Heritage Auctions will present one of the most electrifying and influential works of 20th-century illustration — Frank Frazetta's Conan the Conqueror (Berserker) — as the premier lot in its December 9–10 Hollywood & Entertainemnt Signature Auction.
Coming on the heels of Heritage’s record-setting sale of Frazetta’s Man Ape (Conan the Barbarian) — which achieved $13.5 million in September 2025, the highest price ever paid for the artist and for any work of Comic or Fantasy art — this masterwork of illustration carries an opening bid of $10 million and is poised to set a new benchmark once again.
Created in 1967 for the Lancer paperback edition of Conan the Conqueror, Berserker forever altered how audiences imagined Robert E. Howard’s iconic barbarian, ushering in a new era that reshaped the visual language of fantasy art.
“Frazetta didn’t just illustrate stories — he reinvented them,” says Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s Executive Vice President. “With Berserker, he transformed Conan from a pulp hero into an elemental force. This single image captures his genius for channeling raw power and psychological depth through composition, gesture and light. It stands as a masterpiece of illustration, and a testament to how profoundly popular art can move us.”
In Conan the Conqueror (Berserker), Frazetta’s hero towers at the apex of a pyramidal composition, surrounded by a maelstrom of bodies and motion. His blood-tipped sword, raised skyward, channels the lightning itself, while his figure, luminous amid muted chaos, anchors the entire scene.