My Rating
“Twisting Loyalties Part 04 – Purged”
The Mark of Set? An aura of the Snake God? How could such hollow hubris lay so heavy on a child born from stone? Conan questioned the sanity of the shape-changer as he traversed under the jungle canopy.
The Dafarian mystic claimed salvation at the peak of her ancestors’ monument overgrown with eons of vegetation. Or, was it his ancestors? These were arduous times and Conan needed answers. Did that old Stygian relic leave more than a mortal wound when thrust into his abdomen? Could the man-serpents of Numalia have cursed him during that ill-fated raid upon their temple? Conan would never know until he reached the top of that massive stone face once used for shamanistic adoration.
“Weird Tails: Were-Beasts, Serpent Men, And Other Shape-Changers Of The Howardverse”
As Jeffrey Shanks continues to dissect the creative process of Robert E. Howard, we learn the publication history of Hyboria’s most notorious villains, the serpent men of Set. Conan the Barbarian was no stranger to this scaled menace. He was not alone! Kull the Conqueror and Bran Mak Morn also battled the scourge of Set; under other names, of course. This article provides a nice bibliography for those interested in Howard’s stories involving the slithering beasts.
Reviewer Notes
Conan’s adventures in the untamed wilderness that is the Kush, continues. As stated in my last review, the main storyline in issue #20 is not complex. This is more of a vehicle meant to fill in the blanks between Howard’s original writings and Marvel Comics stories involving Zula the Warrior Wizard.
Twisting Loyalties – Part 04 was an interesting story, with top-notch art, but the main draw here is Jeffrey Shanks’ article at the back of the book. It was the most entertaining part of this issue. I give Conan the Barbarian #20 three out of five stars.
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