CONAN THE BARBARIAN #101

Cover shows strong, bright color saturation with no visible fading and sharp, unbroken print registration on the vertical Conan logo band. Corners appear sharp with only minor softness at the bottom right tip, and no visible creases, tears, or spine stress lines are apparent in this image. The UPC barcode box is intact and unmarked. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so the grade reflects front-cover evidence only.

Conan the Barbarian #101 is a Bronze Age mid-run issue from Marvel's long-running sword-and-sorcery flagship, scripted by Roy Thomas with pencils by John Buscema and inks by Ernie Chan over a Buscema cover. Titled "The Devil Has Many Legs," it follows directly on the landmark death of Bêlit in issue #100, opening the grief-driven inland chapter of Conan's saga as he is captured by the Bamula tribe, kills the warrior Yorubo, and battles a monstrous spider. While it introduces minor supporting figures (Yorubo, Felida, the Bamula tribesmen), the issue carries no first appearance or origin of lasting market consequence; its interest derives from creative pedigree and its position immediately after a recognized key rather than from any event within its own pages.

Demand is driven almost entirely by run collectors assembling the Thomas/Buscema era and by readers who prize the consistency of the Buscema-Chan art team, one of the most durable pairings in Bronze Age Marvel. The book is plentiful in raw grades and trades for pocket change in mid-grade, reflecting healthy 1979 print runs and modest attrition. Certified copies are uncommon on the census not because the issue is scarce but because few owners see value in slabbing a non-key; the small pool of high-grade holders supports a premium at the top of the grade scale even as mid and low grades stay firmly in bargain-bin territory.

This is a book that appeals to completists rather than speculators: it fills a slot between the far more sought-after #100 and later run milestones, and it moves best as part of bulk or short-box lots. Low- and mid-grade raw copies change hands casually and frequently, while a top-census slab attracts the narrower audience of collectors chasing a full high-grade Conan run. Buyers should expect little grade-to-grade spread until the very high end, where registry-minded collectors compete for the limited certified supply.