Thrud The Barbarian by Carl Critchlow

Is it He-Man? Conan the Barbarian! No, it’s not – it’s our wandering beer-guzzling warrior Thrud The Barbarian! Comic artist Carl Critchlow first unleashed his character Thrud as a college project, where it first appeared in a fanzine in the 1980s and then spawned a six-year comic strip run on Games Workshop’s “White Dwarf” magazine.

As Thrud The Barbarian travels through city to city, he always finds himself in a pinch with the locals trying to use him, but always somehow and someway, Thrud finds the advantage and doles out his own brand of justice of sorts. And every Thrud adventure calls for beer, like Samson and his hair for strength, Thrud’s power comes from the love beer. Vol 1 collects 5 distinct stories, a collection of Critchlow’s past comic strips and bonus sketchbook.

It’s hard to put out a good comic book with a good story and artwork, when you are both writer and artist, but Carl Critchlow does it here in Thrud The Barbarian Volume 1. Carl has a cool distinct drawing and coloring style which I enjoy. The stories are set in a Conan The Barbarian-style world mixed with humor, great one-liners, and over-the-top violence with swords and fists. If reading the X-Men is a little too serious, why not have some fun with Thrud The Barbarian Volume 1.