Review by Frank Plowright

Having teamed Conan with Kull the Conqueror in The Age Unconquered, the cover suggests this is now Jim Zub’s version of Conan meeting Red Sonja, but in fact it’s his and Doug Braithwaite’s interpretation of Robert E. Howard’s Conan story ‘The Frost Giant’s Daughter’. The gold standard of adaptations remains that of Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith from 1971, which was awful pretty to look at, but slight for Thomas being faithful to an already wispy story. Staunch Conan fans may consider it heretical, but Zub beefs up the original story, adding considerably, all to good effect.

Zub opens Frozen Faith with Conan in a reflective mood. He’s trudging alone through a snowy mountainous area remembering the questions he asked his father about the god Crom when a child, and the answers given. Like so many children he wants specifics on matters of faith. There’s a thrilling battle with a bear, Conan bonding with some Viking warriors, and the Frost Giant’s Daughter observing everything. She largely considers humanity beneath her notice, but Conan stands out to catch her eye, and much of the narration is hers.

Braithwaite’s art is phenomenal, and perhaps it’s time after all these years to reconsider who’s drawn the story’s best comic adaptation. Braithwaite can follow the original story of a near naked woman in the snow, an option not available in 1971, but that’s window dressing from an artist at his peak with years of experience as opposed to someone still developing handed a restriction. The skill is in making so much look so excellent, with due recognition supplied to colourist Diego Rodriguez. Whether the excitement of battling a bear in the sample art or the horrors of a battlefield after the fighting’s done, Braithwaite applies thought giving these pages power, grace and resonance.

The initial thoughts of where Crom calls home provide a theme about faith continued throughout. Those Conan meets have their own beliefs, and the flashbacks to childhood inform the present, with Conan’s father given a personality sharpened by experience.

This run of Conan has been good, but Frozen Faith is the best to date, and Twisting Loyalties has something to live up to.