Review by Frank Plowright

Robert E. Howard’s original stories were set at various periods during Conan’s life, and since his first appearance in comics writers have found plenty of gaps in the chronology for their own use. Jim Zub employs one with Thrice Marked for Death, seemingly not continuing from Bound in Black Stone, but instead dropping into the immediate aftermath of his time with pirate queen Bêlit. He loved her, she’s dead, he’s mourning and perhaps that’s why his usual caution is muted when offered a considerable amount to retrieve an allegedly stolen item from a secure place.

Whoever made the connection that Doug Braithwaite might be able to draw a decent Conan story should be rewarded. Braithwaite delivers phenomenally beyond expectation, relishing the environment and fully utilising it. His Conan is a powerhouse, yet not impossibly muscled in the manner of other artists, and the action scenes are laid out to allow for both strength and agility. There’s not even an average page here. It’s all great.

It turns out Zub does have a connection to the previous volume after all. Although it may be many years later in Conan’s life, the zombies from before haven’t been fully dealt with, and he remembers them. His memory is also strong when it comes to Bêlit and the time they spent together, and readers inclined to prediction will surely have thoughts about where Zub is heading with the plot. They’re likely to be wrong. In fact, it’s probably the case that Zub’s presenting a first for Conan in the way things play out.

It’s a surprise ending, and rather a downbeat one, but leaves Conan in fine fettle for The Age Unconquered.