Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Mike Deodato
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 4, 2019

I have been a big fan of this book for its crazy cast of characters and it’s over-the-top, popcorn movie action…and blood. Lots and lots of blood! While I’m pretty sure there will be more of that this month, was it good? Let’s find out…

The issue opens with Kulan Gath kind of showing his hand before heading to Shanghai where our heroes are still battling the Marrow God. We get some narration to get us up to speed (and a chuckle from “sneak blades”) and then…well, the team works together to take down Jhoatun Lau. Boy, that was a bit anticlimactic! I mean, it was pretty cool seeing Conan work more with the Symbiote and Voodo and Elektra make an awesome team, but after all the buildup, I was shocked it was all this easy.

However, killing a god isn’t the end of the job. They head back to the City of Sickles looking to kill Kulan Gath and heal Conan who is worse for wear with his connected Symbiote dying as well. It’s kind of a forced way to make sure Conan gets out of this story without being Convenom…that’s a really bad name!

While this is going on, we get a very extended battle with Kulan Gath’s followers and while it should be pretty cool with the characters involved, it really isn’t. Everyone gets their little time to shine before getting to Gath and seeing that he had way bigger plans than just resurrecting a god. It is actually a decent way to keep the team together even as the big bad leaves through a portal talking shit the whole time! We end the issue with some goodbyes and Elektra making damn sure that she can find Conan and Voodo the next time they need him…which will likely be the next issue or two.

This was a pretty lackluster ending to a story that really was more setup than finish. I still liked the interactions between the characters, but there just wasn’t much here except a “to be continued vibe” from the first couple of pages on. I am still on board with the series, but Gerry Duggan is going to have to step it up a bit to make this book matter in a very crowded market. An awesome cast of characters only gets you so far and another big part of the book, Mike Deodato, will be leaving soon and that is such a shame because I love his dark and gritty art as a perfect complement to what is going on in this book.

Final Thoughts:

After some really cool setup, this arc comes to a close way too fast. The big threats are either taken down or get away with little effort, leaving our heroes with nothing much to do by the end except leave themselves…to fight another day. I am still a fan of this book, but that’s another reason this was so disappointing.

6.5/10