Conan the Barbarian #36 - Video Review by ComicBook.beer

Welcome back to ComicBook.beer where the 70s are back and not just because of this beautiful wallpaper, but also because it's Conan the Barbarian issue number 36 from 1973 the fury of the stone god though now I'm suspicious of these covers because after this issue if I took a look at this one we learned that she doesn't even exist in this book.

She's not real, not like, you know, Conan and the monsters or whatever. So, um, do they just make her up, or is she even in this issue? She is, though I do not think she actually gets crushed by the stone god. Let's take a look here. She might get crushed by Conan a couple times. Beware of the here... Beware the... Beware the assholes bearing gifts. That's what they are.

John Buscema, artist on this one. Once again, I'm nerding out on his art and Gil Kane these days. And this is a great issue. And I know I say that about a lot of Conan's, but like this era is really good. And this one's tons of fun. For starters, Conan rides into town, and he's just covered in filth. It looks like he threw up all over himself. The color choices are kind of weird in this one. I'm not sure if that's just because it's so old. Maybe the colors have changed over time, or if they just made some interesting color choices. I don't know. Anyway, Conan rides into town. He's been on a mission. He was hired by this guy. I forget his name. I just call him Fatty Sideburns. Alright, that guy's name is Naram Bay. That's what it is. I thought it was King Yildiz, but that's who sends the, it doesn't matter.

What’s important is that the beer I was drinking in the opening shots is the Bigger Hop from East End Brewing. It's delicious, but that beer is like jet fuel. It's the kind of beer Conan would drink. And if it's good enough for Conan, it's good enough for you. Here, this is uh Naram Bey's girlfriend, Amethyst, all right? Amethyst. She has her eyes on Conan when he shows up in town, Conan passes out. Because he's weary and he's covered in vomit. His skin changes color. He's got a serious sunburn. And uh she's apparently really into guys who are covered in barf who smell like probably months of B.O. and stale beer and wenches. But it is Conan's book after all. You know, she's into Conan. So she does have him cleaned off though. maybe the vomit's too much for her.

So she has her ladies take care of Conan in her quarters. And while they're busy bathing, Emmy wakes up in the middle of it and breaks her arm. An asshole move, Conan. I love the expression Buscema gives him there. The artwork is so much fun in this book. This is one of these issues you can just read over and over again. And Conan really doesn't have to say much because...

Well, she's, you know, she's pretty into him, as it turns out, he's into her. So Naram Bey, I guess, has been busy conquering. His son is off conquering. That's what the whole deal is. His son sends this statue. And like the one kingdom has this part of the statue and this other kingdom they're conquering or something has the head of the statue, and if they combine the two, then obviously he'll be unstoppable. He's an idiot because if they combine the two you know it's going to come alive and kill everybody because it's on the cover of the comic book and that happens in like every other issue of Conan.

I love these 70s books. The older issues that are just packed with panels. Buscema was just so damn good. Like every panel looks incredible. Lots of dialogue. They're very rich with detail.

So Conan takes a break from getting laid long enough to practice fighting with bow and arrow. This great spread here, it's really very cool. Incredible artwork, his skin changes color in that page, over this page. Conan returns, continues to get some ass. I'm sick and tired of my job getting ass, apparently. That's Conan's job in this issue.

Obviously, they attach the head and the thing comes alive and we learned that there's a priest who's actually controlling it, there's like some subterfuge in the background. Conan tries to fight this thing and well, it doesn't go well. So there's literally like three pages of non‑action action if you get my drift. And I'm not gonna give away the ending because you should read these books. They're great, but I do love the artwork in this one. This spread is awesome, not just because it's well drawn and because Conan's badass and the layout's great, but because there's a moral message here about practice and dedication, were it not for the fact that Conan practiced his axe throwing, he would have died at the end of this issue. And that would have made Amethyst sad.