DC
has just published issue #1 of a new title for The
Warlord. The creation of veteran Mike Grell,
The Warlord had his debut in 1975 in DC's First
Issue Special #8 (I still own my copy!) and had
a popular and lengthy run through 133 issues of
his own title from 1976 until 1989. The Warlord
is Vietnam War fighter pilot Travis Morgan, who
while flying over the north pole crashes through
a hole in the Earth into the undiscovered realm
of Skataris. Grell developed the storyline
as an Edgar Rice Burroughs-like lost world where
Morgan becomes The Warlord and has numerous adventures
in this prehistoric civilization/barbarian
land.
Issue #1 of the new title is
set in the present day and alternates between two
sub-plots. The main story focuses on young archaeologist
Alysha Grant, who discovers a frozen dinosaur in
a cave in Tibet, which unbenownst to her is most
likely a portal into the hidden Skataris.
The rest of the issue takes us through Grant's efforts
in assembling a team of adventurers to return to
the frozen dinosaur, ending with their stumbling
upon the hidden kingdom's entryway.
Our second sub-plot re-introduces
us to the present day Travis Morgan/Warlord, as
he awakens from one of his periodic hibernating
sleeps which slow down his aging and allow him to
extend his Warlord rule over the decades.
Although much briefer in length than the first sub-plot,
the premise is established that a wave of refugees
is flooding into the Warlord's city of Shamballah,
ahead of an invading "new god and his queen"
with previously unseen powers. Morgan quickly
discovers that said new powers are modern firearms,
thus establishing the hook that modern world invaders
have entered the hidden realm. Its up to issue
#2 to reveal whether or not these invaders are part
of Alysha Grant's team or a separate force.
This is an enjoyable comic read
for at least three reasons. First
and foremost is the artwork. A major attraction
of the original title was Grell's lush illustration,
recalling the best of the mid-20th century pulp
illustrations that accompanied the fantasy fiction
of writers such as Burroughs. The new
art team of Prado/Wong/Curiel succeeds in filling
Grell's shoes admirably, providing us with a really
nice two-page flashback montage of Morgan's 1969
entry into the hidden kingdom, as well as seven
beautifully-rendered pages of Morgan's present-day
life in Skataris. There's also a beautiful
cover for issue #1 drawn by Grell himself.
The second strength of this
issue centers on Grell's writing. I enjoyed
the fusing of the new, modern-day story characters
of Alysha Grant and her young adventurers with the
traditional world of The Warlord comic line.
Its obvious that beyond issue #1, the plot will
lead to the old and new characters coming together,
with lots of potential interesting plotting and
action possibilities available to make for an entertaining
new comic run. Third, as an old Warlord fan,
I was glad to see Grell quickly introduce us to
a few other standard characters from the old comic,
namely, Morgan's barbarian bride/queen Tara and
Shakira, Morgan's shape-shifting were-cat friend
and ally.
You don't have to be a veteran
fan of The Warlord to enjoy the return of this DC
character; this comic has strong legs of its own,
both artistically and plot-wise, for old and new
fans alike to be entertained. So definitely
give this new title a read and enjoy!
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