Conan the Barbarian #179

Issue #179 of Marvel's long-running sword-and-sorcery series delivers a cover that crackles with urgency: a dark-robed, skeletal rider on a rearing black horse bears down on a young, blue-and-gold-armored warrior who stands her ground with sword raised against a cascade of shattering stone. John Buscema both penciled and inked the cover, and his mastery of dynamic anatomy and dramatic scale is evident in every flying boulder and windswept strand of hair. With a story titled "The End of All There Is," this February 1986 issue promises high stakes and a confrontation that feels genuinely dire.