The Cimmerian, Vol 2

The Cimmerian

by Sylvain Runberg, Robin Recht, Jae Kwang Park (Illustrator)

BY CROM! Robert E. Howard's famous Cimmerian UNCENSORED! Discover the true Conan, unrestrained, violent, and sexual. Read the story as he intended! The Cimmerian Vol 2 includes two complete stories, The People of The Black Circle, and The Frost-Giant's Daughter, plus bonus material, including the original prose stories, in one hardcover collection! In The People of the Black Circle, the king has just died in the kingdom of Vendhya, struck down by the spells of the black prophets of Yimsha. The king's sister, Yasmina, decides to avenge him... and contacts Conan, then chief of the Afghuli tribe. But several of Conan's warriors have just been killed by the men of the kingdom of Vendhya, further complicating the matter. The princess thought she could use the Cimmerian, but rather it is she who will serve his interests... Sylvain Runberg and prodigious designer/illustrator Jae Kwang Park adapt one of the most ambitious and complex Conan stories of Robert E. Howard. An adventure where epic battles, witchcraft and plots mingle in a mystical and scary Orient. Where revenge is an art... In The Frost-Giant's Daughter, Conan, the only survivor of a ferocious battle, sits in the midst of a bloodstained snow field. When the fight is over, the Cimmerian suddenly finds himself overcome with deep weariness and disgust. Until the moment he meets a redheaded woman of supernatural beauty, blinding like the glow of the sun on the snow. Moved by a burning desire, Conan decides to follow her but finds himself caught in a trap, attacked by two titans. In his ardor, he was not suspicious... he did not imagine for a second that his bride was none other than Ymir's own daughter: the frost-giant! A mythical tale both in both form and substance, The Frost-Giant's Daughter is masterfully adapted by Robin Recht, who manages to capture the essence of this whirlwind tale of violent desire... a true love trap in which the force of will of the Cimmerian is put to the test.

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Adventure, Graphic Novels Comics, Sword and Sorcery, Comic Book

169 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2021

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two of Conan's more famous stories adapted for comics. People of the Black Circle was set in Afghanistan actually and one of the many groups of people chasing Conan were Iraqi. That was a bit odd. This story did have too many factions involved. It was difficult to keep track of who was who and which side they were on. Still it was OK.

The Frost Giant's Daughter was better. The art was gorgeous with a sexy element to it. There was a weird moment in the story that is not in the original Robert E. Howard story where Ymir's daughter is getting herself off while Conan fights for his life. Still I did like this story better. It modernized some of the language where People of the Black Circle just pulled out the exposition verbatim.

The original prose stories are also included.

Received a review copy from Ablaze and NetGalley.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the R-rated modern take on our favourite Conan stories. Based on the original tales, they ramp up the R-rated parts of it... a bit too much in my opinion.

This collects two stories The People of The Black Circle and The Frost-Giant's Daughter.

The Frost-Giant's Daughter is a story that lends itself well to an R-rated story. It's a simple story, Conan is only surviver of a bloody battle in the snowy norths. After he sees a beautiful naked woman who beckons him to follow. She eventually leads him into a death trap as two Frost Giants jump out and attack Conan. In this version, they really crank up the sexuality and it becomes a bit too crude. Other versions have the naked woman conveniently clothed by long hair and wisps of snow... I'm starting to think that's a better way of doing it.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowza, the four stars are primarily for the second story in this volume, a lurid and borderline pornographic adaptation of the classic Norse-inflected "Frost Giant's Daughter" story that features sumptuous art and a grunting and striving Conan chasing an apparition that can't actual be real...


...or is she?

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this a lot more than volume 1 - the stories were a lot more interesting. The Norse myth story was sexy and got to the core of Conan's will and the story set in an Afghanistan analog felt relevant to today's geopolitics with some nice magic interwoven in the story. The art was really engaging from both artists, but Conan's very different stature across the two stories was a bit distracting. Interesting repackaging of the original pulp stories.

**Thanks to the artists, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Lou Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my youth ( long since gone ) Robert E Howard was one of my favorite three writers ... along with Philip K Dick and Fritz Leiber. Howard's signature character blossomed from his depiction of Conan The Barbarian. These stories had their origin in the coveted pages of Weird Tales. Howard almost single handedly gave rise to the subgenre of sword and sorcery. This wonderful compilation brings together two classics... "People of the Black Circle" ... a long novella originally published in three parts in Weird Tales in 1934 .... and "The Frost-Giants Daughter" ... a short story, that probably was the first story chronologically of the Conan of Cimmerian saga, that appeared in 1953. It was a great to re-read the original prose stories which accompany this volume. The power and majesty of these stories still amaze with Howard's descriptive narrative, his characterizations and high-octane actions scenes and epic battles. Including the prose stories certainly magnified the pleasure of this offering, but also reveals the excellence of the color adaptation rendered in graphic art form. People of the Black Circle, was adapted expertly by Sylvain Runberg and illustrator, Jae Kwang Park. The shorter, Frost-Giants Daughter, was masterfully adapted by Robin Recht. Extras included were a Cover and Sketch Gallery.
People of the Black Circle: a notable classic from Howard's oeuvre ... the king of Vendhya has been slain by the magic of the four evil prophets / "seers" of Yimsha, and in an effort to seek revenge his sister Yasmina tries to blackmail Conan to enlist his aid... and instead, is kidnapped by Conan, leading to a twisted chase and eventual encounters with wizards and sorcerers, and resultant epic battles in the presence of swirling miasma's of magic
The Frost-Giant's Daughter:: the setting ... Conan appears to be the sole survivor, and stands alone in the aftermath of a ferocious battle, surrounded by a legion of gore and blood-stained corpses ... suddenly a gorgeous , red-headed beauty appears, scantily clad in only a flimsy, diaphanous loin cloth .... Conan's desire is ignited.... he haphazardly pursues the supernatural beauty , only to be led into a trap ... Is she real or only imagined?
This volume proves to be a masterful addition to the Conan of Cimmeria canon. Depicted are gorgeous graphic narratives of two classic tales .... well adapted and maintaining the original intent and power of Howard's writings. Thanks to NetGalley and Ablaze Comics and Diamond Book Distributors for supplying an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date is scheduled for April 27, 2021.
( at readersremains.com )

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

CROM! This was a great volume of the Conan series being publish by Ablaze. The first story entitled: The People of The Black Circle, is an exciting adventure taking place in a land which appears a bit middle eastern. Conan has to stay on his guard as he is not only being pursued by a princess' warriors but his own crew as well. I really enjoyed the twist and turns to this story. Runberg does a great job capturing Conan's wit and steady calm in face of overwhelming odds. Not single moment is wasted and the action is fast. I admit it took me some time to get use to the artwork on this story arc but the writing really carried this story to a satisfying conclusion. It was a page turner and the surprising reveals really made for a good Conan story. Even in a exotic desert and middle eastern like setting the character of Conan works. The character just works in any environment.

Next, we have "The Frost-Giant's Daughter", which to me is the best story I have read for Conan not just in the Cimmerian but for Conan hands down. This story not only captures the mythic quality of the character of Conan but it gets into the head of Conan. The artwork is stunning and really lends to the mood of the story. The giant polar bears look like they could run of the page. The beauty of the terrain is matched perfectly by the visuals of the red-headed daughter of Ymir, the lord of the Frost Giants. Robin Recht's script is incredible and really captures the Robert E. Howard's Conan. The two page spread of Conan leaping towards Ymir was amazing. The majesty of the white mountains were also great eye-candy. This was just a great story. I love Viking mythology and Robert E. Howard really understands heroic mythic storytelling. Definitely pick up this book for this story alone. If you are interested in more epic fantasy comics I recommend the following:The Last God: Book I of the Fellspyre Chronicles, Birthright, Vol. 1: Homecoming, & White Sand, Volume 1.

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really would like to give this five stars... however, there are lots of missing words (within sentences) in the text clouds of the first story, "People Of The Black Circle," and - while the story is spectacularly presented in "The Frost-giant's Daughter" - they far too liberally applied splatter punk dreck to the cells you can't really see much of the material and far too little of the action. Two of the best Conan stories deserved a little bit better treatment. Dang, but they did an awesome job of displaying The Cimmerian's indomitable will and S&S Attitude though!

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is slightly less intriguing in the stories than the 1st volume, but it still maintains amazing and breathtaking art.

the 1st story had too many sides and factions, but I liked that it wasn't as sexualized. the 2nd story is really sexualized, and I really like how it's derived from the norse mythology.

The two stories follow Conan on adventures where he always triumphs and is always accompanied by a gorgeous lady and finds himself in gruesome battles. the 1st story had magic and politics and fighting kingdoms, while the 2nd story had gods and goddesses and their games with mortals.

[John Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hither came Conan, the Colourful, Inked and Lettered, possessed of bright tableaus, with epic stories told anew, to devour upon the jeweled previews of Netgalley.

People of the Black Circle and The Frost Giant's Daughter, two of Robert E Howards more famous stories, each reimagined in the form of a graphic novel, and with the full text of the original story included so that those who have never read them can see how close they are to the originals.

Interesting way of presenting the book, with the graphic novel first, and the story second, and while I understand the inclusion of the full story so that someone new to the material could verify that all of it has been included, or so see if any nuance has been missed, it does seem strange to have essentially the same story delivered twice within the same book.

That said, good clear illustrations, a little chaotic when it came to the battle scenes (which fits well with the nature of battle in Conan), but it wasn't hard to follow the story, and while some of the language has been adapted, most of it is true to the original, and the story does not suffer for the changes made.

Certainly recommended for those new to the Cimmerian stories, but those who've been there before may not find much new to whet their appetite.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two stories here and the second one was Xrated, but better in my opinion. Anyway I love Conan's stories anyway and I am looking forward to the next volume.


In questo volume sono raccolte due storie, e la seconda é decisamente per maggiorenni, ma anche quella che mi é piaciuta di piú. Comunque a me le storie di Conan piacciono sempre e comunque e non vedo l'ora che esca il prossimo volume di questa serie!

I received a complimentary digital copy in exchange for a honest review.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good book. Rated 4.0 of 5

What is it about Conan the Cimmerian that he endures and still engages readers? I'm glad that there's still interest in reading his adventures.

This book contains two stories: "People of the Black Circle" and "The Frost-Giant's Daughter." People of the Black Circle, was adapted by Sylvain Runberg and illustrator, Jae Kwang Park, and "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" was adapted (writer and artist) by Robin Recht.

"People of the Black Circle" (or "The People of the Black Circle") is often considered to be one of the most iconic Conan stories due to a more in-depth look at magic and the magicians of the Hyborian worlds. The story centers around a princess who hopes to enlist Conan's help to defeat the Black Seers of Yimsha, who have recently killed her brother, the king of Vendhya. But Conan has recently lost some of his men, killed by soldiers of Vendhya, so Conan takes things into his own hands (as he usually does), and kidnaps the princess while also taking on the mages of Yimsha.

The art here is fine, but not particularly outstanding. It's quite detailed - I felt, sometimes, too much so. Some of the panels seemed needless busy with detail, making it harder to enjoy. I'd have to admit that I grew up reading not only the collected stories of Robert E. Howard, but the fantastic Savage Sword of Conan magazine, which featured art by some of the really great comic artists of my time: Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Pablo Marcos, and Walter Simonson, so almost any art today will pale by comparison (though I'm always hoping to find the next great Conan artist).

(It doesn't help that my ARC edition doesn't enlarge well and the art looks generally a bit blurry (though the word balloons are sharp and in focus no matter what size I make PDF on my computer screen)).

This is a fairly elaborate story (for a Conan story) and it would be quite a challenge to put this into a 65 page graphic novel story and Runberg does a decent job.

"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" has an interesting Robert E. Howard history (which you can look up for yourself). As a story, I think I've liked this one more that "People of the Black Circle" myself, but I tend to like this kind of mind-game story. It's also prompted some pretty incredible art of the years.

Robin Recht does a really masterful job retelling this story. This story alone is worth the price of the book.

There are the usual additional items at the end of the book - sketches of the different characters, variations on the covers of the individual comics, etc. But what I liked the most here is the inclusion of the Robert E. Howard stories on which these graphic stories are based. It would seem just a little bit bold and daring to include the original stories and let the reader compare or see who the team did in retelling these stories. And while I likely have both of these stories, in multiple editions of the Conan books, I really appreciated having them right here, at hand, so that I didn't have to dig for a different copy (which I would NOT have done).

Looking for a good book? The Cimmerian, Vol. 2 is a very well done graphic novel adaptation of two of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. Long-time readers of Conan will enjoy these new adaptations and new readers may look for more Conan based on this. The inclusion of the original Robert E. Howard stories is a treat.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second volume of Ablaze's wonderful take on Conan stories.

First story takes us to the ever contested parts of the world that matches today's crossroads between Iran, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan. Conan, who established himself as chief of local brigand clans gets sucked into local political power plays that will bring him into conflict with dark sorcerer who enjoys a role of a king maker for a highest bidder.

Art is interesting, at times when author draws action scenes or character surprise, it is obvious inspiration is Manga or Korean variation of it. As is case with lots of Manga styles from the west this tends to create lots of sketchy art, so many lines that drawing loses its fullness. But in overall it is good, lots of details and when action kicks in it is amazing. I think that black and white approach here might work better. But again, I enjoy black and white comics in general so might be biased :)

Second story is famous story of Frost Giants Daughter. It is breath taking. Art, coloring, composition, everything is magnificent. Again, this being more adult version of stories sexual energy accumulates and it is visible. From the way Conan eyes this spirit, the way she teases him, her confidence that Conan is just yet another buffoon to be sacrificed to her father, playful exchange between the two that has such a serious and deadly undertones that Conan is not aware of at the beginning.

Again, art is so great that lots of frames would work without a single uttered word from any party. Conan here is such a powerful creature that during the final fight scenes I was truly expecting him to jump out of the pages. Spirit's fear when she realizes that Conan is not a person to be trifled with (presentation how fear starts to grow in her as she sees Conan is uncontrollable and how stressed and afraid she is on last pages after her failure to kill Conan (fear from Conan himself and definitely her father who lost his only two sons due to her scheming) - artist managed to capture every emotion, it is incredible, no frame requires any additional textual explanation) and Conan's charge at the Frost Giant! Epic! This is currently my favorite story from the two volumes from Ablaze.

Excellent book. Highly recommended to all fans of hero fantasy. Cannot wait for volume 3!

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

By Crom! Conan The Cimmerian has appeared in comics almost nonstop since the 1970s (even a few appearances beforehand). Whether it be Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, or Dynamite Comics, there is always some company producing their take on the legendary, thief, barbarian and king. In the U.S., I’m pretty sure that Dynamite still has the Conan rights (I could be wrong), but in Italy, Ablaze Publishing had an interesting option: they could freely publish comics related to Conan, without specifically calling them “Conan” or “Conan the Barbarian” comics, even though that’s what they are. Thus “The Cimmerian” was born.

This series is a pretty cool alternative to the other Conan Comics out there. About half of the book is comprised of adaptations of classic Conan stories The People of The Black Circle, and The Frost-Giant’s Daughter. The rest of the book, aside from the typical art section and cover gallery, found in most trade editions, are the entire prose versions of the same stories, originally printed in pulp magazines such as Weird Tales or Fantasy Fan Magazine nearly 100 years ago. Due to the properties interesting status in Europe, they have the freedom to do something like this without dealing with multiple rights holders, and I absolutely LOVED it.

This is as true to a “true” take on Conan can be. All of the heavier stuff such as gore and sex, that other comics might avoid, is here in the open just as Robert E, Howard intended. The dialogue can be a bit verbose in places, especially in The People of the Black Circle, but that can be directly tied to the size of the comics that were published and the amount of dialogue in the original story.

I went into this without reading the first volume, but plan to go back now that I see the quality of this is en pointe. While the typical issues that arise from translating a comic are there a bit, its not bad, nor does it detract from the story. As a HUGE Conan and Red Sonja fan, I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this.

[Michael Lee My ComicBook World · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cimmerian Volume 2 is ok. It’s not quite as good as Volume 1 But I still liked the second story in this graphic novel.

This volume is not as good of a read as Volume 1. The two stories in this tome aren’t as beautifully adapted as the Volume 1 stories. The Vol 2 stories are written in a way that sounds more modern and less like a Barbarian or a Sorcerer should sound. As a result of the writing I found this volume much harder to become lost in and really engross myself in the world of Conan. Volume 1 was so good so I was disappointed by Volume 2 of the Cimmerian.

The artwork in The Cimmerian Volume 2 is also not as beautiful as the art in Volume 1. The artwork in Volume 2 is way too dark and hard to follow. The artwork was so dark in some frames that I couldn’t figure out what was going on which helped didn’t help me follow the story.

The artwork in the second story in Volume 2 is much better than in the first story. The artwork in The Frost Giants Daughter can be beautiful and striking at times. The daughter is beautiful, sexual, and alluring. The art of her is much like you would picture a beautiful, alluring, and dangerous Siren from mythology. As I read the second story I found myself falling under her spell along with Conan.

I enjoyed this story very much because the artwork and story really complimented each other very well. The final frame of second story is just a beautiful and heart breaking image. I really enjoyed reading The Frost Giants Daughter.

In short I liked The Cimmerian Volume 2. The first story is not very good and is hard to understand. I would recommend skipping right to the second story, The Frost Giants Daughter and enjoy a great story full of barbarian action scenes and sorcery.

I hope a Volume 3 is published and that they try hard to keep the writing flowery and over the top. The writing and artwork are the keys to helping the readers become fully enveloped in a good Barbarian / Sorcery fantasy story. Both the art and writing need to be beautiful to help the readers become lost in a great Barbarian epic tale.

Also, the artwork needs to be big, bold, bright, beautiful, and violent to really hook the readers.

Stay awesome and keep reading!

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume contains part 8 and part 5 (seriously, don't ask) of the original French adaptations of the Robert E Howard Conan novellas. Perhaps we're seeing them in the order Howard put them out, but as before we have such a jolting difference from one story to the other and I can't see that being the case. We start clearly in this universe's Hindu Kush area, where lie cities called the likes of Khorbhul, and we go from one -Stan to another, and witness a wronged princess, Conan, and some magical types who've crossed over to the dark side, all battling against each other. No sooner said that done, and we're in the icy realms where Howard was able to crib off Norse myth – although I certainly don't recognise the source of the story whose hero becomes overcome with lust for a girl with floor-length red hair wearing half a teabag round her crotch.

This latter story is certainly one where the downright unsubtle qualities of these tales come good – it's such a distinctive diversion from the usual blunt hack and slash. Also, courtesy of these books publishing the relevant original prose of Howard, we see that it's been padded out in this instance, and some quite startling things have been done to the text – she would never get away with doing that to herself on the London underground, that's for sure. It's no wonder then this is deemed to be Conan the Uncensored. And perhaps it's a good thing this story got the treatment it did, for the previous three hadn't really done anything for me, so verbose and generic at the same time were they. And through this digital file I became of the opinion that the artwork is not dreadful, and it's the reproduction us humble reviewers get stuck with that makes everything look poorly defined. So I think I will be back in the future – and of course there's always the guessing game as to what stories we'll get next time! Three and a half stars.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the Conan stories in the first collection, I have to say I felt significantly disappointed with the two stories collected in the second volume. "People of the Black Circle" by Sylvain Runberg and Jae Kwang Park was a story with some odd modern elements mixed in that made the whole thing feel quite anachronistic (yes, I know Cimmeria is a fictional place). My biggest issue with the first story was that the artwork felt quite condensed into small panels, which were already claustrophobic from the big narration boxes, but only served to make the art feel quite congested and muddy looking.

The second story, "The Frost Giant's Daughter" by Robin Recht and Dezi Sienty, was much better, though I recently came off reading the Kurt Busiek Conan run and have to say that they did this story better. The only thing I can really give extra credit for is that the story in the Ablaze version is much raunchier.

Overall though, this was a weaker volume in the Ablaze adaptations of Robert E. Howard's stories.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had 2 short stories - "The People if the Black Circle", and "The Frost Giant's Daughter" - both as graphic adaptations, followed by Howard's story in text form. A nice idea. However...
"...People..." art work was competently done, but so dark and busy, often with such small panels, that it was very hard to follow what was going on. And this story was in desperate need of proper editing. There were at least 4 times where there were clear editing errors, including a couple where, I can only assume, the writer included 2 words that should have been decided on before print, but both were included. Honestly, just shoddy and distracting.
The art in "...Daughter" was much better. My complaint here is that they decided to stretch out this very short story in a way that made me think of Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy. Unnecessary.
Finally, there was a map of Hyperboria in the front and back cover. In French. With the words on the eastern edge cut half off....

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Cimmerian, Vol. 2’ with stories by Robert E. Howard and adaptation by Sylvain Runberg continues the graphic novel series about Conan the Barbarian.

There are two stories in this volume. Both stories also include the text of the original stories after the adaptation. The first story is The People of The Black Circle about a recently deceased king, the black prophets of Yimsha who did it, and the king’s sister who contacts a certain barbarian to help enact revenge. The second story is The Frost-Giant’s Daughter where Conan, the only survivor on an icy battlefield, finds a scantily clad redheat in the snow. He is attracted, but he is not aware that he may be under a spell or who the mysterious woman may actually be.

The art in the first story is by Jae Kwang Park and I liked it, but the colors and lines are a bit heavy. The art in the second story is by Robin Recht and it is amazing. It has a Frazetta quality that serves the story perfectly.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true tale of two unequal halves, this second volume of The Cimmerian is unfortunately not at the overall standard of the first book. The initial story, People of the Black Circle, suffers from issues with its adaptation and art style, and is generally oversaturated with written and visual details, making it dull and/or difficult to follow the action. It would’ve greatly benefitted from some extra pages to allow for better pacing and the inclusion of a few necessary scenes cut from Howard’s original text.

The second story, The Frost Giant’s Daughter, is a much better reinterpretation. Robin Recht does a fine job in presenting a new take on this classic, delivering some stunning art matched by succinct word use and fluid storytelling. The nudity shown, and the intended attraction of the female form, is both appropriate to the narrative and quite moderate, and Conan’s wild lust and madness can be seen in each of the artful panels of his pursuit.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a study in contrasts available in Conan stories. The first story is overburdened with tribes, treaties, betrayals, and double-crosses, as battling tribes try to make peace to take out their true enemy. It gets confusing to keep track of the different groups and who's doing what to whom, although it does lead to a pretty epic climax.
The second story is much more straightforward, as Conan spends the entire book chasing after the Frost Giant's Daughter. This title earns the uncensored moniker as the character is mostly nude throughout the entire chase across the frozen north. But it has a pretty impressive climactic moment too.
All told, I think I enjoyed both of these stories a bit more than I did the first volume, but neither manages to be super memorable for its content - instead the art carries them both.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two tales of Conan the Barbarian! "The People of the Black Circle" has Conan pitted against a kingdom and a magician wielding demons. Conan has warriors to ransom, so he steals the ruler of the kingdom only to lose her to a band of evil magicians. Plenty of intrigue and magic ensue. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" tells the tale of Conan's exploits in the Northlands when he encounters a beauty after a battle. Be very careful what you chase since you might catch it. In addition to the comics, the original prose tale is provided after the comic adaptation. A very nice feature!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this volume!

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are very distinct differences in depictions of Conan. The first story has very slow pacing with how much they tell instead of show. Frankly looking at the original pulp texts by Robert E. Howard this is attached with was a better read. The Frost Giant's Daughter on the other hand used the illustrative strengths to its fullest to display the epic levels Conan can be depicted. The way most things are seen by the goddess' perspective is certainly good enough way to use simpler words to juxtapose so much atmospheric detail.

[G. Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original Conan stories can be hard to adapt because a) the writing style is melodramatic and b) there's a lot of bawdy material, not always handled in a way we find politically correct today. The adaptors find a way to translate both those elements, partly by expanding the female role in the "Frost Giant's Daughter" story, capturing the idea that Howard's stories are about a barbarian world where men and woman both feel the pull of blood, lust and brutality.
Altogether, a very good Conan adaptation.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick impressions: Both comics are well written and well paced. Once you start reading, you just keep going. The art is well suited to the stories, though at times some of the details may blur a bit here and there. Still, art is colorful and captures the essence of stories well.

Overall, these are very good adaptations of the story. If you enjoy a gritty style in your fantasy art, art that seems drawn a bit quickly yet captures the story well, then you'll like this. This is a series that both longtime fans and new readers can enjoy.

(Full review on my blog later)

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the art in this one better than in volume 1, and the first part of the book adapts my favorite REH story, "People of the Black Circle." At times though, the artist gets a little too detailed and with the figures too small. It was like watching a movie where the camera is farther away than you might like. The second story, "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" was interesting for all the changes. I was surprised to see the Frost Giants depicted as giant polar bears. And I didn't quite get all the "tom tom" sound effects strewn all over the artwork. I found that distracting.

[k2148 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cimmerian (Volume #2). By Sylvain Runbert, Illustrators: Robin Recht. Jae Kwang Park. 2021. Ablaze Publishing (eBook ARC).

These two retellings of Robert E. Howard’s The People of The Black Circle and The Frost-Giant’s Daughter capture the essence of Conan and his world quite well. The art is good and helps the stories flow; the cover art is especially nice.

*Diamond Book Distributors ARC via NetGalley

[Κεσκίνης Χρήστος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Η αλήθεια είναι πως υπηρχαν ενδείξεις ήδη από τον πρώτο τόμο, αλλά εδώ και ειδικά στην δεύτερη ιστορία (Η Κόρη του Γίγαντα των Πάγων) τα R Rated στοιχεία και ειδικά τα χωρίς λόγο πορνογραφικά καρε με χάλασαν λίγο. Γενικά, ήταν καιρός που ήθελα τα κόμικ του Κόναν να επιστρέψουν στο παλιό καλό αίμα, βία και σεξ που αγάπησα απο τα ασπρόμαυρα της μάρβελ. Και χαίρομαι τα απέκτησα. Και χαίρομαι που τα διάβασα. Και φυσικά, χαίρομαι που μαζι με την μεταφορά σε κομικ υπαρχουν και οι πρωτοτυπες ιστορίες του Howard. Αφήστε που γκρινιαζω λίγο. Μου αρέσει. Βασικά, τι λέω; Conan γράφει. Το λατρεύω...

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories carried forward from Robert E. Howard himself, different art every time that brings the details, scale, and stories to life in a way that words can't, and a transcript of the original story at the end to enjoy. There's nothing bad about this title or any in the series so far, and compared to most of the novels whose quality range from great to pretty bad, it's great to get back to the basics of what Conan the- ahem, the Cimmerian, does best.

[Jeff Mayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly better than the first volume, because the artwork is better. It takes two of the Conan original stories, "The People of the Black Circle" and "The Frost-Giants Daughter", and gives them the R rated treatment. The first story is extremely violent. The second story borders on NC-17, as the antagonist is completely nude in every panel she is in. The stories are outdated, but the artwork is solid.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5 stars. The Cimmerian Vol 2 adapts two more of REH's best yarans; The People of the Black Cirle, and The Frost Giant's Daughter. This volume is significantly better than its predecessor in everyway. The artworks and the storytelling are superior than their counterparts in Vol 1. The Frost Giant's Daughter, in particular, is a stunning adapation. I can't wait to check out Vol 3.