Conan (ES) Vol 1 1

Conan (ES) #1
Previous Issue	—
Next Issue	Conan (ES) #2
Art by: Rafael López Espí
Cover Date	September, 1972

1. "The Coming of Conan!"
Appearances · Synopsis
Reprint of the 1st story from Conan the Barbarian #1 (original credits are italicized)
Writer(s)	Roy Thomas Fernando Manuel Sesén Merenciana (translation)
Penciler(s)	Barry Windsor-Smith
Inker(s)	Dan Adkins
Colorist(s)	Mimi Gold
Letterer(s)	Sam Rosen
Editor(s)	Stan Lee
2. "The Tower of the Elephant!"
Appearances · Synopsis
Reprint of the 1st story from Conan the Barbarian #4 (original credits are italicized)
Writer(s)	Roy Thomas Fernando Manuel Sesén Merenciana (translation)
Penciler(s)	Barry Smith
Inker(s)	Sal Buscema
Colorist(s)	Mimi Gold
Letterer(s)	Sam Rosen
Editor(s)	Stan Lee

Appearing in "The Coming of Conan!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Conan the Barbarian #1

Featured Characters:

• Conan (First appearance) (Main story and flashforward)

Supporting Characters:

• Aesir party
  • Olav (First appearance; dies)
• Tara (First appearance)

Antagonists:

• Vanir party
  • Gondur (First appearance; dies)
  • Volff the Wily (First appearance; dies)
  • Hothar (First appearance; dies)
• Sharkosh the Shaman (First appearance; dies)
• Winged demons (First appearance)

Other Characters:

• Crom (Invoked)
• King Kull (First appearance) (Vision or hallucination)

Races and Species:

• Humans
• Winged Demons
• Early Humans (Vision or hallucination)

Locations:

• Earth
  • Hyboria
    • Aquilonia (Main story and flashback)
    • Cimmeria (Main story and flashback)
      • Venarium (Referenced)
    • Vanaheim
      • Cave of the Star-Stone (First appearance)
    • Aesgaard (Referenced)
    • Khitai (First appearance)
  • Acheron (Referenced)
  • Thuria (First appearance) (Vision or hallucination)
    • Valusia (First appearance) (Vision or hallucination)
  • Atlantis (Vision or hallucination)
  • Stygia/Egypt (First appearance as Stygia) (Vision or hallucination)
    • Great Sphinx (Vision or hallucination)
• Hall of Shades (Referenced)
• Heaven (Invoked)
• Hell (Invoked)
• Earth Orbit (Vision or hallucination)

Items:

• Conan's Helmet (First appearance)
• Rion's Pendant (First appearance)
• Star-Stone (First appearance)

Events:

• Hyborian Age
• Cataclysm (Vision or hallucination)
• Age of Stone (Vision or hallucination)

Synopsis for "The Coming of Conan!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Conan the Barbarian #1

A twenty-year old barbarian from Cimmeria named Conan joins with an Aesir raiding party and their invasion of Vanaheim. Conan kills a soldier named Gondur then saves the life of an Aesir named Olav. From a high vantage point, the Vanir leader Volff the Wily watches the battle. He realizes that his men will fail to safeguard the gorge, so he instead decides to flee with his lieutenant Hothar. They tell the other Vanir that they go to call upon the favor of the Gods. They travel north across the mountains until they find a cave for shelter. The inside of the cave appears as if it is a massive temple. Inside is an aged shaman named Sharkosh, and his young maiden Tara. Sharkosh tells them that he safeguards the power of Star-Stone - a device that can project images of the past and the future. Sharkosh requires the sacrifice of a powerful fighter. Volff tells him of the dark maned barbarian he had seen assisting the Aesir. They both strike a deal and Sharkosh begins a conjuration. The Aesir find the Vanir and the battle begins. A trio of winged demon fighters appears and attacks both the Vanir and the Aesir. One of them kills Olav then attacks Conan. It flies Conan high into the air then drops him to the ground where he falls unconscious. When he awakens, he is inside Sharkosh's cavern temple. He sees fantastic images projected by the Star-Stone, including a vision of himself being crowned as a king. Conan knows that the Star-Stone is responsible for spawning the winged monsters that killed Olav. He breaks free of his cage and runs for the stone. Picking it up, he heaves it against a wall until it shatters. An explosion of supernatural energy kills Sharkosh, Volff and Hothar, but Conan manages to grab Tara and dive for safety. Tara changes her shape into that of a winged demon and explains that she is actually from the same dimension as the winged monsters, but in order for her to remain in this world, another must take her place in her own reality. Sharkosh intended on creating a spell of transference on Conan so that he would unwillingly take Tara's place. With the Star-Stone destroyed, Tara fades away and returns to her home dimension.

Appearing in "The Tower of the Elephant!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Conan the Barbarian #4

Featured Characters:

• Conan

Supporting Characters:

• Taurus of Nemedia, prince of thieves (Only appearance; dies)
• Yag-Kosha (Only appearance; dies)

Antagonists:

• Giant spider (Only appearance; dies)
• High Priest Yara (Only appearance; dies) (Main story and flashback)

Other Characters:

• Bel, God of all thieves (Invoked)
• Unnamed Kothian (Only appearance; dies)
• Unnamed count of Ophir (Mentioned)
• Unnamed count of Ophir's wife (Mentioned)
• Unnamed Brythunian stolen woman (Mentioned)
• Elephant Tower's guardsman (Only appearance; dies)
• Crom (Invoked)
• Lions (Only appearance; dies)

Races and Species:

• Humans
• Elephants (Mentioned)
• Lions
• Unidentified alien species (Main story and flashback)
• Gods (Mentioned)
• Demons (Mentioned)
• Giant Spiders
• Dinosaurs (Only in flashback)
• Apes (Mentioned)

Locations:

• Earth
  • Hyboria
    • Zamora
      • Arenjun (First appearance)
        • Unnamed tavern (First appearance)
        • Elephant Tower (Only appearance) (Destruction)
          • Gardens of Yara (First appearance)
    • Koth (Mentioned)
    • Ophir (Mentioned)
    • Brythunia (Mentioned)
    • Cimmeria (Mentioned)
    • Khitai (Only in flashback)
      • Lost Jungle (First appearance) (Only in flashback) (Unnamed)
  • Valusia (Only in flashback)
    • Thuria (Only in flashback)
  • Atlantis (Only in flashback)
• Yag (Mentioned)

Items:

• Conan's Helmet
• Rion's Pendant
• Heart of the Elephant (Only appearance) (Destruction)
• Black Lotus (First appearance) (Used)

Events:

• Hyborian Age
• Great Cataclysm (Only in flashback)

Synopsis for "The Tower of the Elephant!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Conan the Barbarian #4

In an inn in Arenjun, the "thief-city" of Zamora, a slaver, boasting of his recent acquisition, catches the attention of Conan when he mentions a jewel secreted in the Tower of the Elephant. The rogue mocks Conan's interest in the impossible-to-obtain gem, which is never a smart thing to do. Leaving the dead Kothian's body behind, Conan approaches the gated tower and observes Yara, the tower's mysterious occupant enter, but Conan doesn't notice that the priest's feet do not touch the ground. Conan scales the wall and discovers another thief, Taurus, also in the courtyard, and they join forces for this raid. Taurus dispatches most of the lions guarding the garden using a poison gas made of black lotus, and Conan kills the last lion. The two thieves climb to the top of the tower. Taurus, attempting to leave Conan behind, sneaks into a door but immediately falls out dead. Conan warily enters the room and discovers it filled with treasure but also encounters the room's guardian, a giant poisonous spider. Conan defeats the monster and descends into a lower chamber, where he encounters a green humanoid creature with an elephantine head. The lonely, blind creature introduces itself as Yag-Kosha and explains to a terrified Conan his alien nature and capture by Yara. The fabled gem, the Heart of the Elephant, is what keeps Yag-Kosha captive and Yara extremely powerful. He begs Conan to kill him, which Conan does. Conan then takes the gem to a sleeping Yara, who is mystically swallowed by the gem. Conan can see a fully healed and powerful Yag-Kosha inside the gem take his final revenge on his captor. With its builder's death the Tower of the Elephant begins to crumble, and Conan flees just in time to see it collapse into a pile of shards.

See Also

• 1 image(s) from Conan (ES) Vol 1 1