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Conan Omnibus

Conan Omnibus, Vol. 5: Piracy and Passion

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Showcasing the spectacular art of Becky Cloonan, James Harren, and Mike Hawthorne and including the conclusion of the Roy Thomas penned "Road of Kings," the value-priced Conan Omnibus 5: Piracy and Passion features over 400 story pages of high adventure, dark sorcery, and fiery romance by comics' most talented creators.

Featuring Brian Wood's acclaimed adaptation of Robert E. Howard's classic "Queen of the Black Coast," Conan Omnibus 5 features more of the award-winning Dark Horse Conan series. Unbowed in battle and unmatched with the sword, Conan the Barbarian is instead felled by the allure of the pirate queen, Bêlit. The two join forces--and souls--and begin a new life of plunder and passion on the high seas...but dark clouds loom on the horizon!

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2018

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About the author

Brian Wood

1,174 books961 followers
Brian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.

From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.

His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.

He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.

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5 stars
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24 (42%)
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6 (10%)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Rolf.
Author 9 books7 followers
September 12, 2025
The Dark Horse Conan series began promisingly: the adaptations of Howard’s original stories were generally well handled, and even the new tales by modern writers were not always that bad. But over time, the quality declined. Piracy and Passion, the fifth volume in the series, feels like something of a swindle.

To be fair, it does include an excellent adaptation of “Queen of the Black Coast” by Brian Wood (script) and Becky Cloonan (art). It’s one of the best stories in the series, and at roughly 65 pages it might almost justify the purchase on its own.

Unfortunately, “Queen of the Black Coast” is the only strong piece here—and it’s just the first installment. To read the rest, you’ll need to buy volume six. The remaining 350 or so pages are padded with uninspired plots and, at best, mediocre artwork. The dreary opening tale, sprawling across more than 90 pages, is so hackneyed and poorly illustrated that it sinks below abysmal. The rest of the book drags out the "love story" of Conan and Bêlit’s far beyond necessity, with the absolute low point being a chapter in which Conan takes his fiancée home to meet his mom...
Profile Image for Louie the Mustache Matos.
1,427 reviews141 followers
June 7, 2025
The Conan Omnibus, Volume 5 is easily the best of the Dark Horse published Conan graphic novels. The artwork is visually stunning, packaged in an appealing format, and written with respect for the original author -- Robert Erwin Howard. Brian Wood and Roy Thomas chose stories that showcase not just characters that resonate with a Conan vibe, but that are also recognizable as part of the aesthetic.

it is noteworthy that in the Queen of the Black Coast storyline, Belit, the Pirate Queen bewitches Conan from afar, such that when he literally meets her for the first time, he is practically well on his way toward passionate infatuation with Belit. I love that the relationship begins from a physical distance and that as they move toward collision, the passion between the characters multiplies.

No less talents than Becky Cloonan, James Harren, Declan Shalvey, Dan Panosian, Vasilis Lolos, John Lucas, Massimo Carnevale, and Mike Hawthorne impeccably illustrate these stories via pencil, ink, or paint brush. The high gloss paper adds dimension and weight to the innate quality of the product. The graphic novel is gorgeous in its aesthetic and literary value. Great read; highly recommended.
Profile Image for Krzysztof Grabowski.
1,877 reviews7 followers
February 21, 2023
Recenzja dotyczy polskiej wersji językowej wydanej w tomie Conan. Groza w podziemiach. Tom 5 zawierającym zeszyty z serii „Conan: Road Of Kings” #1–12 i „Conan the Barbarian” #1–6.

Conan jaki jest każdy widzi. Niby niekrzesany barbarzyńca, ale mający dużą inteligencję oraz niesamowite zdolności, jeżeli chodzi o miecz, który często oddziela głowy od tułowia, o kończynach nie wspominając. Będzie zatem krwawo. Początek to kontynuacja wątku podróży z Oliwią, która znajdzie tu swój finał i koniec końców zawita na dwór ojca. Szkopuł w tym, że Conan będzie musiał wydatnie pomóc w kwestii pogodzenia się rodzica z dzieckiem. Tak zacznie się jego podróż na Drodze Królów, jednej z bardziej niebezpiecznych sekwencji w jego życiu.

Zaskakująco wiele razu nasz ulubiony "prostak" trafia w niewolę w omawianym tomie, aczkolwiek jest jak czołg. Długo nic nie jest w stanie go powstrzymać. Wiedziony honorem, ale i butą trafi do podziemnych katakumb w Akwilonii, gdzie przyjdzie zmierzyć się mu z sporych rozmiarów robactwem i lokalnymi mieszkańcami, a wszystko po to aby zapewnić bezpieczeństwo pewnej dzierlatce. Kilku letniej, ale jak się tu kilka razy powtarza: honor barbarzyńcy bardzo często go wiąże. Także spotkamy tu wiele potworków.

Kiedy jednak Droga Królów się zakończy, a zbiegający Conan zaciągnie się na statek, przyjdzie mu zmierzyć się z legendą morską. Niejaka Bêlit piękną i straszna z wyglądu dziewoja, zawróci bohaterowi w głowie potężnie, jednak kontakt z nią oznacza też naprawdę wiele problemów. Stare wygi widząc nazwisko Roya Thomasa pewnie zapłaczą, bo to weteran z serii przed lat. Na uwagę zasługuje także Brian Wood, który zajmował się drugą połową zbioru.

Co do kreski to mam tylko dobre wrażenia. Nie ma takie rozstrzału stylów jak poprzednio, choć kreski są różne. Becky Cloonan, Mike Hawthorne czy Dan Panosian robią swoją pracę dobrze, ale jest to przeznaczone dla dorosłych czytelników. Nie brak tu wymownego negliżu, a potrafi być bardzo brutalnie, ale to w końcu to, czego się oczekuje po tym wykreowanym świecie, gdzie króluje przemoc i siła. Dla mnie kolejny godny uwagi tom, o stałej, wysokiej jakości.
4 reviews
January 13, 2025
Becky cloonan and brian wood sucks ass. Thomas story is excellent though
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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