First off, let me tell you where I'm coming from with my reviews. This way you have something to base your reading of my reviews on.
I collect a gambit of comic genres; Marvel and DC mainstream stuff, Marvel's Icon, DC's Vertigo (my favorite overall), DC's Wildstorm, Image including Top Cow, IDW, Devil's Due, Zenescope, Dark Horse and several other Indys.
Here are examples of what I enjoy and think are really well done comics and would give high appraise: 'Y the Last Man, Walking Dead, 30 days of Night (first mini), Scalped, DMZ, Conan, Red Sonja, Mice Templar, Fell, Vinyl Underground, Captain America, Iron Fist, Ultimate Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Proof, Grimm Fairy Tales, Star Wars: Legacy, Witchblade, The Magdalena (my favorite character of all time), Pax Romana, Sojourn, Batman. There are more, but this should give you some idea of what I'm looking for in my comics.
One reviewer's opinion will not be the same as the next, thus I've provided you with the types of reading I like and enjoy. That is what I base my reviews on. If you read the above information and do not enjoy the same things as I, then my reviews will be garbage to you. So reviews, in my opinion are all relative to the reviewer's and the reader's taste.
Second, my reviews will be the culmination of stars between 1 and 5 (5 being the best) averaged over the subjects listed below.
Now, here we go...
Title: Conan The Cimmerian #0
Cover: Nice lines. Great coloring. ***
Interior Art: Perfect for the Cimmerian. The shadowing and coloring are spot on for a Conan tale. *****
Story dialogue: There's a little 'modern' scene at the beginning and end that I'm not sure why it exists. I believe it's suppose to be R.E. Howard writting the tale as if he's actually remembering it himself. A little wierd imo. There is not much 'meat and potatos' in this preview issue except you are beat over the head with Cimmeria being a 'land of darkness and deep night'. I assume they're trying to portrait an ominous atmosphere, but come on! That discription is repeated, over and over and over again through the short little zero issue. Also lots of description about shadowy hills and the landscape. Not much 'story' revealed. **
Letters and page Layout: *****
Emotions invoked: Dread, apprehension, excitement then dissappointment. The dialogue builds ominously and with one little skirmesh between Conan and some Vanaheims the issue turns into a collage of images from Conan issues 1-50 (beautifully drawn btw), but nothing much of what this new creative team is taking the Cimmerian into. ***
Rate: 3.6/5