The Savage Sword of Conan #191
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIssue #191 sits at the heart of one of the late-series' most ambitious multi-villain showdowns, pitting the skull of Thulsa Doom against the sorcery of Thoth-Amon in a four-part nautical arc that drew two of Robert E. Howard's most enduring antagonists into direct conflict within the magazine's black-and-white, Comics Code-free format. Simultaneously, it carried the second chapter of Roy Thomas's Kull origin serial 'Death and Life in Tiger Valley,' an original-continuity effort to flesh out Kull of Atlantis's pre-kingship years in ways Howard never committed to prose — a rare extended origin treatment for a character whose Marvel comics history stretched back to 1971. Together, the two strips exemplify how Savage Sword used its magazine format in its final years to run long-form, serialized storytelling across parallel mythological timelines rather than the standalone sword-and-sorcery vignettes typical of earlier issues.
In "Jade Coils in Black Khemi," Conan finds himself entangled in a dangerous web of desire and deception as Li-Zya, daughter of the warlord Kuchum, draws him into a secret romance. When Stygian raiders bring the skull of the long-dead Thulsa Doom ashore and deliver it to the sorcerer Thoth-Amon, Conan must lead a daring raid into the villain’s temple—where ancient reptile men, divided in allegiance, await.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw / ungraded ▾ $5.45–$17.95 3 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
By late 1991, Savage Sword of Conan was operating under Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco with roughly four years left in its original run, which would conclude at issue #235 in July 1995. The cover was produced as a collaboration between John Buscema, who provided the structural breakdowns, and painter Joe Jusko, who rendered the final painted image — a working method Jusko himself confirmed. The Conan interior art involved Tony DeZuniga and Tod Smith, while the Kull backup strip was written by Roy Thomas with art by E.R. Cruz, the team that carried the 'Death and Life in Tiger Valley' arc through issues #190–192. Thomas, who had been the series' foundational writer and editor in its earliest years, was by this point contributing primarily to the Kull backup feature rather than the lead Conan stories.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date November 1991; contains two complete stories in the magazine's black-and-white, Comics Code-exempt format.
- Lead story is 'Skull on the Seas, Part II — Jade Coils in Black Khemi,' the second chapter of a four-part arc (issues #190–193) pitting Conan against both Thulsa Doom (present only as a skull) and the sorcerer Thoth-Amon.
- Ssarbaarix, a reptile-man villain serving one of the warring supernatural factions, makes his first and only appearance in this issue, introduced and killed within the same story.
- Minor character Mosardo, a Zingaran nobleman, also makes his first appearance in the lead story.
- Cover art was produced with breakdowns by John Buscema and a painted finish by Joe Jusko; interior art on the Conan story is by Tony DeZuniga with additional pages by Tod Smith.
- Backup story is 'Death and Life in Tiger Valley, Part II,' written by Roy Thomas with art by E.R. Cruz — the second chapter of a serialized Kull of Atlantis origin covering his early pre-kingship years in Tiger Valley and Atlantis.
- The backup story features Kull alongside supporting characters Am-Ra, Sareeta, and Ram-Os, continuing origin details not drawn from any single Robert E. Howard source text.
- The main 'Skull on the Seas' arc was subsequently reprinted in Norwegian-language editions, including Conan Maxi #1 (Bladkompaniet/Schibsted, 2002) and Conan Maxipocket #1 (Bladkompaniet/Schibsted, 2011).
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Conan #2/1996 (1996), Conan album #15 (1996), Conan #6/1998 (1998), Conan #2/2001 (2001), Conan #10/2002 (2002), Conan album #53 (2007), The Savage Sword of Kull #2 (2011), Kull the Savage: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus #[nn] (2021)
Key issues in The Savage Sword of Conan
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.