Conan the Barbarian #11 page 6 - Barry Windsor-Smith

Wow , what a page !!! You're my hero , Paul !! 

Thanks Alessandro - glad you like it!

Richly illustrated! Well done bringing this baby home!

Ok.... now I think you robbed a museum.

How does plausible deniability work again?

Interesting combination to have Sal ink Barry. 

Great page from a classic story... excellent write up, too!

Thanks, Sean - much appreciated!

Boom! Another must-see-TV CAF post from P. Roach. Brilliant BWS Conan page, the Sal B inking is sublime! congrats on the auction win and excellent addition. 

Ha ha! Thanks, Kavi! I'm glad you enjoy Sal's inks on this one too. I think they were a great partnership.

Peak Bazza

Ha ha! Thanks, Nils. If only it was credited to Bazza W Smith.

Some great dialogue here and I like the way Conan's personality shines through in the last couple panels.  And man, when you see BWS art, you know immeidately it's him!  Congrats!

Thanks! Agreed - once he had moved away from his Kirby homage phase, he developed a style that was immediately recognisable - even when viewing just a thumbnail.

Love the blacks and the cool detail on Murilo's cloak - congrats!

This is when the BWS art really started to become the fine illustration work that set this title apart and set the bar high for sword and sorcery in comics.

congrats on winning the auction on a fantastic page

Nice page! Congratulations 

Truely Awesome ! 

Woah, that's a beautiful page!

This is when Barry was approaching his zenith!

Excellent!!!

Thanks, Toni! So true. This was the comic where that single-panel storytelling really took off, so the composition of every panel seemed to have a very precise meaning for BWS.

I can only imagine that the state secrets Murilo was trying to export somehow revolved around Corinthian leather, right?  Some folks can stare daggers, but it looks like Murilo can go one step further and skip straight to skulls...!  What more can be said about these early BWS Conan pieces?  Just game-changing and gorgeous in scope and richness, creating a whole world of textures and atmosphere.  Fantastic, and FULLY supported by those rich, dark inks Buscema inks here.  Just a delicious page here, Paul (as you well know); a full meal to savor and enjoy.  Bon appetit! 

Ha ha! I'm not sure how much detail we get on Murilo's activities, but that seems as good a guess as any. I have devoured the page with my eyes quite a few times. I'm glad to be putting it on the menu so everyone else can too.

Hey Paul, it looks like you've jumped right into the BWS fan-wagon big time with this gorgeous Conan page! This specific issue is a significant step forward in the artistic journey of BWS and there are many design and storytelling delights to grab from that page, and so you did! I have a page from that same issue: it's on one of my walls and I stop and stare every time I pass it by... Guess you'll do the same! Enjoy! 

Thanks, Al! Yes, it is a favourite to revisit. That issue had so many great pages - despite the pressure it put on BWS to draw so many of them! I agree that the design really moved on at that time.

By CROM! Vintage Smith CONAN is too cool, love it, congrats!

(sorry, uploaded the wrong comment for this page so deleted it)

Beautiful BWS page with smooth Sal Buscema inks – worth its weight in gold. The development in the artistic proficiency from BWS’s first issue to his last is to me still the most marked in the history of comics in a single title.

Thanks, Simon! Much appreciated. Yes, it was an incredibly fast journey by BWS. And at each stage, there is so much to marvel at in his sense of design.

Incredible art by the master - congratulations my friend !!!

I've always admired Barry Windsor-Smith's art on Conan and this page is a splendid example. I love the style that Barry developed during his time on Conan. That third panel really exemplifies Barry's art to me. Love the design of Nabonidus' face and helmet here, as well as the detailed look of Murilo, down to his elborately detailed hair. Sal Buscema's inks are the perfect complement to Barry's pencils. Superb pick-up, congrats!

As Paul's unofficial scanning guru (IE, I have an A3 scanner and he doesn't), when he buys masterpieces like this I get to take them home and keep them for a few days until the scanning is done, so it's a win-win situation! The only downside is I have to give them back.....

I love that last paragraph of your description.  I would think that every collector experiences that at some point.  And when they do, there's a switch that goes off and our collecting mentality changes forever.  That's when we realize that the true value of art is not in how much we pay for it.  That's a lesson everyone needs to learn.  Congratulations on this exquisite example of a true Master blurring the line between fine art and comic art.

What a beautiful Page...congrats on this gem

I've always thought Barry Smith's Conan was the best of them all. A great page