What do you think?
Rate this book
The Chronicles of Conan
The Chronicles of Conan, Volume 11: The Dance of the Skull and Other Stories
From the savage swamps of Iskander to the burning wastes of Stygia, Conan battles mutated man-dragons and a corpse-devouring abomination in this most recent volume chronicling the legendary exploits of literature's greatest fantasy hero Before the bronzed Cimmerian can return to the arms of his lover Belit, Queen of the Black Coast, he must face deadly treacheries and the dark spells of a cunning sorceress. Once reunited, the two shall storm the serpent throne and its dark owner - Thoth-Amon With wit and steel alone, Conan seeks victory and a prize without rival on destiny's bloody road to kinghood
168 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2007
42 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,482 books272 followersRoy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 18, 2024
Nothing to weighty here. Lots of little fill-in adventures. The main meat of the story is the 3 issues where Conan works alongside Zula to rescue Belit from the Hawk-City. I like Chaykin's artwork. Buscema as usual is very good. Close to 4-stars for me
Contains #82-86, 88-90
82-83 - Howard Chaykin, just a fill in story as Conan is headed back to rescue Belit from the Stygian Hawk-City.
84-86 - Conan is back in Hawk-City after his adventures in Valley of Iskander and meets Zula who helps him rescue Belit
(87 is a Savage Sword reprint in color)
88-89 - Belit is freed. They have a run in with Thoth Amon
90 - Conan, Belit, and Zula journey back to the coast. Fun adventure with giant skeletons in a casym.
Contains #82-86, 88-90
82-83 - Howard Chaykin, just a fill in story as Conan is headed back to rescue Belit from the Stygian Hawk-City.
84-86 - Conan is back in Hawk-City after his adventures in Valley of Iskander and meets Zula who helps him rescue Belit
(87 is a Savage Sword reprint in color)
88-89 - Belit is freed. They have a run in with Thoth Amon
90 - Conan, Belit, and Zula journey back to the coast. Fun adventure with giant skeletons in a casym.
April 15, 2020
THIS is the creme de la creme as far as I am concerned. Volume 11, after a 2 story side trek by our hero drawn by Chakin ( freely adapted by Thomas from the more modern REH story "Black Canaan") gets Conan back to Stygia proper and John Buscema back on art chores.
As an aside here, I was a lad of 11 when I saw my first Conan comic book on the rack of a local drug store and it was issue #84. I was very curious about who this cave man looking guy was along with his friend, the black warrior with the mohawk. I asked my ma to purchase it for me and I was hooked. I read and re-read that comic to no end and the next issue I landed was off a spinner rack at a convenient store and that was #88 so this volume is very near and dear to me.
This volume is just packed with great characters, intrigue, twists, and great writing and art by the creative team. Thomas spins some amazing drama as Conan and company explore the realm known as Stygia. He befriends Zula ( probably Thomas' second best Conan creation after Red Sonja ) and we get a Zula origin story in what would be #85 of the series. The next story takes the duo to Luxor, capital city of Stygia, so they can rescue Belit. Issue #87 was skipped as it was a reprint from Savage Sword of Conan and #88 takes the trio through the palace of Luxor and Belit relates what happened to her and Neftha, the slave girl who isn't all that she seems.
The last two stories get the group through the back ways of the Stygian outskirts and towards a meeting with Belit's Tigress crew.
Easily the best of the Conan comic series with more greatness to come.
As an aside here, I was a lad of 11 when I saw my first Conan comic book on the rack of a local drug store and it was issue #84. I was very curious about who this cave man looking guy was along with his friend, the black warrior with the mohawk. I asked my ma to purchase it for me and I was hooked. I read and re-read that comic to no end and the next issue I landed was off a spinner rack at a convenient store and that was #88 so this volume is very near and dear to me.
This volume is just packed with great characters, intrigue, twists, and great writing and art by the creative team. Thomas spins some amazing drama as Conan and company explore the realm known as Stygia. He befriends Zula ( probably Thomas' second best Conan creation after Red Sonja ) and we get a Zula origin story in what would be #85 of the series. The next story takes the duo to Luxor, capital city of Stygia, so they can rescue Belit. Issue #87 was skipped as it was a reprint from Savage Sword of Conan and #88 takes the trio through the palace of Luxor and Belit relates what happened to her and Neftha, the slave girl who isn't all that she seems.
The last two stories get the group through the back ways of the Stygian outskirts and towards a meeting with Belit's Tigress crew.
Easily the best of the Conan comic series with more greatness to come.
April 7, 2019
Another strong volume, but not as good as the previous in my opinion. We have a few issues without Belit, then she returns the story continues. We also see the introduction of Zula, one of the few recurring male characters that are presented almost on par with Conan. Thoth Amon makes an appearance as well, no doubt to prepare for the future. Buscema's art continues to impress, and a young Howard Chaykin does some of the art as well. Ernie Chan's heavy inking, however, makes his art looks very similar to Buscema's, which I suppose could be seen as a good or bad thing. Next volume the saga of Belit continues, but we know it won't last forever.
September 27, 2022
Once again, just a fantastic slice of Conan adventure. This time around the book was quite heavy on plot, with more catch-up pages than we usually see in Conan stories, and a lot of getting the characters from location A to location B for X reason. This wasn't a bad thing - in fact it was a nice change of pace from volume 11's more meandering stories.
The art was fantastic in this volume. Howard Chaykin and John Buscema continue to knock it out of the park. The serpent in issue 89 was especially cool, and there were a couple of landcape spreads which were just stunning.
I absolutely love reading the afterwords in these volumes, in which Roy Thomas gives details on his adaptation process for each issue, which are always really interesting. As ever, I do wish the books contained the cover art for each issue as well as the interior pages - I can only assume there was an issue with the Marvel-branded covers being reprinted by Dark Horse. It is a noticeable omission, but it doesn't detract too much from the reading experience.
Overall, another great Conan read. I continue to love these collections.
The art was fantastic in this volume. Howard Chaykin and John Buscema continue to knock it out of the park. The serpent in issue 89 was especially cool, and there were a couple of landcape spreads which were just stunning.
I absolutely love reading the afterwords in these volumes, in which Roy Thomas gives details on his adaptation process for each issue, which are always really interesting. As ever, I do wish the books contained the cover art for each issue as well as the interior pages - I can only assume there was an issue with the Marvel-branded covers being reprinted by Dark Horse. It is a noticeable omission, but it doesn't detract too much from the reading experience.
Overall, another great Conan read. I continue to love these collections.
May 23, 2025
Welcome to more Conan: The sidetracked years.
Here Conan is on his way back to the Hawk City when he gets distracted again, by a girl...again. I loved how after this meeting Conan has to wonder if she was a witch and bedazzled him, or if he is just that much of a sucker for a pretty face..
After this we return to the fabled Hawk City and meet a new reaccuring character....Zula!
Now Zula is a name of many different characters attatched to Conan. I am most familiar with the Black Panther-lite prince of an African nation one from the animated Conan the Adventurer series I watched as a kid. Most people would probably think o f the Grace Jones character from the movie, Conan the Destroyer. This however is the original, created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. But Zula is awesome here. I can see why he went on to become such a mainstay of the character.
So things finally come to a head in Luxor, capital of Stygia. We get a new "king" and the entire reason Conan and Belit came to Stygia was looking for Belit's dad. Turns out he is actually dead. Maybe if Conan hadn't gotten more distracted than a squirrel with ADHD they would have gotten their in time to save him
Here Conan is on his way back to the Hawk City when he gets distracted again, by a girl...again. I loved how after this meeting Conan has to wonder if she was a witch and bedazzled him, or if he is just that much of a sucker for a pretty face..
After this we return to the fabled Hawk City and meet a new reaccuring character....Zula!
Now Zula is a name of many different characters attatched to Conan. I am most familiar with the Black Panther-lite prince of an African nation one from the animated Conan the Adventurer series I watched as a kid. Most people would probably think o f the Grace Jones character from the movie, Conan the Destroyer. This however is the original, created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. But Zula is awesome here. I can see why he went on to become such a mainstay of the character.
So things finally come to a head in Luxor, capital of Stygia. We get a new "king" and the entire reason Conan and Belit came to Stygia was looking for Belit's dad. Turns out he is actually dead. Maybe if Conan hadn't gotten more distracted than a squirrel with ADHD they would have gotten their in time to save him
May 18, 2019
Great Sword Swing Action! :D Review to Come! :D
April 7, 2022
Fun volume, I really like Conan and Zula as a team. Cool to see Thoth-Amon too.
March 5, 2013
Etwas besser als der Vorgänger
Langsam aber sicher geht dem Geschichtenbogen um Conan und Belit die Luft aus. Insgesamt kann man rückblickend sagen, dass es keine gute Idee war, die Story um die Königin der Schwarzen Küste so lange, über 3 Jahre hin auszudehnen. Die Stories in diesem Band sind nun etwas besser als in Band 10, was allerdings auch nicht schwer ist. Hervorstechend ist hier die Geschichte, die dem Band den Titel gab - sehr spannend und abwechslungsreich.
Den vierten Stern gibt es aber, wie beim Vorgänger, nur für Buscemas Zeichnungen, obwohl sogar beim Altmeister hier gewisse Ermüdungserscheinungen erkennbar sind - aber gerade bei "Dance of the Skull" zeigt er sich dann doch in Bestform.
Nicht uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert, aber doch besser als die meisten aktuellen Fantasycomics.
Langsam aber sicher geht dem Geschichtenbogen um Conan und Belit die Luft aus. Insgesamt kann man rückblickend sagen, dass es keine gute Idee war, die Story um die Königin der Schwarzen Küste so lange, über 3 Jahre hin auszudehnen. Die Stories in diesem Band sind nun etwas besser als in Band 10, was allerdings auch nicht schwer ist. Hervorstechend ist hier die Geschichte, die dem Band den Titel gab - sehr spannend und abwechslungsreich.
Den vierten Stern gibt es aber, wie beim Vorgänger, nur für Buscemas Zeichnungen, obwohl sogar beim Altmeister hier gewisse Ermüdungserscheinungen erkennbar sind - aber gerade bei "Dance of the Skull" zeigt er sich dann doch in Bestform.
Nicht uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert, aber doch besser als die meisten aktuellen Fantasycomics.
March 7, 2015
This collection of original Marvel run of Conan stories continues the story of Queen of the Black Coast. By far the best existing adaptation of this story, this collection is a worthy inclusion to one's library.
Roy Thomas handles the story with a loving hand and Steve Buscema accompanies it with some of the best illustrations that you can find in Conan comics (outside of the best of them all: Savage Sword of Conan).
I read this adaptation side-by-side with the two other comic book adaptations and I still feel that Roy Thomas made it work the best. Read my thoughts here:
http://susimetsa.blogspot.fi/2015/03/...
Roy Thomas handles the story with a loving hand and Steve Buscema accompanies it with some of the best illustrations that you can find in Conan comics (outside of the best of them all: Savage Sword of Conan).
I read this adaptation side-by-side with the two other comic book adaptations and I still feel that Roy Thomas made it work the best. Read my thoughts here:
http://susimetsa.blogspot.fi/2015/03/...
April 14, 2014
This Belit-saga is truly marvelous. No matter all those strange strays away from the main story, this is marvelous.
February 20, 2017
It was fun to run across an issue collected in here that I owned back in the day (AKA 1977, according to Thomas's notes in the back).
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews