Titan Comics has revived the black and white newsprint Savage Sword of Conan, and this first issue is well worth your $6.99.

Beginning with an introduction by Roy Thomas about the history of the title (and teasing his involvement in future titles), Savage Sword kicks off for good with the epic “Conan and the Dragon Horde” by John Arcudi and Max von Fafner. This story is filled with classic Conan themes like greed, lust, and fear of the unknown as Conan’s mercenary gig turns into a hellish nightmare. Von Fafner brings the blood, gore, and big animals using cutting diagonal panels for the more powerful fight scenes. The story has kind of a road trip format taking us to exotic and dangerous places in the Hyborian Age, and there’s some romance too with Conan having searing chemistry with siege weapons engineer Ineah.

This dragon/dinosaur slaying yarn is followed by a prose flash fiction story from Jim Zub that is heavy on adjectives, but redeems itself through visceral action sequences and pointed commentary about religious fanaticism through Conan’s conflict with the Stygians.

As well as Conan, Savage Sword features the first part of a Solomon Kane serial from Patrick Zircher and a companion essay from Jeffrey Shanks that sets up this lesser known character’s role in pop culture. The Conan story is definitely more engaging, and the Solomon Kane serial leads off with a lot of info dumping about Welsh folklore and mythology before turning into a monster story. I definitely enjoy Zircher’s black and white work here than his work for Marvel and DC especially his use of shadow when the mysterious Gawr takes a family’s livestock.

All in all, Savage Sword of Conan #1 is a worthy return of this title and a showcase of gorgeous sword and sorcery visuals paired with insightful arcs for Conan and Solomon Kane.

Story: John Arcudi, Roy Thomas, Jim Zub, Patch Zircher, Jeffrey Shanks
Art: Max von Fafner, Joe Jusko, Patch Zircher, Roberto De La Torre, Rebeca Puebla, Gerardo Zaffino, Howard Chaykin
Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy

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Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle