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Conan the Barbarian (2023)
Conan the Barbarian, Vol. 5: Twisting Loyalties
Fans of Robert E. Howard’s legendary hero will devour this next instalment of Conan the Barbarian comics, filled with high adventure, savage combat, ancient gods, and rollicking sword-and-sorcery action!
Volume five of this epic series is masterfully crafted by the critically-acclaimed team of Jim Zub and Doug Braithwaite, with the new addition of this series’ first female artist, Danica Brine!
Featuring two epic tales of sword and sorcery starring Robert E. Howard’s iconic barbarian hero.
Conan the Cimmerian and Bêlit, Pirate Queen of the Black Coast, are in their prime, enjoying a life of decadence and debauchery, but a flagrant flash of wealth brings unwelcome attention from thieves with a taste for danger and agents from Stygia on a dark mission for their serpent god!
In the days following Bêlit’s tragic demise, Conan traveled through jungles of the southern kingdoms but there’s no time for grief – a deadly hunter stalks the Cimmerian, bent on bloody vengeance. Who is this strange foe and what do they know about the ancient power rising in Stygia?
The triumphant new era of Conan continues in this tale of brutal heroic adventure from acclaimed creators Jim Zub (Avengers, Dungeons & Dragons), Danica Brine, and Doug Braithwaite (Punisher, Justice)!
Collects Conan the Barbarian #17-20
Volume five of this epic series is masterfully crafted by the critically-acclaimed team of Jim Zub and Doug Braithwaite, with the new addition of this series’ first female artist, Danica Brine!
Featuring two epic tales of sword and sorcery starring Robert E. Howard’s iconic barbarian hero.
Conan the Cimmerian and Bêlit, Pirate Queen of the Black Coast, are in their prime, enjoying a life of decadence and debauchery, but a flagrant flash of wealth brings unwelcome attention from thieves with a taste for danger and agents from Stygia on a dark mission for their serpent god!
In the days following Bêlit’s tragic demise, Conan traveled through jungles of the southern kingdoms but there’s no time for grief – a deadly hunter stalks the Cimmerian, bent on bloody vengeance. Who is this strange foe and what do they know about the ancient power rising in Stygia?
The triumphant new era of Conan continues in this tale of brutal heroic adventure from acclaimed creators Jim Zub (Avengers, Dungeons & Dragons), Danica Brine, and Doug Braithwaite (Punisher, Justice)!
Collects Conan the Barbarian #17-20
112 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2025
4 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Jim Zub
919 books324 followersJim Zub is a writer, artist and art instructor based in Toronto, Canada. Over the past fifteen years he’s worked for a diverse array of publishing, movie and video game clients including Disney, Warner Bros., Capcom, Hasbro, Bandai-Namco and Mattel.
He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and Program Coordinator for Seneca College‘s award-winning Animation program.
He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and Program Coordinator for Seneca College‘s award-winning Animation program.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 17, 2025
This volume collects issues 17 through 20 in the Titan comic series Conan the Barbarian. The first 2 finished up a story arc with Belit. It set up the next two issues where Zub introduces Zula in the series. An interesting and solid take on the character. There is an overarching Stygian menace throughout the 4 issues.
June 12, 2025
2 okay stories that are both related to Belit and loosely based around a threat from Thoth Amon.
The first has Conan and Belit in an adventure as thieves. The second features the character Zula from the original Marvel days (played by Grace Jones in the second Conan movie), Zub does a great job introducing the character. I really appreciate him taking elements from the older comics.
The first has Conan and Belit in an adventure as thieves. The second features the character Zula from the original Marvel days (played by Grace Jones in the second Conan movie), Zub does a great job introducing the character. I really appreciate him taking elements from the older comics.
August 20, 2025
An excellent pair of stories. Most of this book takes place in the past but catches up to Conan's next adventure. Good artwork (though different in chapters/issues # 17 & 18 and 19 & 20), and very good intervening story.
Conan and Bêlit, are off on a night on the town. However, their night is interrupted by thieves and assassins thinking them a soft target. After dealing with the threat they are tempted by a bigger score, but there is a dark taint to the job and can they trust someone who just tried to kill them?
The next story is set years later with Bêlit's death Conan does not have time for grief he must survive in a land trying to kill him, as well as being stalked but is the stranger an assassin or his salvation?
When I read issue/volume 1 of this series I said I am glad they explored the grief Conan felt after Bêlit's death. I have always felt the pirate queen always had a special place with Conan. I am glad they did a story of their time together and linked it to the later story setting up the next adventure as well.
The book finishes with a text chapter of Howard's publishing of the stories, a thumbnail variant cover gallery and a sketchbook with character designs.
Conan and Bêlit, are off on a night on the town. However, their night is interrupted by thieves and assassins thinking them a soft target. After dealing with the threat they are tempted by a bigger score, but there is a dark taint to the job and can they trust someone who just tried to kill them?
The next story is set years later with Bêlit's death Conan does not have time for grief he must survive in a land trying to kill him, as well as being stalked but is the stranger an assassin or his salvation?
When I read issue/volume 1 of this series I said I am glad they explored the grief Conan felt after Bêlit's death. I have always felt the pirate queen always had a special place with Conan. I am glad they did a story of their time together and linked it to the later story setting up the next adventure as well.
The book finishes with a text chapter of Howard's publishing of the stories, a thumbnail variant cover gallery and a sketchbook with character designs.
November 24, 2025
Crom! Jim Zub & team continue an incredible run on the fan favorite barbarian. In this volume Zub takes us into Conan's pirating era. We find Conan on another heist with his favorite alluring pirate queen, Belit. This book has everything Robert E. Howard fanatics could. We get thieves killing thieves, snake cults, romance, and of course Conan's fierce determination. I felt the first half of the book featuring the Stygian cult heist was really well told but lack in some bits on the artwork. But the story still kept me intrigued. It had a strong lead into Conan's jungle adventure at the back end of the book. Which I have to say the tale featuring the mystic Zula was incredibly well illustrated. The colorist did a top-notch job. The lighting effects really enhanced the feel of that story. The panther attack scene was really well laid out and even without Conan speaking Zub does a phenomenal job with the barbarian's internal dialogue. It was definitely one of my favorite moments in the book. This series continues to be one of the best comic book series being produce in the industry to date. I can't wait to see where our hero will be pop up next. A solid volume all the way through.I will also recommend the following books if you enjoyed this read: Conan the Barbarian: Battle Of The Black Stone , The Last God: Book I of the Fellspyre Chronicles, Birthright, Vol. 1: Homecoming, King Conan, & The Cimmerian, Vol. 1.
June 17, 2025
Conan and Belit run into Set's followers while trying to steal an artifact. Then we jump to after Conan has left Belit behind and is plagued by an infection from his encounter with Set's followers. I appreciate Zub delving into Conan's long history. At the same time, I don't really want to read a bunch of text pages to figure out all that history.
October 22, 2025
So good.
Read it. I love this series. I love Conan. This series has been fire. I look forward to reading more and more from Conan. You should too. It's some of the best in comics right now.
Read it. I love this series. I love Conan. This series has been fire. I look forward to reading more and more from Conan. You should too. It's some of the best in comics right now.
December 4, 2025
Not the best. 2.5 stars.
Storylines are simplistic and not especially Conan - could switch him out with any character and it would make no difference.
Gets stabbed in the guts only to get up next panel, kill someone and run off into the night. Not particularly immersive.
Storylines are simplistic and not especially Conan - could switch him out with any character and it would make no difference.
Gets stabbed in the guts only to get up next panel, kill someone and run off into the night. Not particularly immersive.
December 15, 2025
The Titan run continues at the customary high quality. 4 issues is awfully short for a trade paperback, which is especially noticeable for a volume like this that spends a fair bit of time on setup for what seems likely to be future Thoth Amon stories, but the setup was still fun.
December 25, 2025
Uneven - but I found the Conan in love sequence compelling.
December 28, 2025
Another great story of Conan. Really love it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews