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Conan: Serpent War #1-4

Conan: Serpent War

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A Conan event for the ages! The man named James Allison will die - and soon. But it's not his first death. James has lived many lives, in many places - lives he can recall in vivid detail. But when an Elder God called the Wyrm reaches across time to contact him, an era-spanning quest begins! The serpent god Set plans to usher in an eternity of darkness, and only the chosen warriors across time and space have a hope of stopping him: Conan the Barbarian, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes...and the man known as Moon Knight! In an unprecedented comics event, Robert E. Howard's celebrated characters join forces along with one of Marvel's most fascinating heroes, in an all-new saga built on lore from across time itself!
Collecting: Conan: Serpent War (2019) 1-4, Supernatural Thrillers (1972) 3

136 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2020

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59 people want to read

About the author

Jim Zub

917 books323 followers
Jim Zub is a writer, artist and art instructor based in Toronto, Canada. Over the past fifteen years he’s worked for a diverse array of publishing, movie and video game clients including Disney, Warner Bros., Capcom, Hasbro, Bandai-Namco and Mattel.

He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and Program Coordinator for Seneca College‘s award-winning Animation program.

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5 stars
20 (10%)
4 stars
46 (23%)
3 stars
82 (42%)
2 stars
37 (19%)
1 star
8 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Gianfranco Mancini.
2,344 reviews1,075 followers
July 15, 2021






"So bad, but so good" Ted (2012)



Read as individual issues

In past stories from Marvel, the Cimmerian teamed-up with Solomon Kane, Elric of Melnibonè, Kull of Valusia and... oh, good grief,  Thor, Captain America and more (not mentioning the recent Savage Avengers or Conan's past meeting with Wolverine ending with the hairy mutie marrying Red Sonja in an old What If? issue), so this new crossover between Moon Knight and Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery heroes was far from unexpected for me.



Not as awful as expected, Marc Spector's presence was not too much forced, and it was nice to see all together Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes and James Allison, but so many characters deserved at last two more issues to shine.



A cheesy but satisfying crossover, and that David Finch's variant cover, I'm a fan of his old run on Moon Knight, just made my day.



Not a masterpiece, but if you are a fan of Robert E. Howard's fantasy pulp heroes and/or Moon Knight give it a try.



Solomon Kane's 4 parts short prose story The Get of Garm included in single issues, from Black Library author C. L. Werner, a master storyteller of grimdark fantasy and a fan favourite of mine, was a 4 stars tale for me, but it could have been a Mathias Thulmann: Witch Hunter story too with a few minor editing, but that's just a guess.
Profile Image for Sean.
4,219 reviews25 followers
June 3, 2022
This was disturbingly bad. I'm not sure the point of any of it. Why these characters? Why would they randomly work together, not even knowing what they're doing? No idea. Jim Zub is capable of much more. There was a different artist each issue, none bad, but it was only four issues. Get one artist. The ending was extremely anti-climatic and sadly leads to more. Overall, a mash-up no one asked for and there is a reason for that.
Profile Image for RG.
3,084 reviews
April 18, 2020
I like Jim Zub but this was meh
Profile Image for Guilherme Smee.
Author 28 books193 followers
January 20, 2021
Foi minha primeira leitura depois da cirurgia, inchado e dolorido, fui eu lá ler Conan: Guerra da Serpente achando que uma aventura em diversos tempos e espaços me fizesse esquecer daquilo que estava sentindo fisicamente. Mas me deixou mais enjoado e com dores. São mais de 150 páginas de um roteiro bem preguiçoso que reúne os personagens de Robert E. Howard (Conan, Dark Agnes e Solomon Kane) com Mark Spector, o Cavaleiro da Lua. Jim Zub, o roteirista vinha mandando bem nas mensais de Conan, o que me faz pensar que a ruindade deste crossover seja por motivos editoriais. A arte é bonita, expressiva e de vários artistas que trabalham no arco. Porém a forma da narrativa, com poucos quadros por página não me deixaram "comprar" a narrativa proposta. A HQ traz ainda um texto em prosa de Solomon Kane e a primeira história que fala sobre o Vermen, inimigo desta edição, adaptada por Roy Thomas e Gil Kane (sempre competentíssimo em sua arte). E é isso pessoal, se ficar em dúvida, não compre.
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
7,097 reviews365 followers
Read
November 30, 2020
A slightly puzzling crossover teaming the barbarian warrior with a couple of less famous Robert E Howard creations, Puritan demon-hunter Solomon Kane and French swordswoman Dark Agnes. Who looks like a typo, but is more a case of Marvel no longer having the rights to use Red Sonja in comics, even though they've regained Conan and pretty much created Sonja from whole cloth as a subsidiary character back when they had the Conan license previously. In short, comics licensing is weird. Also along for the ride: Moon Knight, who has no connection to Robert E Howard whatsoever. The argument is apparently that, being himself sworn to another Egyptian god, he has some experience battling Set, the villain here – but so do Hercules and Thor, both of whom might seem more natural sparring partners for Conan. Perhaps it's more that Moon Knight is another character who, like the original Marvel Conan run, is associated with the company's 1970s, and that being a nutter rather than a (demi)god, he won't completely overpower the story. They're brought together from their various eras by another Howard creation, authorial stand-in James Allison from Valley Of The Worm, a man aware of his own past incarnations and also able to just muck around with time generally in certain limited but spooky ways. How faithful this depiction is to his original appearance, I couldn't tell you; I've never read it*, nor the two and two-halves stories in which Agnes appeared. But Conan, Kane and Moon Knight are all on form, I'm a fan of all three, and if the story never attains the epic sweep of Aaron and Asrar's recent Conan run, it's still fine swashbuckling fun. I have no idea how many people out there were in the market for Moon Knight and Solomon Kane doing the "Who the hell's gonna mess with us?" bit, but even if I'm the only one, that makes me all the more chuffed I got to see it.

*Although a seventies Marvel adaptation is included at the back of this. It's...very of its time. Right down to having some deeply stereotypical depictions of a dark-skinned tribe, which is even more questionable what with them being described as Picts.
Profile Image for Kenneth.
629 reviews12 followers
August 13, 2020
3.5 really, for the story line itself. Others have noted that it was rushed. My main issue is with the reprint story at the end, an adaptation of an original REH with James Allison, a character central to the plot.

The 1970's reprint brings the racism of the 1920's source material directly into 2020. Who thought this was a good idea? I'm stunned. Racial memory, degenerate brown people who look like apes. That inclusion was a huge mistake.
Profile Image for Darcy.
618 reviews2 followers
September 11, 2020
I actually found this story to be refreshingly different. I have been away from any drawn version of Conan since the 1970s and it was Jim Zub that drew me back in. (Pardon the pun) I can see where some people would be disappointed, thinking they would be getting a total Hyborian saga with lots of hacking and slashing. However, I picked this volume up with no preconceptions and I delightedly found a tale dealing with various characters throughout time and space, messing with the occult and science that proved to be wonderfully different.

Yes, this could have been a collection of stories under the banner of any of the four main characters, but that is not important. What is, is the fact that this is a compelling story with some twists and turns that could have been written in the golden age, but was brought alive by the talents of Zub and company. If you want to try something a little offbeat in the hard fantasy genre, give this one a look.
Profile Image for Paul Griggs.
150 reviews
January 29, 2020
Marvel are getting their money’s worth out of the Conan licence aren’t they!
1,383 reviews5 followers
August 10, 2023
POPKulturowy Kociołek:

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/conan...

Opowieść skupia się tu na pradawnym wężowym bóstwie, które zagraża całemu światu i mogą go jedynie powstrzymać niezłomni bohaterowie. Są nimi oczywiście tytułowy barbarzyńca, Solomon Kane, Mroczna Agnes (wszystkie postacie stworzone przez Roberta E. Howarda) i Moon Knight. W przypadku tego ostatniego herosa nie ma jednak pewności czy pomoże on pokonać bóstwo, czy wręcz przeciwnie i stanie on przeciwko swoim towarzyszom.

Tak jak zostało to już wspomniane, za projekt ten odpowiada Jim Zub. Scenarzysta, który całkiem nieźle poradził sobie z popularnym barbarzyńcą w albumach Conan Barbarzyńca: Tygiel i Miecz barbarzyńcy: Conan hazardzista tom 2. Życie bywa jednak przewrotne i nie zawsze wszystko wychodzi tak, jak się planowało. Tak też jest w przypadku recenzowanego albumu, który niestety zalicza się do produkcji mocno przeciętnych.

Komiks oceniam z perspektywy doświadczonego (wiekowo) fana Cymeryjczyka, który wychował się na książkach uzupełnianych filmami z Arnoldem. Czyli dziełach powstałych w odległych czasach (dla wielu dzikich), kiedy to świadomość społeczna była zupełnie inna, tak samo, jak podejście do szeroko pojętej popkultury.

Conan: Wojna węży należy zaś zaliczyć do dzieł współczesnych, gdzie rozrywka jest skonstruowana w taki sposób, aby przypadkiem kogoś nie urazić. Jeśli więc ktoś oczekuje klasycznego Howardowskiego klimatu (wino, kobiety, krew), raczej będzie tytułem zawiedziony. Wina całkowicie brak (chyba że przyniesiemy swoje, aby umilić sobie lekturę), krew (ta czerwona) pojawia się w postaci kilku kropelek, a kobiety (zasadniczo to jedna) nie rzucają się Conanowi w ramiona.

Pewne zastrzeżenia można mieć tu również do tego, w jaki sposób autor umieszcza tytułowego bohatera w całej historii. Nie zawsze barbarzyńca odgrywa tu główną rolę (czasem spychany jest na drugi, a nawet trzeci plan), jakby tego było mało, to pojawiają się sceny, gdzie pokazywany jest on jako tępy osiłek napędzany testosteronem.

Wady tytułu są więc dość mocno zauważalne, ale trzeba być również uczciwym i wspomnieć o pewnych zaletach tego dzieła. Na pewno autorowi udaje się całkiem nieźle połączyć innych bohaterów ze światem Cymeryjczyka. Nie jest to robione na siłę i w paru momentach może się nawet podobać. Szkoda, że nie zdecydowano się na ukazanie znacznie głębszych relacji pomiędzy tymi postaciami, bo miało to niezły potencjał. Nieźle prezentuje się również akcja, której tutaj nie brakuje (chociaż jest ona jak na mój gust trochę zbyt mocno ugrzeczniona).....
Profile Image for Craig Childs.
1,054 reviews17 followers
February 3, 2026
"Let them build me a cairn where I lie and lay me therein with my bow and sword at hand, to guard this valley for ever; so if the ghost of the god I slew comes up from below, my ghost will ever be ready to give it battle."

James Allison is lying on his death bed in Cross Plains, Texas in 1936, remembering all his past lives dating back to the days of King Kull in Atlantis…

He senses a new darkness encroaching, a malevolence that will end the string of eternal reincarnations. He summons four warriors across the epochs of time, to bring them together to fight Set and the Wyrm, a battle for the fabric of reality itself…

This graphic novel collects "The Valley of the Worm" and Conan: Serpent War issues #1-4 in a new trade paperback edition.

"The Valley of the Worm" (1973)

Marvel published this one-shot based on Robert E. Howard's short story of the same name. It was adapted by Roy Thomas and scripted by Thomas and Gerry Conway. Gil Kane contributed the art. Conan does not appear in the story, but some of the secondary characters from "The Frost Giant's Daughter" are involved. It serves as a prequel to Serpent War.

Serpent War #1-4

James Allison brings together three classic Robert E. Howard characters--Conan the Cimmerian, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes--as well as Moon Night, who has had his own run-ins with Set in the Marvel continuity.

The story builds on the lore of the original short story; it reimagines the Wyrm as a Lovecraftian elder god. The story is fun. The artwork, which is drawn by a different artist in each issue, is moody, gothic, and colorful. Some of Gil Kane's images from the original are reimagined to great effect.

This is a solid Conan adventure. My only complaint is the handwaving that allows characters to flip back and forth through time, from era to era, without any explanation other than James Allison willing it to happen.

C'mon, this is Conan… we don't require much in the way rationality, but at least give us a crystal ball, a time portal, a cursed amulet… something to explain the magic other than Allison suddenly manifesting an ability to manipulate space-time like he's Doctor Strange.

In the final scene, although the Wyrm has apparently been defeated by Conan and company, a messenger appears in the days of Atlantis to give Kull a new crown shaped in the likeness of the Wyrm, with the promise that Kull’s kingdom and the kingdom of the Wyrm can rise together. Will this be a plot point in a future Marvel storyline at some point?

3 stars
Profile Image for Kevin.
401 reviews2 followers
November 6, 2020
Debo admitir que me sentí atraído a este libro por la presencia de Moon Knight. Es un personaje que me ha parecido fascinante desde que lo descubrí en la serie de Warren Ellis. Moon Knight es un personaje que puede trabajar tanto en historias de crimen callejero como en cuentos apuntados a lo místico, y este es uno de esos.

La forma en la que se narra es muy interesante. Como todo es un homenaje a Robert E. Howard. Todo se cuenta a través de la poderosa mente de un novelista y así, muchos elementos fantasiosos como la reencarnación, viajes en el tiempo y el multiverso se ejecutan en la misma. No soy muy fan de la prosa en cómics hasta que se hace bien, como Ed Brubaker y en este caso, Jim Zub. Quien por su trabajo en Black Panther me ha dado otra razón para leerlo.

Muchos de los clichés en en este tipo de crossover se evita, como lo de pelear para luego darse cuenta que el verdadero enemigo es otro. Aquí el enemigo se revela de inmediato y se sabe quien es aliado, aunque eso no quiere decir que no haya fricción entre los personajes, lo cual sufrió mucho por el formato y la longitud de la historia. Como es una miniserie en formato americano, las interacciones de personajes se reducen al mínimo para introducir a los personajes y el peligro que enfrentan, es más una historia impulsada por la trama y no los personajes. Sin embargo, la caracterización de cada uno da a relucir el potencial no explotado de cada una de las interacciones que pudieron ser.

El dibujo es muy bueno pero algunas imágenes me sacaron de la historia por lo desproporcionados que fueron algunas extremidades y el pobre manejo de perspectiva en algunos paneles. Aunque no hay buenas secuencias, el dinamismo de cada panel compensa (de nuevo, por lo corto que es la historia) este problema junto con unos juegos de paneles que me parecieron majestuosos. Especialmente cuando se mostraban escenas de acción en paralelo con cada par de héroes.

Muchas de las referencias me las perdí, y creo que hubo algo al final que creo que es para los fans de Conan. Fue interesante, pero de nuevo, sufrió muchísimo por el poco espacio otorgado al equipo.
Profile Image for Hew La France.
Author 6 books47 followers
August 13, 2020

While not an awful story, Conan: Serpent War suffers greatly from a greatly condensed plot. What ought to be told across four volumes is told across four issues. Characters are left underdeveloped, and the story is left underdelivered. If this was, as the cover claims, a Conan Event for the Ages , then, I daresay, they failed. Failed epically.


That said, what is presented in this volume does have some fun moments. It was a fun read, but by no means is it something I intend to lavish praise upon.

16 reviews
November 5, 2024
I appreciated the author creatively fitting this unique story into the lore of R.E. Howard. In my opinion it did justice to the spirit of Howard's work and is an original "spitual sequel" to the Valley of the Worm, a lesser-known Howard tale. The graphic novel version includes a reprint of the 1972 comic rendition of this tale, which is a fun contrast to the more modern art styles of the four Serpent War chapters. Overall, I enjoyed the art. But to my eye, one of the artists out of the four missed the mark on the spirit of Conan visually.
3 reviews
May 2, 2021
An interesting crossover!

It is nice to see a well done crossover title between classic comic and literary characters like Conan and Kane, while also including and respecting new or lesser known characters like Dark Agnes and Moon Knight. I'd like to see more of this type of series.
Profile Image for Philip Athans.
Author 55 books245 followers
October 2, 2022
Conan and… Moon Knight…? Really…?

The real reason to get this book is for the “bonus” reprint of “Valley of the Worm,” a Robert E. Howard story adapted by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway with exceptional art by the great Gil Kane from the April 1972 issue of Supernatural Thrillers (#3).
Profile Image for Tom.
1,225 reviews3 followers
December 9, 2022
For the most part, this is just a team-up for the sake of being a team-up, though the mythology it sets up is pretty fun. A shame that these story threads were never continued. As it is, this feels like the prologue to an unfinished series, not a complete miniseries.
53 reviews
March 28, 2020
First of all, I just love these characters. It is a nice crossover, if you don't take it too seriously - visually attractive, but the story is just for fun.
Profile Image for Kaiulani.
169 reviews1 follower
April 25, 2020
As much as a love Moon Knight, this was forgettable.
Profile Image for Michael Potts.
169 reviews
August 24, 2021
Fun - should have been called "Howard Avengers" as it is basically "what if Howard's pulp heroes all teamed up to fight a common enemy?
Profile Image for Frank Jarome.
308 reviews3 followers
January 8, 2022
Fun but rushed. The pairing of Moon Knight with Robert E. Howard’s most famous characters was a brilliant concept, but it didn’t have enough room to breathe and the art was inconsistent
Profile Image for Amanda Majasaari.
194 reviews1 follower
February 8, 2022
I am a long time fan of Conan and Robert E. Howard. This Serpent War was really BAD comic all the way. And it was not really Conan - wonder why his name is the cover.
Profile Image for Night.
60 reviews
January 23, 2024
The story was okay. A decent quick read. The quality of the artwork varied from subpar to good; depending on the artist.
Profile Image for Δημήτρης Αθανασόπουλος.
77 reviews1 follower
August 31, 2024
Too short, too fast, too many characters, i feel Moon Knight could be left out. I have no Idea how they defeated the main villain. It just happened out of nowhere.

I see why Marvel lost control of Conan in only two years.
Profile Image for Jeff.
19 reviews
February 11, 2020
I'm not sure if the blame for this story's shortcomings falls on the author or the editor. It rushes from one action sequence to another with very little breathing room in between. Where are the character development scenes showing how these heroes interact when they're not hacking up snakes? Did the writer fail to include such scenes? Or did editorial force cuts to keep this at four issues? Also, the art is cartoonish, which does not fit the tone of the story at all. Overall, a shamefully squandered opportunity.
Profile Image for Brannigan.
1,354 reviews12 followers
January 23, 2020
I read this because I love me some Solomon Kane. It’s been several years since getting a new take on my favorite Howard character.

We are introduced to a narrator that’s lived multiple reincarnations over the years. A threat has arisen that requires four heroes living in different times to work together to defeat it so Moon Knight travels back in time to work with Solomon Kane while Dark Agnes travels back in time to work with Conan.

With so many characters and only four issues to tell it we don’t get more than a taste of the characters. There is a ton of action with battles with all kinds of beasties.

I would have enjoyed spending more quality time with each hero but for any fan of Howard’s characters you’ll enjoy seeing them work together.
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