Free Comic Book Day 2025 - Conan: Scourge Of The Serpent

My Rating

“Prelude: A Simple Steal”

Conan has traded the endless wilderness for the gritty streets of Numalia. Better to grow fat off the wealth of decadent merchants and high society than starve serving honorless mercenary captains. Welcome to Nemedia, Conan. Tonight’s course? The manor house of the governor’s own nephew, Aztrias Petanius.

Unfortunately, a lavish home does not guarantee a bulging treasury. The young nobleman has little worth stealing, but he does have a proposition. Within the nearby establishment of Kallian Publico rests a valuable Zamorian goblet. If Conan can slip inside and claim the prize, the two can split the proceeds. A simple enough arrangement. What could possibly go wrong?

What the Cimmerian doesn’t realize is that his night of thievery will entangle him in events reaching across both past and future. There are sinister forces at work here, and their influence extends far beyond the streets of Numalia. In the distant Thurian Age, Brule the Spear-Slayer approaches Valusia and its king, Kull. Thousands of years into Conan’s future, occult investigator John Kirowan faces another piece of the same serpentine puzzle.

Three ages. Three paths into the coils of Set. Conan came looking for enough coin to fill his belly and keep the wine flowing. Instead, he is about to stumble into a nightmare that has had centuries to sharpen its fangs.

“Swords, Sorcery, and Serpents!”

Jeffrey Shanks introduces readers to Robert E. Howard’s world of swordplay and sinister sorcery in “Swords, Sorcery, and Serpents!” However, Conan is only one part of this sprawling playground. From Kull of Atlantis to occult investigator John Kirowan, Howard’s characters inhabit a shared continuity stretching across thousands of years. Different ages, different heroes, and plenty of ancient evil to go around.

Shanks then explores the three Howard stories forming the foundation of Scourge of the Serpent: “The God in the Bowl,” “The Shadow Kingdom,” and “The Haunter of the Ring.” A murder mystery in Numalia, serpent-men threatening Kull’s throne, and a cursed ring surviving into the 1930s. What ties these nightmares together? The influence of Set and sorcery that refuses to die with its original practitioners. Apparently, a few thousand years does little to spoil a perfectly good curse.

Along the way, Shanks covers the stories’ publication history and Howard’s connection to H. P. Lovecraft’s brand of horror. Thankfully, Howard’s investigators are willing to confront the things lurking in the darkness. This is a useful introduction to the literary roots beneath Jim Zub’s latest adventure.

Review

Somehow, I forgot about this Free Comic Book Day Prelude when it was released. It wasn’t until I was filing other books away in my Relic library that I rediscovered it. Well, better late than never. What else have I buried in those boxes?

Jim Zub’s writing and Ivan Gil’s artwork are top notch reminders of the good old days. A young Conan looking for easy coin, decadent nobles protecting their own interests, and sinister sorcery waiting around the corner. This is the kind of sword and sorcery that keeps me coming back. Add Jeffrey Shanks’ article for a little historical context, and there is plenty here to enjoy. All this in a free comic book? Crom would approve! I give this Prelude four out of five stars.