The art in this book is good throughout, and the stories are interesting, but not particularly memorable. I again enjoyed the essay by Roy Thomas at the end. One of the last items sums up pulp stories: "And that, in the end, is what pulp fiction is all about: fun!" ( )

Another entertaining romp in this series. I am reading them out of sequence, but the depiction of Conan has really been beefed up by John Buscema's artwork. Gone is the silly helmet of the first couple of books, to be replaced by a shaggy black 70s mane. This is a book with several stories, my favourites of which were the first, 'The Blood of Bel-Hissar', for its general amorality, the urban adventure 'Two against Turan' and the multiple story sequence beginning with the 'Flame Winds of Lost Khitai'. Having a consistent writer/editor of these books (Roy Thomas) means that there are often recurring characters or themes in spite of the episodic nature of the stories.

Although it's not really the place for it here, I really notice and appreciate the density of image (especially with re-coloring) and story in these 1970s Conan collections compared to their relative sparseness in the other similar length graphic novel series I'm concurrently reading, the noughties Dark Tower series. ( )