The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 24
Blood Dawn and Other Stories
Trade Paperback | Kindle Edition
Written by James Owsley & Don Kraar
Pencils by John Buscema, Ernie Chan & Mike Docherty
Inks by Ernie Chan & Dave Simons
Coloring by George Roussos, Julianna Ferriter & Ken Feduniewicz
Lettering by Janice Chiang, Rick Parker, Diana Albers & Bill Pearson
Cover art by John Buscema with George Roussos
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Cover Price: $18.99

The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 24 continues Dark Horse Comics’ excellent reprint series of the Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian series. If you’re into Conan or the sword and sorcery genre at all, this is a must have for your collection!

Authors James Owsley and Don Kraar turn in some great Conan stories here. First and foremost is the great “Bride of the Occultist” by Owsley, a particularly fun/creepy Conan story. From there the book reprints other great issues of Conan from the mid ’80s like “Blood Dawn,” “The Crimson Brotherhood,” and “Rites of Inquisition,” just to name a few. For those of you that only know Conan through the Dark Horse series, you’re in for a real treat. These stories weren’t as tightly managed by the licensor and therefore, there’s a lot more room that they have to play around. Not having to stick to a particular timeline for Conan’s life offers up a LOT more freedom to do as they please, and it certainly shows.

Night of the ’80s Undead #1
Story, Colors & Letter Assists by Jason Martin
Pencils by Bill McKay
Letters by Dave Dwonch
Cover by Bill McKay
Action Lab Comics
Release Date: July 10, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

At first, you might shy away from Night of the ’80s Undead #1, because it’s an indie comic by a company that you may not have heard of before. BUT, I would strongly recommend that you give it a look, because behind the cover you will find one hell of a good time!

I have to tip my hat to writer Jason Martin for coming up with a story that’s both funny and original. OK, in today’s comic world zombies aren’t totally an original idea, but what he does with them in this issue, is. Basically, all of your favorite movie stars from the ’80s become zombies and it’s not the fact that they’re zombies that’s funny, it’s what happens beforehand. Martin hasn’t left anything out when it comes to the setting of the story, even providing a soundtrack for the readers at the start of the issue. These are stylized versions of real life characters and he hits them on every note.

Aphrodite IX #3
Written by Matt Hawkins
Art by Stjepan Sejic
Letters by Troy Peteri
Edited by Bryan Rountree
Covers by Stjepan Sejic, David Finch, Eric Basaldua, and SDCC Exclusive Photo Cover
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
Release Date: July 17, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

Aphrodite IX #3 was a bit of a surprise to me. I had read and loved the original series, but this one is quite a far departure from that. That being said, it has its good and bad points like any comic.

Writer Matt Hawkins takes this long dormant title in a WHOLE different direction. And, I have to say, it’s OK. Not great, but not horrible either. The first few pages were a little hard to get through. His introduction is muddled and hard to follow if you’re new to the title like me. But, before too long, you get the gist of what the story is and the details of the world that the story is set in. After you’re settled in, the story gets pretty interesting. There’s decent amounts of character drama, action and intrigue.

Red Sonja #1
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Walter Geovani
Colors by Adriano Lucas
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Nicola Scott, Amanda Conner, Fiona Staples, Jenny Frison, Colleen Doran and Stephanie Buscema
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: July 17, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Red Sonja #1 is many things. And there’s many things it’s not. I had been tremendously skeptical that after reading hundreds of Red Sonja stories that I wouldn’t be able to be shocked, surprised, or delighted in any way with a new series. But, I’m happy to report that you proved me 100 percent wrong!

When Gail Simone was announced as writer of a new Red Sonja series a few months ago, fandom took note. There heads spun. And, many people smiled. Well, let me assure you that you have every reason to smile! This is a fantastic comic, plain and simple.

The Lone Ranger #16
Written by Ande Parks
Art by Esteve Polls
Colors by Marcello Pinto
Letters by Simon Bowland
Cover by Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: July 10, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Lone Ranger #16 is yet another shining example of how to make a great comic book. Honestly, I’m really tired of this book not getting the recognition that it deserves.

In this issue, writer Ande Parks takes us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Ranger and Tonto have to travel to Chicago to track down the villain of the arc. It’s got some great fish out of water elements, and tastefully deals with the racism against Native Americans at that time in this country’s past. The book is also sprinkled with humor, as The Ranger learns that walking around in a big city wearing a leather mask doesn’t quite go so well. The villain of this story arc is particularly entertaining. He’s more than the stereotypical western bad guy. Hat’s off to Ande for turning the western genre on it’s ear and coming up with some truly unique characters.