Comic Info
Comic Name: Kull the Conqueror (Volume 2)/Kull the Conqueror (Volume 3)
Publisher: Dark Horse Books
Writer: Alan Zelentz/Doug Moench/Bruce Jones/April Campbell
Artist: John Buscema/Danny Bulanadi/John Bolton/Bob Wiacek/Dan Green/Joe Chiodo
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2011
Kull the Conqueror (2) #1
Reprints Kull the Conqueror (2) #1-2 and Kull the Conqueror (3) #1-2 (December 1982-July 1983). Kull the Warrior…Kull the Conqueror…Kull the King. The titles of Kull bear down on him as he tries to rule the kingdom of Valusia. With threats from outside the kingdom and threats from within, the Atlantean finds himself fighting his past as an adventure and reminding himself that he is king to a people that must be defended.
Written by Alan Zelentz, Doug Moench, Bruce Jones, and April Campbell, The Chronicles of Kull Volume 4: The Blood of Kings and Other Stories follows The Chronicles of Kull Volume 3: Screams in the Dark and Other Stories and continues Dark Horse Books remastered reprints of Marvel Comics Kull series with this collection coming from the extended length second and third volumes.
I always have found Kull interesting. There is enough to make him different from Conan but also enough to make him like Conan that it is always a challenge for writers to write Kull as his own character. Both Conan and Kull were created by the father of sword and sorcery Robert E. Howard, but Kull predates Conan and was always the “thinkier” of the two characters that really tried to be leader. These volumes have Kull very established as the King of Valusia and mostly have him working to defend his kingdom than having adventures.
Kull the Conqueror (3) #2
You can look at this collection two different ways. There are only four stories in the collection because at this point, Marvel Comics was presenting giant-sized issues of the character for higher prices. If you like shorter stories, this volume isn’t for you…the collection here is more similar to Marvel’s magazine The Savage Sword of Conan with long stories. If that is what you enjoy more, The Chronicles of Kull 4 might be your favorite volume in the collections thus far. I kind of prefer the shorter stories because if you aren’t into the story, the next story will soon follow.
Kull and Conan both always had interesting art. Part of the fun of Conan and Kull comics are the covers and I especially enjoy Kull the Conqueror (3) #2 (July 1983) in this collection. The interior art of the collection also remains strong and another great aspect of the series.
The Chronicles of Kull is a series worth picking up. A lot of people probably just skip over Kull for Conan, but I actually enjoy certain aspects of Kull more. If you’ve never given Kull a shot, or you have based your opinion on how Kevin Sorbo portrayed him in the awful 1997 movie, give this series a chance and enjoy some classic sword and sorcery. The Chronicles of Kull 4: The Blood of Kings and Other Stories is followed by The Chronicles of Kull 5: Dead Men of the Deep and Other Stories.
Related Links:
The Chronicles of Kull 1: A King Comes Riding and Other Stories
The Chronicles of Kull 2: The Hell Beneath Atlantis and Other Stories
