Conan the Barbarian #41 – “The Garden of Life and Death” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan arriving at a small village about a week away from Zamora. He runs into a mob chasing a girl and naturally, he defends her. The mob claim the girl (who they refer to as Zhadorr, although it seems more of an appellation than a name) is a demon in human form, but Conan still won’t let them near her. The villagers bring out one of their own (Phandar), who they say has been bewitched into madness by Zhadorr. Phandar goes nuts and tries to stab the girl, so Conan has to kill him. The mob attacks, so Conan flees with the girl back into the desert. His new companion is certainly strange, not needing any food and claiming Zhadorr isn’t her name but what she is. She directs them towards an oasis (though she won’t say how she knows about it) and puts off Conan’s advances, claiming they should bathe first. On the way,
they run into some bandits who chase them to the oasis (which the bandits fear as a dangerous place). Conan tries to fight the brigands but is knocked out and tied up, the bandit leader figuring he can get a good price for the barbarian and the girl in the slave markets. While Conan works on his bonds with a sharp rock, the bandit leader decides to have some fun with the girl and drags her into the bushes. Conan gets loose and follows, but finds the bandit leader is now only a skeleton and the girl is dying. Conan is burying her when he hears the other bandits screaming and returns to their camp to find them being attacked by the surrounding vegetation. It attacks Conan too, but he uses fire to kill it. 
One strange pod is left intact and it opens to reveal an exact duplicate of Zhadorr. Realizing this isn’t a human being at all but some kind of plant simulacra, Conan hacks the “girl” to pieces before heading back into the desert. This is a pretty good story, with Conan’s chivalrous side getting him into trouble. Roy Thomas combined two classic stories here: Shambleau by C.L. Moore, where the main character gets involved with a woman who turns out to be a monster; and the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which explains the pod that Zhadorr grew in. Conan seems quite bothered by killing the Zhadorr pod-girl, even though he knows it’s not an actual person … and that it would kill him as readily as its pod-mate killed the brigands.
Conan the Barbarian #42 – “Night of the Gargoyle” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one opens with Conan in the City of Thieves in Zamora. (The City of Thieves was named Arenjun by L. Sprague De Camp, but since Marvel hadn’t finalized their agreement with De Camp to adapt his Conan pastiches, Roy decided not to refer to the city by that name.) Conan is relaxing and notices a good-looking woman in a house across the street. We get a closer look at the woman (Arlinna), who’s arguing with a rogue named Baron Takkim. He’s blackmailing Arlinna, who’s wanted for murder
in Shadizar, the capital of Zamora. Arlinna was hanging out with a Khitan ambassador when he was stabbed by one of his servants. Takkim saw Arlinna fleeing the scene and is threatening to turn her in (even though she’s innocent) unless she steals a treasure from a Khitam merchant named Lun-Faar. Takkim tells her she can get close to Lun-Faar with her “feminine wiles” and gives her an amulet so she can pass herself off as Lady Asqueth, an Aquilonian noble. He also gives her a pill that will knock Lun-Faar out long enough for her to find the treasure, known as the the Dragon Head of Koblar-Zann. Arlinna has no choice but to 
do as Takkim wants, but when she’s out in the streets she’s waylaid by three thieves. Conan comes to her rescue and pounds the thieves, and ends up accompanying her through the crowded streets. After winning some gold by pounding an “unbeatable” wrestler, Conan’s in the mood for some lovin’, but Arlinna knocks him out with a vase. She heads for Lun-Faar’s shop and presents herself as Lady Asqueth, come to bid on the Dragon Head. Lun-Faar shows her around and she’s startled by a gargoyle statue that seems very real … and very evil. Lun-Faar shows Arlinna the Dragon Head and when he goes to get some tea, she tries to steal it. But Lun-Faar knew she was a thief from the start and beats the
hell out of her before tossing her back into the street. Lun-Faar wants to know who sent Arlinna, so he awakens the gargoyle (which he can control with his own will power) and sends it to find Arlinna’s accomplice. Having woken up, Conan goes outside and sees Arlinna about to jump off a building. He stops her and she tells him everything, so he goes with her to meet Takkim. The Baron grabs her before she can signal Conan, but the gargoyle shows up and attacks Takkim. Hearing his screams, Conan comes in and ends up fighting the gargoyle. Conan fights so hard that it breaks Lun-Faar’s concentration, which frees the gargoyle from his thrall and allows it to return to his shop 
and kill him. Now that their enemies are all dead, Conan and Arlinna decide to settle down for some heavy banging. This is a pretty good story, adapted from a non-Conan tale by Robert E. Howard called the Purple Heart of Erlik. Roy stuck to the main plot thread, changing a few names and details and adding a few scenes for fun (like the bandit attack in the streets and Conan easily defeating the wrestler). John Buscema’s art keeps getting better; I see an improvement over just a few issues ago, and the way he draws Arlinna makes her look pretty hot for a two-dimensional gal.