Conan the King #49

Mike Kaluta's cover for issue #49 sets an ominous tone, depicting a cloaked, battle-worn figure — unmistakably Conan — pressed close to a massive, curved blade while ghostly, shattered imagery and arcane stonework fill the background, with an ornate sword displayed in the middle distance. The story title "Treachery" fits the brooding atmosphere perfectly, hinting at deception lurking beneath the Aquilonian crown. Don Kraar and Mike Docherty bring Robert E. Howard's elder barbarian king to life in what looks to be one of the moodier, more atmospheric entries in Marvel's 1988 run of this series.