Description

The Chronicles of King Conan: The Witch of the Mists and other Stories – Volume 1                 Trade Paperback
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artists: John Buscema, Ernie Chan & Danny Bulanadi
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editors: Patrick Thorpe, Katie Moody & Dave Land
Cover by: John Buscema & Ernie Chan

Conan is king! Join Conan, king of Aquilonia, his queen Zenobia, and their son Conn in this comics adaptation of L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, and Björn Nyberg’s stories “The Witch of the Mists,” “Black Sphinx of Nebthu,” “Red Moon of Zembabwei,” “Shadows in the Skull,” and “The Ring of Rakhamon”! Written by master comics scribe Roy Thomas and illustrated by the unparalleled John Buscema, King Conan collects issues of the early ’80s series originally published by Marvel Comics. King Conan is based on a series of five short stories by Robert E. Howard, originally published in Weird Tales.

Story/Spoilers
In part #1, “The Witch of the Mists”, Conan has taken Prospero on an expedition through the forests of Aquilonia, but the young lad has run ahead of the group and gotten lost. Conan, at first confident that his son will find his way back and learn a valuable lesson in the bargain, soon becomes agitated and begins to search in earnest. Meanwhile, his son has spotted and is chasing a white stag, who, when Conn is drawn far enough away from the Aquilonians, turns into a grey-haired crone who demands Conn yield, sending ivory masked, lanky, grey humans to grab him the boy draws his sword and attacks. Though Conn manages to slit the throat of one of them, the men manage to subdue him eventually though, and take him away. Later, Conan’s chief huntsman Euric spots an ivory mask and Conn’s falchion. A search finds the body of a Hyperborean, the one Conn killed. They follow the trail, though all know it is a trap, and find a letter written to Conan in blood attached to Conn’s javelin. The letter tells him to go alone to Pohiola, the capital of Hyperborea. His men return to ready the army to invade Hyperborea as Conan heads through the Border Kingdoms and Hyperborea. For three days he travels, following the marks of white hands-on rocks and trees until he is set upon by a band of cannibalistic beast men in the Great Salt Marsh. They overwhelm Conan and knock him out. Meanwhile, Conn is brought to a castle and shackled to a wall in the great hall. After a bit, a group of Hyperboreans brings in another prisoner and slit his throat over a flaming brazier as the grey-haired crone looks on and greets the man summoned by the sacrifice – Thoth-Amon. Miles away, Conan awakens wondering how he is still alive, but realizes that the cannibals were run off by whoever is leaving a trail for him to follow – the Hyperboreans want him alive. Finally, he makes his way to the border of Hyperborea, which is guarded by the giant skull of an ancient mammoth, and from there Pohiola, where he, unmolested, walks directly to the castle and throne room, where he sees the crone, Louhi. She tells him Thoth-Amon wants him immediately slain, but she wonders if Conan will be useful. Conan refuses to talk until he sees Conn, and he is led to a pit and let down inside. Father and son reunite, and Conn tells Conan what he has learned. Thoth-Amon has joined a group of other wizards representing the White Hand and the Scarlet Circle who intend to invade the western kingdoms, though Louhi has plans to possibly use Conan to betray Thoth-Amon. Later, Conan and Conn are taken to a council of the wizard leaders, which in addition to Louhi and Thoth-Amon includes Pra-Eun of the Scarlet Circle and Nenaunir, a shaman of Damballah (Set) from Zimbabwei. Nenaunir wonders aloud why Thoth-Amon is so frightened of Conan, and Louhi commands one of her Hyperborean soldiers to fight Conan to see how worthy he is, but Conan easily defeats the masked Hyperborean and tosses him at the brazier and into Louhi. In a panic, Pra-Eun tries to scramble away but trips over his throne and falls into the spreading pool of fire himself. Conan attacks the shocked Hyperboreans but when he turns to Thoth-Amon, the wizard vanishes in a cloud of green smoke, as does Nenaunir. Conan spies Louhi’s burned and lifeless body but is surprised to see Pra-Eun emerge from the flames and, using magic, paralyzes Conan as the fire draws closer. Suddenly, an arrow pierces Pra-Eun’s throat – the Aquilonians have arrived! Euric has killed Pra-Eun as he and Prospero lead their troops into the castle. Conan and Conn are rescued, and the fire destroys the entire capital as the Aquilonians make their way home.

Next in part #2, “The Black Sphinx of Nabthu”, Zingara is without ruler, and Duke Pantho of Guarralid is marching into the territory, but he inexplicably turns his charge into Aquilonia where he faces the forces of Conan and is slain. Conan discusses the situation with General Pallantides that night in his tent and comes to the conclusion that the sorcerers of Stygia are behind Pantho’s erratic behavior. The camp is aroused by the arrival of Diviatix, a druid from Pictland, who bears a message from the Lords of Light, and of Conan’s acquaintances Chabela and Olivero of Zingara, who Conan elevates to King and Queen of Zingara. Making his way to Stygia, Conan pacifies some of the outlying territories and meets with more of his forces and his son Conn on the border, who confirms that the priests of Mitra have brought with them an artifact at Conan’s request. Conan discusses his suspicions that Thoth-Amon is manipulating events, and they march into Stygia on the way to Nebthu, a ruined and crumbling city dominated by a fortress carved into the shape of a hyena. The army makes camp, but Conan is unable to sleep, and finds Trocero and Conn likewise restless. Soon they are joined by Diviatix and Pallantides and Conn notices a pair of footprints heading from the camp. Conan suspects a spy, and they follow the tracks to the base of the sphinx-like hyena. They find a hidden door and descend into an entire underground city, and in a great amphitheater, Thoth-Amon himself sits on a throne surrounded by hundreds of robed Stygians. Thoth-Amon taunts Conan, saying that his camp is even now under seige, and indeed, Pallantides is leading the men in a valiant effort against the overwhelming ambush. Below in the city, Thoth-Amon shows off his powers by heating Trocero’s sword to burning, but Conan, unworried, calls Diviatix forward, whose very appearance frightens the Stygians. Diviatix releases great bursts of white energy that plow into the Stygians. Thoth-Amon rallies them, though, and together, scores of dark energy bolts lance into Diviatix, but Conan reveals what his priests have brought, the mystical Heart of Ahriman, a red gem that when given to Diviatix magnifies his powers exponentially and the Stygians burst into flame. Thoth-Amon flees but not before he unleashes a giant, demonic hyena on the Aquilonians. The small band flees and emerges from the giant structure into the midst of the Stygian army. They quickly hide as the beast bursts forth and, finding itself surrounded by humans, goes into a frenzy of slaughter, wiping out nearly the entire army as the sun rises, at which point it skulks back into the giant building carved in its shape. The stunned Aquilonians celebrate and Diviatix reveals a vision that Thoth-Amon has headed to Zimbabwei. The druid casts runes into Conan’s sword and the king rallies the army to march south to confront Thoth-Amon once and for all.

Next in part #3, “Red Moon of Zembabwei”, The Aquilonian army trudges through the swamps of southern Punt on the way to Zembabwei. As they finally emerge, Pallantides and Trocero wish the druid Diviatix traveled with them instead of returning to Pictland. At camp that night, the troops are attacked by men riding winged wyverns, and though the arrows of the Aquilonians take their toll, one rider does manage to knock Conan out and his wyvern carries Conan and Conn off. The beasts fly through the night and drop the two off in a giant walled city where they are greeted by an army of Zembabwans and Thoth-Amon. The wizard is ready to kill the two but is stopped by Nenaunir. Thoth-Amon acquiesces to his partner but is surprised when the shaman ends his alliance with Thoth-Amon, declaring he will the rule the world himself. Nenaunir declares the prisoners will be executed on the next Red Moon, twelve days hence and sends them to the dungeons where they meet Nenaunir’s chained twin Mbega. Mbega explains that for generations, their people were ruled by twins until Nenaunir fell in with the demonic Damballah (also known as Set) cult, the country would have fallen into civil war if Mbega hadn’t selflessly surrendered. Nenaunir could not kill his brother without triggering an unstoppable succession, so he flogged and imprisoned Mbega, though he still has loyalists in the city. Ten days later, Pallantides and Trocero spy on the walled city where their king was taken. They realize any type of frontal assault is impossible, and decide to send in Murzio, an acquaintance of Conan who had some training in the arts of thievery. Murzio successfully makes his ways into the city and after several days finds Conan’s cell but is unable to pick the possibly enchanted lock. Conan takes Murzio’s knife and directs him to release Mbega, which he is able to do, and asks Mbega to have his followers rise up and throw open the south gates to Conan’s army. Conan and Conn are taken to a deep pit in front of a giant marble carving of Damllah/Set in serpent form. As the moon begins to be covered with a red mist, Conan breaks free of his rusty shackles. None of the villagers react, to Conan’s surprise, although he understands as the mists begin to coalesce into a serpent form – Damballah himself. Conan sets Conn free as the serpent embraces him, but attacks back with the secreted knife. He can’t last long against a god, though, and soon finds himself being crushed in the coils of the serpent. Conn grabs the fallen knife, and attacks Nenaunir, while Thoth-Amon, who could have stopped the boy, stoically stands aside. Conn plunges the knife into Nenaunir’s heart, breaking the summoning spell. Nenaunir’s men grab Conn as Damballah fades back into mists, but at that moment Mbega’s partisans and Conan’s army bursts into the courtyard, quickly taking command while Thoth-Amon flies away on a wyvern. Conan, regaining his senses, already sets plan to chase him south.

Next in part #4, “Shadows in the Skull”, Conan and Mbega watch as the priest Rimush attempts to commune with the spirits to find the location of Thoth-Amon. He is able to say the wizard is south, near a waterfall and a giant skull, but suddenly dies. Conan prepares to head south, taking with him Mbega’s best troops and Amazons who have arrived from his old ally Queen Nzinga and led by her daughter, also called Nzinga. Pallantides is too injured to make the trip, although he gives Conan the idea to use the wyverns along with Nzinga’s army. Flying south, they find a cave entrance in the form of a giant skull, but a magical barrier shocks the the wyverns into falling from the sky. Conan manages to control his descent, though two of his comrades die. When the survivors get their bearings, Conn points out a large golden temple against the mountain side and the procession of women that are emerging to greet them. Conan takes half of his men into the temple for a three-day party in their honor thrown by Queen Lilit. As the women seduce the men one by one, Conan is drugged into a slumber. Luckily, Conn sees that the reflection of the girl he has wandered off with is of a serpent-man and kills her. Meanwhile, Lilit prepares to stab Conan but is stopped by Thoth-Anon, who wants to kill Conan himself. Their argument ends with the arrival of Trocero, Princess, Nzinga, and their armies, and Lilit is quickly slain. They watch in horror as the body turns into a serpent-man right before her eyes, and the rest of Lilit’s people shift to their true forms and attack. In the ensuing melee, Thoth-Amon spirits Conan’s unconscious body away, preparing to sacrifice him to Set, but Conan revives and leaps at the wizard, the two engaging in a battle both spiritual and physical, until suddenly Thoth-Amon shrieks and falls dead, stabbed by Conn, who had followed. Thoth-Amon’s body crumbles to dust, and Conan takes his magical serpent ring and throws it into a nearby river. Father and son return to the cave to assist in the vanquishing of the serpent-men.

Finally in part #5, “The Ring of Rakhamon”, A cloaked wizard communes with a demonic form while Conan throws a royal ball for his newlywed wife Zenobia, but when she goes to get a breath of fresh air on the balcony, a winged demon swoops in and carries her away. An infuriated Conan immediately sets out for Khoraja to seek out mystical help from Pelias of Koth. When the spy Marinus takes the news to the criminal Ghander-Chen, he sends word to King Yezdigerd that Conan will be traveling alone. When Conan arrives at the desert city, he is tricked into helping a damsel in distress and led into an ambush by Menfa of Luxur, a survivor of Conan’s victory over Prince Katuman. Conan fights off and kills his opponents, but learns they were assisted by Yezdigerd, He ponders how news of his travels leaked as he approaches Pelias’s tower. He enters and follows a globe of light to the top of the tower where the wizard awaits him. Upon hearing Conan’s tale, Pelias is concerned that whoever summoned the demon may have powers greater than his own but agrees to help by using a magical mirror to find the culprit. As Pelias is in the depths of spellcasting, a wizard appears in the mirror and begins to hurl a ball of fire at Conan and Pelias. Conan reacts swiftly enough to shatter the mirror and pull Pelias out of his trance. Pelias tells Conan that the wizards of the west have felt their magical powers draining, as an unknown wizard of Khitai is planning an attack on the western lands. Apparently, Conan’s Aquilonia is the bulwark stopping the wizard from conquering the continent, and Conan is his target. Pelias gives Conan the fabled Ring of Rakhamon, which can control demons, but first Conan must prove worthy of the Ring and he is drawn into battle with the Ring’s mystical guardian. Conan defeats the creature and is ready to face Yah Chieng.

Trade Paperback reprints/collects: King Conan (1980 – 1981) Issues #1-5.  Marvel Comics

Trade Paperback is bagged & double boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to ensure that it arrives to you perfectly and quickly.

First Printing
Publisher: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: September 2010
Format: FC, 192 pages, TPB, 10.20″ x 6.60″
ISBN-10: 1593074778
ISBN-13: 9781593074777

Collectible Entertainment note: Trade Paperback is in Very Good condition.  Nice Reading Copy!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious Conan collector and/or enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read.  Recommended. 

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