Set Description:
Kull, Kull the Conqueror, Kull the Destroyer, King Kull, poor guy has a lot of titles to keep track of, huh? Anyway, the first of the Conan spin-off titles is probably the best and definitely the longest running of the bunch - even with a name change in the middle. Generally solid stories and art helps. I'm not sure why this set doesn't include Creatures 10, Kull's first full appearance, but then I don't make the sets, I just line up my beautiful barbarians and sword swingers and make sweet, sweet love to the cover art. Okay - probably not. Not even for the Brunner Red Sonja covers.
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| Slot: |
Kull the Conqueror 1 |
| Item: |
Kull the Conqueror 1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2019199005
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Owner Comments
And on his third appearance, Kull gets his own title - hey, good job! I mean, way faster than Red Sonja, amirite? Once again, it's Severin's handiwork that is most obvious in the cover art. Something about her line work is just identifiable. Well, let's give that cover art a look. First off - what the actual hell with the tiger head? I though it was part of the wall behind Kull at first glance, but it is also clearly in front of the back corner of the throne, so that's not a thing. Is it just the great tigerish power of Kull? Usually we use lions for that imagery. Oh, and we don't make them almost the same color as the back wall. Looking at the main image, Kull and the dead king, that's a strong image with great draftsmanship which also really tells a story about what is going on. Really good choices there. The colors really pop against the blue/grey background, and the crown on the blade of the sword is sweet. Kull looks really uncomfortable though - his sword arm is straight with his shoulder raised and he's gripping his sword with his thumb on top of the hilt - which when done together is really uncomfortable and a crappy way to hold up the weight of something made of gold. But, if he simply lowered his shoulder and bent his elbow, he could be supporting the weight of the sword & crown in a lifting motion - way more real and far, far more comfortable. At least he's not wearing plate armor on his arm, that weight would really suck in that position. Also in the spotlight of the primary scene on the cover is the plate bikini chick on the throne. What is she doing? Upgrading from a redhead to Kull? I'm not sure, though she definitely seems interested. And finally, in the far background we have some royal guard (yeah, they sucked), in front of a nicely detailed wall. I'm not real certain about the royal guard, like why are they already wearing Kull's colors instead of the purple of the dead king? Aesthetically I understand the need to make them stand out from the wall - but - it doesn't make sense. Finally, we have a word balloon. Oddly, I'm not overwhelmingly dissatisfied with it. Probably due to the yellow color instead of white. Because if that balloon was white it would stand out soooo bad - so I'm going to give a pass on it this time.
Overall - damn, I think I really do like it when I take it all in. It feels very Conan-esque and that is the goal right?
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| Slot: |
Kull the Conqueror 5 |
| Item: |
Kull the Conqueror 5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
3799349023
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Owner Comments
"The Blade, The Blood, The Battle!" - damn Kull, you know when the arrows are able to reach your shield it is advisable to actually use your shield in a defensive manner as opposed to letting it hang from your resting arm. Plus standing up straight-legged on a rocking boat? Yeah right. I know the Severins were going for a look here - but let's try and toss in a little realistic body language, OK? Now, nitpicking aside, it is a pretty cool cover - Kull's all majestic looking there with his romance-book-cover torn tunic and his kingly pose. The green really sets his figure out from the remainder of the image which is a little busy and crowded. The flowing cape and crown really set the tone too. I'm not entirely sure why he has his sword unsheathed, but ok, maybe he wants to stab one of his rowers when the boat hits a swell and he's knocked off-balance - who can say with these kingly types?
Overall? For 20 cents, I think you can get your money's worth just from viewing the cover. Obviously sea voyages and sea battles are an important part of the whole Conan/Kull/Sonja universe, being an integral part of several of the original books and short stories - so this captures that. Yeah, I can say that the cover are alone is sufficient to convince me to take this home off the spinner rack
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| Slot: |
Kull the Conqueror 8 |
| Item: |
Kull the Conqueror 8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0312934011
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Owner Comments
"Wolf's-head!" The Severins set a nice scene with this Kull cover. Inside the royal keep, tapestries on the walls, the stonework of the archways decorated, and our very attractive serving wench plus fruit and cup and bowl all laid out in the foreground after being surprised by the Wolfie Boy. Wolfie is naked as a wolf should be, although carefully shaded to avoid any issues with over disclosure. We're not Batman: Damned after all.
Our Hero, our King, Kull is charging right in there to save is third favorite serving wench and he looks like he means business, even if he is exposing his no helmet wearing head to a serious case of claws. But his sword is low, and his grip is strong and believable, so as long as Wolfie knows absolutely nothing about hand to hand combat, this should be easy for Kull to solve with a quick snickersnack of his sword. Composition is kinda tough on this one - it's very square, kind of like a couple of boxers facing off and the square formed by the red/pink parts of the cover make it more like a boxing ring (tapestries, the wench, the KULL masthead). Really - that's a lot what I see in the image. I think my only real disappointment with the image is that the sword blade isn't threatening. It's twisted a little bit, so if Kull swung it right now without correcting the angle of the blade, it'd hit about 30% off of the edge. It'd hurt, but it sure wouldn't cleave like it should. Cleaning that up, which makes the blade appear thinner to the viewer, would improve the cover.
Overall - yeah, I think this cover does it's job and separates me from my hard earned 20 cents.
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| Slot: |
Kull the Destroyer 13 |
| Item: |
Kull, the Destroyer 13 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0993755012
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Owner Comments
"The Fiend in the Flame!" now there's some cover badassery by Ploog. I'm not sure what exactly is going on with the flaming king and his weak-ass left-handed punch delivered from standing on his toes with his knees bent deep - that'd be the weakest ass punch ever. I guess maybe since he's made of flame (or maybe he's just made of LAME), he doesn't have any mass to support on his toes? But no mass = no punch. So yeah, maybe him punching someone is silly. We also have this cool skull in the background just hoovering in the air. At least Ploog knows how to draw a good skull. But I sure as hell don't know what it is supposed to signify there. Just filling space on the cover I guess.
Fionally, we have Kull. His stance is solid, feet planted, knees slightly bent, sword arm cocked to deliver a solid backhand swing. He looks the part of a swordsman. Except the shield. So yeah - the shield doesn't do any good if you don't keep it between you and whoever is trying to kill you. So terrible shield work. Plus, if the shield is strapped to his arm like I think it is, the boss on the shield should be rotated 90 degrees or so counter-clockwise.
Overall - I may pick at this cover art now as an old man, but it totally would have separated me from my hard earned 20 cents when it was new.
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