Driving Out Snakes With The Light Of The Moon In Conan: Serpent War #4
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
James Allison reflects on how his life as Niord ended with a climactic encounter with the Wyrm. In the “present,” Conan the Barbarian and Moon Knight find themselves in the presence of Khonshu, the God of the Moon. Khonshu slays Set the Serpent and tells Conan and Moon Knight that they must kill the Wyrm. Conan is returned to the waking world where one of Set’s priestesses is sucking the snake venom from his veins. Conan survives the snake’s attack and Moon Knight and Solomon Kane soon arrive at Conan and Agnes’ time and location. The final battle has come. Our four heroes, plus the priestess of Set, unite to kill the Wyrm.
Conan: Serpent War #4 concludes the mini-series, with the Wyrm arriving and five lone mortals being all that stands before him.
The story this time almost only consists of the fight and the aftermath. The twist of the Wyrm has been foreshadowed in the prior issues of the series and this issue only needs to confirm that the Wyrm is coming as well as the battle itself.
Khonshu’s part in this makes Moon Knight a vital part of the fight which makes me pretty glad as a Moon Knight fan. Marc Spector experiences a change by the end of the comic, though I’m unsure what that means for the future of the character.
The priestess of Set we meet in this issue, though she saved Conan’s life, gets a bit of a raw deal from the comic.
There isn’t much more to speak of regarding the story, as much of the comic is the fight against the Wyrm–and discussing the aftermath would spoil some things. There is a pretty damn cool final twist at the end and the overall comic’s story is pretty solid.
Ig Guara and Vanesa R. Del Rey provide another gorgeous issue and the design of the Wyrm in this comic is particularly stunning. It’s a truly horrid beast and it’s pretty damn cool watching Conan, Moon Knight, Agnes, Solomon Kane, and the priestess fight this creature. Frank D’Armata and Jean-Francois Bealieu give the book strong coloring and add greatly to the artistry of the book.
Conan: Serpent War #4 is a strong conclusion to this mini-series. We finally get to watch our heroes unite, interact, and fight a climactic final battle against an otherworldly horror. Add to that the gorgeous visuals and you have a book well worth recommending. Check it out.
Conan: Serpent War #4 comes to us from writer Jim Zub, artists Ig Guara and Vanesa R. Del Rey, color artists Jean-Francois Bealieu and Frank D’Armata, letterer VC’s Travis Lanham, cover artist Carlos Pacheco with Aneke and Frank D’Aramata, and variant cover artists Christian Ward; Miguel Mercado; and Giuseppe Camuncoli with Jean-Francois Bealieu.
Final Score: 8/10