Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian enters its second year of publication and a new story arc begins. Issue #12 ended with an epic confrontation with a powerful enemy, but this installment switches gears. Rather than picking up where we last saw Conan, the narrative returns to a younger version of the barbarian. Having first gotten a taste of adventure through his participation in the destruction of the Aquilonian border outpost of Venarium (seen in the Free Comic Book Day 2023 issue, which appeared before the monthly series’ launch), the teenage barbarian has taken his recovered sword and horned helmet and headed north into the frozen wastes. Feeling unexpectedly discouraged after his first victory in battle, Conan remains eager to test himself and find his place in the world. Over the course of this first issue of the “Frozen Faith” story arc, Conan encounters several threats to his young life, from dangerous wild animals to menacing Norsemen, but he questions if mere survival is enough to give his life meaning.
With the beginning of this new storyline, author Jim Zub has Conan the Barbarian narrative in an intriguing new direction. With so much of the comic’s first year taken up by an ongoing, thrilling storyline involving the malevolent influence of the mysterious Black Stone and recurring enemy Thulsa Doom, it’s a relief to step back from all that and go back to basics. Like the original Robert E. Howard stories themselves, other publishers’ comic series have jumped to different points in Conan’s adventuring career, and it’s reassuring to see that tendency continue in Titan Comics’ current incarnation, rather than following a strictly linear progression.
Zub gives readers an unusually intimate look into Conan’s mind with this issue. Flashbacks show Conan as a child, unruly but wild from a young age. His father tells him of the Cimmerians’ ancestral god, Crom, who lives in the mountains and judges his descendants from afar. Crom famously refuses to intervene on behalf of his worshippers, but is said to bestow an iron will on every Cimmerian at birth. This issue shows Conan as a child, questioning his people’s beliefs and then carrying those doubts into his teenage years. Conan was tested in battle, but he emerged unfulfilled, skeptical of religion, and almost nihilistic. This seems a risky approach for a character like Conan; sword and sorcery heroes usually skip the origin story and are frequently portrayed fully formed and confident. Are readers ready for Conan the larval barbarian? I’m not sure what to think at this point, but I’m excited to see where Zub takes the character in the next few issues.
“Frozen Faith” marks the return of artist Doug Braithwaite, who previously oversaw the story arc “Thrice Marked for Death” (Conan the Barbarian Issues #5-8). Braithwaite handles the action scenes and snowscapes in this issue with aplomb, but I still feel that he carves too many fine lines into Conan’s face, making him appear at least a decade older than he should be at this point in his life.
Conan the Barbarian #13 offers readers a fresh start. This issue offers a change of pace for existing readers and serves as a gentle entry point for newcomers curious about Titan Comics’ most successful series to date. While diehard sword and sorcery fans may find this meditative portrayal of Conan a little jarring, I suspect the additional introspection might appeal to grimdark fans who crave a little existential philosophy in their dark fantasy.
Read “Conan the Barbarian” No. 13
