Clayburn Moore of C.S. Moore Studio has released advance photos of his upcoming Kull of Atlantis statue, based on the character created by legendary pulp writer Robert E. Howard. Since these are just prototype images, the paint work may vary on the finished production piece. Sculpted by Clayburn Moore, Kull of Atlantis is a breathtaking work of art.

In the works for several months, raw versions of the Kull statue have previously been seen in work-in-progress photos on Moore's website. The unpainted sculpt was also on display at Moore's booth at the New York Comic Con in February. After much anticipation, photos of the fully painted prototype are now available.

In an unprecedented deal for a licensed character sculpt, Clayburn Moore was given full creative freedom to design the look of the piece himself by Paradox Entertainment/Conan Properties, owners of the copyrights to Howard's characters. As a general rule, licensors place strict demands on character merchandise, requiring that licensees adhere to specific imagery or to a specific artist's rendition of the character. But confidence in Moore's ability to do justice to Howard's vision resulted in the unusual arrangement.

According to Moore, he went right to the source for inspiration, immersing himself in Howard's original Kull stories, and mining them for any references to the barbarian king's physical appearance. His garb, not specifically described in Howard's prose, was styled as an amalgamation of Kull's life experiences, with different pieces “acquired” during different past adventures.

While not as well known as Conan, Kull played a significant part in the creation of Howard's better-known barbarian. When Weird Tales magazine rejected Howard's manuscript for the Kull tale “By This Axe I Rule,” Howard reworked the story and used it to introduce the world to his newest creation, Conan the Barbarian, in a story now titled “The Phoenix on the Sword.”

Kull of Atlantis will be opened for preorder from C.S. Moore Studio at 10:00 am EST on July 25^th, with a tentative release date of January 2008. In the meantime, scroll down and enjoy a sneak preview of this amazing piece.