Look closely and you just might see the tell-tale signs that Big John Buscema had Frazetta’s lion in mind, and perhaps even on his desk, when he drew the cover of Conan the Barbarian #96:
The face of Frazetta’s lion is so lively and expressive that it makes Buscema’s more symmetrical version seem flat and mask-like in comparison.
BONUS IMAGE:
Now that’s more like it!
Ragged Claws Network 
“Well, Roy, I’m not a fan of comics…. As far as I’m concerned, if I never saw another comic — ! The only thing I’ve saved is a couple of Conan books we worked on, and that’s it. I got rid of everything. One of the reasons, which upset me over the years, is that other people were inking my stuff, and that is not my work. I can’t look at it. The ones I inked, yes, I keep. Anything with super-heroes, I’m not interested. Only the Conans.” — John Buscema, in conversation with Roy Thomas
“Roy, let me put it this way: I never read a comic book. [laughs] In all the years I’ve been doing comics, I’ve never read one.” — John Buscema, in conversation with Roy Thomas
“Silver Surfer #4 — that’s when I was trying to get away from Kirby. I didn’t want to work like Kirby any more. But Stan tore the job apart, so when I got home, I said screw it, I’ll go right back to the same old crap.” — John Buscema, in conversation with Roy Thomas
“Some of the Conan books I enjoyed. I’m sorry I didn’t ink more of them, but at the time I wasn’t interested. All I was interested in was how much I could make today.” — John Buscema, in conversation with Roy Thomas
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