The Chronicles of Conan #8
In "The Altar and the Scorpion!", Conan journeys toward Messantia with allies Tara and Yusuf when they stumble upon a mysterious city that defies reality. Trapped in a deadly illusion, Conan must face a monstrous bat-thing guarding a captive woman, only to uncover the city’s dark secret: a sentient, magical construct built to lure and consume adventurers. Written by Roy Thomas and brought to life with John Buscema’s legendary art and Pablo Marcos’ inks, this issue blends ancient dread with mythic scale, all under the haunting cover by Buscema and Gan.
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Conan and his friends are on their way to the city of Messantia. They come to a strange city where they try to rescue a beautiful girl who has been snatched by a bat-thing and taken to a high tower. As Conan bests the bat-thing, the city suddenly turns to dust. Tara and Yusuf tells Conan of their encounter with the founder of the city, the deformed Mad Jakk. The city was a magical construct that took on a life of its own and ensnared adventures in order to create a population. When the city could not defeat Conan, it self-destructed and Mad Jakk chose to follow his city into oblivion.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).