Conan the Barbarian #264

Part one of "White Apes and Ebon Thrones" kicks off with a cover that makes an immediate impression — Conan raises his broad sword against a looming pair of snarling white apes, their fanged faces filling the upper half of the image with genuine menace. At his side stands Isparana, daggers drawn, described on the cover itself as fighter, lover, killer, and thief — a pairing that promises action and complicated loyalties in equal measure. John Watkiss's pencils and inks give the whole scene a sharp, dramatic energy that suits Marvel's long-running sword-and-sorcery series well into its 1993 run.