2099 Conan // Review
With the 2099 set of one-shots in full swing, the future of Marvel continues to expand in strange and unpredictable ways. Unlike the other books in this line, Conan 2099 doesn’t focus on a new warrior taking up the name. How did Conan survive almost 100 years into the future, and what awaits the Barbarian of legend?
Conan 2099 comes from the demented crew of Gerry Duggan (writer), Roge Antonio (artist), Erick Arciniega (colors), and Travis Lanham (letters). May Crom smile upon them.
Conan’s story unfolds across a few different eras. Cursed by Morgan le Fay to “live until the sun burns the ground under [his] feet,” with her living inside his mind until then, Conan searches for a way to break his curse. When he comes across a downed Nova Corpsman, does the man from the Hyborian age have a way out?
This book is insane, and we mean that in the best way possible. Gerry Duggan has a fantastic knack for Conan’s voice, and the added narration from the unknown narrator adds a wonderful flair. The angle of the story is very traditional Conan, but the setting of being in the post-apocalyptic Marvel 2099 future makes this comic a delight. Conan is filled with compassion for his people, and those allies he encounters… but spares no mercy for his opponents. This is a deviously simple Conan, and Duggan’s strengths as a writer play to that wonderfully.
The art is just as incredible. As Conan wanders through 2099, there are vast expanses of desert wasteland and cramped cyberpunk cityscape, and the team of Roge Antonio and Erick Arciniega work wonders together. Action is fast and brutal, with Conan’s method of dispatching his foes being just as efficient as his modern and Hyborian era counterparts. Action is frantic, and the few moments of humor this story spares also comes from the art just as much as it does the dialogue. Special shout out goes to the ever so brief chase with the Public Eye, featuring Conan leaping across flying cars.
Indeed, the only weakness of this entire book is the looser connection to the overall story. However, that only helps Conan 2099 stand apart as a one-shot story featuring the character.
Conan 2099 is easily the best book on the comics rack this week coming from Marvel. Any Conan fan needs to stomach their concern for either the book being overly gimmick or being heavily tied in with the main 2099 storyline, and just buy this comic. Fans of a good adventure will also have a blast, and any fan of sword and sorcery just might love this cyberpunk take. You shouldn’t sit on this book.
