CONAN: THE SPEAR AND OTHER STORIES

Timothy Truman is one helluva comic book artist. In fact, he's one of my favorites. He's also one helluva comic book writer as his stint as scribe on Dark Horse Comics CONAN series proved. Truman joins original Conan comic book chronicler Roy Thomas and previous Dark Horse Conan writer Kurt Busiek, as three of the best contemporary writers of Robert E. Howard's immortal character.

CONAN: THE SPEAR AND OTHER STORIES (2010), which I picked up for half price recently at Austin Books and Comics Side Kicks store, is a handsome volume of stand alone Truman Conan stories that serve to fill in the gaps in some of REH's original Conan stories. Lushly illustrated by Paul Lee, these stories explore some of the narrative threads that Howard either introduced and then dropped or merely mentioned in passing. Some of the stories take place during Conan's reign as king of Aquilonia, while others occur during his earlier years. There's a wickedly funny story about two wizards while the standout is a two part epic that touches upon King Kull, Brule the spear slayer and the vile Serpent Men.

All told, CONAN: THE SPEAR AND OTHER STORIES is a fine collection of Conan tales by one of the best to ever put pen to paper. Thumbs up.