Conan the Barbarian #86

Issue #86 brings one of Conan's most viscerally unsettling challenges to the page, as the cover — penciled and inked by John Buscema — plunges us straight into the jaws of "The Devourer of the Dead," a massive, dripping, tentacled horror that dominates the composition with its gaping maw and slick green bulk. Conan strains against its writhing grip, sword raised, while his companion Zula and what appears to be a gorilla-like creature are caught up in the churning chaos below. The cover tag confirms it: Conan and Zula are up against a monster spawned in Hell, and Buscema's visceral linework makes that feel entirely believable.