COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Conan the Barbarian 1
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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0052481001
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Owner:
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Rune
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
A fantastic book with near-perfect cover centering and orientation, and pure white pages.
This book was once the crown of the legendary Conan set collected by Bill Hughes, see the picture. More information about Bill (William) Hughes can be found here:
http://www.vintagecollectables.net/about.php?page_id=2
14 books ended up in CarlD's current top ranking set, while #1, #12 and Annual #1 are part of my set. My #21 9.8 was also from Bill Hughes, but was not part of his set, because he also owned #21 CGC 9.9.
So this Conan #1 9.8 book has quite a history and I am truly delighted to add another book from Bill's amazing collection to my primary Conan the Barbarian set.
Well, maybe Conan the Barbarian should have a short introduction:
"Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian, from the name of the character's homeland, Cimmeria) is a fictional character. He is a hero, a well known and iconic figure in American fantasy, and the most famous barbarian in fiction.
Conan is often associated with the fantasy subgenre of sword and sorcery and heroic fantasy. He was created by Texan writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories sold to Weird Tales magazine. The character has since appeared in licensed books, comics, films, television programs, video games, roleplaying games, and even a board game, all of which contribute to the hero's long-standing popularity.
Conan the Barbarian is also the title of a Gnome Press collection of stories published in 1954, a comic published by Marvel Comics beginning in 1970, and a film and its novelization in 1982".
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian
And many will remember this great text introducing the Age of Conan:
"Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west." (Howard, RE. The Phoenix on the Sword. Weird Tales 20 6, Dec 1932).
The first 24 issues, except issues 17 and 18, were drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith and became especially popular due to his very elaborate drawings:
"Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith (born 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. His international acclaim came as the original artist for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian from 1970 to 1973, where he rapidly evolved a sophisticated and intricate style, introducing elements from diverse artistic influences to graphic storytelling".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Windsor-Smith
This book is the comic book origin of Conan the Barbarian, which marked the beginning of "the most obsessively detailed monthly comic book the market had ever seen", according to Barry Windsor-Smith (excerpt from his book Opus 2).
Conan the Barbarian issues 1 to 24 received the following awards:
1. 1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Continuing Feature: Conan the Barbarian".
2. 1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Writer (Dramatic): Roy Thomas".
3. 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Individual Story (Dramatic): Song of Red Sonja".
More info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian_(comics)
I have uploaded more high-res book pictures here (paste the URL into your browser to see the images):
FRONT:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0052481001F.JPG
BACK:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0052481001B.JPG
Current status of 39/48 unrestored Conan the Barbarian #1 CGC 9.8 books (July 2017):
All WP:
0167081001, Signature Series
0008394004, Boston pedigree
0001375001
0015782005
0052481001
0171309004
0171309005
0198392001
0743036001
0916861015
0962629014
0976378001
0993719006
0995117005
0997419024
1015783006
1027177006
1028067002
1032373004
1039372005
1043193004
1055543001
1057668001
1057674007
1108403001
1198866002
1201292001
1203978001
1206084002
1213370007
1231168015
1269068001
1305615012
1338632001
1347005002
1347052002
1463965002
All OW-W:
1110596002
0119067001
1226847002
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
Book 0997419024 has the best cover centering and orientation of the 39 Conan #1 9.8 books I have seen. You can see the 39 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue01
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