Conan and the People of the Black Circle #4 is the conclusion to the series that has Conan facing off against the seers of the Black Circle as he strives to rescue Queen Yasmina from their clutches. After forming an uneasy alliance with Kerim Shah to fight the seers, since his own men believe he betrayed them, Conan leads the assault on the mountain and it’s far from an easy task. That much is evident as magic spells rain down on them as they try to reach the peak of the mountain taking out numerous soldiers. But Conan and his forces aren’t helpless as they’re able to make advances while taking out even more acolytes of the Black Circle. And despite encountering magic that can control the minds of others, hallucinations, lava and barriers, Conan is determined to destroy the Black Circle and rescue Yasmina. But can even Conan take on the master of Yimsha and his sorcerers and succeed, or is the barbarian finally in over his head?

I really enjoyed the premise of this series and the way it started out with the potential for a common cause between Conan and Yasmina against the Black Circle, the intrigue from the relationship between Khemsa and Gitara and the actions they were taking together, and the political implications behind Kerim Shah’s moves. As the series went on I felt that the full potential of the connection between Conan and Yasmina was being squandered because instead of taking advantage of the common ground that could’ve united them, there was just a series of events that would just make Conan have to contend with the Black Circle. The series was still very enjoyable to me and the temporary alliances formed still made sense. So this issue had a tall order to fill in answering questions and to some extent it does.

The push by Conan and the forces with him into the black mountain was action-packed and even though the Black Circle was presented as an enemy everyone was afraid to even approach, that tone was maintained with the understanding that Conan had received help from Khemsa last issue.  So Conan being able to advance when others couldn’t didn’t seem like a stretch at all. Not to give any spoilers but the battle between Conan and the master of Yimsha was satisfying, although the tales of his power seemed to have been exaggerated, and the greeting received from Yasmina was well-deserved. The two of them do have a moment that addresses the original situation and where they can go from there considering their current state and position before meeting. However there’s still that interruption that occurs that leaves a few things unanswered, and that aspect of it felt unsatisfying and rushed to an extent. And despite the enjoyable action I feel the original premise became an afterthought with much left unsaid.

SUMMARY

Conan and the People of the Black Circle #4 was an ok series finale but it felt like a lot of potential in the series was squandered due to the feeling of it being rushed. The action and artwork were very good to me, and Conan and Yasmina had a moment that was able to address some of their original situation but the interruptions and the lack of capitalizing on the common ground the two of them should have had left many things unanswered. If you’ve been enjoying this series or you’re a huge Conan fan then you might want to check this out. Just don’t expect it to be his finest moment (or the best issue in the series.)

 
Writer: Fred Van Lente

Artist: Ariel Olivetti

Release date: 1/29/14