Warlord #1
Published and © by DC, January-February 1976
Title: “This Savage World”
Synopsis: Fleeing the city of Thera, Travis Morgan and Tara find an assortment of dangers in the jungles of Skartaris.
Writer: Mike Grell
Artist: Grell
Review: Picking up right where 1st Issue Special #8 left off (see review), writer/artist Mike Grell continues the business of mythmaking as he lays out more of the hollow-Earth world of Skartaris. Grell packs this issue with plenty of action (including one fantasy cliché too many in the form of a satyr), yet still finds time for character development. He’s already displaying a good story sense, both as a writer and an artist. The art here is particularly nice; the inking on later issues could be a little rough, but this work is nicely polished.
Grade: B+
Second opinion: “Grell’s artwork suited sword-and-sorcery far better than superheroes, and he was able to come up with, if not original, certainly entertaining ideas.” – The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003
Cool factor: One of the better first issues of DC’s Bronze Age.
Character quotable: “Stick it in your ear!” – Travis Morgan (you’re such a badass they call you the Warlord, and those are the strongest words you can come up with?!)
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Feb. 9, 2010.
