Writer: Jim Zub

Art: Stephen Segovia, Frank D’Armata, Vanesa R Del Rey, Juan Francois Beaulieu, VC’s Travis Lanham, and Carlos Pacheco

Release Date: December 18th, 2019

Price: $3.99

Warriors across time and space unite in this week’s all-new CONAN SERPENT WAR #2 by Jim Zub. James Allison, who has lived many lives, is somehow responsible for getting Dark Agnes, Conan, Solomon Kane, and Moon Knight together on a quest to stop the Serpent God Set. But, how will these drastically different and unique heroes work together to stop this threat that is literally traversing time itself? Let’s jump into the issue and find out!

As Dark Agnes puts it, Conan fans will be happier to see their favorite “sullen ape of a man” throughout this issue more so than the last issue. Conan and Agnes take center stage alongside (but in different times) Solomon Kane and Moon Knight in this rapid-fire action melee. Fans will be thrilled to see James Allison take a huge backseat in this week’s installment and place more focus on the characters that readers literally bought this book for.

That said, as much action as this issue had, it still had its perplexing elements too. Sure, the overall premise is relatively clear. However, there appears to be a snake god who wants to control the world. Yet, this reader still left confused about who or what this snake god is and what exactly he’s after. Thereupon multiple rereads, my confusion is with who Set and Wyrm happen to be in the context of the story. It appears as though Set is the Uber big-bad… but who is Wyrm in relevance to him? Are they one and the same? Is Wyrm a “good” god? And what is his connection to the story? Furthermore, if he is the one speaking to James Allison, why is James needed? Can’t Wyrm work with these heroes on his own? It simply appears as though James’ purpose was as a guide to get the heroes together. But, this reviewer feels like there is a gap between purpose and direction within the narrative that Jim Zub needs to flush out a bit more.

Now fans, this issue was definitely entertaining, well-paced, and interesting in many aspects. This reviewer loved seeing Moon Knight and Conan throw down. Plus, this reader’s interest has been a bit peeked into both Dark Agnes and Solomon Kane. However, the plot and story to this point seem insubstantial and lacks strength for being two issues into the narrative. James Allison, who this critic still knows very little about, continues to be a focal point of the series and I really don’t know why. The story seems disjointed and lacks cohesion which ultimately leaves this critic unimpressed. Sure, Moon Knight and Conan are amazing characters that this reviewer holds to high esteem. However, there just isn’t enough here to warrant continued support of the narrative. With comics being as pricey as they are now, and this series having no ties or ramifications to the characters, this may be a short series to simply forget about moving forward.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you’re looking for another Conan the Barbarian story, you may want to look elsewhere. Sure, he’s in it but there isn’t anything that Jim Zub does that makes him seem like Conan. Technically, any barbarian could play his role. If you’re looking for a Moon Knight series, you might as well wait it out to get your fix in trades or back issues for the same reason stated prior. As of right now, there is nothing about either of the characters that are driving readers to the narrative that is overall distinguishable. And if that wasn’t enough, the story seems a bit too confusing and disjointed to hang in there for two more. There may be other titles to focus on right now, especially with Marvel unloading over 20 books a week, but this critic is merely passing on the series at this time.

6.5/10