Rogues in the House and Other Stories

by Timothy Truman

Book Overview

New Conan stories from comics legend Brian Wood, continuing the legend begun by Robert E. Howard for a new generation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593079036
• ISBN13: 9781593079031
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.7" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

Just has got to be the best story

-----Possible spoiler... I'm torn between this and "Tower of the Elephant" but really "Rogues in the House" has simply got to be the best Conan story with "The God in the Bowl" a close second and Tower a third. Not that I really care, "Best" Conan stories are flame war bait and pointless. But I love "Rogues in the House". The action. The intrigue. The mystery and shock. It's a perfect Conan story and really gets a chance to go into Howard's philosophy he puts into his works. The art is simply amazing. Not just the settings, backgrounds, action, but the emotions, posings... And one of my favorite details is that the narrative, esp. any text quoting REH's text directly is done in a "Pulp Fiction" font for most/all the series... Now, if you've already bought most/all the issues as they came out, no real need to buy this -unless you "Collect" them and keep them in bags and fear to read them. Or missed most/all the issues. Then it's certainly worth buying. Myself, I'll wait till I find a used "Reading Copy" and snap it up.

The last good album...

I would disagree with some comments saying that this tome doesn't have the qualities of the previous ones in this series, because of a change of the artists (drawer and scenarist). - Drawing : Tomas Giorello had a very small intervention here. He's not an awful artist, but compared to Nord, he just doesn't stand a second. I agree choosing him was a questionable choice, but the fact is that this choice had an impact on volume 6, not on this specific volume. - Story : It may be not the best story of the series, but it's still a quite good one. Actually, I don't have any critics about it, except something that was in the original plot (about Conan's Vengeance against a woman. I won't say more to be sure not to give any spoiler). To sum up, well it's a good volume. And unfortunately the last one of the series. 6th volume is indeed very deceptive. So enjoy this 5th volume. It's worth it.

Excellent book!

Great book, as always has been this Conan series, enjoy it, because it will change soon.

An excellent volume

I had to respond to the individual who left a one star review, and provide a more balanced perspective, because he's out to lunch. These Dark Horse Conan comics are better (to me far better) than the regular Marvel series from the 1970s and 80s (Savage Sword was generally well done though). The artwork is fantastic, the dialogue is crisp, and most importantly the mood and sudden intensity of the scenarios live up to the spirit of Howard's writing. It should be mentioned that the early marvel Conan's were generally better than the later part of the run, though sometimes Roy Thomas failed miserably in his writing, with original stories that were so unimaginitive (like the death of Belit) they didn't deserve publication. Marvel was NEVER the golden age of Conan. I've read all of Howard's original material, almost all of the marvel run, and the all the Dark Horse Conans from the main title in recent years. The reviewer who gave one star must have got knocked in the head or something, because the talent of the writers and the artists simply oozes off the pages in this series. The suspense is gripping and the stories are a fine tribute to Howard's creation. If you liked the first four Dark Horse Conan trade paperbacks, then you'll like this one too.

Superb

Rogues in the House is the latest volume in Dark Horse Comics' continuing Conan comic book series; the series began with writing from the great Kurt Busiek and art from Cary Nord and Dave Stewart. In this volume, we find the reigns passed to writer Timothy Truman and artist Thomas Giorello. I was a little skeptical at first - Busiek had written the series with immense verve and respect for Conan and Robert E. Howard both, and Cary Nord's artistically sketchy pencils, accompanied by Stewart's intuitive digital painting, seemed to fit the series perfectly. For those who might be wary of this volume, don't be: Truman is exceptionally adept at crafting complex fantasy yarns, Giorello's art compares favorably with Nord's, and the digital painting talents of Richard Isanove are certainly up to the task. This volume follows where volume 4 leaves off, with Conan and Nestor the Gunderman still in Zamora, City of Thieves, plying their trade as burglars whilst a noose of powerful political forces slowly tightens around them. Conan finds that his latest lady love, the fickle Jiara, is not to be trusted, and circumstances conspire to bring him in league with rebels seeking to overthrow the tyrannical king of the city. Plus, there are evil, intelligent monkeys to deal with (I'm not kidding...). This is among the best volumes in the series thus far. Truman has a knack for mood and dialogue, and we immediately feel for even the most minor of supporting characters under his skillful writing. Giorello take over the artistic duties halfway through this volume, and while we notice a distinct shift in style, he still works within the tradition of excellence set by Nord. Truman's writing also has some sly asides in it - there is a great boxing scene in which Conan fights a man in a bar for money, and one gets the feeling this is a tribute to Robert E. Howard's many boxing yarns he penned. I highly recommend this volume, and I hope you'll pick it up.