Conan the King #45

Marvel's Conan the King #45 (March 1988) drops readers straight into a gritty dungeon brawl, with a bare-chested, broad-shouldered warrior — almost certainly Conan himself — locked in a fierce three-way struggle against a blond-bearded opponent and a blue-tunicked swordsman swinging a blade overhead. The stone stairway, chains, and iron-grated floor set a suitably grim underground atmosphere for the "Calliastros" story within. Cover artists Mike Docherty and Fraja Bator pack the composition with raw tension, making this issue a satisfying entry in the long-running saga of the Cimmerian king.