Matt Strackbein

I always loved that Conan logo with the sword through it - great design.

Strom! Hey, man.

Not the finished cover? You mean with the title and credits added or is there more to the art. I'd be interested to know more about that if in fact the art is unfinished in some way.

I meant with the title & credits added in - sometimes the covers are distinctly different based on the colors chosen for the title and extras.  The internet simply doesn't do justice to a good comic book cover - in person I'm always surprised how much better they usually look than the simple scans we get on the net.  Lisner's covers for example - much better in print IMHO.  

Hope you hang around Matt and join in the discussions.  Are you still writing in each month?  Anymore interviews scheduled?

I'll agree with you on the finished product, Strom. Definitely has been the case more than once in my personal experience.

I write in to the lettercol as often as possible - a long standing tradition I encourage each reader to join in - but the fact is I buy less comics now. Ugh, the economy. I did get to meet and chat with Philip Simon last summer at SDCC, and he is a straight shooting helluva nice guy! We talked about the price of comics, Conan's future etc. (One point I continually pressed him on, was the publishing of collected Two Gun Bob Strips - no plans as of last summer. It's a shame really.) Anyway no interviews either...that was epic for me. Not likely to happen again, though I'm all for it of course.

One more point about the thread topic here: Sweet's illustration grows on me the more I see it. I don't know, I don't know. I still want something that seems more coherent with the interiors but the last thing I'd want to suggest is anyone should be creating in a bubble.

Hi, haven't posted here in a while, but I wanted to weigh in on this artwork.

I like it OK as an illustration. But as a comic book cover I don't think it works. It's stiff, and too formal, especially considering the interiors and the overall feel Dark Horse's Conan comics have come to be known for. Just my opinion, of course, but I would much rather see a more appropriate comic book type of art.

That said, something this drastically different does make for a good alternative I suppose, which it is, but I'm going for the Linsner cover.

Welcome back Matt!  

Your not alone in your Lisner pick - he is a very popular artist in the industry.  I am interested to see Sweet's finished cover.

Strom! Hey, man.

Not the finished cover? You mean with the title and credits added or is there more to the art. I'd be interested to know more about that if in fact the art is unfinished in some way.

My favorite Conan art work:
Conan as pirate, by Gregory Manchess.

I agree, Manchess is the best I've seen besides Frazetta.

Hi, haven't posted here in a while, but I wanted to weigh in on this artwork.

I like it OK as an illustration. But as a comic book cover I don't think it works. It's stiff, and too formal, especially considering the interiors and the overall feel Dark Horse's Conan comics have come to be known for. Just my opinion, of course, but I would much rather see a more appropriate comic book type of art.

That said, something this drastically different does make for a good alternative I suppose, which it is, but I'm going for the Linsner cover.