Savage Tales #2 CGC NM/M 9.8 Off-White to White

Description

There are only 4 copies of this book in 9.8 and none better, making it extremely rare and about three times scarcer than Savage Tales #1 in 9.8! On top of that, this book has white pages, perfect registration and razor-sharp corners. But most important of all, this book is simply the pure epitome of Barry Windsor-Smith's classic Conan art. Nothing else comes even close.



After finishing Conan the Barbarian #24, Barry Windsor-Smith delivered what many fans consider to be his best Conan work in the "Red Nails" story published in this book. Unfortunately Windsor-Smith paid a great price for the incredibly detailed art in this book. As described in his biographies Opus 1 and 2, Windsor-Smith's relentlessness in making the most detailed art ever seen in a comic book increased the pressure of deadlines and he experienced several severe mental breakdowns. In an interview performed May 1998 by Jon B. Cooke at Comic Book Artist (CBA), Windsor-Smith commented upon these problems in a rather amusing way:



"CBA: "Red Nails" is, in my opinion, your best work from that era. How long did it take you to complete that incredibly detailed work? Were you satisfied with the final production?



Windsor-Smith: Oh, God! "Red Nails"! How many time can I use the term "nightmare" in one interview? I should grab a thesaurus right now, right? How long did it take? Oh, only forever. Detail? What detail? There was detail in that thing? Where're my pills? Somebody get me a doctor.



No, I'm fine. It's okay, I just need to breathe. S'okay. What was the question?



CBA: The second chapter of "Red Nails" showed a departure in your inking style from the delicate, finely rendered line to a more spotted, bold approach? Was this experimentation or the demands of the deadline?



Windsor-Smith: Deadline? There was a deadline? What do you mean "spotted'? Am I alright? Where's my medicine?"




Recently the original art behind this book was reproduced in the book "ORIGINAL ART ARCHIVES VOLUME 1: RED NAILS (HC, SLIPCASED, B&W/ COLOR, 136 pgs, ISBN 978-1-4675-7215-6) marking the great significance and impact of Windsor-Smith's art in the Red Nails story.