“The cover of this issue – perhaps the best in the entire early Marvel run of the series- sums up the completion of Roy Thomas’ epic adaptation of Queen of the Black Coast. Will the lost treasure Belit so desperately seeks mean the end of both her own life and that of her loyal crew? And will our barbarian be able to do anything to save his true love?”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to The Classic Conan Countdown, a series of reviews focusing on the original 275 issues of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian, which were published from 1970 to 1993. This is a review of Conan the Barbarian Vol. 1, #100.)

By BOB FREEMAN – Paint Monk’s Library Writer

“The Queen of the Black Coast” is arguably the best of Robert E. Howard’s Conan tales. What makes this one stand out? Howard certainly approached this story differently from any other Conan yarn.

While his poetic prose hearkens to his stylistic approach to “The Frost Giant’s Daughter”, there is an obvious attempt to do more than create a mythological tale here. Howard was aiming for something grand, something epic. He was building a legend.

When confronted with adapting this to comics, Thomas chose to expand the story, developing the background characters and bringing the crew of the Tigress to life. It was an ambitious move, made all the more real by John Buscema and Ernie Chan’s dynamic illustrations.

“Queen of the Black Coast” originally appeared in 1934 in the Weird Tales pulp magazine.

The Black Coast story line was a tragic love story writ large. Thomas took the weight of Howard’s words and breathed on those embers to create a beautiful homage that blazed as brightly as Bêlit’s funeral pyre.

While I personally rank “The Queen of the Black Coast” as Howard’s fourth best Conan story (behind “Beyond the Black River”, “A Witch Shall be Born” and “Red Nails”) the Marvel adaptation, from issues #57-100 is more than just ambitious – it’s a brilliant extension, complete with a double-sized ending befitting such an epic tale.

Review: Conan the Barbarian #100

The Tigress heads into Kush up the Zarkheba River, where years before Bêlit’s crew had discovered an abandoned ship where one lone sailor, gone mad, had described a rich city upriver. Emboldened to now seek it out, Bêlit looks to Conan now for approval. The Cimmerian nods silently in agreement and the Tigress advances into the Kushite jungle.

That night, while Conan and Bêlit talk about the gods, a giant serpent attacks their ship. Despite Conan’s valiant efforts, the monstrosity pulls Laboto overboard and into the poisonous waters.

N’Yaga warns of an unknown and powerful evil on the journey ahead, but Bêlit is keen to press on. She offers to release any man of her crew from service if they wish to turn back, but all agree to follow their queen on her quest. Conan takes sentry duty overnight and come morning, spots black-fanged spires rising up above a ruined city in the vine-choked jungle. As they debate, a winged ape-like statue sitting atop one of the spires moves and takes flight, causing fear to spread among the crew.

Bêlit and Conan lead a shore party into the city where they discover a blood-stained altar. The she-pirate commands the altar stone to be moved, suspecting treasure underneath. She lures Conan away from the task, secretly suspecting a trap. The men are all crushed beneath a column that collapses down upon them and Conan is startled to find her dispassionate about members of her crew dying in such a horrible fashion, and that she anticipated the trap. She orders the broken masonry removed and Conan and others work to reveal a hoard of gold and jewels.

One of the crewmen spots the winged ape flying away from the Tigress. Much to Bêlit’s chagrin, Conan rushes back to find their water supply destroyed. Conan takes M’Gora and a group of crewmen out to search for fresh water while Bêlit and the rest gather the loot and transport it to the ship.

While searching for water, Conan falls victim to the black lotus. He is beset by strange alien dreams of winged beings who built the city in centuries past, but their great machines polluted the land and water. They evolved, becoming the fearsome winged apes, hunting primitive men from ancient times until the current age. Conan’s vision even reveals the winged ape’s attack on the Tigress crew.

Conan wakes and races off to where he had left his men, but finds only their discarded arms and armor. Then, from the jungle comes M’Gora, wild-eyed and raving. He attacks Conan and the Cimmerian is forced to slay him. Saddened, Conan finds the rest of his men dead, lying at the bottom of a deep ravine, their bodies broken on the jagged rocks below.

He rushes through the jungle, racing back to the Tigress, only to find the rest of the crew slain, and Bêlit hanging from the galley’s yardarm, dead, a necklace of blood-red gems wrapped around her porcelain neck.

Conan takes her down and lays her out on the ship, surrounded by jewels, then with bow in hand, takes the high ground and waits.

From the jungle comes a pack of hyena, and the Cimmerian cuts them down until he runs out of arrows. Then, taking up his sword, he wades into the pack, cutting\ a path through them and bellowing out for their master to come. He watches as the winged ape approaches, circling overhead. Fate,

however, is not done with the barbarian.

The earth begins to shake and the columns around Conan crumble. He dives for safety but becomes pinned beneath the crushing weight of a shattered spire, his broadsword just out of reach as the winged ape lands and advances on the trapped Cimmerian.

Suddenly, an apparition of Bêlit appears, standing between the creature and her fallen lover. She attacks, wounding the beast, giving Conan time to free himself. He grabs his sword, and kills the winged ape with a savage blow. The oldest race in the world is now extinct.

With tearful eyes, Conan sets the Tigress ablaze and watches as it sinks into the sea, taking his beloved and her vast treasure hoard with it.

CAPSULE REVIEW: What an amazing conclusion to a brilliant adaptation of Howard’s epic tale. The artwork and writing are astounding throughout, with the only misstep, in my estimation, that of Bêlit’s apparition.

Described as “a glimmer of white” and “a tense pale shape”, Bêlit is colored as if she were a vibrant and living being, not a spectre returned from the dead to rescue her beloved Cimmerian.

Still, the final pages are stirring to the soul and Thomas leans heavily Howard’s own words.

“No hand was at the sweep of the Tigress, no oars drove her through

the green water. But a clean tanging wind bellied her silken sail,

and as a wild swan cleaves the sky to her nest, she sped seaward,

flames mounting higher and higher from her deck to lick at the mast

and envelop the figure that lay lapped in scarlet on the shining

pyre. So passed the Queen of the Black Coast, and leaning on his red-stained sword, Conan stood silently until the red glow had faded far out in the blue hazes and dawn splashed its rose and gold over the ocean.” Roy Thomas – Conan the Barbarian #100

A poignant end to both the story itself, and for Marvel’s adaptation of the mighty sinewed Cimmerian’s time at sea. Roy Thomas was so good at using Howard’s elegant words and pacing the script to deliver a memorable experience, and Buscema, especially in this issue, was masterful at bringing those scenes to life.

There are so many great panels littered throughout this double-sized issue. The small moments are touching, like Conan and Bêlit’s hearfelt discussion of the gods while they sat huddled on the deck of the Tigress, to the second panel on page 15, where Bêlit’s expression is one of pain, longing and realization that she is cursed with greed.

Of course, this being Conan, the fearsome battles really stand apart, particularly Conan’s conflict with the hyenas which is so dynamic and kinetic, but if I were asked to choose my favorite panel from the book, it is found on page 27, where the Queen of the Black Coast lies in state, surrounded by the treasure she so desperately desired in life, but would have to comfort her in death.

Wally had asked me to choose my favorite Conan cover some time back. This was the issue I chose. It was laid out by Marie Severin, with pencils by Big John, inks by Ernie Chan and colors by George Roussos. The lettering by the legendary Danny Crespi was a nice, extra touch as well.

If you could only read one Conan comic, this just might be the one.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this issue a 9.5. On eBay, it can be acquired for around $10.

Alba Gu Brath – Bob Freeman (AKA The Occult Detective)