Conan, Volume 9: Free Companions — Timothy Truman

Legendary artist Joe Kubert's very first sequential Conan work, along with illustrations by Cary Nord, Justin Sweet, and Joseph Michael Linsner, highlight this latest collection of stories from Dark Horse's ongoing Conan the Cimmerian comic-book series. In his short career as a mercenary, young Conan has impressed both Princess Yasmela and military leader Lord Amalric, but an ambitious, rogue prince arrives in Khoraja and blindsides Conan out of the comfortable, courtly situation he's found himself in. Not only is Conan's love affair with Yasmela going south, but rebel Prince Julion immediately challenges Conan's headstrong impulses and military plans, causing a rift between the battered-but-proud forces of Khoraja and Amalric's army of colorful mercs. The "Free Companions" and "Kozaki" story arcs are collected here, illustrated by series writer Tim Truman and regular series artist Tomas Giorello, with colors by Jose Villarrubia. In a special multigenerational piece titled "Home for the Hunt," Benjamin Truman co-scripts with his father, while sequential art duties are deftly handled by Joe Kubert and Tim Truman. These original tales explore events alluded to in Robert E. Howard's Conan lore and expand upon existing stories, as a youthful Conan tries to keep his barbarous nature and hot temper in check in order to prove that he can be a leader of men.