Layouts are competent, though the choice to eschew borders on some of the backgrounds feels uneven. There’s plenty of conflict and even a little blood, but Niemczyk’s line is too clean and the action too contained to sell this bad and boisterous pirate world right off the bat.

Narrowing the scope here would give Howard more time to raise Bêlit’s dramatic stakes and give the book a grand kick-off.įor immediate reference, Niemczyk’s art has more in common with Mahmud Asrar’s style in “Conan the Barbarian” than Ron Garney’s art in “Savage Sword of Conan.” Both styles are competent for the storytelling in their respective books, but there’s something a little too polished about Niemczyk’s work to fit the rough-and-tumble world Bêlit’s born to and ends up ruling. The moment should build a lot of tension, and be given the grand tone of all seminal moments of violence that are the hallmark of stories in the “Conan” universe. As the pivotal moment is sandwiched between a few pages of establishing narrative and the abrupt shift to get Bêlit off the land and onto the sea, it feels rushed and more like a plot box that’s been ticked off than a real defining point in Bêlit’s life. If anything, there’s one too many things going on in this first issue, and the story’s pace might’ve been better spooled out if issue #1 ended with Bêlit making the choice to end her father’s life. There’s drama in Bêlit’s defined personality and in her father’s demise, there’s the big speech and hypocritical, violent rule of law inherent in the civilized world, and there’s enough tragedy to help get Bêlit’s story off the ground. Howard’s work here is somewhat without precedent, despite Thomas including her in a good chunk of Marvel’s original “Conan the Barbarian,” and many of the markers of good storytelling are here. “Age of Conan: Bêlit” #1 is the third title in Marvel’s revisit of the classic “Conan” canon, and gives us an origin for one of the most formidable women Conan’s ever encountered: Bêlit. And the sight of her ship, the Tigress, is an omen of despair for any town in the pirate queen’s path! The AGE OF CONAN kicks off with one of Conan’s most formidable – and memorable – female compatriots, in an all-new story revealing how she became the undisputed QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST! The name alone conjures fear up and down the coasts of the Hyborian Age. THE SHE-DEVIL OF THE SEA WHO WOULD BE QUEEN! BÊLIT.

Age of conan review 2019