Epic Illustrated #2

Marvel's ambitious adult fantasy-and-science-fiction magazine hits its second issue with a cover by Richard Corben that commands attention: a muscular, bare-chested warrior crouches defensively against a mass of snarling, reptilian creatures, while a striking woman stands behind him beside a torch-lit stone monument under a smoldering sky. The sheer physicality and rich color work Corben brings to this scene capture exactly the sword-and-sorcery spirit that Epic Illustrated promised readers in Summer 1980. Inside, Roy Thomas and Tim Conrad bring Robert E. Howard's "Almuric" to life — making this an early showcase of the kind of ambitious, creator-driven storytelling Marvel was championing in this prestige format.