The Cimmerian: Queen Of The Black Coast – Volume 01 Issue 01

In the decadent halls nested deep within the sprawling port city of Argos, Conan the Cimmerian stood in judgment for the crime of loyalty. This trait was but a trivial annoyance to an arbiter corrupted by Argossean greed and courtly schemes. Thus the stubbornness of one who negotiates by the sharp edge of a blade ended the life of the other passing sentencing.

Now Conan finds himself a fugitive in a land he neither cared for nor a culture he never understood. Escaping aboard a trade vessel bound for the lands of the Kushites, the Cimmerian pledged his sword to the ship’s captain in exchange for passage south. There, on the Black Coast, the fate of the trireme ship would be sealed by the Shemite tigress named Bêlit.

Will the crew of the Argus survive a perilous assault from the black raiders of the Kushites? Can the Queen of the Black Coast win the heart of one who knows only battle? Is there a hidden city in the snake infested waters of the river Styx? Collect the series to find out!

Ablaze is quickly becoming my favorite publisher who adapts classic literature to the pages of comic books. I feel Robert E. Howard would be proud of the production quality of this two-issue series. Originally published in the May 1934 edition of Weird Tales, the “Queen of the Black Coast” has seen many reprints throughout the years.

In this version we get the comic book adaptation as well as the first half of the original story (the way it was printed in Weird Tales back in 1934). That’s a lot of content for the cover price of $4.99. I would highly recommend buying this book even if you are not a fan of the source material. I definitely think this a five-star book. Hopefully book two is the same caliper.