For over nine decades, Conan the Barbarian has carved his way through the imagination of readers worldwide. Now, in an ambitious new arc titled “Frozen Faith,” writer Jim Zub and artist Doug Braithwaite have crafted a story that peers beneath the mighty thews and flashing steel to explore what truly makes the Cimmerian an enduring legend. 

Their fresh perspective finds its power in focusing on young Conan grappling with questions of faith, certainty, and the mysteries that lie beyond the physical world. Braithwaite’s artistic vision, in particular, perfectly exemplifies this bold approach. “I tried to make [the story] as striking and as harsh as possible,” he explains, determined to “approach it from a different angle” and create something “realistic and grand.” 

Together, these creators have forged a tale that honors Howard’s legacy while breaking new ground. In the frozen wastes of the North, far from the familiar comforts of hearth and home, a young barbarian faces trials that will test not just his legendary strength and courage, but the very foundations of his beliefs about the nature of reality itself.

The Unforgiving North as a Character

Beneath steel-gray skies, across wind-scoured plains, and through bitter snowstorms, the frozen wastes of the North test Conan’s limits with a savagery matching any supernatural foe.

Writer Jim Zub seized upon this hostile environment to explore deeper themes about survival and belief. In his hands, the deadly natural world becomes a proving ground where “a fight with wolves can be just as powerful as fighting Thulsa Doom in the Thurian Age.” The primal struggle against nature strips away civilization’s pretenses, forcing Conan to confront not just physical threats, but the very foundations of his worldview. Here in the merciless North, where each breath forms ice crystals and every step could plunge through treacherous snow, the young barbarian must grapple with questions that cut deeper than any blade.

This merciless setting demanded a distinct visual approach. Artist Doug Braithwaite crafted a world where “there’s no kind of let up, there’s no kind of happy kind of bright days or anything like that.” His stark landscapes and frozen vistas create an atmosphere of constant menace, where every snowdrift could hide death and each icy gust threatens to steal the warmth from Conan’s bones. 

Far from the warmth of hearth and home, Conan’s certainties begin to crack like river ice in spring. With each trial survived and each brush with death, the mighty glaciers and howling blizzards chip away at his youthful conviction that the physical world is all that exists.

Questions of Faith in the Hyborian Age

At the heart of this tale beats a question as old as humanity itself: what lies beyond the veil of the physical world? Through the lens of a young Conan’s awakening, this arc plumbs deep into the foundations of belief and the universal struggle between youthful certainty and ancient wisdom. 

The story particularly resonates in its portrayal of Conan’s relationship with his father. “When you’re young and you start to have your own independence,” Zub explains, “you can look at your parents and you can look at their faith or their ancestors or their obsession with history and say, you’re trapped by this.” This rebellion against inherited wisdom forms the emotional core of young Conan’s journey, creating a compelling parallel to his physical trials in the frozen wastes.

Through carefully crafted flashbacks, the narrative weaves together past and present, showing how Conan’s questioning of Crom and the supernatural mirrors deeper tensions within his own family. As Braithwaite notes, these scenes reveal how Conan’s father remains “the one constant in his whole life,” patiently weathering his son’s doubts and questions with understanding rather than condemnation. 

Conan’s journey echoes that timeless moment when youth confronts the limitations of its own understanding, when the solid ground of certainty begins to shift beneath one’s feet. But in the harsh northern wilderness, something otherworldly stalks the snow-laden winds – something that will force Conan to confront the permeability of the world he knows.

Atali’s Gaze

Atali, the daughter of Ymir the Frost Giant, stands as an enigmatic figure. The decision to include her perspective in this tale allows readers to see through the eyes of an immortal being, a truly novel idea on behalf of the creative team. 

From her lofty vantage point, Atali initially views the conflicts of mortals with cold contempt. As Braithwaite captures in his ethereal portrayal, she holds “total disdain for the mortals and their squabbles.” Yet something about the young Cimmerian catches her attention – his “raw, unbridled kind of nature and his passion for life and knowledge” creates a crack in her divine detachment. Through careful visual storytelling and subtle character work, we witness the slow erosion of her certainties even as Conan’s begin to crumble.

This parallel journey of discovery presented unique creative challenges. How does one portray the inner life of a goddess? While Conan struggles with physical trials and spiritual doubts in the mortal realm, Atali’s story unfolds in a more liminal space – between the world of gods and the realm of men. As Zub notes, “Conan is venturing forth and trying to find a part of himself and understand something about himself. And Atali is changing as well.”

The resulting interplay between these two perspectives builds toward a confrontation that will shake both characters to their cores. In the stark northern wilderness, where the boundary between natural and supernatural grows thin as ice, immortal curiosity and mortal determination collide with earth-shattering consequences. Through Atali’s gaze, we see Conan as a force of nature himself, one capable of challenging the very order of the divine.

Twisting Loyalties Await

Having tested his mettle against the frozen wastes and their otherworldly denizens, Conan’s journey is far from over. The creative team’s next arc promises to trade howling winter winds for salt spray and northern snows for tropical waters. Moving from the stark isolation of the frozen north, “Twisting Loyalties” will plunge readers into the height of Conan’s infamous partnership with Bêlit, Queen of the Black Coast.

The shift in setting brings with it an entirely new palette of storytelling possibilities. The team’s excitement for this new direction is palpable, with Braithwaite particularly enthused about exploring the seas and delving deeper into what he calls “that kind of love story” between the barbarian and the pirate queen. These upcoming tales promise to showcase Conan and Bêlit at the pinnacle of their notorious careers, when, as Zub notes, their reputation reaches such heights that “infamy seems more appropriate” than mere fame.

From the frozen wastes to the burning seas, from spiritual awakening to passionate adventure, Conan’s world continues to expand. The partnership between Zub and Braithwaite shows no signs of cooling, promising readers that whether on storm-tossed waves or blood-soaked decks, the adventures of the Cimmerian will continue to push boundaries and explore new horizons.

The stage is set for tales of high adventure, where love and loyalty clash with ambition and betrayal on the wine-dark seas of the Hyborian Age. Through these upcoming stories, readers will witness the full flourishing of Conan’s legend – no longer the questioning youth of the frozen north, but the full-blooded adventurer whose name sends shudders through the ports of the south. The journey continues, and if these creators have shown us anything, it’s that there are always new depths to plumb in the saga of Conan the Barbarian.

Of course, the depths of thought and artistry that went into crafting the Frozen Faith arc only scratch the surface of what Zub and Braithwaite share in their full interviews.

From detailed breakdowns of specific scenes to candid revelations about their creative process, these in-depth conversations offer unprecedented insight into how this landmark story came together. Catch both exclusive interviews now on the official Conan YouTube channel, where Zub and Braithwaite take you behind the scenes of this bold new chapter in the Cimmerian’s legendary saga.