doesn't seem very Cimmerian. Maybe it's meant to reflect how Conan has matured by this point in his career, but evenso, where's Bob Howard's famous disdain for civilization? Why should the Khitai be any less decadent and corrupt than the other 'civilized' peoples we've seen in the Hyborian Age? It comes off as trying a bit too hard to play nice--understandable, given any modern writer's urge to downplay the racism of Howard's time, but still, if you're going to make a miniseries all about Conan paying a visit to Khitai, I'd think someone could come up with a better option than either 'blandly respectful' or 'Yellow Peril.'
Also, the art and plotting essentially turn Aquilonia and Khitai from primordial ancestors of Rome and China to very transparent counterparts of them. There's Buddhas, Roman centurions, ninjas, geishas, etc. It's a petty grievance, but still a pet peeve of mine.
Also, the art and plotting essentially turn Aquilonia and Khitai from primordial ancestors of Rome and China to very transparent counterparts of them. There's Buddhas, Roman centurions, ninjas, geishas, etc. It's a petty grievance, but still a pet peeve of mine.
May 9, 2020
In this story we follow Conan leading the embassy from Aquilonia to the mysterious land on the East - Khitai. Here Khitai is a country that is basically blend of Chinese and Japanese in our "universe". We can see some elements of wuxia kung-fu but also samurai warriors and ninja's. In any case blending was done in excellent and seamless way.
Art is very good and scenes of battle are very well done. There is no confusion for the reader and it is very clear what goes on.
Only thing that is missing here is a more thought-out story. Story is ... how to say it, underwhelming. We have our deal of monsters and wizards so that the story resonates with readers of Conan's adventures but they remain nothing else than a prop - even the story climax seems like an afterthought. Also mysterious tribe that helps Conan's escort seems like something that was planned to be used in a more constructive way but was left out for whatever reason. If only the story was presented in a better way.
In general very interesting story recommended to all fans of Conan's universe. Alas due to the rather underwhelming story this adventure seems to be on the list of marginalized less-known ones. Which is a shame because main characters are very interesting.
Art is very good and scenes of battle are very well done. There is no confusion for the reader and it is very clear what goes on.
Only thing that is missing here is a more thought-out story. Story is ... how to say it, underwhelming. We have our deal of monsters and wizards so that the story resonates with readers of Conan's adventures but they remain nothing else than a prop - even the story climax seems like an afterthought. Also mysterious tribe that helps Conan's escort seems like something that was planned to be used in a more constructive way but was left out for whatever reason. If only the story was presented in a better way.
In general very interesting story recommended to all fans of Conan's universe. Alas due to the rather underwhelming story this adventure seems to be on the list of marginalized less-known ones. Which is a shame because main characters are very interesting.
March 11, 2019
I like the art a lot in this tale of King Conan, and the writing isn't bad. There's just not all that much to it. It's a very quick read, and a fairly direct story. If they ever made a Conan series on HBO or something, this would make a solid episode, but that's it. If you're a fan of the character, it's not a bad read. Probably not a good place to start.
September 1, 2024
That was a good story about a aged King Conan. Not a great one though and i felt they mixed Chinese and Japanese mythology, but i enjoyed it overall.
July 18, 2025
3.5 for me. great art and good story. a good use of time and enjoyable.
April 11, 2016
Na mini-série Conan e os Demônios de Khitai, vemos Conan, em sua fase como rei da Aquilônia, indo para o lado oriental do mundo Hiboriano, respondendo a um convite para estabelecer relações de comércio com o reino de Kithai.
A mini-série da Dark Horse de 2006 foi publicada no Brasil pela Mythos, e, apesar das capas não serem tão boas como as ilustrações internas, é uma boa história, jogando o cimério em um cenário de inspiração oriental.
Kithai é apenas citado nos contos originais de Howard, mas em uma de suas cartas, ele supôs que o Conan Rei teria visitado suas terras. Para explorar essa região, a Dark Horse chamou o roteirista japonês Akiro Yoshida e o artista koreano Paul Lee.
O roteiro é simples, mas se destaca pelo cuidado na descrição do reino de Kithai. Akiro misturou vários elementos das culturas antiga da China, Japão e Koreia, criando um cenário interessante, que, infelizmente pelas poucas páginas da mini-série, não foi muito explorado.
Gostei muito da arte da mini-série, que, por incrível que pareça, é melhor do que a arte estilizada das capas. Se você desistiu de ler essa mini-série por causa das capas, a arte interior é mais realista, e possui um trabalho de pintura digital bem legal.
Gostei também de ver Conan interagindo com a cultura marcial oriental, ficou bem bacana a interação entre a honra guerreira do cimério com as tradições inspiradas nos samurais de Kithai.
Fica a recomendação, não tem muita profundidade, mas o roteiro tem bastante pancadaria, monstros inspirados em lendas orientais e o Conan lutando contra samurais e ninjas! :)
A mini-série da Dark Horse de 2006 foi publicada no Brasil pela Mythos, e, apesar das capas não serem tão boas como as ilustrações internas, é uma boa história, jogando o cimério em um cenário de inspiração oriental.
Kithai é apenas citado nos contos originais de Howard, mas em uma de suas cartas, ele supôs que o Conan Rei teria visitado suas terras. Para explorar essa região, a Dark Horse chamou o roteirista japonês Akiro Yoshida e o artista koreano Paul Lee.
O roteiro é simples, mas se destaca pelo cuidado na descrição do reino de Kithai. Akiro misturou vários elementos das culturas antiga da China, Japão e Koreia, criando um cenário interessante, que, infelizmente pelas poucas páginas da mini-série, não foi muito explorado.
Gostei muito da arte da mini-série, que, por incrível que pareça, é melhor do que a arte estilizada das capas. Se você desistiu de ler essa mini-série por causa das capas, a arte interior é mais realista, e possui um trabalho de pintura digital bem legal.
Gostei também de ver Conan interagindo com a cultura marcial oriental, ficou bem bacana a interação entre a honra guerreira do cimério com as tradições inspiradas nos samurais de Kithai.
Fica a recomendação, não tem muita profundidade, mas o roteiro tem bastante pancadaria, monstros inspirados em lendas orientais e o Conan lutando contra samurais e ninjas! :)
December 27, 2021
The name of the place sounds odd to me. It is called Khitai and this reminds me of an old name for China, but then why does this feature a kappa? Why not something from China? And this one guy clearly looks like a samurai. Odd.
This was not the only oddity, you see Conan states that they were invited. And sure, those soldiers don't understand them, but shouldn't they know that some foreigners would come soon? And what road did Conan and his men take that they came across a Kappa so easily?
And they even use neck-chops. Even though Conan is so huge, his neckmuscles alone should protect him from that. I saw 1990s anime that got this right. Just use a good old clob.
The writing can be odd as well. It refers to that one woman as a yellow-skinned priestess, even though the Kitan people have the same skin tone as Conan and this woman here is literally white.At least we seem to have a somewhat explanation for the prior mess as it seems Conan was not invited officially. And when the name of the country wasn´t odd enough from the start, it also has ninja stars, is isolated, doesn't want to expand outward and rather built on their foundations and encourages myths of them being uncivilized. That sounds like its heavily inspired by the isolated period of Japan that was heavily influenced by xenophobia and is now considered a golden age. The king is even so racist that he calls Conan an ape several times. Later on there is a demon warrior, Conan and some woman have sex like that, panda monkeys and said warrior was seduced by a fox.
This is at best an ok story, but very dull.
This was not the only oddity, you see Conan states that they were invited. And sure, those soldiers don't understand them, but shouldn't they know that some foreigners would come soon? And what road did Conan and his men take that they came across a Kappa so easily?
And they even use neck-chops. Even though Conan is so huge, his neckmuscles alone should protect him from that. I saw 1990s anime that got this right. Just use a good old clob.
The writing can be odd as well. It refers to that one woman as a yellow-skinned priestess, even though the Kitan people have the same skin tone as Conan and this woman here is literally white.At least we seem to have a somewhat explanation for the prior mess as it seems Conan was not invited officially. And when the name of the country wasn´t odd enough from the start, it also has ninja stars, is isolated, doesn't want to expand outward and rather built on their foundations and encourages myths of them being uncivilized. That sounds like its heavily inspired by the isolated period of Japan that was heavily influenced by xenophobia and is now considered a golden age. The king is even so racist that he calls Conan an ape several times. Later on there is a demon warrior, Conan and some woman have sex like that, panda monkeys and said warrior was seduced by a fox.
This is at best an ok story, but very dull.
October 23, 2014
Crisp artwork and a simple story.
Clean and crisp art by artist Paul Lee adds a lot to the story which is simple and more in lines of a regular Conan adventure.
This is set in the era when Conan is the King of Aquilonia. He sets out on a quest to the unexplored eastern kingdom of Khitai. On reaching the place he undertakes a quest to free the kingdom from the curse of a magical demonic warrior. Filled with various vile creatures which are ably drawn by Lee, the book is a one time read.
Clean and crisp art by artist Paul Lee adds a lot to the story which is simple and more in lines of a regular Conan adventure.
This is set in the era when Conan is the King of Aquilonia. He sets out on a quest to the unexplored eastern kingdom of Khitai. On reaching the place he undertakes a quest to free the kingdom from the curse of a magical demonic warrior. Filled with various vile creatures which are ably drawn by Lee, the book is a one time read.
June 26, 2011
A compiled edition of the 4 issue limited comic from Dark Horse, this graphic novel edition was a fast and effective read with reasonable artwork. The story is set in the late Conan cycle, when he is King of Aquilonia, and draws from the typical east meets west culture and myth conflict. There is some of the 'Conan learns diplomacy' bits to the story, which are also amusing.
January 26, 2016
Questo volume raccoglie la miniserie scritta da Akira Yoshida che si affianca alla serie regolare di Conan pubblicata dalla Dark Horse.
La miniserie racconta l'avventura di un Conan gi�� re nell'estremo Khitai.
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November 8, 2016This was the first 'graphic novel' that I've read. I can't say that I know that much about Conan, aside from the movies in which Arnold portrayed him. The artwork was good and the story kept my attention.
July 29, 2007
Read this in single issue form. A good story about Conan, but nothing really spectacular. The Dark Horse Conan is very solid, but rarely amazing. Recommended.
November 29, 2008
A decent side-quest for Conan, although there's really no purpose. It's nice to see Conan the King, though.
July 9, 2014
Bello, come al solito le storie di Conan sono piacevoli da leggere. L'unica cosa sono le orribili cover di Pat Lee! Veramente un duro colpo agli occhi, per fortuna ha fatto solo le copertine...
September 9, 2015
Story: they fight. Art: B minus. Doesn't stand on its own.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews