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Conan the Barbarian (2019) (Collected Editions)
Conan the Barbarian, Vol. 1: Into the Crucible
A new era for Conan! The barbarian has faced many foes since leaving Cimmeria, but the greatest challenge lies ahead! Conan finds himself in a city in the mystical Uttara Kuru, farther on the eastern border than he has ever traveled. And with a new city comes new dangers! Unfamiliar with the language, Conan inadvertently agrees to be the latest entrant in the Great Crucible! The people of the city support their foreign champion...but what deadly dangers does the Crucible hold - and what will Conan sacrifice to overcome this ordeal? Equipped with only his strength and wits, Conan must survive deadly traps and a cadre of rivals! What is the true nature of the Great Crucible? And with only a local boy named Delian to translate for him, can anyone - or anything - be trusted?
COLLECTING: CONAN THE BARBARIAN (2019) 13-18
COLLECTING: CONAN THE BARBARIAN (2019) 13-18
137 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2021
11 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Jim Zub
910 books321 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 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 12, 2025
Pretty good
May 13, 2021
Weder die Story noch die Zeichnungen transportieren das, was ich mit Conan verbinde. "Mein" Conan ist und bleibt der aus den Stories von Robert E. Howard und die Comicadaptionen in THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN in Schwarzweiß.
March 12, 2025
Jim Zub takes the rein of the renewed Conan the Barbarian from Jason Aaron and, unlike his predecessor, builds a linear storyline for the second season of the title; this time in the far east of the Hyborian age.
Conan's wanderlust brings him to Uttara Kuru, in northeastern Vendhya (a land that has the shape and position of present-day India); a brawl on the streets of Garchall turns him into the unwitting "people's champion" in the Great Crucible, an annual tournament held in honour of the local god Challi-Mai, who is believed to require this blood sacrifice in return for his blessings to the city. Conan therefore finds himself in a subterranean dungeon together with a motley crue of local warriors, criminals, zealots and Hyrkanian shamans; needless to say that the stage is set at this point for deathly traps, brutal murders and desperate moves for survival. Between the trials, Conan even finds the time for a roll in the hay (among bioluminescent mushrooms, no less) with Naru-Li from Khitai, who reveals that her reason for joining the rite is the retrieval of a family heirloom: a sword called the Tooth of the Nightstar.
Aaron kickstarted this latest iteration of the series with the brilliant concept of a year-long, non-linear, episodic saga that allowed him and Mahmud Asrar to span the breath of the Hyborian world and of Conan's life, in a great display of sword and sorcery's potential; Zub weaves a straightforward but compelling dungeon crawl, in which Conan (and with him the reader) always lags several steps behind the events. He's assisted in the first storyline by the talented Rogê Antônio. The foreign dialogues seem to hint at more than just babble, and eventually we discover that Zub did in fact develop Uttar's language, providing a table of translation at the end of the volume.
Meanwhile "Curse of the Nightstar", the second, shorter storyline, sees Conan travel even farther east in order to complete Naru-Li's mission. He's soon overcome by the power and blood thirst of the demonic Tooth of the Nightstar, and the whole sequence reads like a blood-soaked nightmare. This might have been handled otherwise, but what we have is weaker than the previous storyline both in planning and execution, and it doesn't fare well for the second arc of this run.
Conan's wanderlust brings him to Uttara Kuru, in northeastern Vendhya (a land that has the shape and position of present-day India); a brawl on the streets of Garchall turns him into the unwitting "people's champion" in the Great Crucible, an annual tournament held in honour of the local god Challi-Mai, who is believed to require this blood sacrifice in return for his blessings to the city. Conan therefore finds himself in a subterranean dungeon together with a motley crue of local warriors, criminals, zealots and Hyrkanian shamans; needless to say that the stage is set at this point for deathly traps, brutal murders and desperate moves for survival. Between the trials, Conan even finds the time for a roll in the hay (among bioluminescent mushrooms, no less) with Naru-Li from Khitai, who reveals that her reason for joining the rite is the retrieval of a family heirloom: a sword called the Tooth of the Nightstar.
Aaron kickstarted this latest iteration of the series with the brilliant concept of a year-long, non-linear, episodic saga that allowed him and Mahmud Asrar to span the breath of the Hyborian world and of Conan's life, in a great display of sword and sorcery's potential; Zub weaves a straightforward but compelling dungeon crawl, in which Conan (and with him the reader) always lags several steps behind the events. He's assisted in the first storyline by the talented Rogê Antônio. The foreign dialogues seem to hint at more than just babble, and eventually we discover that Zub did in fact develop Uttar's language, providing a table of translation at the end of the volume.
Meanwhile "Curse of the Nightstar", the second, shorter storyline, sees Conan travel even farther east in order to complete Naru-Li's mission. He's soon overcome by the power and blood thirst of the demonic Tooth of the Nightstar, and the whole sequence reads like a blood-soaked nightmare. This might have been handled otherwise, but what we have is weaker than the previous storyline both in planning and execution, and it doesn't fare well for the second arc of this run.
June 8, 2021
Conan is such a good "grunt" book. The stories are ultimately entertaining and rich, but the reason I read them is for the action. Just a fun ride to read this title.
"Into the Crucible" - This story has Conan unknowingly becoming "the people's champion", which forces him to participate in a semi-hunger games style competition, where a group of heroes have to make their way through a cave of traps and beasts. It is said that all the blood shed during "The Crucible" goes to worship Challi-Mai, a local god who demands it. When he wins and makes to the Magistrate, he finds out that Challi-Mai is not real and the leaders put on the contest yearly to sate the people. As his reward, Conan takes an extremely sharp katana called "Tooth of the Nightstar"... which he then uses to kill the Magistrate and leave town.
"Curse of the Nightstar" - Conan continues on his journey, but begins to have visions of battle. Whenever he comes out of them, he sees that he has actually killed real people who were around him. Unable to control the curse, Conan murders many. Eventually, he fights against the spirit of the sword and is able to silence it, but as he does, he is immediately arrested. To be continued next Volume...
Great action, good gore, action for all. Love Conan...
Recommend.
"Into the Crucible" - This story has Conan unknowingly becoming "the people's champion", which forces him to participate in a semi-hunger games style competition, where a group of heroes have to make their way through a cave of traps and beasts. It is said that all the blood shed during "The Crucible" goes to worship Challi-Mai, a local god who demands it. When he wins and makes to the Magistrate, he finds out that Challi-Mai is not real and the leaders put on the contest yearly to sate the people. As his reward, Conan takes an extremely sharp katana called "Tooth of the Nightstar"... which he then uses to kill the Magistrate and leave town.
"Curse of the Nightstar" - Conan continues on his journey, but begins to have visions of battle. Whenever he comes out of them, he sees that he has actually killed real people who were around him. Unable to control the curse, Conan murders many. Eventually, he fights against the spirit of the sword and is able to silence it, but as he does, he is immediately arrested. To be continued next Volume...
Great action, good gore, action for all. Love Conan...
Recommend.
March 21, 2022
It's no Jason Aaron Conan, but Jim Zub's Conan is probably closer to what most readers would be looking for in a Conan comics - fun, mindless fantasy adventure.
Conan's wandered west (simply because he can) and has immediately stumbled into a cultural mix-up that sees him at the bottom of a pit. Also in the pit are several other warriors/sacrifices, all destined to tackle The Crucible for the local god of murder. Hot stuff! Conan befriends and betrays with the clear goal of exacting his revenge on those who would lead others to worship such a silly god.
Once that storyline is complete, Conan endeavors to take an enchanted sword to its rightful owner, but the sword has other ideas. This shorter storyline is a tad over the top, even for Conan - blood and guts and endless battles with no clear plot point. I imagine Aaron might have handled this in a darker, more solemn way.
That about sums up my feelings for Into the Crucible. Enjoyable, but I really liked what Jason Aaron was doing and kinda just want more of that.
Conan's wandered west (simply because he can) and has immediately stumbled into a cultural mix-up that sees him at the bottom of a pit. Also in the pit are several other warriors/sacrifices, all destined to tackle The Crucible for the local god of murder. Hot stuff! Conan befriends and betrays with the clear goal of exacting his revenge on those who would lead others to worship such a silly god.
Once that storyline is complete, Conan endeavors to take an enchanted sword to its rightful owner, but the sword has other ideas. This shorter storyline is a tad over the top, even for Conan - blood and guts and endless battles with no clear plot point. I imagine Aaron might have handled this in a darker, more solemn way.
That about sums up my feelings for Into the Crucible. Enjoyable, but I really liked what Jason Aaron was doing and kinda just want more of that.
May 11, 2021
I’m a sucker for most Conan Stories and this one was a good ride. Fun reads don’t always have to be the best, as long as their fun then that’s all that matters. And this, this was good Conan savagery fun
February 9, 2024
Everybody's favorite cheesecake barbarian roams ancient Hyboria, taking in strange cultures, seeking adventure and slaying foes.
Into the Crucible kicks off with a bang as Conan is thrown into a trap-riddled dungeon that requires cunning as well as strength to survive. This segues immediately into a struggle with a mind-warping cursed sword. Which segues immediately into his capture by a marauding army...
I found this to be good pulpy fun for a while, with neat world-building, but the repetition got old fast.
Into the Crucible kicks off with a bang as Conan is thrown into a trap-riddled dungeon that requires cunning as well as strength to survive. This segues immediately into a struggle with a mind-warping cursed sword. Which segues immediately into his capture by a marauding army...
I found this to be good pulpy fun for a while, with neat world-building, but the repetition got old fast.
August 3, 2025
Two good Conan stories- a lot of my reviews for Conan will be biased. I love the Conan world and basic storytelling (man shows up, gets into some trouble, gets out of it and continues on). I can read and enjoy these all day!
Conan is trapped in a battle to appease a god who wants blood, of course, it is a king’a scheme to keep the populace under control. Conan sees through it and chops the kings head off.
He then steals a sword mentioned by one of his battle mates and tried to return it to her people. The sword has other plans and though black magic tried to control Conan.
Conan is trapped in a battle to appease a god who wants blood, of course, it is a king’a scheme to keep the populace under control. Conan sees through it and chops the kings head off.
He then steals a sword mentioned by one of his battle mates and tried to return it to her people. The sword has other plans and though black magic tried to control Conan.
December 11, 2021
Začátek je čistá testosteronová řezničina a konec je zase masakr v režii černé magie. Ale hlavně je to jeden souvislý příběh. Crom za to buď pochválen! Navíc to má pěknou kresbu a úžasné obálky Erika Gista. Já jsem spokojený.
October 17, 2021
Big adventure and Conan proving he has a moral code.
April 6, 2024
A dungeon devoted to death. Great traps and interesting characters. A cursed sword and the fallout of possessing such an item.
December 29, 2021
In reading this graphic novel I was transported back to the Conan of my youth. I recall reading the pulp fiction novels with the Cimmerian warrior that was so ably morphed into the black and white Marvel issues of the day. These were tales of a brutally effective mercenary and thief who carved his way across the land. And it is this same iteration that is captured by Jim Zub in his first volume. It is gritty and violent while also capturing the will and the cleverness that is a hallmark of the character. Yes, there is plenty of blood and guts but there is also a captivating story that causes the pages to zip by. If you forgive a barbarian for knowing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and Artificial Respiration (A slip or intentional?) this is a dungeon crawler of the first order.
The story involves Conan being thrust into an artificial maze of traps and dangers dedicated to winnowing out those who are suitable minions of a warrior god. Of course, there are hidden intrigues and all is not as it seems. As always, with Conan, there is no separation between thought and deed and this plays out rather nicely in the serial's dénouement. There is a second story involving a sword he picks up in the earlier tale and it serves as a psychological study into Conan's psyche. Both are well written and ably illustrated.
If you are looking for an opportunity to rediscover the Sword and Sorcery king of the hill, this is a terrific place to start.
The story involves Conan being thrust into an artificial maze of traps and dangers dedicated to winnowing out those who are suitable minions of a warrior god. Of course, there are hidden intrigues and all is not as it seems. As always, with Conan, there is no separation between thought and deed and this plays out rather nicely in the serial's dénouement. There is a second story involving a sword he picks up in the earlier tale and it serves as a psychological study into Conan's psyche. Both are well written and ably illustrated.
If you are looking for an opportunity to rediscover the Sword and Sorcery king of the hill, this is a terrific place to start.
June 11, 2025
"When a man has nothing left to lose, he's free to do whatever he likes."
When Marvel regained the rights to Conan in 2019, the first thing they did was relaunch their flagship Conan the Barbarian title. This trade paperback collects issues #13-18.
Jim Zub takes over writing duties from Jason Aaron. If one of the goals of the previous "Life and Death of Conan" arc was to provide a sense of continuity to the original Marvel comics (1970-93), then it seems the direction under Jim Zub is to now move forward with serialized, self-contained story arcs that renew a sense of fun ("gigantic mirth") instead of epic gravitas ("gigantic melancholies").
In these issues, E.M. Gist takes over as cover artist from Esad Ribic. I love both their work in this series. Gist provides a brawnier, fiercer, almost otherworldly Conan that fits the more over-the-top storyline.
"Into the Crucible" (#13-16)
In the city Garchall, in the land of Uttara Kuru on the border of Vendhya, the people worship the cruel god Challi-Mai. Once a year, they host a fighter competition. The top contestants get the "honor" of being thrown into an underground labyrinth of booby traps and monsters to fight for this god. If any contestant emerges unscathed, the city will be blessed for another 12 months…
A young wandering Conan bests a local brawler and is crowned the people's champion, but he has no desire to enter the hellhole of Challi-Mai. Once he is thrown in, however, he must forge alliances and figure out how to survive long enough to destroy this damned god and escape this town forever…
The story is thin but fun.
The artwork by Roge Antonio is colorful and frenetic but too "cartoony" for my taste. However, the panels have more sense of scale and depth than the first twelve issues of this series.
"Curse of the Nightstar" (#17-18)
Conan is bewitched by a cursed sword from Khitai. Seeing enemies that are not real, he traverses the countryside killing innocents along the way…
I did not like this story. Conan has always been violent but never a villain. It is uncomfortable watching him violate his own code of honor, and it does not appear he will pay any emotional toll for his cruel behavior in future arcs.
Robert Gill and Luca Pizzari step in to draw the artwork for this arc.
3 stars.
When Marvel regained the rights to Conan in 2019, the first thing they did was relaunch their flagship Conan the Barbarian title. This trade paperback collects issues #13-18.
Jim Zub takes over writing duties from Jason Aaron. If one of the goals of the previous "Life and Death of Conan" arc was to provide a sense of continuity to the original Marvel comics (1970-93), then it seems the direction under Jim Zub is to now move forward with serialized, self-contained story arcs that renew a sense of fun ("gigantic mirth") instead of epic gravitas ("gigantic melancholies").
In these issues, E.M. Gist takes over as cover artist from Esad Ribic. I love both their work in this series. Gist provides a brawnier, fiercer, almost otherworldly Conan that fits the more over-the-top storyline.
"Into the Crucible" (#13-16)
In the city Garchall, in the land of Uttara Kuru on the border of Vendhya, the people worship the cruel god Challi-Mai. Once a year, they host a fighter competition. The top contestants get the "honor" of being thrown into an underground labyrinth of booby traps and monsters to fight for this god. If any contestant emerges unscathed, the city will be blessed for another 12 months…
A young wandering Conan bests a local brawler and is crowned the people's champion, but he has no desire to enter the hellhole of Challi-Mai. Once he is thrown in, however, he must forge alliances and figure out how to survive long enough to destroy this damned god and escape this town forever…
The story is thin but fun.
The artwork by Roge Antonio is colorful and frenetic but too "cartoony" for my taste. However, the panels have more sense of scale and depth than the first twelve issues of this series.
"Curse of the Nightstar" (#17-18)
Conan is bewitched by a cursed sword from Khitai. Seeing enemies that are not real, he traverses the countryside killing innocents along the way…
I did not like this story. Conan has always been violent but never a villain. It is uncomfortable watching him violate his own code of honor, and it does not appear he will pay any emotional toll for his cruel behavior in future arcs.
Robert Gill and Luca Pizzari step in to draw the artwork for this arc.
3 stars.
March 21, 2023
Yooo this one was so good, I am surprised I enjoyed it this much!
Like the story finds Conan in the city of Garchall in the country of "Uttara Kuru" and he has to fight through some crucible, like in a cave with some people and its kinda like a death-trap these people made for their god "Challi-mai" and like how does Conan fight through that is the big story and he has other companions like Delian (translator), Naru-Li, Yohnic and more and what happens in the cave, will they give into the people and who will survive.. surprising twists and betrayals and I freaking love it. It continues the theme of you can't trust anyone here in the hyborian age and my god its filled with action of Conan beheading people or taking on insane no. of enemies and still surviving, crazy revelations, captured and what not.. one of the best stories you can read and like forget about real world and enjoy!
Plus the second story of "Curse of the sword" is pretty much as the title says as Conan takes some sword called "Nightstar" and how it sort of corrupts him and how he fights through its control and survives is the big story but my god the action in-between and the blood history of it.. just wow.. Zub really made such a good back story for it and that increases the dread of the moment and you as a reader are intrigued what will happen to our boy Conan and it gives him such an awesome moment and I loved it!
Truly one of the best stuff I have read of Conan and you will have a great time reading it, the world building is awesome, so many action-packed moments and the art was just brutal in a beautiful way! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Like the story finds Conan in the city of Garchall in the country of "Uttara Kuru" and he has to fight through some crucible, like in a cave with some people and its kinda like a death-trap these people made for their god "Challi-mai" and like how does Conan fight through that is the big story and he has other companions like Delian (translator), Naru-Li, Yohnic and more and what happens in the cave, will they give into the people and who will survive.. surprising twists and betrayals and I freaking love it. It continues the theme of you can't trust anyone here in the hyborian age and my god its filled with action of Conan beheading people or taking on insane no. of enemies and still surviving, crazy revelations, captured and what not.. one of the best stories you can read and like forget about real world and enjoy!
Plus the second story of "Curse of the sword" is pretty much as the title says as Conan takes some sword called "Nightstar" and how it sort of corrupts him and how he fights through its control and survives is the big story but my god the action in-between and the blood history of it.. just wow.. Zub really made such a good back story for it and that increases the dread of the moment and you as a reader are intrigued what will happen to our boy Conan and it gives him such an awesome moment and I loved it!
Truly one of the best stuff I have read of Conan and you will have a great time reading it, the world building is awesome, so many action-packed moments and the art was just brutal in a beautiful way! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2023
Takový promarněný potenciál. :( Zub sáhl k jednomu z největších fantasy klišé, kdy musí skupina bojovníků projít labyrintem plným smrtících pastí. A já přiznávám, že mám tenhle námět rád a těšil jsem se.
Bohužel, Zub nenabídne zajímavé vedlejší postavy ani originální pasti/hádanky. Působí to dojmem laciného DnD, kde se objevují různé potvory a skupina je časem utluče. Tady holce padla jednička, blbě skočila a umřela. No nic, další místnosti... Tahle dějová linka navíc skončí cca v půlce knížky, a pak se jede v módu Conan-Terminátor.
Kresba je fajn, ale příběh nebavil.
Bohužel, Zub nenabídne zajímavé vedlejší postavy ani originální pasti/hádanky. Působí to dojmem laciného DnD, kde se objevují různé potvory a skupina je časem utluče. Tady holce padla jednička, blbě skočila a umřela. No nic, další místnosti... Tahle dějová linka navíc skončí cca v půlce knížky, a pak se jede v módu Conan-Terminátor.
Kresba je fajn, ale příběh nebavil.
August 19, 2023
Jim Zub takes over the writing chores from Jason Aaron and the book continues to impress but still has some pretty big flaws. The first arc, Into The Crucible, was really good. Conan is thrust into a quest he doesn't want any part of but then marches forward. Its a mystery, drama, action flick of a good time. The second arc though, which starts off as a direct continuation, goes downhill pretty fast. The story isn't very original, involves too much in dreams, and never seemed serious. The art in the second half also wasn't up to par. Overall, a good read, especially the first arc.
February 5, 2021
Great artwork.
February 16, 2021
The Conan Hunger Games of the first three issues was pretty solid but the possessed sword was blah.
April 24, 2021
I’m glad this series has stayed afloat despite a six-month COVID delay and a change to a less “big name” writer. I enjoyed these issues just as much as the first 12.
May 14, 2021
Decent Conan book.
May 31, 2021
Bloody good fun! Jim Zub takes over from Jason Aaron and delightfully veers from the heavy mythological arc to the high adventure pulp saga nature of Conan. Vastly entertaining.
July 15, 2021
Why did they change the writer? I was really enjoying the first two volumes and then we get this. It’s fine but just so much less.
August 18, 2021
Awesome story, although I prefer the drawings of Mahmud Asrar from the first 12 numbers of the new Conan The Barbarian. The covers by EM Gist are the best Conan has ever been.
December 4, 2021
Conan goes on a dungeon crawl and steals a cursed samurai sword. It's hardly Howard, but the skill it takes to not fall into complete camp is not to be dismissed.
November 28, 2023
Pretty solid Conan story. Not much new here.
January 2, 2024
Tons of fun (like an elephant on speed).
June 27, 2024
Zub is brilliant - born to write Conan. So so good, you won’t be disappointed
June 24, 2025
Not as good as the Titan books but much better than I expected.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews