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Conan: Dark Horse Collection
Conan, Vol. 8: Black Colossus
Conan, once a wandering thief, tries his luck as a professional warrior, joining Amalric's mercenary forces to live as a rank-and-file soldier. However, something much more than luck will lead Conan on a collision course with the strongest, strangest army he's ever faced! Princess Yasmela-the city of Khoraja's remaining sovereign-has been haunted by terrifying apparitions of the wizard Natohk, and when Natohk threatens to bring his demonic hordes to Khoraja, Yasmela prays to the god Mitra for help. Mitra actually responds and tells her to place the fate of her entire kingdom into the hands of the first man she meets out in the city streets-and that man is a drunk, hesitant barbarian! Conan may turn out to be Khoraja's best hope for survival, but his distrust of the soft upper classes and their disdain for his common station may derail any possibility of working together to halt Natohk's bid for world domination.
Conan the Cimmerian #8–#13
Conan the Cimmerian #8–#13
152 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2010
About the author
Timothy Truman
539 books61 followersTimothy Truman is an American writer, artist and musician. He is best known for his stories and Wild West-style comic book art, and in particular, for his work on Grimjack (with John Ostrander), Scout, and the reinvention of Jonah Hex, with Joe R. Lansdale. Truman is currently writing Conan and is an instructor at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
Truman's first professional comics work was Grimjack with writer John Ostrander, for the independent comics company First Comics. Grimjack first appeared in Starslayer #10 in November 1983, before moving to his own series after issue #18 in 1984, and continued for 81 issues. Along with being a fan favorite and often imitated character, Grimjack almost single-handedly defined the "grim and gritty" action comic character archetype.
Truman has been continuously creative for more than 20 years, displaying his pulp sensitivities in his writing. In 1985, he created Scout, which was followed by Scout: War Shaman, a futuristic western. A year later, he relaunched the Hillman characters Airboy and The Heap for Eclipse Comics. He also developed The Prowler, a Shadow type character, and adapted The Spider for Eclipse. In 1991, at DC Comics he created Hawkworld, a reinvention of Hawkman. With author Joe R. Lansdale, he reinterpreted Jonah Hex as a horror western. In it, their creation of villain Edgar Autumn elicited a complaint from musician Edgar Winter. With his son, Benjamin Truman, he created A Man Named Hawken.
Truman was chosen by Dark Horse Comics to illustrate a newly completed Tarzan novel and wrote a story arc for the comic book. He also wrote virtually the entire run of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Valiant Comics, after David Michelinie launched the book with its first three-issue story arc and subsequently departed the series. For the defunct SF imprint of DC, Helix, he created The Black Lamb. He also worked on a typical pulp adventure Guns of the Dragon, featuring Enemy Ace and Bat Lash; and wrote Star Wars at Dark Horse Comics. While at Dark Horse Comics, he took over the writing of Conan from Kurt Busiek in 2006, and after that series ended he started Conan The Cimmerian.
Truman's startling work, Simon Girty, Renegade was a two-volume black and white graphic novel that translated the horrors and triumphs of the American settler's western frontier in a fresh, interesting light. In bold, black and white use of positive and negative space, Truman appealed to both young and old audiences in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was especially important for West Virginians that had been struggling against novelist Zane Grey's portrayal of Lewis Wetzel in an overly romanticized, florid light. Truman himself is an avid historian who dislikes nothing more than to see a drawing of a war using the wrong weaponry, and the second volume of his two-volume series on Simon Girty was devoted to the errors caught in his first volume.
Tecumseh! a graphic novel based on the West Virginia Outdoor Theater, is a colored graphic novel that shows the play from beginning to end. It renewed interest in the warrior in Appalachia. When asked why he used "Tecumseh" instead of "Tecumtheh" he explained he didn't want to explain to the mainstream audience the variance in spelling — the movement on pronunciation began with General William Tecumseh Sherman who came from a family that wanted to commemorate the warrior, but felt the lisping "Tecumtheh" would be unmanly.
Truman's first professional comics work was Grimjack with writer John Ostrander, for the independent comics company First Comics. Grimjack first appeared in Starslayer #10 in November 1983, before moving to his own series after issue #18 in 1984, and continued for 81 issues. Along with being a fan favorite and often imitated character, Grimjack almost single-handedly defined the "grim and gritty" action comic character archetype.
Truman has been continuously creative for more than 20 years, displaying his pulp sensitivities in his writing. In 1985, he created Scout, which was followed by Scout: War Shaman, a futuristic western. A year later, he relaunched the Hillman characters Airboy and The Heap for Eclipse Comics. He also developed The Prowler, a Shadow type character, and adapted The Spider for Eclipse. In 1991, at DC Comics he created Hawkworld, a reinvention of Hawkman. With author Joe R. Lansdale, he reinterpreted Jonah Hex as a horror western. In it, their creation of villain Edgar Autumn elicited a complaint from musician Edgar Winter. With his son, Benjamin Truman, he created A Man Named Hawken.
Truman was chosen by Dark Horse Comics to illustrate a newly completed Tarzan novel and wrote a story arc for the comic book. He also wrote virtually the entire run of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Valiant Comics, after David Michelinie launched the book with its first three-issue story arc and subsequently departed the series. For the defunct SF imprint of DC, Helix, he created The Black Lamb. He also worked on a typical pulp adventure Guns of the Dragon, featuring Enemy Ace and Bat Lash; and wrote Star Wars at Dark Horse Comics. While at Dark Horse Comics, he took over the writing of Conan from Kurt Busiek in 2006, and after that series ended he started Conan The Cimmerian.
Truman's startling work, Simon Girty, Renegade was a two-volume black and white graphic novel that translated the horrors and triumphs of the American settler's western frontier in a fresh, interesting light. In bold, black and white use of positive and negative space, Truman appealed to both young and old audiences in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was especially important for West Virginians that had been struggling against novelist Zane Grey's portrayal of Lewis Wetzel in an overly romanticized, florid light. Truman himself is an avid historian who dislikes nothing more than to see a drawing of a war using the wrong weaponry, and the second volume of his two-volume series on Simon Girty was devoted to the errors caught in his first volume.
Tecumseh! a graphic novel based on the West Virginia Outdoor Theater, is a colored graphic novel that shows the play from beginning to end. It renewed interest in the warrior in Appalachia. When asked why he used "Tecumseh" instead of "Tecumtheh" he explained he didn't want to explain to the mainstream audience the variance in spelling — the movement on pronunciation began with General William Tecumseh Sherman who came from a family that wanted to commemorate the warrior, but felt the lisping "Tecumtheh" would be unmanly.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 8, 2017
Conan fights yet another dude killing people in the name of an elder god. This time he's a ancient sorcerer. Just go see my review for volume 6. It's the same story.
March 3, 2019
Bir "Conan" hikayesinde aradığım pek çok şeye sahip bir cilt oldu "Siyah Dev". Basım kalitesi, çevirisi, çizimlerinin güzelliği hele hele o toplu savaş, muharebeler ve Tanrı Mithra'nın öyküye dahil olması ise benim için extra artılardı. Buna rağmen silah altına alınmış bir Conan'ın varlığı çok beğenmediğim bir negatiflikti. Bunu dengeleyen unsur "Barbarlığın" hakkını yine de vermesi oldu. Marmara Çizgi'nin hakkını vermek lazım, müptelasıyım. Bir an evvel üçüncü cildi almalı ve okumalıyım :)
January 25, 2013
Conan: Black Colossus, by Timothy Truman (writer), Tomas Giorello and Jose Villarrubia (artists), is Volume 8 in Dark Horse Books’ Conan graphic novel series. It is a terrific series with great writing, accurate depictions of the ruthless yet appealing barbarian, and exquisite color art work. This volume finds Conan fighting for an army of mercenaries and eventually becoming the commander of a large army to save Princess Yasmela of Khoraja from the army of an evil wizard, Natohk. Although Conan still retains his ruthless barbarian personality, his leadership of a large army reveals him in a different role. According to the Afterward in this book, this story is based upon a short story (Black Colossus) by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan. Howard’s Conan stories were brief and presented as succinctly as possible with little explanation of details and context. Howard also deliberately published his Conan stories out of order. However, Dark Horse Books is attempting to present these stories in chronological order and with additional content to add context for the reader. In my opinion they have been very successful at enhancing the reader’s experience of the barbarian’s exploits while still maintaining the integrity of Howard’s Conan and his world. Black Colossus is another entertaining, interesting, and beautifully illustrated Conan graphic novel from Dark Horse Books.
November 23, 2021
Hned první kapitola knihy začíná brutálně. Krvavé scény hlavou dolů pověšených obětovaných nejsou zrovna pro slabší žaludky. Kniha má perfektní kresby a celkově je to povedený barbarský začátek. Kniha vtáhne člověka do Conanova života a celkově můžete čekat hlavně jednodušší děj plný válek, bitev a krve.
July 4, 2020
The REH-based story is quite good, but the artwork doesn't quite hit the sweet spot. Granted, when you are competing with Buscema, who has gone before, it's almost impossible to compare favorably. There are some great looking pages, but many don't quite work for me. However, in considering the penciled sample pages at the end, it might be the inking style that wasn't to my taste. This is just my opinion of course. Some will find that the artwork hits the sweet spot for them.
January 24, 2022
This is the best Conan story I've read so far. It simply has it all and it captures the essence of Conan to its fullest.
July 9, 2024
Here we have another adaptation of Black Colossus. This is one of my favorite Conan stories, but I have to admit I prefer the version from The Savage Sword of Conan. It's a fairly typical Conan story involving an evil wizard, a beautiful princess and some armies doing battle in the desert, but this is one of the better stories of that type.
August 31, 2015
"All around him were the screams of the wounded and the pitiable prayers of the dying. The smell of horse lather, piss, and blood. This new life would suit him well."
Mitra's beard! There was more action to be found in these pages than in a Hyrkanian whorehouse! Man, I've really gotta say that the art in this trade was exquisite - a centerpiece of the story. Tim Truman moves the story forward well enough, and as usual gives tremendous reverence to REH's original story. And this is where Dark Horse has been particularly astute regarding the source material; REH's work is like beef jerky - the perfect, most absolute and essential essence of a morsel of meat. Small in size but massive in flavor and satisfaction. Just like one of Howard's Conan stories. Doesn't leave a whole lot to work with if one is attempting to write an ongoing comic series, however, this actually plays out perfectly because Howard packed quite a bit of pertinent information in his stories. The team at DH was able to brilliantly capture all of these small pulp-threads and create their own masterpiece. And they managed to get 18 volumes worth of material! Black Colossus is particularly raw and not for the faint of heart. Do not leave this where a child might happen upon it!
Mitra's beard! There was more action to be found in these pages than in a Hyrkanian whorehouse! Man, I've really gotta say that the art in this trade was exquisite - a centerpiece of the story. Tim Truman moves the story forward well enough, and as usual gives tremendous reverence to REH's original story. And this is where Dark Horse has been particularly astute regarding the source material; REH's work is like beef jerky - the perfect, most absolute and essential essence of a morsel of meat. Small in size but massive in flavor and satisfaction. Just like one of Howard's Conan stories. Doesn't leave a whole lot to work with if one is attempting to write an ongoing comic series, however, this actually plays out perfectly because Howard packed quite a bit of pertinent information in his stories. The team at DH was able to brilliantly capture all of these small pulp-threads and create their own masterpiece. And they managed to get 18 volumes worth of material! Black Colossus is particularly raw and not for the faint of heart. Do not leave this where a child might happen upon it!
March 27, 2013
Excellent story staying true to Howard's writing, and beautifully drafted art. This is the Conan that kicks ass, and has honor.
March 4, 2014
'He seemed almost elemental...part of the wild. His eyes smoldered with such fierce life. In his veins ran the blood of wolves, and his brain lurked the brooding depths of the northern night.'
June 5, 2022
This was a good story but it was nothing special. Conan leads an army against a demon sorcerer while catching the eye of a smitten Princess and conflicting with some nobles. It has all been done before and in this story, Conan almost takes a back seat to the bad guys and the plight of the Princess. There is plenty of action and many heads are removed but the artwork is only middling compared to previous volumes. I enjoyed reading this story but found myself wanting a tale more Conan centric and with more adventure and humor.
September 1, 2023
This is a good adaptation (to the comic form) of the Robert E. Howard story, his fourth Conan yarn to be published (1933) in the pulp magazine WEIRD TALES. This retelling is fleshed out a little but it feels like actual Howard.
July 30, 2018
Especially bloody and full of nudity. Must be a new artist. It reminded me a bit of an edition of Heavy Metal Magazine back in the day. Great sword and sorcery story.
May 28, 2019
I preferred the Savage Sword version of Black Colossus, I think, but not by a whole lot. It's a great story anyway.
January 24, 2021
Truman and company turn out another slog of a tale that feels less like a true Conan story than a generic swords and sorcery knockoff by somebody who never read Conan in the first place.
April 2, 2021
The return of beautiful artwork. Very nice addition to the series.
May 25, 2022
Ah, here we go. Getting back to another adaptation of an actual Howard story and now my interest is coming back.
There's another review that calls out Black Colossus for being the same as The Hand of Nergal, and I suppose that strictly speaking, it's not wrong. Both have Conan fighting an ancient sorcerer and killing him with the power of steel. But it's easy to make a lot of stories sound the same if they're reduced to that short of a synopsis, and I think Black Colossus has a bit more of a spark to it. It didn't have the issues that Hand of Nergal did with horror trappings but no actual horror, since this story is all about battle and Conan's first taste of command. Every previous story, Conan has been part of a warband or in a very small group of men, but it's part of Conan's history that he led multiple companies of mercenaries and pirates. The comic authors place its origins here, and add a bit of extra story at the beginning where Conan sees the mercenary captain Amalric fighting and joins up with his company, eventually rising to leader of the spearman.
And since it's based on a Howard story, it means they can adapt Howard's dialogue:
I admit that most of my enjoyment of the story comes from the Howard derivation. Howard's snappy dialogue and focus on the action lend themselves well to a comics format, so it's great when the writers get to use them. The writers give more plot to the demon that serves Natohk, but it doesn't actually seem to have much purpose, since the demon still just skulks around and then vanishes without doing anything, but it's hard for me to complain about supernatural elements when the short story has literal divine intervention from Mitra.
The best of these comics are always the ones drawn straight from Howard's originals. Adaptation still takes skill, though, so credit where credit is due. After two duds, this is a good return to form.
Previous Review: Conan, Vol. 7: Cimmeria.
Next Review: Conan, Vol. 9: Free Companions.
There's another review that calls out Black Colossus for being the same as The Hand of Nergal, and I suppose that strictly speaking, it's not wrong. Both have Conan fighting an ancient sorcerer and killing him with the power of steel. But it's easy to make a lot of stories sound the same if they're reduced to that short of a synopsis, and I think Black Colossus has a bit more of a spark to it. It didn't have the issues that Hand of Nergal did with horror trappings but no actual horror, since this story is all about battle and Conan's first taste of command. Every previous story, Conan has been part of a warband or in a very small group of men, but it's part of Conan's history that he led multiple companies of mercenaries and pirates. The comic authors place its origins here, and add a bit of extra story at the beginning where Conan sees the mercenary captain Amalric fighting and joins up with his company, eventually rising to leader of the spearman.
And since it's based on a Howard story, it means they can adapt Howard's dialogue:
“By Mitra,” said he slowly, “I never expected to see you cased in coat-armor, but you do not put it to shame. By my finger-bones, Conan, I have seen kings who wore their harness less regally than you!”The actual story is pretty bog-standard. Conan and the mercenaries arrive in the country of Khoraja, which is menaced by Ophir, but more importantly, is threatened by the sorcerer Natohk, who has united the desert tribes. Following a vision from Mitra, Princess Yasmela entreats the first man she meets to help defend her country. It's Conan, of course.
Conan was silent. A vague shadow crossed his mind like a prophecy. In years to come he was to remember Amalric’s words, when the dream became the reality.
I admit that most of my enjoyment of the story comes from the Howard derivation. Howard's snappy dialogue and focus on the action lend themselves well to a comics format, so it's great when the writers get to use them. The writers give more plot to the demon that serves Natohk, but it doesn't actually seem to have much purpose, since the demon still just skulks around and then vanishes without doing anything, but it's hard for me to complain about supernatural elements when the short story has literal divine intervention from Mitra.
The best of these comics are always the ones drawn straight from Howard's originals. Adaptation still takes skill, though, so credit where credit is due. After two duds, this is a good return to form.
Previous Review: Conan, Vol. 7: Cimmeria.
Next Review: Conan, Vol. 9: Free Companions.
January 26, 2016
The new Conan comic series does good justice to the Robert E. Howard stories. While the art does come and go in quality at time, overall it is a good. The adaptations of the original stories is well done. The fill in stories are also well done and follow the flow of the Character's life as written by Howard. Recommended to comic fans and Very recommended to Howard and Conan fans.
July 15, 2011
This is more of an expanded adaptation of the Howard story of the same name than a word by word one. We learn more about the backgrounds, e.g. how Conan joined the mercenary band. The graphics are nice, and the story is well told.
September 14, 2011
Darkhorse Comics adaptation of Conan the Barbarian.
Some of the stories are adaptation of some of Robert E. Howards best stories, others are original stories by the Darkhorse Writers. A very nice collection of stories if you like the sword and sorcery genre.
Some of the stories are adaptation of some of Robert E. Howards best stories, others are original stories by the Darkhorse Writers. A very nice collection of stories if you like the sword and sorcery genre.
November 10, 2010
Impressed so far.
January 19, 2013
Epic battle!
November 18, 2013
As always the team of Truman and Giorello delivers a grat Conan story, very recommended!
April 9, 2017
I've never read Robert E. Howard's story that this is adapted from, so I can't compare the two. I did think this was a pretty good war/sword and sorcery tale. We get to see how Conan transitions from a theif/adventurer to working in and eventually commanding a proper military unit. The artwork was top notch with some really great battle scenes.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews