Conan the Valiant Paperback Novel Cover 1988

Editor: Here we have "Conan the Valiant," a 1988 acrylic painting by Ken Kelly. It's dramatic – the hulking figure of Conan facing down a grotesque monster! The composition is almost triangular, leading our eye straight to the confrontation. What really grabs you when you look at this piece? Curator: It roars with pulp energy, doesn’t it? Kelly's Conan isn't just a barbarian, but a study in heroic defiance. The colours pulse, but that’s Kelly winking at the classical heroic depictions. This isn't some serene, god-like warrior; this is Conan in the thick of it, raw and visceral. How do you think the monster’s greenish glow is created? Editor: Probably to highlight its otherworldly nature...it makes it seem even more intimidating, you know? This use of color contrasts really heightens the tension. It really does remind me of, say, the old comic book covers. Curator: Absolutely! And it is pulp heroism…but Kelly lets on in the composition… Conan is strategically placed in the shadow… it hints at that interior struggle within the heroic frame! The icy environment frames the conflict, but what do you think it tells us? Is there also perhaps something about inner psychological spaces? Editor: Mmm, I’m seeing it! Almost as if that cave symbolizes his state of mind - facing some huge mental challenge, or inner demon! The details on those figures – the musculature and the ferocity – contrasted with this very cool atmosphere… Curator: Exactly! It's where Kelly teases us and draws the viewers in; in that contrast between an external challenge that forces an examination of one’s self! It is fun stuff. Editor: Well, I’ll never look at Conan the same way again! I’ll definitely try and notice the interior depths going on in these covers more consciously.