Jim Zub's A Nest of Serpents part 1: Slaves of the Magi
We get a quick adaptation of The Vale of Lost Women (1967). Amra The Lion aka Conan is the war-chief of the Bamula tribe. The Ophirean, Livia of the House of Chelkus, is a captive of the Bakalah tribe. Conan and his warriors attack the Bakalahs. In a valley of white blossoms, Conan saves Livia from a winged devil from the Outer Dark.
Conan is escorting the traumatized Livia to the Stygian borders, so that the Stygians can send her home to Ophir. They reach the town of Daynt (on the border between Kush and Stygia). They are welcome with open arms and disturbing smiles. They are invited to dine at Daynt's only inn.
Conan peruses the tavern's menu and notices that the prices are much too low.
A suspicious Conan tells his Bamula brothers to "test" their food and to abstain from drinking the vino.
The Bamulas and Livia gorge themselves eventually, but Conan barely touches the tainted food.
Conan decides to retire to his chamber to sleep with Livia. Later, the Cimmerian starts exploring Daynt from the rooftops.
He spots his always grinning hosts solely subsisting on bread and water. He tails a group hauling food and discovers a pit filled with docile prisoners.
He returns to Livia to find her being taken away. Conan kills all but one of the kidnapers, he follows the remaining snatcher into the tavern to witness his comrades also being carried away. Conan kills twelve more men, but the multitude is too large, he gets knocked out.
Conan wakes inside the prison pit surrounded by everyone that was previously in the tavern. To keep his mind sharp, Conan barely eats the prison meals.
The Stygian sorceress, Athyr-Bast of the Black Ring (from Savage Sword of Conan #205) arrives. She's the one behind the Curse of Kindness placed upon Daynt.
Athyr-Bast stops Conan from escaping. The prisoners are brought to The City of Magicians to fight in a strange arena to entertain the Lords of Kheshatta.
Conan, now a Slave of the Magicians, is thrown into the ring to rumble with the hulking Krum-Va the Carver. From his skybox, The Master of The Black Ring, Thoth-Amon (also a Stygian sorcerer) commands them to fight.
À suivre.
What I did like:
Conan does not kill an animal in this issue.
Vale of Lost Women was adapted in Conan the Barbarian #104.
Spanish penciller, Fernando Dagnino Guerra (Savage Sword of Conan #4 (2024)) is back, he draws a Lovecraftian critter and also gets interviewed!
This is issue 21 and Athyr-Bast is our very first villainess! Better late than never.
Mitra mentioned.
Female characters appear... and six actually speak.
Athyr-Bast graces two of the variant covers.
Archaeologist Jeffrey Shanks talks Thoth-Amon, The Phoenix on the Sword, the Ring of Set, The God in the Bowl, The Hour of the Dragon, Thothmekri, Ascalante, Marchers of Valhalla, The Haunter of the Ring, Conan the Buccaneer, The Treasure of Tranicos/The Black Stranger, Conan of Aquilonia, Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Wrath-Amon (voiced by Scott McNeil).
What I did not like:
The editor is not doing his job.
Livia doesn't mention her younger brother.
Conan is not clad as a Bamula. Disrespectful.
Conan empties his mug into a plate. Bizarre.
Another hulking giant to fight the Cimmerian? How incredibly original.
It's only Athyr-Bast... not Tarnasha transformed. Disappointing.
Zub really, really likes to remind us all that Conan is constantly copulating. Quite disturbing and just lazy writing.
Zub's Conan is a swine. In Robert E. Howard's The Vale of Lost Women, Conan states that he is NOT a swine.
Zub's Conan is a hot-headed killer, not the strategist that he should be. Conan is acting like he's the Canadian mutant, Wolverine.
Conan rejecting flowers? Ridiculous.
Conan the Price-conscious reads menus? Hilarious! I actually LOL when I saw that.
What is Thoth-Amon's big plan? We still don't know. Who cares?
Athyr-Bast does not appear on Dan Panosian's variant cover! What a waste.
No letters page!
I give it a 0/10. Zero? Yes. Conan would never sleep with the mentally ill Livia (in REH's story, Conan calls Livia a CHILD and makes it crystal clear that she is NOT the proper woman for him), even less a drugged Livia! Also, Zub shamefully censors Robert E. Howard by not acknowledging the "Lost Women" of The Vale of Lost Women or the Cimmerian's leopardskin loin-cloth and plumed headpiece. Looking for the real Conan the Barbarian? You'll find him in the pages of the Savage Sword of Conan, but not here. Definitely not here.
