Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1: Ka Nama Kaa Lajerama!

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1 by writer Jim Zub, artist Ivan Gil, colorist Jao Canola, and letterer Tyler Smith is the first installment of this year’s big era-spanning Robert E. Howard-palooza comics bash. Last year’s Battle of the Black Stone miniseries set the template: bring together some or all of Howard’s literary creations, and watch them go. Seems fairly straightforward – but with Howard expert Jim Zub at the helm, it’s anything but. And that’s a good thing.

Zub knows his Howard, and more importantly, knows his Conan. Serpent features young Conan the Thief, who sets out to rob The Temple of Kallian Publico, ostensibly for food but in practicality, anything he can likely get away with. He stumbles onto a murder scene, and with that, our protagonist’s path in this mystery is set.

In the past Thurian Age, King Kull is met with an assassination plot where not all is as it seems; and in 1934, John Kirowan encounters a mystical snake ring that drives a friend’s wife into a murderous frenzy. The connection between the three? A mysterious chant from epochs past: “Ka Nama Kaa Lajerama!” Oh, and also: snake men. Ssssssssss.

Zub, being the expert writer that he is, weaves these three disparate plots together effortlessly, and although at no time do the three protagonists interact, their plots are entwined. The who and what of the affair set out, Zub becomes free to further explore what could bind these three characters together in such a mystical, mysterious manner.

Artist Ivan Gil knocks it out of the park with his work. Reminiscent of the monthly Conan book’s Roberto de la Torre, Gil is equally adept at portraying swords and sorcery as he is 1930s England. His pencils have a slightly rough edge to them that enhances the (deliberately) rougher qualities of the worlds Zub is playing in. Not dissimilarly, colorist Jao Canola’s smooth hues either pop when they need to or mute by the same turn. Together, Gil and Canola are a powerhouse of a team.

The only real drawback to this book – if there is one – is that its enjoyment is enhanced the more the reader knows about Robert E. Howard’s worlds. Those who aren’t might be a tad confused, and would benefit from a second reading to clarify certain things. This is a dense comic by design; people who would rather skim and look at the pretty pictures rather than read and consider need not apply.