The Hyborian Page (RE: Cover Artists)

Excerpted From ...

A response to a letter from
Steve Laffer

Actually, Steve, the cover of Conan (the Barbarian) #31 was penciled by Gil Kane; for various reasons, the looming shadow thereon was re-penciled by Jazzy Johnny (Romita), our peerless art director, who then inked the whole thing by special request of Roy (Thomas) himself (who remembered well that the Kane/Romita cover of Conan (the Barbarian) #18, The Thing in the Temple, had made that earlier issue one of the best-selling Conan's ever).

Otherwise, of course, the many-sided Mr. Kane has penciled the covers for all the (John) Buscema Conan issues to date except #26, which was done by Big John himself from a Romits layout - and #33, done by Romita and Trimpe. Of course Ernie Chua has inked most of these Kane covers.

This issue, though, because Gil and Roy are busy on the sensational new series heralded in this month's FOOM message on our bombastic Bullpen Page, Ernie both penciled and inked the cover over a layout by John R.!

As to why Buscema the Elder pencils so few covers these days, the answer is simple: He doesn't like doing 'em, not for any book. He prefers telling stories, not doing individual illustrations - even though he is easily one of the very best draftsmen in the whole kookie comic-book industry!