| Slot: |
Conan 1 |
| Item: |
Conan 1 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0804717011
|
Owner Comments
I have to admit to mixed feelings about this particular cover. I just don't like the white - there's no sense of place. Is it supposed to be a snowfield? The bodies and the artfully applied blood splatters look like an afterthought - why? because none of them overlap the image of Conan and the sword. It's almost as if the cover would be better if everything not Conan was removed - but without centering Conan. Leave him off center and low in the image area. I do love his pose - staring up as if to challenge Crom himself.
But lets take a look at what he's doing, OK? I'm going to be honest, nobody holds a sword in their bare hand like that. Even if the blade isn't sharp, the edges get very sharp spurs in the course of a swordfight, from other weapons, from metal edged shields, just about from everything the sword comes in contact with. Plus, the webbing of your thumb? Can you imagine a place on your hand with fewer callouses? It's just going to cut you and be annoying until it heals. Now - if he had a rag in that hand and he was wiping off the blood? 100% Absolutely. Because blood will start your blade oxidizing. And even if it doesn't it will turn it black (yay iron content).
Overall - the cover gets a mixed grade from me. Love the eye contact & bird's eye POV; not impressed with the remainder.
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| Slot: |
Conan 2 |
| Item: |
Conan 2 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0208641002
|
Owner Comments
This is the kind of cover I think Linsner does well - really two unrelated, overlapping images. The woman in the background as well as everything behind here could very well be a dream sequence or a ghost image - totally not in the same room as Conan. Conan, on the other hand, is very much in your face - down and dirty and in a strongly aggressive fighting pose. She's pretty, he's gripping, and the contrast in the background is visually interesting. I do like the heavily foreshortened look of the sword - but it took some time studying it to grasp what it was about the sword that was unsettling to me. And it is from my time as a stage combat instructor that it finally clicked - Conan has his sword indexed wrong. Judging by the knuckle on his index finger, if he swung the sword at me, the leading edge would be about 15 degrees off from the angle of his swing - making his attack ineffective.
Overall - she's got an excellent set of hangers, but he doesn't know how to use his sword.
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| Slot: |
Conan 24 Nude Edition |
| Item: |
Conan 24 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0146460002
|
Owner Comments
Climbing out the window with a huge haul of loot, and leaving behind the (hopefully) satisfied hottie? Is there a more authentically Conan image? I mean, that's what I read as a teen. I love this cover image, both the nude & not-nude - the entire image area tells a story, from the window to the items in the interior, to the panther; it is rather exquisite. Conan is sporting a sword strapped to his back - I'm not going to go into that, since it is a barbarian cliché - but at least it is on the correct shoulder for a right handed fighter. Now the dagger - it's a bit of an odd beast, huh? He's holding it inverted, it appears to have nearly as much handle as blade (based on what I think is the tip of a crosspiece) and it is curved with either no edge or only a false edge on the back of the blade. That means it's for slashing. It is a poor stabbing dagger (not that it wont) and a terrible throwing dagger. Unless he just looted it, I can't see Conan carrying it as his short weapon of choice, and definitely not carrying it inverted - you want all the reach you can get when you slash.
Overall - my annoyance at the dagger is so insignificant to the total image, that I have to call this one a modern era win.
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