Arvid Nelson

Arvid Nelson returns to the original Robert E. Howard stories to build a 21st-century Kull comic that far outshines its 1970s Marvel predecessor. Certainly, Will Conrad's art benefits from the improvements in comics production: full-process color and finer printing throughout, with compositions planned for glossy white pages instead of newsprint. But writer Nelson does an altogether better job of adapting the seminal REH piece "The Shadow Kingdom." A few examples: Nelson adds an artful scene show more in the Room of Kings in the Tower of Splendor, both to provide background for the later appearance of King Eallal's ghost, and to serve as a setting to articulate the "Kull ... the fool!" mutterings which are here ambiguously attributable to Kull's animated conscience (as in the REH original) or to lurking serpent priests. Also, where the Marvel writers chose to interpret the REH statement that Kull "had never known ... the love of women" by simply avoiding any attention to Kull's sexual consciousness, Nelson chooses the more sophisticated approach of representing the king in a frosty political marriage. Finally, this newer version returns to Kull's companion Brule a critical pronouncement during the climactic confrontation with a mass of monsters disguised as the king's councilors.

The distinctive facial scar that characterized the Marvel Kull is abandoned here, but several panels show Kull's massively scarred back -- no doubt a legacy of his widely-rumored time as a galley slave. The Pict warrior Brule really looks fierce in these comics, while he often looked somewhat silly in the old Marvel numbers. Likewise, Conrad captures the joviality of the Pictish ambassador Ka-nu much better than the Severins ever did. The Serpent Men are altogether more inhuman and menacing, and Valusia itself seems more monumental and ancient than it did in the rather medieval Marvel vision. There is plenty of gore, in keeping with the spirit of the REH original, and an appropriately dark tone pervades the stories.

The new version of "The Shadow Kingdom" forms the central bulk of this volume, complemented by a warm-up "The Iron Fortress" and the epilogue "The Eye of Terror." My only complaint about the adaptation was that the very last panel of "The Shadow Kingdom" proper (less than an eighth of the page at the lower right) was a mildly humorous undercutting of the heavy finish of this somber tale. Even so, it did "work" narratively in the larger plot frame that Nelson had constructed in order to expand on Howard's original.

REH scholar Mark Finn provides a foreword here, as he does for the Dark Horse reprint of the early Marvel Kull stories. But where he focuses on the comics in the Marvel case, this essay is really trained on Howard and the genesis of the Kull character. Likewise, a concluding essay by Nelson reflects on the character and his relationship to the better-known and more "successful" Conan, explaining distinctions between them and his preference for the former. show less

This amusing alternate history fantasy picks up the pace. Dr Sauniére continues his investigations, now working for the Inquisition. The Duke of Lorraine continues his mad plans to seize the throne by causing a global war. The mystery of the holy grail deepens and moves into heretical territory. The story moves along but there were a couple of minor irritants for me. First is the chopping and changing of artists throughout the book. I am sure this was unavoidable but the graphic differences show more are jarring. The second thing is something which also annoyed me in volume 2: instead of piecing together the mystery himself, Sauniére is increasingly led by the nose to discover the next clue by a mysterious robed figure who happens to be in the right place at the right time. The conspiracy and mystery surrounding the Holy Grail is penetrated not by deduction and determination, but by this mysterious figure laying it out; a tour guide, with Sauniére and Tournon just along for the ride. show less

This is a fun collection of stories about various Batman villains, as told by the Joker. The fact that Joker is telling these stories places the veracity of these tales in question, given his long history of lying and manipulation, but that does not make them any less entertaining to read.

This story start in an alternate world where the U.S. Civil War ended in stalemate, and most of the European powers are still colonial powers, Europe is on the verge of war. And did we mention sorcery works and the Catholic Church has a strong grip on society? Yes, all that and more. The story is a quest to uncover the truth about a murder and a stolen scroll, which lead to what appears to be some secret society.

For people who like alternate history stories, they will definitely enjoy this show more tale. There are conspiracies and secrets, so I suppose people who like things like The DaVinci Code may like this, though this is a lot better written and plotted than that piece of tripe. The art brings the story and the details of the Paris of this time to life. There is much close attention to detail. The details of the alternate world are very rich, and the intriguing story pulls you in. The only small detail, which may irk some readers, are some segments between chapters, in the form of newspapers, which on the one hand interrupt the flow of the story. On the other, this is where you get a lot of the glimpses of the alternate world as well as more connection to the story. So, I leave it to readers to decide if they like the technique or not. I thought it was ok, especially reading some of the small articles on the Confederate States. Overall, this is an excellent series. I will be looking for more. show less