Conan Road of Kings #11
Script by Roy Thomas
Pencils by Mike Hawthorne
Inks by John Lucas
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover by Alexsi Briclot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: December 21st, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Conan Road of Kings #11 is a “breather” issue. It’s the issue in between grand adventures that slows down the pace for a minute and let’s you explore some of Conan’s character traits and lets his personality do most of the heavy lifting, story-wise. Hey, it’s Roy Thomas writing Conan. Thank you again, Dark Horse!

The Strain #1
Story by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Script by David Lapham
Art by Mike Huddleston
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Clem Robins
Covers by Mike Huddleston, Steve Morris
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: December 14, 2011
Cover Price: $1.00

Amazing story, wicked plot, gorgeous art. There, that is my review of The Strain #1… no, seriously. It is that good. Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan wrote an excellent book and David Lapham did a very worthy adaptation for comic form. Add to that mix some great art from Mike Huddleston and you have the making of a stellar comic. No matter what your bag, this has something for you. This is a vampire tale that defies what you may have read in other comics or books. This takes a very modern view of the supernatural.

Orchid #2
Written by Tom Morello
Art by Scott Hepburn
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 9, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Orchid #2 appears to reiterate a bit of the information that we learned in the first issue, but goes a bit deeper into the background of why things are the way they are. Writer Tom Morello obviously has a grander vision than I first imagined. I find myself interested in the history of this future Earth. Hopefully more on that front as the series progresses.

We find Orchid in the slave pits this issue, still resigned to her fate. With her younger brother in tow, she tries to avoid Simon as he rants like a madman. Simon, though, has other plans. Plotting an escape, he manages to arrange their sale to a wealthy buyer. Once started, they cannot turn back no matter how dangerous things get. A surprise twist at the end involving the Mask of General China sets up the next issue quite nicely.

Conan: Road of Kings #10
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Dan Panosian
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover by Aleksi Briclot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 16th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

This month’s issue of Conan: Road of Kings has both its hits and misses. Unfortunately, it goes to extremes. When it hits, it hits hard and when it misses, it misses big. Part of me will always give this book the benefit of the doubt, because it’s Roy Thomas writing Conan, and you can’t really get much better than that, right?

Legendary Conan writer Roy Thomas handles Conan: Road of Kings #10, I feel, as if he really wasn’t sure where it was going when he started writing it. As a result, there is a LOT of politics involved in this issue, and they stand out like a sore thumb. Kind of like the endless scenes in the Star Wars prequels that take place in the Galactic Senate. About 30 seconds into them, you just want to roll your eyes and yell “WHO CARES?!?!?!?”. I got the same feeling from the political “intrigue” in this issue.

Star Wars: Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #2
Written by Mick Harrison
Art by Douglas Wheatley
Colors Dan Jackson
Letters Michael Heisler
Cover by Pablo Correa
Dark Horse Comics
Release Dat: September 7, 2011
Cover Price: $2.99

One of the most original Star Wars comic titles in recent years is Dark Times. For those of you who haven’t read this series, let me lay down the background. The story takes place in the time period between the prequel Star Wars trilogy and the original Star Wars trilogy. The story of this book has Darth Vader trying to track down an assassin who killed a prisoner he was trying to interrogate about the location of former Jedi Knight Dass Jennir. Jennir’s former crew members are trying to find him with the help of another Jedi named Beyghor Sahdett, which leads them to attack an Imperial holding facility to find out where Jennir is, they find out Jennir has left the planet. When we see Jennir he has be stranded on a desert moon with a companion who is a lair and a cheat. But little do they know they are also being tracked by the same assassin who thwarted Vader.