Conan the Barbarian #79

Conan issue number 79 starts a three-issue "side quest" that sends him on action-packed exploits to a secret city without his girlfriend, Belit. Conan finally gets a break from her jealous complaining!

After about 20 issues of Belit's nagging, I began to hope that someone or something would feed her to crocodiles. The series is called "Conan the Barbarian", not "Conan and Belit." I appreciate that Thomas and crew explored her personality more than Howard did in the short story, The Queen of the Black Coast, but seriously... can we be done with her already? Surely Conan wouldn't mind if she twisted an ankle and accidentally found herself crushed under a wagon by now...

The Lost Valley of Iskander, based on a Robert E. Howard story, marks the beginning of a five-issue run by guest artist Howard Chaykin, who must have felt some immense pressure filling "Big" John Buscema's shoes. Chaykin is a good illustrator, but Buscema's Conan run is unbeatable, and immediately the reader feels like something is missing on the first page. It's good, but it's not John. (That's how I felt, at least.)

That being said, I enjoy issue 79 and this three-issue story arc, and highly recommend it, especially if you just slogged through the past year of Conan comics, which are great, but, at the same time, exhausting. Does anyone really care if Belit finds her father? No. We want to see Conan eviscerate snake monsters after wallowing in his own vomit from an evening of boozing and wenching. We don't want to see Conan getting yelled at by Belit for oggling cleavage, which he does frequently.

A Tale of Two Eyeballs

Like usual, this issue starts off with a good deal of complete nonsense. Conan gets screwed over by his guide in the mountains, kills him, and then it cuts to some back story where we learn about a bizarre ritual where the city of Harakht trades the "Eye of Set" for its twin in the city of Attalus. Conan accepts the mission, leaves Belit behind, and treks off into the mountains beneath the watchful glare of a one-eyed sorcerer named Hun-Ya-Di.

Flash forward to the mountains, where Conan now finds himself under attack by numerous assailants. He pulls a James Bond move and kills most of them in an avalanche before running into an injured, half-naked, beautiful woman named Bardylis trapped beneath a rock. Oh no, but what about jealous Belit? I'm surprised Conan didn't text her permission to save Bardylis (which she would have declined, of course, because she's an asshole.)

Despite the lack of Buscema's penciling mastery, this is a great read. My favorite part is when Conan clocks a bad guy in the face with a rock while scaling a cliff. Classic Conan!

Of course, Conan and his new blonde companion end up in the hard-to-reach mysterious city of Attalus, which has some connection to Alexander the Great that makes little sense, but whatever.

While I really miss Buscema's touch, I also appreciate this issue's change of pace and different style. Marvel includes an explanation for Buscema's absence in the "Hyperian Page" letters section, which reads like an apology. I feel bad for Chaykin, because his work is very good! Aided by Ernie Chan's capable inking, this reads like a classic 1970s Conan, and a good one at that. His panels are rich with detail and flow nicely, but the action and anatomy aren't up to what readers may expect after Buscema's lengthy run. How does one follow the Michelangelo of comics?

There's also a great letter in the Hyborian Page that praises the excellent Conan #75 and John's artwork during the battle scenes. Additionally, it's nice to see that someone else hates word balloons on covers as much as I do. Don't sleep on Conan #79, and make sure to read the Hyborian Page for this issue!

Review written by Mark Bussler, October 14, 2025.

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