*Marvel: Roy Thomas and Barry Smith’s comic book recreation of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian was a breakout hit for Marvel in the early 1970s, but yet another fantasy comics star made her debut in Conan #23 (Feb 1973), when Conan encountered Red Sonja, a female brigand and adventurer who was every bit his equal – even though Marvel missed a step by not cover-featuring her! Sonja rapidly caught the public’s imagination and spun off into her own series (regrettably with a skimpier and more impractical outfit than her earlier look), and more than forty years later – being a licensed character not linked to a specific publisher – continues her comic-book career to this very day. This copy has only tiny spine ‘ticks’ and miniscule upper corner wear to distract from its gleaming vibrant colour.
PICTURED: CONAN #23 FN/VF £60 SOLD