Conan Saga #74

Earl Norem's painted cover for this 1993 Marvel issue pulls you straight into a desperate, swarming melee — Conan sword raised high and Isparana blade in hand, back-to-back against a pressing horde of rotting undead who surge in from every direction. The cover copy says it all: the two warriors are battling the Legion of the Dead, "desperate not to join," which gives Norem's grim, churning composition an urgency that's hard to shake. Inside, Roy Thomas and John Buscema deliver "Black Lotus and Yellow Death" alongside a Conan solo adventure and Part III of his life story — a genuinely packed read for any fan of the Cimmerian.