Doug: How many stories can you name that were written by one author, but illustrated by two masters, six years apart? Today we're going to look at such a tale, "The Tower of the Elephant" featuring Conan the Barbarian. Karen and I ran a review of the comic on the left, above, back in December 2011. I have the reprints of The Savage Sword of Conan that Dark Horse has been publishing, and the last story in volume 2 reprints "Tower" from Savage Sword #24 (November 1977). The latter version has very pretty pictures from John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. Given that the original version was put together by Barry Smith and John's little brother Sal, it's going to be difficult to go wrong here.
Doug: We're going to reprint our review, but relocate the Smith pictures and set them side-by-side with the Buscema versions -- as close as we can get it to the same scene that we used the first time around. Oft-commenter
Cerebus660 said, back in December (with some minor editing by me):
Roy Thomas was a master at adapting REH's work and getting the tone just
right (within the boundaries of the Comics Code, of course). Barry
Smith's artwork was rapidly maturing issue by issue, and this story's
final image of the tower collapsing is just beautiful. Thomas had
another go at this story when he wrote an extended version for Savage
Sword Of Conan no. 24, with artwork by that team supreme, John Buscema
and Alfredo Alcala. It's very interesting to contrast the two different
approaches...
Doug: Before we send you off to your analysis, some apologies from my end on the inconsistent layout of the art. I've had a devil of a time with the updated Blogger interface in regard to the addition of images to posts. Personally, I thought the old version was more user-friendly. If you're new around here, feel free to comment on the story itself or on our review; if you recall us doing this last year, then critiques of the different artistic interpretations are your mission. So, away we go --
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Conan the Barbarian #4 (April 1971) -- originally reviewed on December 26 2011
"The Tower of the Elephant!"
Roy Thomas-Barry Smith/Sal Buscema
The Savage Sword of Conan #24 (November 1977)
"The Tower of the Elephant"
Roy Thomas-John Buscema/Alfredo Alcala
Doug: Happy Holidays, everyone! And what cries out "Good will toward men" like a barbarian slugfest?
Doug:
I can't hardly contain my excitement over the art in this issue. Last
Wednesday Karen and I (and a few of our faithful commenters) remarked
that through the first several issues of Conan one could watch the
maturation of Barry Smith's art. This being only Smith's fourth outing,
it's nonetheless a tour de force. From the first page, his backgrounds
are busy, the facial- and figure work are dynamic, and almost all hint
of the Kirby-cloning is gone. We also touched on the computerized
recoloring last Wednesday... it's my opinion that it really adds to this
moody tale.
Karen: Although
Sal Buscema is credited as the inker on this issue I thought it really
looked quite different from issue 3, which he also inked. I don't know
if he was experimenting with brush work or what, but the lines here seem
heavier and thicker, particularly in the first few pages. Whatever the
case, the art was very strong in this issue. I agree about the coloring
-I think they've done a very good job here, one that doesn't distract
the reader.
Doug: We begin in the filthy thief-city of Arenjun in Zamora; think of the cantina in
Star Wars
and you'll get the idea. A fat rogue of a thief-kingpin speaks loudly
about his prowess as a slave-trader and stealer of women; in
the course of the conversation he mentions the Elephant Tower of Yara
and the jewels hidden within. A strong hand lights on his bulbous
shoulder -- it belongs to the young Cimmerian Conan. He notes that he
has had his eye on the tower since coming to Arenjun, and that it seems
unguarded. The rogue laughs at the youngster's ignorance, and it's
obvious that others in the tavern know of the Tower -- splinter
conversations abound. Conan wonders if someone could bypass the ground
guards, if he had the courage. That does it -- the probing questions
aside, this final insult sets the Kothian rogue to near-frothing at
the mouth. The rogue strikes Conan across the chest, which draws the
ire of the Cimmerian, as well as of his broadsword. A brawl ensues, as
the candles lighting the den of thieves are knocked over. When they are
again lighted, the thief lies dead on the floor and Conan has left the
premises.
Karen: This is a
great sequence, one that really pulls you in to Conan's world. You can
practically smell the perfume, smoke, and sweat in this thieves' den.
Smith's art is also becoming much more detailed -note the pattern on
Conan's sword.
Doug:
Conan has approached the silver tower, which rises from a large
high-walled garden. As Conan stealthily approaches the perimeter, he
sees a purple-robed figure approach the guarded gate. Initially denied
entrance, the robed figure rebukes the guard and is granted entrance.
Conan notes that as the figure moves, his feet hover slightly above the
earth! Racing around the wall, Conan scales it and drops to the other
side. Getting his bearings, he begins to move when he suddenly trips
over the body of a guard. Had the robed figure strangled the man to
death? Conan looks around, and feels another presence moving slowly
through the garden. Spying his company, and after sizing each other up
for a moment, these two trespassers introduce themselves. The newcomer
tells Conan that he is Taurus of Nemedia, known as the King of Thieves,
and also the true killer of the guard. Coincidentally, Conan and Taurus
have arrived in the same space and time with the same goal. I thought
it was interesting here that neither Conan nor Taurus seemed suspicious
of the other, and they quickly formed an alliance to steal the fabled
Heart of the Elephant.
Karen:
Thomas does a good job getting across Conan's youth and inexperience.
He is both awed and frightened by the priest Yara. I can't imagine the
Conan of later years reacting that way. The alliance with Taurus does
seem a bit convenient though.
Doug:
The now-allies move toward and onto the inner wall. Bent on their
common goal, Conan continues his inquiries into the history of their
prize. Asking Taurus just why this location is called the Tower of the
Elephant, Taurus asks Conan if he knows what an elephant is. Conan
tells that while he's not seen one, he does know that they are
"monstrous beasts, with a tail at both ends." It's here that we see how
Robert E. Howard often plugged in existing world history and mythology
and the terminology of both. Conan mentions that a wandering
Shemite
had told him this. The term of course references one of the sons of
Noah, Shem, who (if we are to believe classical anthropology) served to
repopulate the earth in the area we'd call the Middle East. Anyway...
As our protagonists land on the other side of the wall, they immediately
see that this new area is guarded by a group of three silent lions, who
rush towards the two thieves. Taurus takes out a blowpipe and pushes a
green dust into the air around the beasts. Conan is incredulous as the
animals breathe their last, and asks what manner of substance they were
felled with. Taurus answers that it is the powder of the mysterious
black lotus.
Karen: I
enjoyed Conan's remark about his god, Crom: "Great Crom lives on a
mountain...and little he cares for what men do with their tiny lives."
We'd hear a version of this years later coming from the mouth of Arnold
Schwarzenegger! That powder Taurus had was pretty amazing stuff -lucky
he didn't inhale any!
Doug:
Reaching the wall of the tower, Taurus pulls out a grappling hook and
rope and gets it to hold fast on his first toss. Conan suddenly whirls
to see a fourth lion pouncing. Conan lashes out with his sword, killing
the beast. The two men begin to scale the tower. They marvel at the
surface, encrusted with uncountable jewels and gemstones. Reaching the
top, Taurus tells Conan to walk the perimeter of the tower's landing to
look for guards below. With Conan distracted, Taurus sneaks inside the
door and shuts it behind him. Conan senses this potential treachery and
returns to the door. Conan hears a sound from within like a man being
strangled, and Taurus' limp body falls back through the door into the
barbarian's arms. Bearing only small needle-like marks on his neck,
Taurus is cast aside as Conan cautiously enters the room. Amid caskets
of jewels, Conan moves forward until he is smitten on the shoulder by an
acidic liquid. Suddenly a giant black spider swings down and
attacks. Conan evades the spider's first attack, but before he can
reach the door the creature encompasses the barbarian in a sticky,
constricting web. Conan is able to grab one of the heavy jewel boxes and
hurls it at the giant arachnid, crushing its head.
Karen:
I was very taken with the way Smith drew the tower -glimmering, almost
in motion it seemed. The coloring no doubt enhances this; I'd like to
see the original comic book coloring for a comparison. The fight with
the spider was brief but exciting. Earlier Conan had remembered a story
he heard, that Yara, the priest of the tower, had once turned a prince
into a tiny spider. Perhaps this was another victim of the sorcerer,
although much larger?
Doug:
Conan enters a door he'd not seen previously during his conflict with
the spider. Entering and descending some steps, he sees a large green
elephantine idol seated on a throne. As the Cimmerian approaches, he is
stopped in his tracks by fear when the creature begins to move. It
looks around sightlessly, assuming that Yara has come to torture it --
from his words, this has apparently been a regular occurrence by both
fire and the racks. Conan hesitantly speaks to it, and the creature
names himself as Yag-Kosha. Conan tells the green elephant that he will
not harm him; in turn, Yag-Kosha asks Conan to come closer so that he
may touch the barbarian. Conan does so a bit too willingly for my
tastes (no way... I'm thinking no way -- it's gotta be a trick!), and
Yag-Kosha begins to speak of the origins of his people and how he came
to be in this place. He reveals that he is an ancient space traveler
who came to Earth long enough ago that he witnessed apes become men.
Eventually his people died out, and Yag-Kosha was the last of his kind.
He later taught a pupil named Yara, a sorcerer already gifted in the
black arts. Once Yag-Kosha had given of enough knowledge to make Yara
truly his master, the elephantine man was imprisoned by the scheming
Yara. The very tower which he had built for Yara in but a day now
served as his confines.
Karen:
The elephant man's tale is a bitterly sad one. Even the barbarian is
moved by it. Smith does a fabulous job here. Yag-Kosha is brilliantly
drawn, not ridiculous but imbued with a tragic nobility. Again, the
level of detail is stunning. Look at the pattern on the drapes, on the
small amulets Yag-Kosha wears on his tusks, vines growing up sides of
buildings - Smith was really thinking and putting it all into this art.
Doug:
Yag-Kosha asks Conan to kill him. Yag-Kosha tells the barbarian to
plunge his sword into the alien's heart and then take the Heart of the
Elephant jewel and set it before Yara. He must then recite an
incantation which will finally do in the corrupt sorcerer. Conan does
all this. Yara is sleeping in a nearby chamber. Conan enters the room
and shouts Yara's name, causing the sorcerer to awaken and curse Conan.
Conan places the gem, now blood-red, on a table and Yara is magically
drawn into the gem. Yara begins to shrink, stepping out of his clothes
and eventually becoming the size of a mouse. Yara somehow scales the
smooth surface of the gem and disappears into it. Conan's eyes widen
when he sees an image of a majestic Yag-Kosha awaiting. Conan, having
been warned by Yag-Kosha to flee, leaves the tower, getting far enough
away to see The Tower of the Elephant collapse. The Heart of the
Elephant was not to be his -- but what an adventure!
Karen:
The coloring of the sphere is wonderful and once again, I have to agree
that this modern coloring technique can bring a lot of life to the art.
I think this is one of the more fantastical Conan comics I've ever
read. It just has more fantasy elements than a lot of the stories.
There's very little swordplay but it still manages to be an exciting
tale.