Margaret Brundage's 'Black Colossus' — Weird Tales June 1933
A nude supplicant kneels before a colossal jade-green idol in Margaret Brundage's infamous cover for Robert E. Howard's Conan tale 'Black Colossus.' The enthroned stone giant looms with cold menace as the figure reaches upward in desperate or devotional appeal, draped only in a crimson cloth pooling at her feet. Brundage's signature pastel sensuality and daring nudity made this cover one of the most provocative in Weird Tales history, perfectly embodying Howard's sword-and-sorcery decadence.
Brundage at peak Brundage — nude, daring, and gloriously scandalous. The jade colossus radiates menace while the composition walks a razor's edge between high art and pure exploitation. Exactly why newsstands had to keep Weird Tales spine-out.
“Weird Tales JUNE — 25c JUNE, 1933 Vol. 21, No. 6 — 25c BLACK COLOSSUS BY ROBERT E. HOWARD HUGH B. CAVE — CLARK ASHTON SMITH — PAUL ERNST”
