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Conan: Dark Horse Collection
Conan Volume 9: Free Companions
In his short career as a mercenary, young Conan has impressed both Princess Yasmela and military leader Lord Amalric, but an ambitious, rogue prince arrives in Khoraja and blindsides Conan out of the comfortable, courtly situation he's found himself in. Not only is Conan's love affair with Yasmela going south, but rebel Prince Julion immediately challenges Conan's headstrong impulses and military plans, causing a rift between the battered-but-proud forces of Khoraja and Amalric's army of colorful mercs.
* Collects Conan the Cimmerian #14 and #16-#21.
* Collects Conan the Cimmerian #14 and #16-#21.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2010
2 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Truman
542 books57 followersTimothy Truman is an American writer, artist and musician. He is best known for his stories and Wild West-style comic book art, and in particular, for his work on Grimjack (with John Ostrander), Scout, and the reinvention of Jonah Hex, with Joe R. Lansdale. Truman is currently writing Conan and is an instructor at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
Truman's first professional comics work was Grimjack with writer John Ostrander, for the independent comics company First Comics. Grimjack first appeared in Starslayer #10 in November 1983, before moving to his own series after issue #18 in 1984, and continued for 81 issues. Along with being a fan favorite and often imitated character, Grimjack almost single-handedly defined the "grim and gritty" action comic character archetype.
Truman has been continuously creative for more than 20 years, displaying his pulp sensitivities in his writing. In 1985, he created Scout, which was followed by Scout: War Shaman, a futuristic western. A year later, he relaunched the Hillman characters Airboy and The Heap for Eclipse Comics. He also developed The Prowler, a Shadow type character, and adapted The Spider for Eclipse. In 1991, at DC Comics he created Hawkworld, a reinvention of Hawkman. With author Joe R. Lansdale, he reinterpreted Jonah Hex as a horror western. In it, their creation of villain Edgar Autumn elicited a complaint from musician Edgar Winter. With his son, Benjamin Truman, he created A Man Named Hawken.
Truman was chosen by Dark Horse Comics to illustrate a newly completed Tarzan novel and wrote a story arc for the comic book. He also wrote virtually the entire run of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Valiant Comics, after David Michelinie launched the book with its first three-issue story arc and subsequently departed the series. For the defunct SF imprint of DC, Helix, he created The Black Lamb. He also worked on a typical pulp adventure Guns of the Dragon, featuring Enemy Ace and Bat Lash; and wrote Star Wars at Dark Horse Comics. While at Dark Horse Comics, he took over the writing of Conan from Kurt Busiek in 2006, and after that series ended he started Conan The Cimmerian.
Truman's startling work, Simon Girty, Renegade was a two-volume black and white graphic novel that translated the horrors and triumphs of the American settler's western frontier in a fresh, interesting light. In bold, black and white use of positive and negative space, Truman appealed to both young and old audiences in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was especially important for West Virginians that had been struggling against novelist Zane Grey's portrayal of Lewis Wetzel in an overly romanticized, florid light. Truman himself is an avid historian who dislikes nothing more than to see a drawing of a war using the wrong weaponry, and the second volume of his two-volume series on Simon Girty was devoted to the errors caught in his first volume.
Tecumseh! a graphic novel based on the West Virginia Outdoor Theater, is a colored graphic novel that shows the play from beginning to end. It renewed interest in the warrior in Appalachia. When asked why he used "Tecumseh" instead of "Tecumtheh" he explained he didn't want to explain to the mainstream audience the variance in spelling — the movement on pronunciation began with General William Tecumseh Sherman who came from a family that wanted to commemorate the warrior, but felt the lisping "Tecumtheh" would be unmanly.
Truman's first professional comics work was Grimjack with writer John Ostrander, for the independent comics company First Comics. Grimjack first appeared in Starslayer #10 in November 1983, before moving to his own series after issue #18 in 1984, and continued for 81 issues. Along with being a fan favorite and often imitated character, Grimjack almost single-handedly defined the "grim and gritty" action comic character archetype.
Truman has been continuously creative for more than 20 years, displaying his pulp sensitivities in his writing. In 1985, he created Scout, which was followed by Scout: War Shaman, a futuristic western. A year later, he relaunched the Hillman characters Airboy and The Heap for Eclipse Comics. He also developed The Prowler, a Shadow type character, and adapted The Spider for Eclipse. In 1991, at DC Comics he created Hawkworld, a reinvention of Hawkman. With author Joe R. Lansdale, he reinterpreted Jonah Hex as a horror western. In it, their creation of villain Edgar Autumn elicited a complaint from musician Edgar Winter. With his son, Benjamin Truman, he created A Man Named Hawken.
Truman was chosen by Dark Horse Comics to illustrate a newly completed Tarzan novel and wrote a story arc for the comic book. He also wrote virtually the entire run of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Valiant Comics, after David Michelinie launched the book with its first three-issue story arc and subsequently departed the series. For the defunct SF imprint of DC, Helix, he created The Black Lamb. He also worked on a typical pulp adventure Guns of the Dragon, featuring Enemy Ace and Bat Lash; and wrote Star Wars at Dark Horse Comics. While at Dark Horse Comics, he took over the writing of Conan from Kurt Busiek in 2006, and after that series ended he started Conan The Cimmerian.
Truman's startling work, Simon Girty, Renegade was a two-volume black and white graphic novel that translated the horrors and triumphs of the American settler's western frontier in a fresh, interesting light. In bold, black and white use of positive and negative space, Truman appealed to both young and old audiences in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It was especially important for West Virginians that had been struggling against novelist Zane Grey's portrayal of Lewis Wetzel in an overly romanticized, florid light. Truman himself is an avid historian who dislikes nothing more than to see a drawing of a war using the wrong weaponry, and the second volume of his two-volume series on Simon Girty was devoted to the errors caught in his first volume.
Tecumseh! a graphic novel based on the West Virginia Outdoor Theater, is a colored graphic novel that shows the play from beginning to end. It renewed interest in the warrior in Appalachia. When asked why he used "Tecumseh" instead of "Tecumtheh" he explained he didn't want to explain to the mainstream audience the variance in spelling — the movement on pronunciation began with General William Tecumseh Sherman who came from a family that wanted to commemorate the warrior, but felt the lisping "Tecumtheh" would be unmanly.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 8, 2019
Ezelden beridir Conan'cıyım. Özellikle Marmara Çizgi'nin eski ve yeni Conan fasiküllerini toparlamaya çalışıyorum. Bu kaliteli basıma, birbirinden güzel çizimlere sahip serinin ilk iki kitabını okumuştum. Ancak hemen ifade etmeliyim ki üçte bulduğum Conan görselliğini diğerlerinde (naçizane fikrim) bulamamıştım. Bu cilt özel bir yer edindi benden. Bir güzel haber de İthaki Yayınları'ndan geldi; "Conan'ın gerçek doğuş hikayesi olan romanları basılacak." Hatta ilk kitap çıktı bile. Umarım gelecek bizlere daha fazla Conan eseri sunar.
September 27, 2015
By the black heart of Crom I swear this is one of the absolute best in the series, and one of the best stories I've read. I mean, to create such an incredible story from mere hints and fragments of REH's writings on this particular arc is just astounding. Man, I really can't get over how good this collection is - even rivaling some of the earlier (and amazing) Kurt Busiek run. Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello really deserve some accolades for this. Seriously, if you love Conan, if you love adventure, treachery, harems, warlords, phantasmic entities, and lots of hacking and slashing, well, then this is your tankard of ale.
October 27, 2017
A tale well told, by Crom! Artistic irregularities were not as well-handled here as in the volume Cimmeria, but the bounce back between the humbled, wounded Conan in the swamp and the height of his (thus far) fortune was interesting, and the prince he faces off with is a worthy adversary as opposed to the usual cackling sorcerers...making his eventual downfall all the more satisfying when Our Man from Cimmeria gets his act together at last!
February 19, 2013
Conan: Free Companions is another excellent Conan graphic novel from Dark Horse Books. Writer Timothy Truman and artists Tomas Giorello and Joe Kubert, with color artist Jose Villarrubia, expand upon “events alluded to in Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories” to produce original new stories in this book. It has the requisite savage battles and warfare, the villainous treachery, and the sorcery that are part of all authentic Conan stories. The story depicts Conan as the commander of a large army. However, it also reveals an extremely beaten and vulnerable Conan who almost succumbs to his injuries, alone in a deadly wilderness environment where his enemies are still searching for him. Of course, his determined and fearless mindset, and his passion to seek revenge enables the barbarian to recover his fight-at-all-costs approach to survival. I believe this Conan graphic novel is certainly one of the best, if not the best, that I have read thus far in the Dark Horse Books series.
July 11, 2024
Here we get a sequel to Black Colossus. While I thought the story worked better as a stand alone, it was interesting to see how the story continued. Gritty material here, but as I've said in prior reviews, this is Conan, so I don't think anyone was expecting comedy. Overall, a strong, visceral volume.
September 3, 2013
Another fine entry into the Dark Horse line of Conan comics. This one takes a lot of crap on Amazon for poor art but it's hard to say anything bad about Joe Kubert, even if his finished art looks a little too loose at times in this volume. What's more off putting here are Tim Truman's pencils, which I like in most settings but here he seems to have a really hard time making Conan's head not look like a upside down bucket, and, more offensively, his coloring. He colors, apparently, the Joe Kubert art and not only do his choices clash with the other color palettes in the book but he appears to have a real thing for pale green, washed out pink, and all kinds of other vomit inducing colors from 70's interior design.
That said Tim Turman the writer gets high marks. What I love most about these Dark Horse comics is the way they have taken all of these stories that REH wrote out of order chronologically and strung them together into one epic narrative, filling in gaps, adding subplots and recurring characters along the way. It really is masterful and, in my opinion, makes this stand as one of the definitive Conan adaptions of all time.
So, what happens in Free Companions? Well, it's a rare moment when Conan gets a comeuppance. After ascending to the Generalship of an army in the previous story arc this volume starts with Conan alone, sick, and possibly dieing in a swamp pursued by men who would see him finally dead. How he got there is told in flashback throughout this volume interspersed by chapters in his present as he eludes his pursuers and is visited by the ghosts of those who have died as a result of recent poor decisions. It's really a fantastic device that lets us see Conan in a rare state of vulnerability while simultaneously bringing the book back to Conan's roots as a single adventurer and not the leader of men he was prior.
Overall, while not graphically as sound as previous volumes there was a lot to like in Free Companions. I would recommend this to any fan of Conan.
That said Tim Turman the writer gets high marks. What I love most about these Dark Horse comics is the way they have taken all of these stories that REH wrote out of order chronologically and strung them together into one epic narrative, filling in gaps, adding subplots and recurring characters along the way. It really is masterful and, in my opinion, makes this stand as one of the definitive Conan adaptions of all time.
So, what happens in Free Companions? Well, it's a rare moment when Conan gets a comeuppance. After ascending to the Generalship of an army in the previous story arc this volume starts with Conan alone, sick, and possibly dieing in a swamp pursued by men who would see him finally dead. How he got there is told in flashback throughout this volume interspersed by chapters in his present as he eludes his pursuers and is visited by the ghosts of those who have died as a result of recent poor decisions. It's really a fantastic device that lets us see Conan in a rare state of vulnerability while simultaneously bringing the book back to Conan's roots as a single adventurer and not the leader of men he was prior.
Overall, while not graphically as sound as previous volumes there was a lot to like in Free Companions. I would recommend this to any fan of Conan.
March 21, 2015
This one was great. I loved the use of flashback. Flashback is overused at times, and the disastrous occurrence followed by the flashback to how the character/characters got there is nothing terribly new, but it is around a lot because it's effective and Truman and Giorello use it to great effect here
It was fun to see a good long sequence from Joe Kubert, too. I know he's a classic Conan artists, but he's one I know primarily through a few random pinups and ads for his cartooning school. Nice to have the why of all of that on brilliant display in this volume.
I'm glad that the writers are willing and able to show Conan fail. Conan is unbowed and unbroken, stubborn to the absolute end, but he should be, and I think down underneath despite his protests he learned something here. A good piece of work this one.
It was fun to see a good long sequence from Joe Kubert, too. I know he's a classic Conan artists, but he's one I know primarily through a few random pinups and ads for his cartooning school. Nice to have the why of all of that on brilliant display in this volume.
I'm glad that the writers are willing and able to show Conan fail. Conan is unbowed and unbroken, stubborn to the absolute end, but he should be, and I think down underneath despite his protests he learned something here. A good piece of work this one.
July 18, 2022
This is one of the best Conan series I've read so far. It follows a single storyline that picks up from the previous volume and puts Conan in command of a band of mercenaries known as the Free Companions. Although the narrative skips around in its chronology it does it well and at no time was I confused as to what was happening. It ends with a lead-in to the next volume in this series, a volume I'm in looking forward to reading. In this installment Conan is at his brutal best. He is unforgiving, commanding on both the battlefield and as a leader, and uses his sword over diplomacy. The Free Companions are a perfect fit for this chapter in his life and not only complement the story but advance the plot. A human antagonist also adds to the story. This story was not an original Robert E. Howard story but it does not suffer because of this. In fact, R.E.H would probably have been proud of this entry into his barbarian tales. This Conan series by Dark Horse rarely disappoints but this installment does shine a little brighter than most.
January 24, 2021
Truman's Conan fan fiction debacle continues, only now, Joe Kubert's art only makes things worse. His record speaks for itself, and his style is great when applied to the right subject matter, but here, it just looks sketchy and rushed. What a shame.
January 30, 2018
Loved it
Classic Conan. Violent and filled to the brim of Conan's style. You finish it as quickly as it pulls you in
Classic Conan. Violent and filled to the brim of Conan's style. You finish it as quickly as it pulls you in
August 1, 2018
More Dark Horse Conan goodness. Thank you, Hoopla.
November 6, 2020
It's an impossibly hard act to follow Roy Thomas, Buscema, Chan and the myriad of other fantastic inkers who have tread these Hyborean lands before.
June 5, 2022
You can't blame them for churning out more, but these are much much better when they're Howard adaptations rather than Howard fan fiction.
January 22, 2019
This is another comics-original story, but I liked it more than the others almost entirely due to the way it's told.
The book starts out with Conan alone on a river, surrounded by corpses, with a quote from a song about the battle of the Ilbar River and the slaughter that resulted. It then flashes back to the end of the previous book, with Conan chaffing in Khojara under the stresses (or lack thereof) of civilized living. His relationship with Yasmela grows strained as his barbarian ways express themselves more strongly, while back in the present, Conan tries to avoid his wounds getting infected and find something to eat. I especially liked the juxtaposition of bored Conan hunting royal deer in Khorajan gardens vs. desperate Conan eating raw rat under the pouring rain.
The basic goal of Free Companions is to deal with Conan's time among the Kozaki, mentioned frequently among the canonical Conan stories but never actually covered, and here it's much shorter than I expected. Amalric dies of wounds sustained in the battle against Natokh, and with his dying breath he gives command of his company over to Conan. Conan, out of favor after a desperate raid to rescue the king of Khoraja was successful but resulted in a serious injury to the king, takes his new opportunity to break free of Khoraja and Yasmela and leads his men to the east. Around the Vilayet Sea, they live as brigands and thieves until the forces of a nearby kingdom bring them down with a decisive battle, smashing the Kozaki into the mud of the Ilbar River and destroying the free companions that Amalric left to Conan.
Conan gets his revenge, though, because of course, but it's a hollow one. It reminded me a bit of Beyond the Black River, where Conan kills the villain--"villain" here, since the shah is fighting bandits that threaten the kingdom--but the victory doesn't really accomplish much. In "Beyond the Black River," the Picts are defeated but the border is still pushed back to Thunder River, and in Free Companions Conan kills the shah and the traitors who led the shah to him but his whole company of Kozaki are still dead. Five thousand good men, crushed in a pincer attack, dead in the mud of the Ilbar River. That's the Conan theme, though. He rises and falls and rises and falls and rises again and eventually becomes a king.
There's a lot of foreshadowing at the end with the woman that Conan rescues from the shah, so I'm not sure I'll like the next volume. But this one was very good, and probably the best comic-original Conan story I've read so far.
Previous Review: Conan, Vol. 8: Black Colossus.
Next Review: Conan, Vol. 10: Iron Shadows in the Moon and Other Stories.
The book starts out with Conan alone on a river, surrounded by corpses, with a quote from a song about the battle of the Ilbar River and the slaughter that resulted. It then flashes back to the end of the previous book, with Conan chaffing in Khojara under the stresses (or lack thereof) of civilized living. His relationship with Yasmela grows strained as his barbarian ways express themselves more strongly, while back in the present, Conan tries to avoid his wounds getting infected and find something to eat. I especially liked the juxtaposition of bored Conan hunting royal deer in Khorajan gardens vs. desperate Conan eating raw rat under the pouring rain.
The basic goal of Free Companions is to deal with Conan's time among the Kozaki, mentioned frequently among the canonical Conan stories but never actually covered, and here it's much shorter than I expected. Amalric dies of wounds sustained in the battle against Natokh, and with his dying breath he gives command of his company over to Conan. Conan, out of favor after a desperate raid to rescue the king of Khoraja was successful but resulted in a serious injury to the king, takes his new opportunity to break free of Khoraja and Yasmela and leads his men to the east. Around the Vilayet Sea, they live as brigands and thieves until the forces of a nearby kingdom bring them down with a decisive battle, smashing the Kozaki into the mud of the Ilbar River and destroying the free companions that Amalric left to Conan.
Conan gets his revenge, though, because of course, but it's a hollow one. It reminded me a bit of Beyond the Black River, where Conan kills the villain--"villain" here, since the shah is fighting bandits that threaten the kingdom--but the victory doesn't really accomplish much. In "Beyond the Black River," the Picts are defeated but the border is still pushed back to Thunder River, and in Free Companions Conan kills the shah and the traitors who led the shah to him but his whole company of Kozaki are still dead. Five thousand good men, crushed in a pincer attack, dead in the mud of the Ilbar River. That's the Conan theme, though. He rises and falls and rises and falls and rises again and eventually becomes a king.
There's a lot of foreshadowing at the end with the woman that Conan rescues from the shah, so I'm not sure I'll like the next volume. But this one was very good, and probably the best comic-original Conan story I've read so far.
Previous Review: Conan, Vol. 8: Black Colossus.
Next Review: Conan, Vol. 10: Iron Shadows in the Moon and Other Stories.
November 29, 2010
Sadly the artwork does not live up to the earlier books (volume 7) excepted. Compared to the earlier volumes, the artwork here looked poor and the storyline was extremely weak. The volume felt very transitional, as if the writers had painted themselves into a corner with the ending of Black Colossus and needed to find a means to force the storyline onwards and move Conan on.
Here's hoping the next volume lives up to the promise of the earlier volumes
Here's hoping the next volume lives up to the promise of the earlier volumes
January 26, 2016
The new Conan comic series does good justice to the Robert E. Howard stories. While the art does come and go in quality at time, overall it is a good. The adaptations of the original stories is well done. The fill in stories are also well done and follow the flow of the Character's life as written by Howard. Recommended to comic fans and Very recommended to Howard and Conan fans.
August 25, 2023
The narrative is well-paced and interesting and the artwork is wonderful from both artists. Requires a little more suspension of disbelief than many of the others, even given the sword and shield fantasy backdrop. Too many soldiers involved in the battle sequences. Five hundred men under Conan's command would have made much more sense than five thousand.
Still very good.
Still very good.
September 14, 2011
Darkhorse Comics adaptation of Conan the Barbarian.
Some of the stories are adaptation of some of Robert E. Howards best stories, others are original stories by the Darkhorse Writers. A very nice collection of stories if you like the sword and sorcery genre.
Some of the stories are adaptation of some of Robert E. Howards best stories, others are original stories by the Darkhorse Writers. A very nice collection of stories if you like the sword and sorcery genre.
April 9, 2013
Conan inherits a mercenary army only to shortly lose it after they pillage the wrong area, and are double crossed by traitors have joined a band of pirates. Not as good as the volume before it, but was good still.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews