Conan the Barbarian #7
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Becky Cloonan
Colors by Dave Stewart
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: August 8, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Conan the Barbarian #7 features a tale as old as time. Man takes girlfriend home to meet his mother, only, it’s Conan the Barbarian and his girlfriend is Belit. So, you can imagine that things get a little sticky when the meeting goes down.

Author Brian Wood, who has been absolutely KILLING it on this series, turns out another fantastic issue! I’ve been reading Conan comics since the mid 80s, and I’ve never read a story quite like this one. Conan brings Belit home to meet his mother, and things… well, they don’t go as expected, I’ll just leave it at that.

Now, I’m not a Conan expert, but I really don’t remember ever meeting his mother before, and that may be a good thing. She’s about as cold as they come. Meanwhile, Conan discovers that someone in Cimmeria is masquerading as Conan and slaying hundreds of fellow tribesman. That’s not cool either. This issue is just jam packed with story and action. Some told through flashbacks, some through a great narrative by Wood, it’s just a really well written issue overall. I have to give this to Wood, so far, all of his issues have been unique. Not the standard sword and sorcery stuff, although there is some of that in there, but DIFFERENT types of adventures for Conan. Great series so far, and I’m sure it’ll continue to be.

Becky Cloonan, you’re so good at what you do. Please never stop drawing. I’m begging you. This issue is so gorgeous!!! The scenery, the characters – do I really have to go on? Believe me, I thought I would be the LAST person to even tolerate her on this series, but I was SOOOOOOOOO wrong!!! From the first page to the last, it’s an artist treat. Eye candy is totally the wrong phrase to describe it, it’s just a fantastically done book.

This is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers. You don’t have to have read the last six issues, or ANY previous issues of Conan for that matter, to enjoy this story. I cannot recommend this comic any higher!