By Crom, it's Barry Windsor-Smith
Conan the Barbarian 19
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COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Conan the Barbarian 19 Universal
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Grade:
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9.4
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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2101160015
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Owner:
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Lee K
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
"Hawks from the Sea!" This is one of my favorite covers of all time for use of color - everyone that has perused my other registered sets knows I like pink & orange, but what really sets it off is the blue in the picture frame. Now, I'm not a big picture frame dude. It works sometimes and it doesn't work sometimes, and I think some artists were better at adapting to it then others. BWS doesn't have any issues with breaking the line - that is having some of his image escape the frame - and that prevents his picture frame covers from looking static or boxed in. Anyway, without the use of a black frame or a cool colored background for the actual image, BWS makes this cover work - and that's no easy feat. He has to use layering without allowing the image to look overwhelming (hence the limited color palette) - but the focus really is on Conan, with his body twisted and that massive ball & chain raised as an improvised flail to smoosh some skellies. Pirate skellies. All really intensely detailed with the delicate ink work of a master artist practicing his craft. Look in the background beneath Conan's left armpit - see the dude that is nothing but a face, helm, and headscarf just coming into sight? That alone - that tiny detail, is better than some complete covers. Hell, I think I'd wear just that as a t-shirt. Side note - I absolutely adore the fact that the cover story text is cleverly merged with the ship's sail. Adore 112%.
Looking at Conan - my only issue is his leading leg looks a little awkward - but he's fighting skelly-pirates on a rocking boat, with an improvised flail - so I'm going to cut that some slack. Maybe he stepped on a bone and it rolled under his foot. The protagonist of the hour has grabbed some sort of knobby weight tied to a chain - probably it was supposed to keep him from jumping off a slave ship (also very Conan) - but he's using it as a massive flail. An excellent choice for skellies, since it does the crushing and smooshing damage. Here's the thing about flails - you have got to keep them moving - kinda fast - or they smack you upside your own dumb head and it hurts. No seriously. I love the twisting & the tension in Conan's body supports the idea that he's not only swinging the weight around, but keeping it moving - it shows that he knows what he's doing.
Overall - I love this cover and it's every little detail. SMOOSH.
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