Warlord #11
Published and © by DC, February-March 1978
Title: “Flashback”
Synopsis: Finding respite in a cave, the Warlord recalls the events that first brought him to the savage land of Skartaris.
Writer: Mike Grell
Artist: Grell
Review: Normally, eleven issues into a run would be too soon for a reprint, but it’s likely some readers might have missed Warlord’s first appearance in 1st Issue Special #8. Mike Grell’s framing sequence isn’t subtle but it does the job, and the reprint tale is certainly a worthwhile one. Right from the start, Grell’s series had the making of something special. Not because it was strikingly original – it borrowed heavily from established genre trappings – but because of Grell’s passion for the material. It was also a smart and sexy book, which was fairly uncommon for the time. Good stuff.
Grade: A-
Cool factor: That’s a striking cover, and it earned this book a grade bump over 1st Issue Special #8’s B+ (see review).
Notable: Reprints story from 1st Issue Special #8
Collector’s note: According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.
Character quotable: “Brrrrrr! It’s cold in here out of the sunlight.”– Mariah Romanov (apparently, the chill had nothing to do with her choice of costume!)
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Sequential Reaction (Vol. 1) on Oct. 13, 2016.
