Warlord #23
Published and © by DC, July 1979
Title: “The Children of Ba’al”
Synopsis: Warlord gets involved with a local conflict between a group of golden-skinned pacifists and a neighboring, ogre-like tribe.
Writer: Mike Grell
Penciler: Grell
Inker: Vince Colletta
Review: Warlord continues its latest run of done-in-one adventures with its titular character returning to Skartaris proper. There, Travis Morgan gets pulled into a local conflict between beautiful pacifists and their brutal, not-so-beautiful neighbors. But is everything as it seems? Hmm. Writer/artist Mike Grell delivers a fun story but the conclusion will take no one but Warlord by surprise. And the aggrieved party is far too forgiving given the kill-or-be-killed nature of Skartaris. On the art side, inker Vince Colletta seems to be settling in, delivering increasingly adequate work on the title. Now that’s a little surprising!
Grade: B
Second opinion: “Still inked I’m afraid by Vince Colletta.” – Martin Lock, BEM #24, July 1979
Cool factor: Mike Grell draws a dang fine adventure comic.
Collector’s note: According to MyComicShop.com, there is a Mark Jewelers variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “I’ve seen it time and again in Skartaris: The more highly advanced the civilization, the more savage they become.” – Warlord, battlefield philosopher
Editor’s note: This review was written May 21, 2023.
