I came across this volume quite by accident. While I am a fan of modern Conan comics and graphic novels, earlier versions, particularly those from 1970's, were always a little bit .... bombast would be the word. Dont get me wrong, I appreciate comics and I dont seek for realism but in original tales Conan was frightening presence, who did not talk much but let his sword talk instead.

So all if the bombast, growling and teeth barring just was not my cup of tea.

Until this issue. Yes there are (melo)dramatic poses and growling and teeth barring but most importantly there is story. And what a story, one of the best pulp fiction sword and sorcery I read in a while. I especially liked the multi issue final story originally starring Conan-like character.

All in all excellent collection. Story is excellent. Art is magnificent - I especially like the colors. Usually black and whites are more to my liking but here coloring was done in astonishing way. All the penciling and black and whites can clearly be seen and are enriched with beautiful color palette. Just beautiful.

Highly recommended to all Conan and especially sword-and-sorcery stories. ( )

I enjoyed most of these stories quite a bit, all of them some. The return of Red Sonja was entertaining, and I particularly enjoyed the dialogue between Conan and Sonja regarding her philosophy of life - something I believe can only endure in fiction.

The middle single issue story was also entertaining, but it fell apart a bit for me near the end.

The last story, which encompasses multiple issues was the most enjoyable to me. It has both a quest built in, with several side stories that happen. The last issue is the weakest in my opinion, as the story seems to veer from the material established, and also the character of Conan to some extent. Roy explains this a bit in the essay in the back (not directly, just that the whole story was adapted from a non-Conan story, and was held to quite well, hence the character diverges a bit near the end).

Overall, good art and an entertaining set of stories. ( )

The stories in this one were all of reasonable quality, though it has become fairly clear that Roy Thomas has basically run out of material written by Howard at this point -- or is saving a few choice morsels for later. The first story had Red Sonja and Conan captured by vampire sorcerers who wanted to use them for breeding stock. It was quite a good tale and quite horrific in parts. The bulk of the rest of the volume involved a lengthy quest to save a damsel whose life was connected to that of a weird sorcerer. The tale involved shape-shifting women and even more sorcerers. I probably should have reviewed this one closer to the date I finished it, as now the details fade from my mind. ( )