Clerks, Conan

Clerks 1

Zero idea why I bought this.  I’ve never seen Clerks the movie.  When this came out, Kevin Smith hadn’t begun his run on Daredevil yet.  Jim Mahfood’s art certainly wouldn’t have convinced me in an in-store flip-through.  

Regardless, here it is in my collection.  The convenience store clerks in question dip their toes into the Star Wars action figure collectible world.  It’s a time I remember well. The collectible world was rampant with speculation, chase figures were snapped up behind the scenes before they ever reached the store floor.  Looking back, it all seems ridiculous, at least for me. It’s not like I ever spent more than retail value on anything, but I did buy way more toys than I’m proud of.

Still awesome.

Still awesome.

Eh...not so much.

No regrets on the Force FX lightsabers, though.

Not telling you how many I own.

Back to the comic.  Both Smith and Mahfood bring a frenetic pace to the issue, but the hyperactive pace reads like someone’s screaming in my face, and I don’t particularly enjoy that feeling.  There are a few choice bits of humor, mostly in Smith’s made-up action figure names - “AT-AT-Crushed Dak” is my personal favorite.

I’m still keeping it as a historical document of it’s time, but I don’t think I’ll ever need to read this again.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Conan and the Jewels of Gwahlur 1-3

P. Craig Russell adapts and draws a Robert E. Howard Conan story.  Previous to reading the comics, my only exposure to the character was from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film and one of the best movie quotes ever:

This adaptation is very talky, similar to the Elric stories that Russell did earlier in his career.  That said, it’s still a fun story, and Russell does his usual amazing work.  There always a sterility to his art that’s remarkably suited to these high fantasy epics.  (Also see his wonderful work in Sandman.)

Thinking on it some more, Conan is very similar to Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo - A wandering hero who encounters adventure wherever he goes, each one self-contained and episodic.  Though this ronin isn’t above stealing, and shares a lot more with James Bond when it comes to his attitude towards women.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice