Review by C.J. Bunce

As the tenth decade of Conan the Cimmerian continues, Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics are publishing their fifth volume of the Conan the Barbarian monthly series.  The four-issue collection Conan the Barbarian: Twisting Loyalties has readers back in a 1970s-1980s type of adventure with Conan the Cimmerian accompanying Bêlit, Pirate Queen of the Black Coast, to a tourist town where they are quickly attacked by a band of thieves.  In this spin-off from a corner of the world created by Robert E. Howard, we encounter Conan as bodyguard of sorts to a powerful woman with vengeance on her mind.

This volume includes a gallery reprinting thumbnails of 24 variant covers for the collection’s Issues #17-20, plus a detailed map by Francesca Baerald, a sketch gallery, and four parts of Jeffrey Shank’s history of Conan.

Writer Jim Zub is back, joined this time by artists Danica Brine and Doug Braithwaite.  Every incarnation of Conan has artists striving to capture the fantasy hero as close to Frank Frazetta’s paintings as possible.  Brine definitely captures the aesthetic, with Braithwaite’s imagery catching Frazetta’s style thanks to the color work by Diego Rodriguez.

The book includes two distinct threads, the first with Conan and Bêlit being attacked, then working with one of the marauders on a new theft scheme.  Then readers embark to a time in the past where Conan encounters Zula–part black panther, part jungle warrior.  The series ends picking up with the schemer from part one with a stolen relic.

The stakes for Conan are high here, as he comes surprisingly close to death.

Fans of Conan in the comics will want to add to your pull list at Elite Comics or your local comic shop Conan the Barbarian: Twisting Loyalties, in stores this week, and available at Amazon here.