Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #1 Cover by Gerardo Zaffino (2024)

Congrats Rick - Zaff on Conan is like peanut butter and jelly - perfection. 

Beauty!!

bad-ass!

Excellent piece. Congrats

Wise man say: 'Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for a late pizza.'

Outstanding ~ Congrats Rick!

Wow what a strong Conan image! Zaffino did some excellent work here. Even the subtle coloring work on the final cover looks great (didn't ruin it!). Awesome cover pickup, congrats Rick!

Beautiful layered example of Zaffino's work. Congrats Rick.

A pure image by Zaffino rendering in levels using every technique he does great used to maximize the impact!  Screentone, white paint, washes, scratching, brush inking, pen inks, and so much more with Conan in the front and the creature looming the back.

Oh wow - tried to get this one but no luck. Congrats.

The textures are incredible!  And I just love how the image is so layered in its depth.  Absolutely phenomenal piece!  You've got such a great eye for art.  Respect.

Awesome!

WOW!!! That's gorgeous!

Absolutely phenomenal. The sense of depth is out of this world! So much separation between the foreground and background. The son has definitely surpassed the father. Outstanding work of art!

Yes, this is a stunning Conan piece, the layering and depth work really well in this.  

DOOOOOPPPPPEEE!!! This is amazing.

Amazing!  Love how atmospheric and moody this is.  Zaffino's Conan is so good.  Great control of values and the composition is terrific

WOW, whatta cover, thanks so much, Rick, for introducing me to what I didn't know I love, congrats! ⚔️ 

Amazing image.  Everything comes together in all the right ways.  Gerardo's influences are clear like Toppi, Wrightson and Jones but he makes it his own.  Congratulations.  

Intense and full of dangerous depth

Hauntingly scratchy and foggy.

Perfect!

That's some mighty pretty inkin!

Zaffino is TOO good - can do no wrong!  Love the figure here but just as impressive is the scene setting...Zaff's renderings accomplish that like few others.  Congrats on joining the Zaff cover club!

Phenomenal. Congrats!

Beautiful lines!

An amazing composition, especially from the point of view of light and dark. Huge Congrats!!

Love this! Really love this! Congrats Rick!

Great image. Great Visual. Reminds me of an old Playstation game The Mark of Kri/Rise of the Kasai. Loved that game! Congrats Rick

Monstrous congrats here, Rick - wow!!  The detail, depth, and atmospherics here are off the charts.  From the flat-out amazing rendering of Conan's figure (and the dim-light shadows falling across his scars and bulk), to the skulls underfoot (and peppered throughout the image - especially in the patterns of the bark of the tree along the left of the page), to Conan's "little friend" peering in from the background... this is a masterclass, pure and simple, in not only how to build a -perfect- image, but also on the tools to use, and how to best apply them.

While subtlety isn't necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a successful, ESSENTIAL Conan image, it's Zaffino's masterful sense of reserve (of using everything -just enough-...) that really elevates this thing... because he throws -everything- at this one, doesn't he?  Washtones, hatching, zipatone, white paint, insane linework... it's a daunting recipe to try without fear of losing the primacy or intensity of the image or muddying the work, but we're safe in Gerardo's kitchen here. (Or are we...?  I keep looking at that beastie and thinking -something's- about to bite off more than they can chew...)  It's like the kind of thing you'd see on a Mike Perkins piece... but coming from a totally different direction. :)

Insanely awesome pick up, Rick!  Mega-congrats!

He put every inch of that page to good use. Never heard of Zaffino before so thanks for that!

So much depth, love the layout and all the textures. Phenomenal piece

Touchdown !

A very moody, and beautifully textured piece. Great fantasy artwork.

Made my top 10 list for Best Of.  Killer piece!

Fantastic!

This piece goes from a standard "warrior in the woods" to something much more sinister. The way Gerardo used the negative space between the trees to form that massive, predatory face is brilliant.

I should have commented on this a long time ago. Its really a superb image and as others have pointed out, even with the incredible amount of detail in the background, the figure of Conan immediately draws the eye. This is a master class in the use of shadow and light to pull the foreground into focus and  that doesn't even touch on the amazing rendering of trees and rocks

Grim, sinister and nitty-gritty cover piece with a determinated Barbarian in an eerie setting, ready to kill a lot of enemies soon! Huge congrats, must be a "dark beauty" in person!

INSANE!!! THIS IS SO VISCERAL!!! I LOVE IT!!! Bet you can just stare at it and get lost in the detail