My only disappointment with The People of the Black Circle is its length. This is one of Howard's longer stories, and it's a tight fit to cram this story into four issues. Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala adapted The People of the Black Circle in four issues of Savage Sword of Conan, but those were big fat 30-page issues. Based on this first issue, I'm sure Van Lente and Olivet Read Full Review

The art in this issue is by Argentinian artist Ariel Olivetti, who's done a really great job here of bringing Vendhya and its characters to life. Olivetti has a very strong painted style to his art in this comic and I found it to be a great counter-point to what Becky Cloonan, James Harren and Dave Stewart did on Wood's Conan the Barbarian Volume 1. Each panel is immaculately drawn and the art really pops off the page. Not cinematic per se, but strongly visual, I guess you could say. I really enjoyed the entire artwork. Definitely a major strength of this issue, and hopefully those to come as well. Read Full Review

Overall it is a fun start to a great adventure. It looks amazing as well, having a style that looks digitally painted. Everything stands out and the characters are very detailed. It has a lot of potential if it keeps up with this momentum and pacing. The twist at the very end is one you really don't see coming and just another reason why you want to keep following this story if you have picked it up. I recommend this book if you are either a fan of Conan, or just love something that you know will deliver on action, with a bit of mystic elements taking focus. Read Full Review

Conan and the People of the Black Circle #1 succeeds on numerous levels, as the creative team sets the stage for what should be an absolutely riveting piece of fiction. Recommended. Read Full Review

Ariel Olivetti's artwork doesn't always gel with the superhero books he is working on, but Conan fits like a glove. His detailed, painted style looks fantastic and gives the world a hyper-fantasy look. As with some of his previous work, there is some overall stiffness to the characters, which drags down some of the faster paced scenes. Overall, the issue looks really good and unique. none of the Conan comics on the stands look anything alike, which is kinda cool. I'm onboard with this series and can't wait to read more. Read Full Review

Trust me, next issue should get the story crackling along - but the art is the only outstanding thing about this issue, and that's not quite enough. Read Full Review

Conan and the People of the Black Circle is off to a good start. The plot is put out there early and Conan seems to have gotten himself in over his head all by the end of this issue. The book might be better served with the narration as seen in Truman or Wood's Conan but this is a nice change of pace. This is definitely a book to look for. Read Full Review

The art side of things, to be honest, was weaker than the writing in this issue. But thats not to say that Olivetti did a poor job. The vast majority of his panels were crisp, detailed and executed well. There was just a few that slipped by and, of course, the lack of the smoldering blue eyes of Conan set it back. Van Lente weaves himself into the story, adding his touches here and there, and it makes for an enjoyable read overall. If you like REH and Conan, especially if youve read the original story, this is worth checking out for sure, but if youre just a casual fan it might be worth the wait to read it all together as a trade. While you wait, go find the original, preferably unedited, REH story and check that out. Read Full Review

And while Olivetti's art is expectedly skillful, it lacks the rough, and frankly “barbaric,” quality that Nord brought to the series' original incarnation. Lines are clean and smooth, and his Afghulistan sparkles like something out of Disney's Aladdin, with colors that verge on being too vivid. That's a perfectly valid choice if an artist is working with a generic fantasy setting; but Howard's prose places us in a darker, dirtier, more lived-in environment than we have here. The figure work is impeccable, faces distinct and well realized, paneling often creative, and I suspect that Olivetti will bring vigor and punch to the large-scale action scenes to come. There's unquestionable artistry in this comic, and even some fun" there's just not much in the way of the mood or magic that has kept Howard's work indelible in the three-quarters of a century since his passing. Read Full Review

All in all Conan and the People of the Black Circle #1 is underwhelming and nothing more. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come when Van Lente takes the reigns of the Conan's on-going tale when Wood departs. Read Full Review

The artwork is overall fine, competent and adequate for the task but not really breaking any molds aside from a few really big screw-ups that were just left in the book. For instance there's one point where a character mentions five skulls and we're shown a picture of only four. I realize that it can be difficult to get a book out under a deadline but that'd be such an easy thing to fix, just have the character say four skulls instead of five and done. Overall though that's Conan and the People of the Black Circle in a nutshell, it's a generic story that hopes the ending twist from the usual will hold up the rest of the sagging narrative, a narrative that instead of being full of action, intrigue, or Conan is just full of stupid and lazy mistakes. This comic doesn't fail because it's treating Conan too blandly or poorly it fails because it's just a poorly made comic, not recommended. Read Full Review