20 Epic Conan the Barbarian Illustrations by the Great Earl Norem

John Summers • Contributor

Jul 9, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Before Photoshop, before digital tablets, before AI started vomiting up weird muscle dudes with eight fingers, there was Earl Norem - a real-deal fantasy artist whose brush practically dripped testosterone. If you ever picked up a Savage Sword of Conan magazine and thought, "Whoa, this cover is doing violence to my eyeballs in the best way," chances are it was Norem. His art wasn't just about muscles and swords (though, let's be clear, there were a lot of both) - it was about drama, emotion, movement, and the kind of old-school epicness that made you want to scream "CROM!" into the wind.

This listicle is a love letter to the sheer awesomeness of Norem's Conan illustrations. Every piece here is bursting with raw energy and the kind of detail that makes you wonder if modern artists are just… tired. Whether Conan is beheading snake gods or brooding under a thunderstorm with a battle axe and a questionable amount of clothing, Earl Norem always knew how to capture the moment. These 20 illustrations are a reminder of when fantasy art was painted by hand, fueled by imagination, and printed on the covers of the coolest magazines of all time.

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01
The Savage Sword of Conan nr 24 (1977

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
02
Savage Sword of Conan nr 55 (1980)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
03
Savage Sword of Conan nr 171 (1990)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
04
Savage Sword of Conan 21 (1977)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
05
Savage Sword of Conan nr 110 (1985)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
06
Savage Sword of Conan nr 39 (1979)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
07
Savage Sword of Conan nr 36 (1978)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
08
Savage Sword of Conan nr 90 (1983)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
09
Savage Sword of Conan nr 113 (1985)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
10
Savage Sword of Conan 218 (1993)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
11
Savage Sword of Conan 54 1980

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
12
Savage Sword of Conan nr 47 (1979)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
13
Savage Sword of Conan nr 53 (1974)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
14
Savage Sword of Conan nr 86 (1983)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
15
Savage Sword of Conan 95 (1985)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
16
Savage Sword of Conan 28 (1978)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
17
Savage Sword of Conan 80 (1982)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
18
Savage Sword of Conan 75 (1982)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
19
Savage Sword of Conan 168 (1989)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi
20
Savage Sword of Conan nr 23 (1977)

via Earl Norem, Ngugi

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