Kull Volume 2: The Hate Witch

Dark Horse's Kull #2

by David Lapham, Gabriel Guzmán (Artist), Mariano Taibo (Artist)

David Lapham (Stray Bullets) pits Robert E Howard's original barbarian king against a terrifying magical foe from his doomed homeland of Atlantis The Hate Witch has waited since the beginning of time for a great man of uncertain destiny who she can use to bring about the destruction of civilization. She believes that King Kull is that man, and has launched an all-out assault on Valusia, slaughtering its people, in an attempt to draw him to her seat of power - the wilds of Atlantis Kull will have to return to his savage origins if he wants to hold onto the throne in Valusia and save it from civil war

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Adventure

104 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fantasy read. Nice art and writing. Recommended

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 18000BC

This one is a blend of mystery and horror. The story revolves around Kull's encounter with a sinister witch from the old days, whose dark powers create an unsettling atmosphere throughout the graphic novel. Her creepiness adds a chilling edge to the narrative, keeping readers on edge as her true intentions unfold while being well.. creepy. Her entrance alone was what got me pumped right until the last page of the story.

The artwork is stunning, perfectly capturing the eerie tone of the story with great coloring also. Each page is rich with detail, bringing both the characters and their world to life in a visually striking way.

Kull himself is portrayed brilliantly, staying true to his character as a warrior with depth and determination. However, the ending felt rushed, the witch falls a bit flat, leaving a sense of disappointment that undermines the buildup.

While the journey is engaging, the resolution doesn’t quite live up to the tension established earlier. Overall, it’s a solid read for fans of Kull and Conan, but the ending could have been stronger.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this volume, but not as much as Volume 1. We see Kull return to Atlantis to battle the Hate Witch, who, as the name implies, is an evil witch. There's a little more background given on Kull and his early years too.

This was just a step below volume one. The art wasn't bad, but wasn't as good. The pacing of the story was also off. There appeared to be things happening between panels, as the story would jump without much transition.

Still not bad though, and Kull fans should enjoy.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

More proto-Conan in comics. By this time I've begun to see the few ways Kull is different with his successor, but at the end of the day those differences don't make him markedly more interesting. The story he's led to in this one is fairly bland, confusing in places, and the characters are too shallow and one-note to earn my investment when the hate plague drives them at each other's throats.

The art is good in some places, less so in others. There's some good background scenery, city views, but people and animals are less attractive.

On the whole, I doubt this will leave any lasting impression in me.

[Jussi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Hate Witch is the 2nd story arc in Dark Horse's modern Kull "reboot", this time with an original (i.e. not adapted from Robert E. Howard) story, published 2010–11. Going with the entirely new story shows, sadly, in a bad way. It's a pretty generic and uninspired shirts-off sword & sorcery thing. Art quality is also a definite step down from The Shadow Kingdom. 1.5 out of 5, maybe.

[Francesco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little boring...