Kull Volume 1: The Shadow Kingdom

Dark Horse's Kull #1

by Arvid Nelson, Will Conrad (Artist), José Villarrubia (Artist)

More comfortable with a sword than a scepter, the enigmatic Kull has recently crowned himself king and seeks to unite the once proud and powerful land of Valusia. As representatives from all corners of his kingdom seek his counsel, the warrior-king accepts a strange invitation from the Pictish emissary. Kull will need to discard ancient prejudices if he's to save the newly united Valusian empire from a clandestine enemy that once threatened to enslave and exterminate mankind Aided by Brule – a hotheaded Pict confidante – Kull uncovers layers of deception and treachery in the ancient halls of the Tower of Splendor and faces the growing threat of the devious Serpent Cult! Join us as we discover Valusia's darkest secrets and witness the first days of its mightiest king.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Sword and Sorcery, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2005

About the author

Arvid has worked on everything from film to video games, but he’s best known for his original comics title, Rex Mundi, published by Dark Horse Comics. The Band of the Crow has occupied his creative memory banks ever since Rex Mundi ended.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume collects some of my favorite Kull comics adaptations. Excellent art and writing. Very recommended

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s Kull. Not only is the story exciting and filled with sword and sorcery, but the artwork is excellent and the writer succeeds in capturing the true to the spirit of the characters. Well worth a read for Howard fans or someone just looking for a bit of fantasy fun.

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up reading comic books, mostly European, but there were some coming from across the Atlantic that I fell in love with. Conan the Barbarian and Kull. It's been a while since I've read any Kull comics (never read any of the original Robert E. Howard's works about Kull), so I've ran into this beauty.
Can't compare it with the original story, but this one checks all the right boxes. Great artwork, great script and one hell of an adventure. Kull has just become a king of Valusia, but there more fearful enemies than nobles and kings. Those who lurk in shadows. Serpent men.
Not sure why two Picts clearly have different racial features, though. Never imagined Picts looking like Rastafarians.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adaptation of Howard's Kull. It really retains the feel and spirit of Howard's writing. When I read comics like these it makes me sad what Marvel is doing with Conan right now by making him an Avenger and having him engage in shitty banter with Wolverine and the Punisher.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 20.000-18.500BC

Great story. Solid artwork.

You liked the novel? You will definitely like this one too. More elaboration, more action and a bunch of different little things are also happening along. A good adaptation, even though I would like to see more stuff, especially from Kull's past, or at least a shot of Atlantis or something. Since they talk about it and mention it in any chance they got.

Other than that, a beautiful adaptation with Kull being definitely in character and even more so having him always be tired of everything and everyone who won't listen to reason and to change, which I liked as I did in the novels.

I won't spoil the mystery of the story, but it's a good read and a page-turner at that with great artwork.

"My army is like a sword and must not be allowed to rust.” - Kull

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very close adaptation of the original story, to the point I found myself wondering if I'd read this before.

This Kull how I always remember him, fighting the evil Snake Men. One of the better Kull comic volumes I've read, and the art was good as well.

If you're a fan of Kull, of course try this. If you're a fan of Conan but aren't familiar with Kull, this would be a good place to start. If you like sword and sorcery comics, you'll probably like this one.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to be pleased with Dark Horse artwork for these things - it bears saying here because not only is it as good as anywhere, but the setting shows off as consistently grander and shinier and overall more advanced as in Conan's era many epochs later. It's like comparing The Silmarillion's First Age to Lord of the Rings's Third: things were always better off in the past, we're losing something invaluable with each world-shaking disaster, and other such depressing gloom, hanging low-key in the background for you to see if you start to think about it. I'm not sure if it was entirely on purpose, but it's nice either way.

Shame the story doesn't quite pull off the same. I wasn't particularly interested in the serpentman invasion, and though some of the characters had the occasional memorable personality trait or quirk, Kull himself didn't come across as any different from Conan.

[Dennis Steussy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read a graphic novel for a while, so I was curious how this would go. This novel is a great representation of the work of Robert E. Howard. I have read a number of REH books and is a good story of King Kull as he is being to become the new king. The artwork is fabulous and the story easy to follow. If you would like to get an introduction of REH's work pre-Conan this story as a graphic novel or a regular novel would be a good beginning

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, this was closer to 3.5 stars than 4, but since Goodreads doesn't allow for half-points...here we are. I'm giving the 4-part adaptation of REH's "The Shadow Kingdom" a four-star thumbs-up. Its a fairly faithful adaptation (going so far as to use most of the dialogue from the original story) with some fine artwork that only has a few modern-pulp indulgences included every so often. It has some original bits that try and tie the mythology together more coherently and succinctly too, which mostly works. Good stuff. The second, original, story though...I have less praise for. "The Eye of Terror" and its colouring is less attractive, the story is kind of silly, and overall its just not a very good Kull story. Still, I wasn't expecting any extra stories to be in this volume and it has its moments. Some nice articles bookending the volume add to the value also. In conclusion, if you like Kull, this is a pretty good read. Just don't go in expecting the second story to be very entertaining.

[Jussi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 2008–09 comic adaptation of the Robert E. Howard story "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929), earlier adapted into a Marvel comic in 1971. Kull is much like Conan, basically his prototype, another barbarian-become-king, fiercer than "civilised" men, able to stand up to monsters and demons. The story and environment is also very Conan-ish, down to the art style when it comes to comics.

The Shadow Kingdom is the 1st arc of this Kull "reboot", introducing Kull's recently-acquired kingdom and the ancient/forgotten threat of shape-shifting serpent men (also seen in Dark Horse's Conan and real-life conspiracy theories). It sets up an interesting world with nice art, but somewhat degrades into a bloody melee toward the end. Still, 3/5.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kull Volume 1: The Shadow Kingdom gives us great look at the characters in this early world of Kull and his ruling over Valusia and we get a great look at his world and the characters involved in it! :D The story rocks along and full of fighting and adventure! :D The story unveils as we see Kull as he shows that initial expectations are not what we reckon as he carefully hides behind the cloak of diplomacy gives the book layers that work brilliantly! :D At the same time the snake people and their machinations keep the stakes high at every point! :D Excellent Sword Swing Action and Intrigue that will keep you on your toes and guessing at every point! :D Crisp High five! :D Get it when you can! :D

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare adaptation where not only is the source story handled faithfully but the additions made to the tale are actually positive too.

[Nicolás Manfredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Kull, Volumen 1: El reino de las sombras" es un soplo de aire fresco para las historias de la espada y la hechicería. Nunca me había atrapado tan rápido una historia del género que no fuera de Conan o Solomon Kane (los personajes, a mi entender, más renombrados de Robert E. Howard), ni mucho menos me había sentido tan conectado con un personaje como lo estuve con Kull.

Uno entiende desde el vamos de qué va la historia y comprende, sin necesidad de intermediario alguno, que el rey Kull no es un "Conan segundón", como muchos podrían querer interpretarlo. Las palabras de Arvid Nelson, el guionista de este número, en el epílogo del libro son realmente esclarecedoras, cuando afirma que el Conan de la película de 1982 no está basado en Conan por completo, sino en una versión de Conan que toma más de un elemento del personaje de Kull, lo cual, una vez leído este tomo, cobra entero sentido.

Se comprende mucho del imaginario popular de Conan tras las películas de Schwarzenegger -y también tras la serie de dibujos animados "Conan: El aventurero"-, que, en gran parte, dista mucho de la verdadera identidad del personaje.

En resumen, una historia atrapante con un personaje muy entrañable que da para mucho más. Espero que esta no sea la última historia que pueda leer del personaje y voy a estar más atento a otras publicaciones del mismo. Recomiendo su lectura para todos los amantes de la aventura y de las historias del mundo de Conan en particular.

[El Shnookmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arvid has a new original comic book, Band of the Crow. Check out the trailer https://youtu.be/Z16wRyYKl2A?si=gEEFy...

[Skoora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Kull and therefore am biased. The only thing I cound to be a little strange was the presence of the wife/queen in the story when in the original texts Kull is rather disinterested in women. That disinterest is still present in this story for he essentially tells his queen that if she needs affection she should go to another man to get it, however I did enjoy the humor that the female element allowed in the later portion of the story. And the art was both visceral and fresh but very classic in the bold colors and bright adornments in backgrounds and clothing. Gorgeous all around. And I can't wait to get the second volume.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having grown up on the Marvel incarnations of Conan, Kull, Red Sonja and other Robert E Howard characters, I wasn't expecting much from this graphic novel, but I picked it up used for a very low price, so it was worth a quick look.

I was surprised to find that this was a exceptionally well-done volume. The art by Will Conrad is heavily detailed, kinetic and very bloody, while Arvid Nelson's writing is fast-paced and sticks closely to Howard's spirit.

There's plenty of both blood and thunder in this excellent Howard adaptation to please any fan of Howard or sword and sorcery in general.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read, and perhaps that's part of my problem with it. The art was generally fantastic. The writing was good, but there was some repetitive dialogue. I didn't feel that the story really became interesting until the third chapter, and then it was over all too quickly thereafter. A good read for fans of Kull, and I can safely recommend it to others because it's quite cheap used.

[Michel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kull is een voorloper van Conan. Meer aan de Elric van Melniboné- dan aan de Conan-kant, maar toch nog met veel hakken en slaan. En bakken minder Weltschmerz. Niet mijn favoriet Robert E. Howard-personage, en de comic zegt me ook niet echt zo enorm veel.

Interessant in de zin dat het toont wat comics vroeger waren, vermoed ik, maar niet echt van deze tijd.

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arvid Nelson's Kull feels like Howard's Kull, which is refreshing even if it can read a little anachronistically for a modern comic. Will Conrad and José Villarrubia's artwork has a classic sword-and-sandal feel without seeming to be deliberately mimicking prior art styles. Nelson really does pick from classic Howard material here.

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

EXPOSITION AVALANCHE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES AAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRGHH