Conan the Barbarian #75

Conan, Bêlit, and the slave girl Neftha travel south down the River Styx to the Stygian city of Harakht, city of the Hawk God. Of course, no journey in a Conan the Barbarian book is without danger, and this time danger comes from above!

As the cover promises, hawk riders attack Conan's party from the skies, and shower his crew with arrows, sending many of them into the water where they are eaten by crocodiles (known as River-Dragons!) I, for one, am not saddened by the loss of his crew. The River-Dragons need to eat, so long as they don't eat Conan, which of course they don't because he grabs a shield and fights back against his avian aggressors.

The capable hawk riders are too many, and one of them snatches Conan's girlfriend, Bêlit, and flies away. For the record, at this point in the Conan saga, I find Bêlit to be a needy bore and am happy to see her hauled off by a giant bird. Conan, however, does not agree. He goes berserk, "jacks" a hawk, and knife-fights its rider as they fly through the sky. It's great!

John Buscema in his prime

Annoyingly, this issue is over before it even gets started because Buscema's mastery of drawing birds and aerial combat sucks the reader in and doesn't let go until Conan finally lands in the muck... where he then battles a River-Dragon to the death.

Let's be honest, we don't read Conan because it's Shakespeare. We read Conan to watch him rip the bowels out of monsters and wench his way through Aquilonia. This issue delivers, but it's so fast.

I found myself reading it two or three times because I still can't imagine how Buscema and Ernie Chan drew all of this stuff in the days before computers. It's a remarkable read, even if Thomas' words are few and far between.

The ending panel is marvelous and sets the stage for the next issue, titled Vengeance is Mine. Clearly, Conan needs to rescue Bêlit, but at what cost... and why? Doesn't he find her annoying by now? Pretty, yes, but she's so clingy and constantly jealous! He should thank the hawk riders for doing him a favor.

Collecting Conan the Barbarian #75

Conan #75 will set you back a dollar or two, or maybe five dollars, depending on the condition. The cover is great, and the interior features the usual collection of junky 1970s ads about prizes, bodybuilding, and Grit magazine. My personal favorite ad is the one about "getting a career in locksmithing!"

Contact your local comic book store and see if they have a Conan issue 75 lying around in a bin somewhere. They probably do. It's awesome.

Review written by Mark Bussler, October 2, 2025.

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