In Review: Conan the Barbarian (2023-) #27 – The Conquering Crown

Synopsis: The Conquering Crown: The King of Aquilonia has gone mad, or so the rumors say. A tyrant sits upon the throne and all will suffer until he is deposed or dead.

Conan the Mercenary cares nothing for these royal rumors and petty politics, but the Cimmerian’s skill in battle is about to put him in the path of a mad monarch, and his life will be forever changed.

The Story

Issue #27 picks up directly where the previous chapter left off. Conan has proved himself on the battlefield, and his growing reputation reaches the court of Aquilonia. King Numedides, a ruler whispered to be unravelling into madness, summons the Cimmerian to court to honour the barbarian’s recent victories, especially a hard-won struggle at Poitain that has cemented Conan’s status as a war hero.

What begins as a celebration and high praise quickly erodes into dread as Conan is thrust into the decadent, paranoid courts of Tarantia. Nobles circle him with flattery and thinly veiled ambition, but it is Numedides’ unstable charisma that shapes the issue’s tone. Rumours of dark visions tied to an ancient dread known as the “Woeful Eye” unsettle the barbarian as the king waxes on about conquest and destiny.

When Numedides announces plans to invade Zingara and insists that Conan lead the campaign, the Cimmerian openly calls out the stupidity and brutality of such ambitions. Enraged, the king brands Conan a traitor and has him thrown into the royal dungeon, where assassins are sent to silence him. Conan dispatches them with savage ferocity before escaping with the aid of Captain Prospero. By dawn, Conan and his allies plunge into the Khorotas River, Aquilonia now teetering on the brink of rebellion against its tyrant ruler.

Artwork

Fernando Dagnino and Diego Rodriguez do some fantastic work with the art in this issue. I absolutely loved the double-page splash that opens the book, giving us an overhead shot of Conan and his party entering the city of Aquilonia. It’s a striking introduction that immediately establishes scale, grandeur, and an ominous sense of arrival.

The use of light and shadow is particularly effective throughout the issue, especially in the sequence set in the dungeon. The panel groupings here create a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, perfectly reflecting Conan’s situation as a prisoner awaiting an uncertain fate. That visual tension pays off during the subsequent fight, where sharp contrasts and dynamic layouts heighten the brutality and urgency as Conan is forced to defend himself against assassins.

The issue closes with a single splash page that is genuinely stunning. It’s one of those images that lingers after the book is closed, and I can easily imagine it blown up to A1 size, speech bubbles removed, and hanging proudly on the wall of my office. It’s a powerful final note that showcases just how confident and accomplished the visual storytelling is in this chapter.

Overall

This is a really enjoyable read. I particularly liked the way Jim Zub and his art team introduced the various nobles vying for Conan’s attention in the court. Each interaction feels purposeful, quickly establishing the political tension and the sense that Conan is being pulled in multiple directions by competing interests.

I also loved the dialogue in the scenes depicting Conan’s difference of opinion with King Numedides. The exchanges are sharp and revealing, capturing both Conan’s blunt honesty and the king’s growing instability. Rather than resorting to grand speeches, the writing lets small moments of friction do the heavy lifting, making the conflict feel inevitable rather than forced.