Jim Zub's The Age Unconquered part 1: Suffer Not the King of Wonders, starts here.
Conan stabbed himself in the chest and died on the way back to his home planet? The End? Nope! Not the end.
Conan gets The Terminator treatment and gets sent back in time by unknown mystical forces to the Thurian Age (The Age of Atlantis), the epoch of Atlantean King Kull of Valusia and his buddy Brule, the Spear-Slayer, a Pict of the Borni tribe.
We see Brule once again piercing the loathsome Black Stone statue with his blessed spear from way back in issue #4. Lighting from heaven's grasp strikes the spear and the obelisk shatters.
Time traveler Conan still alive with his clothes, horned helmet and Brule's sword, emerges from the destroyed Black Stone sculpture, you know, like in Ghostbusters with the charred Terror Dogs.
Brule's Pictish warriors suggest killing the slime covered barbarian from the future. The Spear-Slayer stops them.
A confused Conan does not remember Brule (from previous Limbo conversations) but finds his name familiar. Conan tries to kill Brule with Brule's Pictish blade, but the strain of the time trip was too much for the Cimmerian and he collapses.
Conan wakes tied to a tree, Brule is curious about Conan's blade and has naturally never heard of Cimmeria. Brule will bring Conan to Kull.
During the night a famished panther pays Conan a visit and it inadvertently helps our barbarian get free.
Brule sees the aura of a lion around Conan aka Amra the Lion. Brule saw this manifestation before with Kull but it was a tiger (the mystic aura of the Tiger-Totem, sole vestige of Kull's barbarian heritage).
Conan kills the big cat. Brule and Conan decide to be allies.
Brule and Conan reach the capital of Valusia, the city of Valusia nicknamed the City of Wonders.
Sexy women lure Conan to a temple where he finds the "Wise One", a much younger and elegantly dressed Yogah of Yag aka Yag-Kosha the elephant man.
Our favourite strange trans-cosmic being somehow knows Conan and tells him that his Cimmeria soul has been displaced in time.
King Kull is now cuckoo and a recluse. Thinking them shape-shifting Serpent Men, Kull knocks Brule out and attacks Conan.
Kull fights Conan for 5 pages, Brule at long last awakens and knocks his King out.
Red Slayers (royal bodyguards) arrive to arrest Brule and Conan for rumbling with royalty.
What I did like:
Zub is not making Conan hurt women in this issue.
Seeing Yogah of Yag in his prime.
Finally seeing Kull the Conqueror. We also get to see Kull's axe and it rules!
Reading issues #5-8 is not necessary to understand the story.
Chris Moreno's cover and the UDON Store Exclusive Ickpot cover are must buys!
Rob De La Torre is back and his "The Tower of the Elephant" cover is his best yet!
Another superb cover by Mr. Berserker Unbound Mike Deodato! But having Deodato not draw a woman on his cover has to be a crime against the arts.
Thulsa Doom, the prehistoric Darth Vader/necromancer appears on Francesca Baerald's THURIAN AGE MAP variant wraparound cover which should be offered as a poster as soon as possible!
The Bloodwood Tree bleeds red when it is scratched/damaged.
Borna, king of Valusia overthrown by Kull mentioned.
Valka god of gods mentioned.
Deity Hotath mentioned.
Nemedian Chronicles mentioned.
Bran Mak Morn is mentioned by archaeologist Jeffrey Shanks in his essay.
Nice concept art by Didrik Tollefsen (Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer; Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures).
What I did not like:
Incompetent editors: Chris Butera and Matt Murray! Yag-kosha should be GREEN in colour. In The Tower of the Elephant flashback: Conan doesn't look younger, no marble couch, Yag-Kosha is not naked, has NO tusks tipped with round golden balls and looks perfectly healthy. Pathetic.
The encounter with Yogah of Yag is much too short!
Conan killing a wild animal. Always unnecessary, boring and disgusting.
Kull's "Marvel comics" facial scar is gone.
Not a strong woman in sight!
I'm getting a strong “Kings of the Night” feeling of déjà vu. It's been done before.
No advert for The Heroic Legends Series - Bran Mak Morn: Red Waves of Slaughter? The king of the Picts is a direct descendant of Brule, the Spear-Slayer!
No Silent Interlude issue written by Larry Hama featuring The Silence from The Skull of Silence!
Where is Tsathoggua, the toad god!?
I give it an 8/10. If you can't stand the BLACK STONE, you better steel yourself, because Next month it's BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE (similar to Zub's Conan: Serpent War), an epic new CONAN EVENT from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics! What next? BLACK STONE the Novel? BLACK STONE the T-shirt? BLACK STONE the Colouring Book? BLACK STONE the Lunch box? BLACK STONE the Breakfast Cereal? BLACK STONE the Flame Thrower?
Titan Books + Heroic Signatures how about translating for us Laurent Mantese's last Conan adventure: La Sonde et la taille!
