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The Cimmerian in The Man-Eaters of Zamboula #1

Ablaze Publishing

By Steven LeitmanPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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The Cimmerian in The Man-Eaters of Zamboula #1

Ablaze Publishing 2021

Written & Illustrated by Gess

Lettered by Dezi Sienty

The Cimmerian in the land of a thousand and one nights!

A crossroads of beliefs, languages and cultures, the mythical trading city of Zamboula is also the scene of many dark legends. Upon paying the city a visit, Conan is warned of the dangers of Aram Baksh's home. It is said that most of the foreigners who stay there disappear under obscure circumstances...and it is precisely there that the Cimmerian is spending the night. But by lifting the veil on these mysterious cases of kidnappings, the Cimmerian will discover another secret, even more terrible, linked to the whole city of Zamboula…

I am in love with this series and in all honesty this is the best Conan book we’ve had in the Western World past and present combined. By series I mean every arc that’s come out thus far so call it a series or a franchise or whatnot but it’s been able to do what the others haven’t been able to do and that’s make me a die-hard Conan fan. Also that we’ve seen the creator do it all has been nothing short of stunning on a massive scale.

I love the way that th is 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 presented exceedingly well. 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 they encounter flesh the characters out in some really magnificent ways. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, the characters and the part of the world they are in we’re drawn in for obvious reasons and left engaged long after closing the book.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being structured as well as how the layers within the story emerge and grow. The layers contain avenues that we see emerging and not all of them work with the main arc as some simply swirl around it and either way they add depth, complexity and dimension to the story. The way everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as as well as how it moves the story forward is beautifully achieved.

The interior artwork here is gorgeous! The linework is sensational as it’s clean and crisp and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create this quality of detail work is astounding. Oh goodness the backgrounds are fabulous and now only do they enhance the moments but how they 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 is marvellous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is brilliantly rendered. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is so beautiful to see.

I love that in my humble opinion I see misdirection and intrigue happening within these pages. Men, well straight men, have a habit of seeing a beautiful woman and thinking with their other head and well Conan is famous for his rousing lust of the fairer sex and I think its clouding his judgement. I may wrong, but for all I know I may be right, but it just may be a lunatic we’re looking for. I’m looking forward to where this is going to go next because I am thoroughly engaged and invested in this story thanks to this magnificent writing and mind numbing interiors.

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About the Creator

Steven Leitman

Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.

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