Conan #3 ‘Conan the Freebooter’ Paperback Novel Cover 1981

Boris Vallejo created this paperback novel cover for Conan the Freebooter, most likely with acrylics and airbrush on illustration board. You can see a mastery of figurative painting here, deployed in the service of pure pulp. Vallejo certainly had skills associated with fine art, but he put them to use creating imagery that would sell books. The effect is undeniably powerful, with the slick surfaces of the medium lending a superhuman sheen to the characters. Consider the amount of labor involved in this image. Vallejo likely worked to a tight deadline, and for relatively little pay. He would have been well aware that his efforts were essentially disposable, soon to be crumpled in someone's backpack. This image may be highly accomplished, but its purpose was unashamedly commercial. This cover makes us question what we value in art, and what we disregard. By taking a closer look at the way it was made, and the context for its creation, we can better appreciate its complex status.