The Savage Sword of Conan #70

Issue #70 of The Savage Sword of Conan delivers everything fans of Marvel's black-and-white magazine era could ask for: Earl Norem's painted cover shows a bloodied, sword-wielding Conan striding forward alongside a fierce blonde woman in a yellow outfit, while looming above them both is a massive, nightmarish insectoid creature with clawed limbs and crushing mandibles. The title story, "The Dweller in the Depths," written by Bruce Jones with art by John Buscema and Steve Mitchell, promises exactly the kind of subterranean dread that cover suggests. A vivid, atmospheric entry in one of 1981's most consistently thrilling adventure magazines.