Conan Omnibus Vol II: City of Thieves
By Kurt Busiek
“Where is the worst of the cities of men? Where is the lowest cesspit of civilized wonder this world can offer?” Conan page 27.
We return to Dark Horse's run of Conan the Barbarian. Now, I did discuss Mr. Busiek and the origins of Conan in the last review and I hate repeating myself (No he doesn’t.{Oh good, my editor is here}). However, just in case you have no idea who Conan the Barbarian is, let me give you a brief rundown. Conan the Barbarian is the creation of the Texan author Robert Howard, who left us too soon. Conan was born in the hill lands of Cimmeria, a metal-rich but wild land on the edge of civilization. While capable of metalworking, his people still lived in tribes and clans riven by constants feuds and raids, in fact, the only things Cimmerians agree on is that it’s pointless to ask the gods for help (A sentiment they share with your editor.), and that everyone should drop everything and rally to kill outsiders if they cross into Cimmeria. It was after joining in one of these battles that Conan, for a variety of reasons, decided to leave Cimmeria. He became one of the greatest adventurers in his world's history and even one of its greatest kings but that is another story. In this story, Conan is young and grapples with understanding civilization at its worst.
The story picks up pretty much the morning after Volume I ends. Conan, having partied hard with people he just met, has been robbed and stuck with the bill. As you can imagine this leaves him outraged and after escaping the inn, he sulks by camping out on a hill that all the townsmen are terrified of. This isn't his wisest decision, as it turns out that hill is haunted and Conan spends the night fighting for his life. Conan staggers back into town the next morning convinced he needs to learn the lowest and vilest tricks of civilized men if he wants to avoid a life of fighting monsters beyond the understanding of mortals just because he's broke. Those of you who are passingly familiar with Conan's life can take a moment to laugh if you like (Look, having to do anything because you’re broke sucks. It’s okay to do those things for other reasons.). It's here that he is pointed to the city of Zamora, the city of thieves. If it sounds like I'm dropping major spoilers, folks this is the first thirty pages of a four hundred page graphic novel, all we've done so far is discuss the prologue. Buckle up, this is gonna be wild.
One of the things that makes Conan so interesting is that he's a flawed character without going overboard into tragic character territory and this volume gives us a show of those flaws and the virtues paired with them. In Volume One we saw that Conan's refusal to restrain himself lead to tragedy for his friends and family. While Conan still struggles with the practice of self-restraint, he accepted the necessity of it. That's not his only flaw though. Conan's pure bullheaded pride in this Volume will lead him into one disaster after another. In Zamora, Conan resolves to learn how to be a thief and how the corruption that plagues the civilized world works. His pride gets in the way, as he can't just unbend enough to humble himself and learn from men that he sees as inferior to him (“Teach me, you effeminate worm!” “Um. How about I not?” {You joke but that’s basically what happened.}). Additionally, it’s not enough that he be a thief. It's not enough that he be a great thief. Everyone has to know he is and has to know exactly what he stole and who he stole it from (Oh god. It’s like trying to be a viking assassin…). Now to be fair, some of this arises from Conan coming from a culture where you trumpet your deeds far and wide and in places like Cimmeria stealing from your enemies is something to be celebrated. In fact, if you were clever and sneaky enough, even your enemies will grudgingly respect your ability. In a civilized society, telling everyone what you stole and who you stole it from is a great way to get crowds of armed men after you. Especially since Conan never really bothers to make friends or allies of the other thieves around him (Oops). Additionally what Conan seems to have problems grasping is that the thieves and guards aren't opposing tribes locked in a cycle of raid and counter-raid but two groups within the same tribe, one trying to uphold the laws of their society and other determined to break those laws. Because of this Conan is constantly a target for the wrath of the law. I'm sure some folks would feel sympathy for the thieves but this is where I point out the virtue wrapped up in Conan's pride.
The vast majority of the thieves in Zamora feel no qualm at victimizing those weaker than them. Whether it's a starving girl who steals some bread out of desperation or beggars whose bowls are a little too full, the thieves of Zamora are brutal towards anyone they believe can't defend themselves. Conan, because of his pride as much as any moral code that’s still slowly pulling itself together in his soul targets the powerful and incredibly wealthy (Fight the power Conan! Taking their stuff and buying things you need with it is the only way that wealth will ever trickle down to the masses - unless you simply kill the wealthy that is! {I suppose tavern keepers and the sellers of jewelry for Jiara do kind of count as the masses}). There are good practical reasons for breaking into their fortress homes and robbing them, after all, they have all the bloody money! So Conan will break into the temples of dreaming pagan gods, the fortresses of judges, princes, and priests all to pillage their treasuries and laugh into the night. Of course, what happens the next morning is forces he can't fight (whether it be monsters from beyond the stars or just hordes of armed men) are unleashed after him but being in his late teens at this point, planning for the future isn't among Conan's strong points.
Of course, Conan isn't alone in this venture. The first companion he picks up is Jiara. He met Jiara when she partied with him, slept with him and then stole everything he had (What a wonderful way to meet new people…). Finding her a second time, Jiara convinced Conan that it wasn't her idea to steal from him and promptly decides to hitch her wagon to him (Phrasing?). This is for a couple of reasons. For one, Conan is strong and skilled enough to kill anyone who comes looking for Jiara over her own thieving. Second, Conan is a big, strong and very not ugly man who hates wearing clothes (I cannot blame her). To be fair, most of the ladies in these comics are wearing very little clothing, suggesting to me that Zamora must be rather warm so I suppose Conan could be wearing a breechcloth and nothing else out of solidarity with the ladies. Thirdly, despite Jiara robbing Conan of everything they had, when they met again Jiara was broke and Conan was flush with cash. Suggesting to her that Conan could be counted on to make more gold no matter the circumstances. Conan stays with Jiara because she's smart enough to take care of herself, she's a very good looking lady and she can even be helpful in scouting locations and gathering information. The relationship is interesting to read in the book as both of them are clearly in the relationship for what they can get out of it and neither one really spends any effort trying to understand the other person. As a result, you watch as Conan mismanages his relationship with Jiara to the point that when it hits the endpoint, you can't say Conan didn't get what he deserved. Of course, you can also say the same about Jiara. For example bragging about sleeping with a Magistrates new young and pretty wife, while your girlfriend is sitting on your lap is a pretty bad idea on so many levels that it's honestly not a shock what results (Oh dear. Cultural differences rise again? {I don’t think so, from what I can tell this would get him in trouble in Cimmeria as well. It just seems that Conan is pretty good at convincing women to sleep with him and being a randy teenager doesn’t take it very seriously. To be fair, Jiara isn’t the most loyal girl either but she doesn't flaunt that right in front of him and seems to expect him to do the same}).
Another major character that shows up is Nestor the Gunderman, a mercenary turned thief. Nestor is both a foe and an ally to Conan depending on the situation and over time Conan is forced to respect Nestor. This makes Nestor one of the few civilized men that young Conan has brought himself to respect but it is a major step for the young man as he is forced to admit that civilization can make formidable men that he can't treat lightly. Nestor for his own part starts out loathing Conan as a loud jackass who is going to bring trouble down on everyone's head but comes to see Conan as a capable if wild young man who is just in the need of some seasoning. Nestor is a bit older than Conan and while not as physically capable is wilier in the ways of the back alleys and courtyards of civilization and even teaches Conan a trick or two. The relationship here is pretty different from one that Conan has with Jiara. For one thing, it's pretty clear that Conan doesn't respect Jiara as much as he does Nestor. While I do think her gender plays a part in it, I have to point out that Conan was pretty respectful of Janissa the warrior woman in Volume One. So I think the main thrust is that Conan simply doesn't respect people who are dependent on others to commit violence for them. His disrespect for men who can't fight is more evident and aggressive but his disrespect for women who can't fight is still there in visible ways. This is another flaw of his, that at this point in his life he believes that respect comes from your ability to kill and it comes back to bite him as much as his pride does.
In this volume, Mr. Busiek and his team continue the same practice of making original Conan stories to support and serve as a bridge between adapted stories by Mr. Howard. In this case, there are three of these stories in the graphic novel, Tower of the Elephant, Halls of the Dead, and Rogues in the House. If I'm going to be honest, Tower of the Elephant is the most important one of the three to me and I'm pleased that they adapted it skillfully. The Tower of the Elephant is one of the must-read stories of Conan I would point anyone to, because of that I'm not going to touch on the details of the story. It's a story where Conan walks in determined to simply rob a place that everyone has told him is untouchable because he wants to prove them wrong. However, an encounter with Yag Kosha, the long-lived alien being imprisoned in the tower changes all that. Conan goes from being a thief here to someone determined to help right a wrong and correct a miscarriage of justice. I don't want to overstate this but its a step forward in Conan's growth as a character and person where he begins to grasp that some things aren't about wealth, pleasure, or glory. Not that Conan ever develops into a righteous paladin or anything but as he grows Conan does develop a moral center and a belief that there is a role for his abilities beyond just crashing through the world trying to do whatever or whoever catches his passing fancy and this is one of the seeds of that growth.
City of Thieves also continues one of the elemental themes of Mr. Howard's work, civilization vs barbarism. In this volume, we see an argument for the virtues of Barbarians, whereas the last work argued fairly convincing against barbarism without trying too hard. Here we see that even as a thief Conan doesn't prey on those weaker and more desperate than him and we see the dark side of civilization. As men prey on each other even in the streets of their own homes and lies become just as dangerous as lions. Of course in this same volume, we see that civilized men are just as capable of the same virtues has Conan even in the face of torment and death. This feeds into another theme that runs throughout many of Mr. Howard's works that of human decency and justice vs the law. In many of Howard's work, the law works to uphold the powerful and wealthy over the poor and this creates a conflict when the protagonist's sense of honor and decency runs directly counter to the law. Nestor, for example, displays honorable behavior more often as a thief and a lawbreaker then he does when he's anything else. There will come a time when we explore and fully discuss Mr. Howard's themes but it's not yet. I do also want to say that the art in this volume is fantastic but I should note that the number of people who are practically naked or just naked means you might not want to hand this book off to some of the younger set. That said I really enjoyed this and Conan Omnibus Vol II: City of Thieves gets an A from me. If you enjoy fantasy or think you might go ahead and give this book a try, you honestly don't really need to read Volume One to follow what's going in this book so that's a plus as well.
The vast majority of the thieves in Zamora feel no qualm at victimizing those weaker than them. Whether it's a starving girl who steals some bread out of desperation or beggars whose bowls are a little too full, the thieves of Zamora are brutal towards anyone they believe can't defend themselves. Conan, because of his pride as much as any moral code that’s still slowly pulling itself together in his soul targets the powerful and incredibly wealthy (Fight the power Conan! Taking their stuff and buying things you need with it is the only way that wealth will ever trickle down to the masses - unless you simply kill the wealthy that is! {I suppose tavern keepers and the sellers of jewelry for Jiara do kind of count as the masses}). There are good practical reasons for breaking into their fortress homes and robbing them, after all, they have all the bloody money! So Conan will break into the temples of dreaming pagan gods, the fortresses of judges, princes, and priests all to pillage their treasuries and laugh into the night. Of course, what happens the next morning is forces he can't fight (whether it be monsters from beyond the stars or just hordes of armed men) are unleashed after him but being in his late teens at this point, planning for the future isn't among Conan's strong points.
Of course, Conan isn't alone in this venture. The first companion he picks up is Jiara. He met Jiara when she partied with him, slept with him and then stole everything he had (What a wonderful way to meet new people…). Finding her a second time, Jiara convinced Conan that it wasn't her idea to steal from him and promptly decides to hitch her wagon to him (Phrasing?). This is for a couple of reasons. For one, Conan is strong and skilled enough to kill anyone who comes looking for Jiara over her own thieving. Second, Conan is a big, strong and very not ugly man who hates wearing clothes (I cannot blame her). To be fair, most of the ladies in these comics are wearing very little clothing, suggesting to me that Zamora must be rather warm so I suppose Conan could be wearing a breechcloth and nothing else out of solidarity with the ladies. Thirdly, despite Jiara robbing Conan of everything they had, when they met again Jiara was broke and Conan was flush with cash. Suggesting to her that Conan could be counted on to make more gold no matter the circumstances. Conan stays with Jiara because she's smart enough to take care of herself, she's a very good looking lady and she can even be helpful in scouting locations and gathering information. The relationship is interesting to read in the book as both of them are clearly in the relationship for what they can get out of it and neither one really spends any effort trying to understand the other person. As a result, you watch as Conan mismanages his relationship with Jiara to the point that when it hits the endpoint, you can't say Conan didn't get what he deserved. Of course, you can also say the same about Jiara. For example bragging about sleeping with a Magistrates new young and pretty wife, while your girlfriend is sitting on your lap is a pretty bad idea on so many levels that it's honestly not a shock what results (Oh dear. Cultural differences rise again? {I don’t think so, from what I can tell this would get him in trouble in Cimmeria as well. It just seems that Conan is pretty good at convincing women to sleep with him and being a randy teenager doesn’t take it very seriously. To be fair, Jiara isn’t the most loyal girl either but she doesn't flaunt that right in front of him and seems to expect him to do the same}).
Another major character that shows up is Nestor the Gunderman, a mercenary turned thief. Nestor is both a foe and an ally to Conan depending on the situation and over time Conan is forced to respect Nestor. This makes Nestor one of the few civilized men that young Conan has brought himself to respect but it is a major step for the young man as he is forced to admit that civilization can make formidable men that he can't treat lightly. Nestor for his own part starts out loathing Conan as a loud jackass who is going to bring trouble down on everyone's head but comes to see Conan as a capable if wild young man who is just in the need of some seasoning. Nestor is a bit older than Conan and while not as physically capable is wilier in the ways of the back alleys and courtyards of civilization and even teaches Conan a trick or two. The relationship here is pretty different from one that Conan has with Jiara. For one thing, it's pretty clear that Conan doesn't respect Jiara as much as he does Nestor. While I do think her gender plays a part in it, I have to point out that Conan was pretty respectful of Janissa the warrior woman in Volume One. So I think the main thrust is that Conan simply doesn't respect people who are dependent on others to commit violence for them. His disrespect for men who can't fight is more evident and aggressive but his disrespect for women who can't fight is still there in visible ways. This is another flaw of his, that at this point in his life he believes that respect comes from your ability to kill and it comes back to bite him as much as his pride does.
In this volume, Mr. Busiek and his team continue the same practice of making original Conan stories to support and serve as a bridge between adapted stories by Mr. Howard. In this case, there are three of these stories in the graphic novel, Tower of the Elephant, Halls of the Dead, and Rogues in the House. If I'm going to be honest, Tower of the Elephant is the most important one of the three to me and I'm pleased that they adapted it skillfully. The Tower of the Elephant is one of the must-read stories of Conan I would point anyone to, because of that I'm not going to touch on the details of the story. It's a story where Conan walks in determined to simply rob a place that everyone has told him is untouchable because he wants to prove them wrong. However, an encounter with Yag Kosha, the long-lived alien being imprisoned in the tower changes all that. Conan goes from being a thief here to someone determined to help right a wrong and correct a miscarriage of justice. I don't want to overstate this but its a step forward in Conan's growth as a character and person where he begins to grasp that some things aren't about wealth, pleasure, or glory. Not that Conan ever develops into a righteous paladin or anything but as he grows Conan does develop a moral center and a belief that there is a role for his abilities beyond just crashing through the world trying to do whatever or whoever catches his passing fancy and this is one of the seeds of that growth.
City of Thieves also continues one of the elemental themes of Mr. Howard's work, civilization vs barbarism. In this volume, we see an argument for the virtues of Barbarians, whereas the last work argued fairly convincing against barbarism without trying too hard. Here we see that even as a thief Conan doesn't prey on those weaker and more desperate than him and we see the dark side of civilization. As men prey on each other even in the streets of their own homes and lies become just as dangerous as lions. Of course in this same volume, we see that civilized men are just as capable of the same virtues has Conan even in the face of torment and death. This feeds into another theme that runs throughout many of Mr. Howard's works that of human decency and justice vs the law. In many of Howard's work, the law works to uphold the powerful and wealthy over the poor and this creates a conflict when the protagonist's sense of honor and decency runs directly counter to the law. Nestor, for example, displays honorable behavior more often as a thief and a lawbreaker then he does when he's anything else. There will come a time when we explore and fully discuss Mr. Howard's themes but it's not yet. I do also want to say that the art in this volume is fantastic but I should note that the number of people who are practically naked or just naked means you might not want to hand this book off to some of the younger set. That said I really enjoyed this and Conan Omnibus Vol II: City of Thieves gets an A from me. If you enjoy fantasy or think you might go ahead and give this book a try, you honestly don't really need to read Volume One to follow what's going in this book so that's a plus as well.
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