Titan Comics continue their spiritual successor to the classic Marvel  magazine in this second volume of The Savage Sword of Conan.

I must admit that I was at first really excited by the possibilities of the first stories in this volume, given that they’re a crossover, of sorts, featuring Robert E. Howard’s characters including and beyond Conan. Yet they’re mostly disappointing, feeling far too short and almost like ads for the ‘real’ crossover (Battle of the Black Stone), which takes place in the mainline Conan comic series.

It’s more than made up for by Jason Aaron’s multi-part King Conan epic, which is a hugely satisfying and brutal adventure with some brilliantly despicable villains and more violence than you can shake a particularly bloody sword at.

There’s other, short tales here too, along with prose stories and other Howard character strips (unrelated to the underwhelming, undercooked Black Stone stuff, thankfully). The art, from a great selection of creators, is always impressive even if the stories aren’t quite there.

Echoing my problem with volume 1, my biggest issue is that the gorgeous painted covers for each issue appear in black and white in these collections, which is understandable but disappointing.

Despite that, and the disappointment with the crossover setup, this volume is chock full of great, gritty and mature content. Aaron’s story more than makes up for the initial disappointment, and The Savage Sword of Conan remains one of the best value comic monthlies out there right now. The Collected Editions are competitively priced in comparison to other comic book collections too, which is a definite bonus.

You can buy The Savage Sword of Conan Volume 2 from Amazon.

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