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THE CHRONICLES OF CONAN: TOWER OF THE ELEPHANT AND OTHER STORIES TP
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Barry Windsor-Smith
Inks: Dan Adkins, Sal Buscema, Frank Giacoia, Tom Sutton & Tom Palmer
Colors: Peter Dawes, Ian Sokoliwski, Dennis Kashton & Wil Glass
Letters: Sam Rosen
Editors: Jeremy Barlow & Scott Allie
Price: $15.95 US |
I don't like Conan. Or at least, I thought I didn't, based largely on the two Conan movies that I saw. However, it's clear that I didn't like Conan because I didn't really know Conan. Dark Horse, in preparing for their new Conan series, has reprinted a trade (the first of many) of the classic Marvel Conan work of Roy Thomas, and I'm surprised to find within a hero that I can really get behind. Instead of the monosyllabic barbarian who doesn't wear armor because he's too dumb and who solves his problems with his muscles and his sword, I found a cunning protagonist who relies on his brain as much as his brawn, who is as much a roguish thief as he is a surly warrior and who mixes the always-likable "out for himself" with a strange code of honor and loyalty to those who earn it. His adventures take place in a world full of magical objects, strange gods and fantastic beasts, but they play into the common themes of dignity, freedom, might vs. right and other such fantasy staples.
Dark Horse has of late struck gold with re-release material like Lone Wolf & Cub, Classic Star Wars and Xenozoic Tales, and Conan is another example of them picking up classic material that never should have gone out of print. Just as with their other efforts in this vein, however, Conan is not an example of them simply collecting a bunch of old material and throwing it out there. The work has been cleaned up, recolored and generally given a loving reconditioning for this edition, and though I don't have the originals for comparison, I have to say that I'm very impressed by the new coloring job. It makes use of the best of current technology without becoming overwhelmed by the neat tricks available in computer color, and the result is bright, colorful artwork that is true to the style of the original but clearly equal to the best coloring in modern comics as well.
I was surprised to find that Barry Windsor-Smith's early work doesn't look much like his current style. Instead, he's doing a pretty clear Kirby riff, emphasizing powerful action and heroic forms more than the lithe forms and realistic anatomy that you expect from him today. As the book goes on, Smith continues to develop more into his personal style, and "The Keepers of the Crypt," the final story in this volume, is much closer to his work than that of Kirby. At any rate, the work throughout is beautiful to look at, and though Roy Thomas makes light of the "too many animals" nature of some of the stories, the large number of snakes, tigers, apes, horses, giant bats and other creatures let Smith show off his impressive skill in depicting these beasts.
I expected a certain level of quality in the artwork, however. What I wasn't sure of was how I would like the stories, given that I've enjoyed some of Roy Thomas's work a great deal and found some of it to be too old-fashioned. While Conan does have a slightly stilted dialogue style, it is absolutely perfect for the style of the book, and Thomas's combination of drawing on Robert E. Howard's work and creating his own plots in that style winds up creating some very engaging stories. I honestly expected a lot of stories of a barbarian fighting renegade wizards, but instead I got stories that are the fantasy equivalent of heist tales, along with some surprising philosophical explorations. The story construction is also interesting, in that each story is fairly dense, especially by today's standards. Thomas's tales are all self-contained and very satisfying on an issue-by-issue basis, but at the same time there are links between the stories that reward the reader if they read them in order or read more than one.
All in all, Conan has everything I look for in a fantasy comic, without simply falling into quest and epic cliches. Beautiful women, strong and smart heroes, fantastic beasts and monsters, imaginative locales and stories that resonate on a universal level are all to be found in the eight stories found in this volume. There's also a wonderful closing essay by Thomas that I hope will be a running theme in these collections, as he tells stories with a sense of humor and a wistful look back that are fascinating even to those of us without a nostalgic attachment to the material. While I was curious about this Conan volume when it was announced, I honestly didn't think it would be up my alley. Now I find myself anxiously awaiting the next volume, and hoping that Dark Horse collects all of this material, as I start to realize why it has earned such a popular reputation in comics circles.
This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
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