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Les armées du conquérant #1-3

Os Exércitos do Conquistador

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Naqueles tempos, os exércitos do Conquistador puseram-se em marcha para conquistar o mundo... Não se sabia quem eram, nem de onde vinham. Só se sabia que, um dia acabariam por chegar. Às vezes paravam o seu avanço, outras vezes até retrocediam, mas acabavam sempre por voltar...
E os derrotados passavam a engrossar as suas fileiras.

191 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2002

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Jean-Pierre Dionnet

102 books15 followers

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5 stars
48 (25%)
4 stars
80 (42%)
3 stars
52 (27%)
2 stars
6 (3%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for mark monday.
1,862 reviews6,258 followers
July 27, 2024
anonymous conquering armies and various men of war are at the center of a handful of ambiguous morality plays (in the first half of the book) and a rather long-winded tale of revenge (in the second half). the star of this collection of Heavy Metal comics is illustrator Jean-Claude Gal. his work is incredibly impressive. the intricate details in some panels, the facial expressions in others, the windswept deserts and the lush jungles and the creepy crypts and the poisonous gardens... Gal had a lavish imagination and was prodigiously talented. the original black & white works from the 70s have been expertly updated by new colorist Dan Brown, who makes sure to avoid garish hues, favoring a more subdued palette that allows the complexity of Gal's visions to be fully appreciated. the ideasmith is Jean-Pierre Dionnet and unfortunately, he's rather Eh? Eh! - possibly due to translation challenges but I think more to blame is a certain juvenile striving towards meaning that often comes across as cheap or pretentious. ah well, doesn't really matter: it's the amazing imagery that counts in this book.

4 stars for the art, 2 stars for the words.

I really wish that I could find better representations of the art in this book than the two pages that follow. in particular I would have loved to share Gal's wonderful, often bizarre cityscapes. but these will have to do.

wizard 2 0001

wizard 3 0001
Profile Image for Adam  McPhee.
1,509 reviews300 followers
March 10, 2022
Tons of really lovely ornate armour and impossible architectures. Wish I'd read the black and white version though. A few good creatures and a lot of grisly deaths.

Preferred the earlier stories where it's just some guys caught up in this massive army, huge beyond reckoning, struggling to survive even though they're victorious. Later it becomes sort of a high fantasy Alexander the Great thing.

There's a postscript by Pat Mills where he makes the case that this is anti-war, which I don't really buy. I suppose he's right that the armies don't really accomplish anything and that the war is futile. Also love that Mills somehow managed to fill up half his space talking about his own comic, Slaine.
Profile Image for Drew Canole.
3,088 reviews41 followers
May 5, 2023
Jean-Claude Gal may just be the greatest fine artist to ever work in comics. He is spectacular and this is a must read if you are interested in detailed, dynamic artwork in comics.
Profile Image for Alberto Martín de Hijas.
1,156 reviews52 followers
February 8, 2025
Historias con un tono de espada y brujería en un mundo decadente. Los argumento son simples, pero Gal construye sobre ellos mundos siniestros plenos de magia y violencia y recreados en dibujos con un detalle asombroso. Respecto al coloreado, creo que no aporta nada y tapa la línea. Es preferible una edición en blanco y negro.
Profile Image for Dávid Novotný.
587 reviews13 followers
October 14, 2019
First album is compilation of short stories, we don't see great army in the heat of combat but in the moments between, in various situations perceived by eyes of simple soldiers. Whole world have this unsettling feeling of old civilisations, religions, gods and mysteries. Very similar to works R. E. Howard and C. A. Smith. Second album is more traditional fantasy story about revenge, writing starts to show some minor flows, when some pages are little chaotic, but great art saves it at the end. Over and all, whole book is pretty good, not because o story but because of art and setting which gives reader that strange, maybe even horror feeling.
Profile Image for Adam Šilhan.
676 reviews8 followers
June 28, 2020
Za mě asi nejlepší překladová věc loňského roku, co jsem četl. Úžasná kresba, skvělé poetické příběhy.
Profile Image for Jeremy.
657 reviews13 followers
September 6, 2025
Some of the most gorgeous artwork I’ve seen in comic form…
Profile Image for Jan Pospíšil.
61 reviews4 followers
January 3, 2020
A fantastic book.
Not all of the short stories are equally great, but the world they build is wonderfully unusual. It's swords and sorcery and it feels like a mythical past, but also slightly postapo (?). And it feels believable, it's not a fake nostalgic reference.
The art is incredible.
Profile Image for Ondra Král.
1,447 reviews122 followers
September 28, 2019
Úžasná kresba, příjemné fantasy příběhy. Škoda, že celá kniha není víc jako první album
4,5*
Profile Image for Pavel Pravda.
602 reviews9 followers
June 9, 2021
Dobyvačné armády je fantasy odehrávající se v blíže nespecifikovaných fantaskních zemích. Kniha se dá rozdělit na tři logické části, respektive dvě části a jeden bonusový komiks, který nemá s Dobyvačnými armádami nic společného, kromě osoby výtvarníka Jean-Claude Gala.

První část dala název celé této knize a obsahuje pět krátkých vypointovaných příběhů, které se zaměřují na osudy jednotlivců. Hned první příběh mě docela vyděsil, protože jsem se začal bát, že celá kniha bude jako tento příběh. Jeho děj je velmi prostý a jeho vyprávění by se vešlo do pár vět. Jenže ten komiks nefunguje. Má začátek, má konec, ale to co se mělo odehrát mezi tím moc nedává smysl a celkově je to prostě nuda. Podobné je to i s druhým příběhem. Třetí příběh má jen čtyři stránky a nemá smysl se o něm nějak rozepisovat. Čtvrtý a pátý příběh jsou z těchto krátkých příběhů nejlepší a vtipně ukazují, jak vrtkavý osud může být.

Hlavní část knihy obsahuje dvě alba s názvem Arnova pomsta a Arnův triumf. Arnův příběh by se vzdáleně dal přirovnat k filmovému Barbarovi Conanovi. Mladému barbarovi Arnovi jsou zabiti rodiče a on je uvržen do vězení. Po letech uteče a vydává se za svou pomstou proti celému Impériu. Arnův příběh je docela zajímavý a má nečekané zvraty. Překvapí především krutost, a to jak záporáků, tak i samotného Arna.

Hlavní devizou této knihy je kresba Jean-Claude Gala. Na první pohled jsem měl pocit, že je jeho styl velmi podobný stylu Richarda Corbena. Přispěla k tomu i atmosféra prvních dvou příběhů, které mi atmosférou připomněly Corbenovu knihu Duchové mrtvých. Už druhý pohled ale ukázal, že styl J-C Gala je pro mě mnohem stravitelnější - bohům díky. Gal i Corben mají potřebu nimrat se v nejmenších detailech. Avšak zatímco Corben se vyžívá především v detailech rozkladu, tak Gal až maniakálně a naprosto precizně vykresluje detaily a ozdoby zbrojí, oblečení, měst, ruin a detailně prokresluje dokonce i obyčejné skály. Zpočátku mi trvalo, než jsem si ke Galově kresbě našel cestu, ale nakonec jsem si ji docela užíval.

Dovolím si jednu poznámku na závěr. Nechápu potřebu cpát na všechny knihy parciální lak. Někde je to vyloženě na škodu. U této knihy vypadá spodní hrana přední desky jako by byla hnusně olezlá a oloupaná - jenom kvůli tomu zpropadenému laku. U komiksů od Arga to není poprvé a obávám se, že ani naposled.
Profile Image for Rick Ray.
3,540 reviews37 followers
January 23, 2023
The first album contains a fantastic compilation of short war stories that evoke a sense of wonder, mysticism and even horror. The stories vary in quality, but in general comprise some of the greater sword and sandals stories I've read in the medium. The real show stopper in Les armées du conquérant is Jean-Claude Gal's artwork which does an incredible job bringing the ornate armor, gorgeous landscapes and intricate architecture to life. I really wish there was more of this since I could not get enough of Gal's artwork. I also think it'd be great if we got more black & white pages, since Gal's meticulous artwork really pops in the absence of colors in my opinion.

The second and third albums comprise an overarching story of Arn (in many ways a Conan the Barbarian archetype of a character) as he rises to an Alexander the Great level conqueror. The story itself feels a bit too drawn out, but again I was totally fine with the book's length since I could not get enough of Gal's artwork.
Profile Image for Ondřej Puczok.
802 reviews32 followers
September 12, 2020
Nejde nepochválit neuvěřitelně podrobnou kresbu celé knihy (hrající si s různými místy a kulturami) i jistou tajemnost a nepředvídatelnost její první části (ony Dobyvačné armády), která jako by svou pesimističností a sem tam fantasy prvky vypadla z povídek Bradburyho. Pro mě příjemné překvapení. Černobílá, ale o to ještě podrobněji nakreslená, velice krátká Katedrála uzavírající knihu pak byla třešničkou na dortu. Celé zbývající dvě třetiny knihy zaměřené na jistého Arna jsou však tím úplně nejklasičtějším fantasy, které nijak nepřekvapí (osud, zrady, pomsta, bojovníci, zlí vládci...). Nebo spíše naopak svými podivnými texty (někdy vyloženě WTF) a "nepředvídatelnými" zvraty odrazují. Jako celek proto jen tři hvězdy...
Profile Image for Artur Coelho.
2,583 reviews74 followers
April 20, 2014
Se se é um fã de aventuras sanguinárias de soldadesca em eras de fantasia, adora-se este livro. Se não se é fã deste género de aventuras, resta o trabalho do ilustrador a criar um deserto de ruínas feéricas e exotismos como palco para as histórias de legiões em combate num mundo que talvez seja um esquecido passado distante ou um pós-apocalíptico futuro.
Profile Image for Peter.
109 reviews
June 7, 2020
Not much more than monkey-paw twist type short stories set in.. the past? a fantasy reality?. Surprisingly well done and satisfying story telling nonetheless.
Profile Image for Kris Shaw.
1,414 reviews
November 20, 2023
This first portion of this book is a collection of short stories, collectively titled Conquering Armies. Originally published in France in the title Metal Hurlant, known to us Yanks as Heavy Metal, Conquering Armies were the only stories printed in English until now. I have no clue about the translation in that collection.

This was originally published in black and white but is presented here in color. I've seen scans of the black and white original, and now wish that Humanoids would produce a black and white version of this material as well. Or a big honking, coffee table crushing 400 page hardcover. This book is a beast, measuring 9.5 X 12.5 inches (24.13 X 31.75 centimeters for our friends in the non-English measuring unit world outside of the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar).

Conquering Armies is a series of shorts about the lives of soldiers in battle, medieval style. These are all clever and have beautiful artwork, which is even more impressive when taken in the context of the era that it was originally published in. It is worlds better than anything we (Americans) were doing at the time. It looks contemporary, which shows just how far ahead of its time it was.

The majority of this book is Arn, another medieval epic about a boy who becomes a slave, escapes, raises an army, and invades the city. The end result is that he achieves nothing. War is Hell, there are no winners in war, and all that jazz. This is a superb book with brilliant writing and artwork. I'm a relative newbie to Humanoids but am really enjoying discovering all of these new worlds.

Humanoids produces high-end hardcovers that are beautiful and spare no expense, with flourishes like a built in ribbon bookmark.

My only gripe is that they rarely list where the material was originally published, resulting in me spending time on the Internet researching it. For some reason it is insanely important for me to list where the issues were originally presented, and the cover dates for them as well.
Profile Image for Ivan Jovanovic (Valahiru).
292 reviews10 followers
April 17, 2023
Prošle godine, Stalker nam je predstavio integral iz pera velikana žanra. U pitanju je zbirka koja se svrstava u klasike epskofantastične literature. Integral je podeljen na tri dela, gde je prvi zaseban, a druga dva povezana.

Crteži su živopisni, nacrtani do najsitnijeg detalja. Od raznih sitnica i ukrasa na oklopima, do nezamislive arhitekture.

Prvi deo sadrži kraće ratne priče, priče o Armijama Osvajača i njihovim pohodima i mnoge druge. To su priče o junacima i bitkama u nekom drugom svetu. Prisutna je i poneka pouka ili skriven motiv. Crteži su fantastični, a scenario vrlo dobar.

Drugi i treći deo prate sudbinu Arna. Ovaj deo prepun je spletki, misterije, takodje rata i bitaka. Crteži su kao i u prethodnom delu fantastični. U ovom crno-belom integralu može se videti Galovo neverovatno umeće. Medjutim, scenario je ovde dosta slabiji. Ovde već dosta kvari utiske sa početka. Scenario prati crtež, pa shvatam da je to umanjilo efekat, jer je scenario tako ostao zanemaren i sporedan.

Mnogi kažu da priča o Arnu podseća na Konana ili možda fantastičnu verziju Aleksandra Makedonskog. Sa time se moram složiti. Priča se činila i malo previše razvučenom, a uprkos dužini je bez ostvarenog efekta. Totalno ravnodušno što se mene tiče.

Na kraju su mi utisci ostali pomešani. Crteži su sjajni, a scenario u nekim delovima previše naivan. Jedino žalim što nemamo i verziju u koloru. Mislim da bi ovi crteži oživeli.
4 reviews
December 6, 2022
Absolutely spectacular artwork with mind-numbingly uninspired storyline.

Scenaristically, monsieur Dionnet obviously tailored the dynamics and the complexities of the stories for monsieur Gal to let loose his perfectionist visual style and detailed inkwork.

If you percieve this book as almost 200 pages of visual masterpieces thematically bound with a (tiny thread of a) theme, diving in without expectations of an engaging storyline, character development or any kind of moral to the stories, your eyes might enjoy this immensely, as long as you let your brain wander off.
(the three-star rating is the perfect median between the opposing values of the story and the art)

Note: although I enjoy the colored version of the book very much, I find that the B&W originals are artwise at least for a tad more detailed and stunning than the colored counterpart.

Cheers!
Profile Image for Marko.
549 reviews1 follower
August 26, 2023
This album was so full of many beautiful and imaginative costumes, armours, architecture and landscapes. The pictures were truly inspirational and everyone can see all the love and work poured into them. Based on the art solely, this is a five star album…

…but the stories I found to be a bit lacking. They felt so distant. I’m not a fan of albums, which carry the story forward with just text boxes. I longed for more people talking to each other and carrying the stories forward that way. So, only three stars.
Profile Image for Paul S..
308 reviews3 followers
August 31, 2021
Contains masterful art remastered with color. The first third of the book is great stuff with a collection of mystical short stories and fantastical universe building centered around military conquests/failures. The rest of the book is focused on a single character's quest for reclamation and revenge and it didn't do much for me.
Profile Image for Ondřej Hotovec.
157 reviews1 follower
March 7, 2021
Kniha má krásnou detailní kresbu. Ovšem po příběhové stránce se mi zdá trošku slabší. Je složena z několika krátkých příběhů a jednoho delšího. V každém příběhu je poučení, a tak se vlastně jedná o povídkovou knížku.
Profile Image for José Nebreda.
Author 18 books128 followers
June 20, 2023
Comicazo de los ochenta, de cuando yo era un crío fascinado por todas las maravillas que iba descubriendo en los libros. Cinco estrellas. claro... Los recuerdos... Aquellos dibujos increíblemente detallados... Una gozada.
Profile Image for Reyel2107.
900 reviews6 followers
February 17, 2018
um mito muito bem feito artesanalmente numa arte fantástica !!!!!
Profile Image for Toolshed.
376 reviews9 followers
June 30, 2021
Zaujímavé uchopenie témy (zameranie sa na komornejšie príbehy uprostred masívneho mocenského vojnového ťaženia) a jedna z najdetailnejších kresieb, aké som kedy v komikse videl, za tú bod hore.
Profile Image for Ana on the Shelves.
445 reviews32 followers
Read
January 22, 2022
Simplesmente um dos melhores livros de banda-desenhada que alguma vez me passou pelas mãos.
Profile Image for Đenis.
592 reviews5 followers
November 30, 2022
Kresba 4/5
Příběh 4/5
První část je pár pra-zvláštních příběhu dobyvačné armády a pak následuje velký kus příběhu o pádu a vzestupu Arna.
Profile Image for Graham Butler.
117 reviews
April 21, 2025
Beautifully detailed art. In some ways the short stories in the first volume were stronger than the two-volume story of Arn, which had a few unfortunate dead ends.

3.5 on StoryGraph.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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