The Savage Sword of Conan #2 (2024) / Z-View

Savage Sword of Conan #2 is out and it is a solid follow-up to the outstanding first issue.

It features two covers to choose from.  I selected the variant cover with art by Nick Marinkovich (shown above).  Dave Dorman did the other cover.

The issue features a letter column.

Pinups included are: Conan I Was by Rafael Kayanan, Conan: Lair of the Serpent by Gerado Zaffino (shown below) and Solomon Kane by Nick Marinkovich.  All of the pinups in this issue are examples of artists at the top of their game.  I’d love to see a full length Conan story from each of these three.

The issue features a full-length Conan story, Conan: Leaving the Garden by Jim Zub (writer) and Richard Pace (artist).  Conan is gravely (no pun intended) wounded.  Near death, Conan is found by a young boy. The monsters that wiped out the caravan Conan was traveling with are near.  If the creatures don’t find him and his wounds don’t kill him, Conan will have his revenge.

Jim Zub creates a horrific tale of human/monsters who worship a god that commands they bury their victims in gardens for a yearly feast!  I look forward to more Conan tales from Zub.

Richard Pace’s art is not as finished as one might expect.  It’s raw and at times sketchy (I don’t mean that in a bad way), but it works for the story.

The second story features the next installment of Solomon Kane in Master of the Hunt by writer/artist Patrick Zircher.  Solomon Kane continues his search for a missing man and his son.  How much time is left before the ancient beast will need to feed again?  Will Kane find the father and son in time?

Patrick “Patch” Zircher is having a ball writing and drawing Solomon Kane. It shows in every panel.  I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Savage Sword of Conan #2 (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.