The Tower of the Elephant is a short story written by Robert E Howard and published in the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1993 which famously introduced one of the great fictional characters Conan the Barbarian. The story establishes a lot of the world of Conan, the strange myserioes of the world and of course the main characters base characteristics. It is a quick read but full of action, cosmic mysteries and shows a hero who does not always have the answers for the world around him.
There have been multiple comic adaptions of this short story including Conan the Barbarian #4 (Marvel) Savage Sword of Conan #24 (Marvel) and Conan #20-22 (Dark Horse) while it also was the basis for an episode of the Conan the Adventurer cartoon as well as the opening scene for the feature film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This adaption is a little different as it is not a comic but rather an illustrated story featuring 25 paintings by artist Valentin Secher and available in English for the first time.
This is a large oversized hardcover book that allows the art some room to breathe, and boy does the artwork looks beautiful on the printed page. While the story is available digitally, I recommend checking out the physical version to allow you the see the artwork in the best possible way. Valentin is well known in the fantasy world for his work adapting Elric and he really has a great grasp on Conan as well. The artwork is moody, vivid and detailed and adds quite a bit to the story which often struggles to Convery the visual weirdness of what Conan is experiencing. It really is a treat to pick this book up and flip through the pages and is worth every penny of the $24.99 asking price.
Author: Robert E. Howard
Artist: Valentin Sécher
Titan Comics
HC, 56 pages, FC, $24.99
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