EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 30 © 2020 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

67 The brawny barbarian created by Robert E. Howard, had since be‐ come one of Marvel’s best-selling titles when it had been turned into a comic book. By the time Norem illustrated the Conan magazines, John Buscema was the main artist, and Norem adapted the Buscema look of the famed barbarian onto his covers, making him different from the version Frank Frazetta had brought earlier to the books published in the sixties. Buscema, a comics veteran, had taken over the character of Conan from British artist Barry Smith, and turned him into a muscular feisty fellow, short on words and long on action. Besides the Conan magazines, Norem became the mainstay cover artist for the other Marvel black-and-white magazines as well. He painted covers of all genres and sub-genres, from superheroes ( Hulk , Silver Surfer , Moon Knight ) to monsters ( Zombies , Frankenstein , Drac‐ ula , etc) and everything in between. Norem’s talent as a painter, and the way his characters look believ‐ able, made him a natural as the cover artist for these magazines, as Mar‐ FACING PAGE TOP: The Gold Blonde: Key to Freedom—or Hell , gouache on board, 1961. True Men Stories cover, May 1961. FACING PAGE BOTTOM: Death Chase for a Million-Dollar Nymph , gouache on board, 1973. Action For Men i nterior illustration, July 1973. ABOVE: The Pile-Up , gouache on board, ca. 1970s. Story illustration for Stag magazine. Like many of the pulp illustrators, Norem could tackle many different genres. You can almost feel the metal crumbling, the tires skidding, the windshield glass shattering, the gun cracking and the bullets whistling; all within one single image!