Review: ISOM #2 and Conan The Barbarian #1 -

ISOM #2 (July & Richards; 2023), from Rippaverse comics, is a crowd-funded trade paperback created by YouTuber and musician Eric D July. Eric, aka Young Rippa has strong opinions on what’s wrong with modern American comic book culture and the industry at large. He’s drawn ire and given plenty back. Rippaverse is his big “F U” to the haters.

Isom #1 was an undeniably huge success. His first campaign made a reported $3.7 million dollars and sold 60,000 books. The 2nd campaign reported $2.15 million and ~30k books. In two years he made almost $6 million dollars on pure charisma and rage. His haters have been chastened—their unleashed anxiety created a leviathan.

Conan the Barbarian #1 (Zub & De La Torre; 2023) is one I’ve been waiting for. Titan comics and Heroic Signatures released a much heralded and quickly snatched up #0 issue for Free Comic Book day. Heroic Signatures and it’s president Frederic Malmberg are the latest resting spot for creations of Robert E. Howard, a fateful pulp writer from the 1930’s. The story of the Conan IP is truly amazing. There is a divine spark in Conan, Red Sonja, King Kull and Solomon Kane that can’t be extinguished.

Conan represents a decade of IP refinement and rebranding. Malmberg noted in an interview with Midnight’s Edge host Andre Einherjar The unfortunate failures of the films Solomon Cane (2009) and Conan the Barbarian (2015) compared to the stubborn success of their self-published video game, Conan Exiles, convinced him that they needed to stop letting their characters get tied up with weak partners. They declined to renew the license with Marvel and setup Heroic Signatures instead. They lifted Jim Zub from Marvel and the discovery of De La Torre cemented the project.

The reason I wanted to do these reviews together is because the paths they took toward Becoming have a lot to do with the reading experience. Without any hesitation I will tell you the Conan book is miles beyond ISOM. I don’t know that I can really recommend ISOM #2, whereas I compel you now! to run immediately to your nearest comic shop, prepared with as much barbarian ferocity as you can muster, to tear, bite and grapple—whatever it takes—for the last remaining copy of Conan #1.

Writer, Jim Zub has some massive shoes to fill. Conan pastiche lore is unforgiving and dense. Comic book writing evolves and unwinds over time—it’s a marathon art, subtly so—it may take a year to discover if the tale was any good.

Conversely, comic book drawing is a Bataan Death March, with the upside that you’ll know in the first few pages if it’s good or not. For those new to the medium, it can be difficult to discern what is basic craft from next-level skill. In my estimation, Rob De La Torre has flipped the world upside down. The last time I’ve been this impressed, was when Cary Nord started on the Dark Horse Conan series in 2004. What De La Torre has done is effectively resurrect John Bucema; it’s unholy.

A big reason that Conan is so compelling as a comic book character is that the premise is so simple, so raw, and so condensed that an artist can’t hide behind dialog and posturing. Every single picture has to blast the reader with concussive weight and heightened action. Conan doesn’t stand and talk to people, he grabs a tavern wench around the waist in one panel; flips a table in the next, and slams a drunk Zingaran’s head into the wall on his way out to take a leak. Superheroes pose and prance, they defy physics and logic. The only flying anyone does in a Hyborian sword and sandal epic is forcefully off a cliff. The power of these stories is the physical strain of man against man, against beast and the supernatural. Only the best illustrators can convey this in every panel.

This is what John Bucema excelled at. Here’s a sample:

Now… take a look at De La Torre:

It’s so uncanny that you might forget to be impressed.

Let’s compare to ISOM:

That, my friend, is a full page of ISOM action. The first after 10 pages of dialog and exposition (aside from one slap and one gut-check). Notice that no one even touches…it’s implied with onomatopoeia. The book is filled with poses, mug shots, flexes and talking head stuff. Pages of it. It gets a bit more active near the end, but it should be clear that these illustrations aren’t anywhere near what the masters are putting out.

Now, look at again. Just notice how well this is framed and laid out:

I want to be fair. I liked ISOM #2, but I was never going to like it more than a Conan comic book. And…I didn’t love it—it’s boiler plate. Coupled with my general antipathy toward super-heroes as a genre, I probably won’t last in the Rippaverse for too long. Something really fresh would have to emerge to keep me around. I’ll likely check out the Chuck Dixon book and bounce.

Conan, on the other hand, is a revelation. The seventh veil has dropped revealing pure pulp fantasy.

ISOM #2 is a fine comic and Rippaverse is another hand on the gallows rope tugging the old guards’ necks. Titan already has a hand on that rope, but as a European distributer, this represents an impressive incursion into American comic retail space, a pressure the big players will surely notice.

There are a lot of books in the market place like ISOM #2. Well put together, high quality, thick—but lacking dynamism, poorly illustrated and over-written. Comic audiences are sophisticated. You have to wow us. We can’t afford to buy or read every comic so whatever is on offer has to be special.

Conan the Barbarian #1 is a treasure. It’s fresh and energized. It’s got people excited about Conan again—a 90 year old character with no powers or secrets. It’s a must for any collector and an amazing jumping-on spot for anyone casually interested. People will remember this book for a long time.

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