Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: The Temple of Kallian Publico
Based on the story “The God in the Bowl” by Robert E. Howard
Adapted by: Kurt Busiek
Art by: Cary Nord and Thomas Yeates
Color Art by: Dave Stewart
Lettered by: Richards Starkings and Comicraft
Cover Art by: Leinil Francis Yu
Assistant Editor: Matt Dryer
Editor: Scott Allie
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
This comic was so skillfully executed, so masterfully realized to the minutest detail, that the pages of my comic are actually stuck together.
You have a dirty mind!
Here’s the story behind the story. You see, I am currently a teaching intern at an elementary school in New Jersey. I’m in the classroom full time Monday-Friday. Wednesday is my longest day, as we have meetings following dismissal, and then I have to go off to a night class. Of course, Wednesday being so inconvenient makes reading my comics the day they come out difficult.
So, it’s about 10:30, I’m finally home, whipped from the day, and hungry! I sit down with my latest copy of Conan and a bowl of chicken soup. As I’m reading…well I dropped the corner into the soup. I hope nothing toxic is used by the printer that Dark Horse uses.
Well that’s my rather uninspiring tale of woe. You wanna read an inspiring tale?
Then get on board the Conan bandwagon NOW!
Thus far, Kurt Busiek has adapted one of the legendary Robert E. Howard’s original stories for the new Conan series. Issues 2-3 were a wonderful adaptation of “The Frost Giant’s Daughter.” The issues that followed have been equally amazing, and kept the adventure moving forward. Though the stories are filling the gaps between the works of Robert E. Howard, they are not throwaway tales spawned in a vacuum. They are forging a continuing saga that encapsulates events within Howard’s tales and expands the events and shows the consequences of actions within. This isn’t Conan walking into a new town each month and having an adventure. This truly is a saga with epic scope.
With this month’s tale we get our second adaptation, that of “The God in the Bowl.” I recently had the opportunity to read both the original source material from Howard, as well as the somewhat-faithful adaptation, “The Lurker Within,” by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith from Marvel’s Conan: The Barbarian #7.
It’s a testament to Busiek and Nord’s immense talent, and the unbelievably compelling work that they’re doing here that I was not bored reading a story that I’m so familiar with.
“The God in the Bowl” is a rather oddly set-up murder-mystery. It’s a classic-who-dun-it in an atypical fashion. The tale opens with Conan scaling the wall of the Temple of Kallian Publico. Conan’s here to thieveâ€â€that’s what he doesâ€â€but what befalls him is quite unexpected. Almost immediately Conan is surprised by the body of Kallian himself. A guard stumbles upon Conan hovering above the body. The guard sounds the alarm and Conan is quickly surrounded. As a clear indication of the terror that the mammoth Conan strikes into others, they hold back and listen to his side of things.
The idea of Conan talking his way through around a fight, and that he doesn’t indiscriminately swing his sword is one of the aspects that make Conan such a classic of literature. He may be a barbarian in appearance, but there’s a great deal more depth to the character. Busiek has excelled at capturing this side of Conan.
By the end of this part, the killer is not in question, but we left anticipating our first look at the creature. I’m anxious to see Cary Nord’s take on the “God in the Bowl” next month. Barry Windsor Smith did some amazing work with the being in the Marvel adaptation, and I’m sure Nord’s take will be worth the wait.
If you want to find out what “The God in the Bowl” actually is then go out and buy Conan #10. It’s an outstanding jumping on point. Everything you need to get you excited about the character, plus all the aspects that got me hooked on the title are clearly evident in this issue. Simply put, Conan will excite, thrill, and keep you turning pages until there aren’t any left to turn.
