From Booklist
In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics began publishing its versions of Robert E. Howard's 1930s pulp-magazine tales of Conan the Barbarian, thereby launching a sword-and-sorcery fad that rivaled the popularity of its superhero titles. In the third in a series reprinting Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's entire run with Conan, the barbarian faces wizards, witches, demons, and even a band of everyday pirates. Burdened with convoluted plots and excessive dialogue, most of it in various shades of purple, the vintage stories lack the comparative sophistication of today's comics; however, most of that lack derives from Howard's original conception, which Thomas adapted too faithfully, perhaps. The main appeal, now as then, lies in Windsor-Smith's elegant, meticulous artwork (obscured here by sometimes-murky recoloring). His Conan possessed an underlying nobility that subsequent artists have failed to capture. This collection also includes two fill-in stories by veteran artist Gil Kane, which serve mostly to play up Windsor-Smith's indispensability. The stories may have lost luster, but Windsor-Smith hasn't, and his fans will welcome this volume. Gordon Flagg
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Book Description
This is the third volume in a series collecting the early Conan comic book stories by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. Originally created in the 1930s, Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian has survived to emerge as one of this century's most powerful and popular characters. Even more impressive than the character's lasting appeal over the past seven decades, is the caliber of talent involved in all of the various Conan incarnations. Of those, there are few that speak as clearly and as uniquely as artist Barry Windsor-Smith. Over the course of these early stories, Windsor-Smith's stunning evolution from comic-book cartoonist to full-fledged artist is apparent and thrilling to behold.

FROM THE PUBLISHER