Filed under: 8 Stars, Cary Nord, Conan The Barbarian, Kurt Busiek, Mike Kaluta
“The Tower of the Elephant” continues on at full pace from the previous two Dark Horse volumes in another enjoyable and well crafted Conan tale. Tower of the Elephant concentrates on Conan’s development as a professional thief and culminates in a strange encounter with an alien being in the Elephant Tower. This third volume also deals with Conans attempts to understand and integrate into big city lifestyle which seems totally alien to him. Just like the previous two Dark Horse Conan volumes this is a very easy story to read, has witty dialog and moves along at good pace.
Cary Nord’s art is top notch and despite his some strange aspects the overall look captures the world of Conan admirably. I particularly liked his backdrops and landscapes which are a key part of the book. Sometimes Nord’s faces are a bit unusual with the characters looking like they have grotesque smiles (Not quite Steve Templesmith strange but strange non the less). I also noticed that Conan himself can look quite different from one panel to another but is still instantly recognizable. This does not detract at all from the story especially as Nord seems to dedicate much of his bandwidth to rendering voluptuous scantily clad female supporting characters. The book also features Mile Kaluta drawing a several page flash back sequence and although the art is good it doesn’t shine like Nord’s work.
“The Tower of the Elephant” is a great read and is highly recommended if you enjoyed the first two volumes. You might not like it if you are offended by nudity but as this is an integral part of the Barbarian lifestyle you probably wouldn’t have picked up a Conan book in the first place. ISBN-13: 978-1593075477. 8/10
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