Conan Saga #35

Val Mayerik's painted cover for this February 1990 Marvel magazine-format issue sets a visceral, atmospheric tone: a muscular Conan locks wrists with a towering, fanged ghoul while a dark-haired woman crouches at his feet, vulnerable but watchful amid smoky, storm-grey surroundings. The confrontation promises exactly the kind of sword-and-sorcery tension you'd expect from a story titled "The Ghouls of Yanaidar," with Roy Thomas writing and John Buscema providing interior art inked by Tony DeZuniga. It's a handsomely produced package that captures the brooding menace of Robert E. Howard's world at its most compelling.