Conan Vol. 3: The Tower of the Elephant and Other Stories [Paperback]

Kurt Busiek (Author), Cary Nord (Illustrator), Michael Wm. Kaluta (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2010

Eisner award-winning writer Kurt Busiek (JLA/Avengers, Astro City), Eisner award-nominated artist Cary Nord (Daredevil), and Eisner award-winning color artist Dave Stewart (Ultimate Fantastic Four, DC: The New Frontier) continue their groundbreaking run on Dark Horse's best-selling Conan series with an adaptation of one of Robert E. Howard's greatest Conan tales, "The Tower of the Elephant"! Fed up with both civilization and mysticism, Conan travels to the infamous City of Thieves to take out his frustrations. When a bar fight uncovers the legend of the impregnable Tower of the Elephant, he becomes determined to rob it, setting out on a quest unlike any he's undertaken - one that will involve new comrades, sudden death, horrifying creatures, and gruesome unsettling fates for both gods and men.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (August 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593075472
• ISBN-13: 978-1593075477
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior to "The Chronicles..." Buy it!, June 14, 2007

By 

Victor R. Casados "VRC" (Grass Valley, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Conan Vol. 3: The Tower of the Elephant and Other Stories (Paperback)

I have the first 3 in this series:
The Frost Giant's Daughter And Other Stories, The God In The Bowl And Other Stories and The Tower Of The Elephant And Other Stories.

I find the artwork to be superior to the "Chronicals of Conan", and there is always at least one original Howard tale included in these books. The "Other Stories" stand up very well to the Howard adventures. They are very much in the same spirit and style, and are fitting tributes.
So far all have been extremely enjoyable, and I plan to purchase the rest of them.
I only buy what I like (as opposed to collecting for its own sake), and I like this!!

Great for new readers and old Conan fans alike!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Busiek and Nord do it again!, October 20, 2008

By 

Parker (At Large) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conan Vol. 3: The Tower of the Elephant and Other Stories (Paperback)

The Tower of the Elephant continues the great tradition of Dark Horse's Conan relaunch which began in the last two volumes.
In this volume, Conan hits his stride as a professional thief and we are treated to three prequel chapters setting up the "Tower of the Elephant" short story from Conan creator Robert E. Howard, a story which solidifies Conan's reputation in criminal circles.
Minor flaws for this book are a dip in quality in the first part of Tower (chapter 4) where Cary obviously is falling behind and sketches his way through about 12 pages worth of story, and although it is always nice to see Mike Kaluta draw something, I would much prefer to see Mr. Nord draw the flashback sequence himself.
Still a fine book and worth your time.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Regains top form for the series. Highly recommended for fans of Conan., December 14, 2009

By 

C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Conan Vol. 3: The Tower of the Elephant and Other Stories (Paperback)

In my opinion, this one actually kicks it up a notch from the relatively disappointing The God in the Bowl. For most of volume three, the writing and artwork both are back up to the expected awesomeness that is the reason I read this series. Each of the original stories here is excellent, fitting in nicely with the Conan universe and staying true to the feel of what Conan tales are meant to be. This faithful rendering of "The Tower of the Elephant" does credit to the original, bringing new life to one of the most popular of REH's short stories. As in every Conan book ever written, this one if full of beautiful women, mundane and supernatural dangers, and strange places. As Conan makes his way to Zamora, and begins to reach true mastery of his thieving skills, he'll have to avoid all kinds of pitfalls. Conniving and deceitful women (always a weak spot for Conan), magical guardians, and unscrupulous robbers get in his way, and all are faced down and beaten.

The end of this book contains a fascinating piece of fan mail, that details the chronology of Conan's life, as well as some original sketches used in the book, and a rough map of the realm inhabited by Conan. Also, I believe that the final version of this book has a different (and much nicer-looking) cover than the one pictured here on Amazon. At least the version I have shows Conan battling a huge lion, and is a great looking cover.

What is best in life?
Conan: "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."