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classic Barry Windsor-Smith cover & art; origin & 1st app of Conan; 1st app of King Kull in cameo; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 9 (CBI)


The beginning of the Bronze Age of comics. Conan the Barbarian #1, with a legendary Barry Windsor-Smith cover, features Conan's first appearance in comics. The success of the comic allowed publishers to try out or re-visit other genres.
The 1970s saw kung-fu, horror, and romance experience a resurgence in the Bronze Age, all because of Conan!


Artist Information

Smith rose to prominence thanks to his incredibly detailed and beautiful work on Marvels' Conan the Barbarian, which employed an approach that had never been seen in comics before. The artist worked on several titles at Marvel in the Silver Age before launching his own pin-up publishing house Gorblimey Press, which he used to release impressive lithos to his fan base. Working through the decades, Smith became more and more disillusioned about the comic industry and its unfair treatment of artists, so he slowly started to withdraw from the business. Occasionally popping up with the odd series of graphic novel. Smith is commonly recognized as one of the great artists in the history of comics. He once created a fictional comic book for Oliver Stone's movie "The Hand" which was based on Conan, and Michael Caine played the lead, a character that was a comic book artist that bore a striking resemblance to Smith.