The Cimmerian in Beyond The Black River #1

The Cimmerian in Beyond The Black River #1

Ablaze Publishing 2021

Written by Mathieu Gabella

Adapted from Robert E. Howard

Illustrated by Anthony Jean

Lettered by Dezi Sienty

The Picte country is an obscure jungle where the border between civilization and barbarism is thin. Only one thing symbolizes it: the Black River, which it is claimed that no white man was able to cross and come back alive. None, except Conan. It is in the heart of this green hell that the Cimmerian meets Balthus, a young voluntary peasant whom he saves at the last minute from the clutches of fierce Pictish warriors. Together, they will try to lend a hand to the colonists who have established themselves here, on these hostile lands, in the last bastion of civilization. With a dozen men, they will have to find the powerful sorcerer Zogar Sag before he succeeds in uniting the clans and initiating his bloody invasion…

Could this be the story I’ve been waiting for? Conan meets a man on the trail and the two strike up something akin to a friendship and who knows maybe we’ll see them have sex too, that would be my ideal situation since it really wasn’t taboo it was just not shown. Regardless this one promises to be one heck of a story and with this kind of start to it, it well it really excites the heck out of me.

I am in love with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is exquisitely rendered. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job of bringing their personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages introducing us to the story, the characters and this part of the world we are drawn in like Alice Through the Looking Glass.

I adore how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge, grow and strengthen. The layers do a magnificent job in opening the avenues in the story and while some will be and are being explored others won’t be and regardless they all bring this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it helps move the story forward is impeccably achieved.

The interiors are positively breathtaking. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality in the attention to detail is absolutely striking. The backgrounds are mindbogglingly brilliant and to see the forest or jungle the way we do is simply magnificent and they not only enhance and expand the moments but feel like a character in its own right. They also work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works. The way we see the depth and dimension in the trees, leaves and everything else is just mind numbing in how much scope and importance they add to the story.

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This is some of the strongest and best storytelling that you are going to see. The writing is utterly staggeringly brilliant and the characterisation is solid and interesting while the interiors will blow you away with how utterly magnificent they are. The creativity and imagination that we see within these pages are some of the most stunning moments to be had and there’s something on every single page that will leave you slack jawed.