Finally.
After watching Marvel, Dark Horse, and countless others take their swing at “The Tower of the Elephant,” we’re getting what the forums have been screaming about for years: a proper illustrated storybook treatment that gives Howard’s cosmic masterpiece the visual weight it deserves.
Not another comic adaptation. Not another rushed interpretation. But Valentin Sécher’s painterly vision spread across 56 oversized pages of pure sword-and-sorcery magnificence, arriving September 2nd in English for the first time.
You’ve seen the French edition photos floating around forums online.
You’ve watched that YouTube review with auto-translated subtitles just to glimpse those full-page spreads.
Now Titan & Heroic Signatures are bringing Sécher’s artwork to the English-speaking world in a format that makes every other adaptation look like a rough sketch.
Why This Story, Why This Format
“The Tower of the Elephant” holds a unique place in the Conan canon. Published in Weird Tales in March 1933, it was Howard’s third published Conan story but arguably the first to fully realize the character’s potential. Young Conan in the City of Thieves, hearing whispers of an impossible heist. The jewel-encrusted tower. The partnership with Taurus, Prince of Thieves. The battles with lions and that giant spider. And ultimately, the haunting encounter with Yag-kosha.
This story layers tragedy, wonder, and a critique of civilization – precisely the depth of storytelling that makes an illustrated storybook format perfect. Sécher pioneered this approach to showcasing prestige literature in France back in 2022.
In their initial run, they proved they could preserve Howard’s prose intact while using paintings for atmospheric amplification. To do this, Sécher – who is already renowned for his Moorcock’s Elric series – approaches each scene as a full painting. The 9.5″ x 12.7″ hardcover format gives passages like this room to breathe:
“Conan stood for a moment on the parapet, fascinated by the fabulous jewels with their frosty reflections that dazzled him: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, turquoises, moonstones, as big as stars…”
In demonstrating the story through this format, Howard’s text is able to get the treatment it deserves.
And with twenty-one Howard Conan stories in existence, the success of this English edition could determine whether Sécher tackles them all.
The Details You Need
Format: Hardcover, 56 pages, 9.5″ x 12.7″
Publisher: Titan Comics
Release Date: September 2, 2025
Price: $24.99 USD
ISBN: 9781787747685
Diamond Code: JUL250286 (for comic shop orders)
Pre-orders are live everywhere: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local comic shop through Diamond.
September 2nd, 2025. The day “The Tower of the Elephant” finally gets the edition Howard would have killed to see. The edition that makes every other adaptation look like a rough draft.
Don’t let this become the book you see on someone else’s shelf while you’re explaining how you “meant to order it.”
The tower awaits. Time to climb.
Lo Terry
In his effort to help Heroic Signatures tell legendary stories, Lo Terry does a lot. Sometimes, that means spearheading an innovative, AI-driven tavern adventure. In others it means writing words in the voice of a mischievous merchant for people to chuckle at. It's a fun time.
