The Savage Sword of Conan #46

Earl Norem's painted cover for "Moon of Blood" is a visceral, crimson-soaked tableau — Conan strains every muscle to wrestle a massive serpent beneath a blood-red moon, while a menacing dark figure looms in the background and a woman with a skull-tipped staff looks on from the shadows. The fiery palette and sheer physicality make this November 1979 issue feel like one of the magazine's most atmospheric entries. With Roy Thomas writing and art by Ernie Colón and Tony DeZuniga inside, The Savage Sword of Conan #46 promises the kind of sword-and-sorcery intensity the series does so well.