Long-Lived Comic Series #1 - Warlord (DC Comics)

Okay, when I started this blog, I never intended to use it to review an actual on-going comic book series. Sure, I reviewed a number of short-lived series - comic book series that usually lasted 10-issues or less, as well as graphic novels and hard cover collections.  But with this pandemic having interrupted the publication of current comic book series for a bit, lessening the number of comic being published, and me not having the ability or opportunity to go out and do all the conventions, trips, and any number of other things I used to do that kept me busy, I found I had more free time on my hands - so, I finally sat down to read DC Comics' original run of Warlord.  David and I bought the entire run for only $35 at a Tampa Bay Comic Book Convention quite a number of years ago (back when they were still being held in the Double Tree Hotel near I-275 and Dale Mabry Highway), and while David dug into them and read the entire series some time ago, they have sat boxed under my computer desk for quite a while waiting for me to read them.  Well, I started reading them last summer and have finally reached the end of that original run.

Created by Mike Grell (famous not only for his Warlord run, but also for his work on Green Arrow for DC, Starslayer for Pacific and First, Jon Sable for First, among others), the character of Warlord made his first appearance in First Issue Special #8 (cover dated November 1975) - an American pilot, Travis Morgan, while trying to escape an attack during a reconnaissance mission in 1969, somehow gets transported to the land of Skartaris, where the sunlight is eternal, dinosaurs still roam the land, technology is a contradiction of past and future, and the people who live there are primitive yet brave and fierce.  It is there he meets the beautiful but battle-worthy Tara, with whom he ultimately falls in love, as well as the deadly Deimos, who becomes Morgan's mortal enemy.  As time passes, Morgan gains impressive skills in hand-to-hand combat using knives and a sword, as well as sheds his military clothes for a loincloth and belt.  He keeps his gun, however, and it proves to be quite useful in a world that has never seen such a thing.

The character quickly graduated to his own series, with issue #1 published with a February 1976 cover date (meaning that it is likely the character was already approved for an on-going series before his first appearance in First Issue Special #8 ever hit the stands).  The logo, "Enter the Lost World of The Warlord," enticed readers to join Travis Morgan on his journey through this lost world of adventure, sword, sorcery, and untold dangers.  Mike Grell was both writer and artist for the series in the beginning, and the series was set completely apart from the regular DC universe - meaning there were no super heroes, no super villains, no earth-shattering disasters, etc.  Grell and the books editors in the early issues made it clear that Skartaris, located in the center of the Earth, was not set on any Earth that contained super heroes.  (Interestingly enough, there were comments made by the editors in the early issues of The Warlord that stated in no uncertain terms that time ran differently between Skartaris and the outside Earth, and there were even stories that dealt with that issue - which explained why Morgan went back into the world above and discovered it to be a number of years later than when he disappeared into Skartaris, but nowhere near that much time had passed for him.  There was a promise made in the letter column that Grell would eventually explain why that is, but much later in the series, well after Grell left, it was stated that time ran concurrently in Skartaris with the outside world, and as such, there was nothing to explain.  This, of course, contradicted things that happened in the earlier stories, including how Morgan's daughter could come to Skartaris as a full grown adult, when Morgan remembered her as a girl when he first came to Skartaris.)

Grell told some truly interesting, very character-driven stories in those early years of the book involving Morgan and Tara's budding romance; his friendship with Shakira, the woman who could shapeshift into a cat; his friendship with the mighty King Machiste, who was forced to replace his hand with an iron mace; and the Russian archaeologist Mariah, who stumbles into Skartaris and chooses to stay, developing a relationship with Machiste.  There are plenty of sword and sorcery battles against slave traders, pirates, and other dastardly villains, but a large part of those early stories feature the evil Deimos, who is determined to destroy Travis Morgan and his friends.  Deimos is killed, but comes back several times, before finally being vanquished once and for all after losing all of his powers.  Grell, and those creators who came after him, remained faithful to the fact that Deimos was truly dead, and although mentioned from time to time, he never came back to life to fight Morgan (at least, not in this original run).

 

The original series, including that First Issue Special, the 133-issue run, and the six annuals, was comprised of a whopping total of 140 issues, which is pretty impressive for a sword and sorcery title like that, particularly during the '70s and '80s, when the super hero comics permeated the market.  The horror titles, the war titles, and so many non-super hero titles went by the wayside, but Warlord managed to hang on for quite a while.   Yes, there were a few bumps - after only the first two issues, there was an eight-month gap between issues 2 and 3 of the ongoing series, but after that, the series eventually attained monthly status (although, as it neared the end, it returned to its original bi-monthly status due to low sales, ultimately leading to its cancellation in 1988 with issue 133).  That's quite a lot of stories to tell about Travis Morgan and this lost world of the Warlord.  And I have to give Grell a lot of credit here - he both wrote AND drew the comic for the first 52 issues - that's more than four years straight of writing and drawing a bi-monthly, then monthly comic.  And although I am not really a fan of sword and sorcery type tales, I was easily sucked into this lost world with Morgan and his comrades.  The book, while showcasing wizards and sword fights and massive battles, dealt heavily with the relationships among the cast - giving it an almost-soap opera type feel to the book.  Which made me forget the genre and focus on the stories and characters.  Plus, while many sword and sorcery tales seem to offer up countless scantily clad women with the male characters completely covered, Grell broke the stereotype by offering his main character - a MALE lead - in nothing but a loin cloth and helmet!  (Although, truth be told, I have to wonder how Morgan always managed to keep that loin cloth covering the goods throughout all the fights he had - I guess the fact this was still an all-ages comic is the reason for that...)  After issue 52, Grell gave up the art chores and, although his name still showed in the credits as the writer, it turns out his wife, Sharon, actually ghost-wrote the next 19 issues (53 - 71).

After Grell and his wife completely left the title, Cary Burkett took over the writing chores, followed by Michael Fleisher.  I'm not going to knock these two writers, as they have both written other comics that I enjoyed, I will say that the direction of the book and the stories took a drastic turn.  The stories started to feature more and more technology, and when the "Crisis" hit in 1985, suddenly Skartaris became a part of the DC Universe proper, opening up crossovers with the New Gods and even Power Girl (who, at that time, was thought to be the descendant of Arion), who became friends with Morgan's daughter, Jennifer, and fought some battles with her.  I think the inclusion of these DC Universe characters did not sit well with readers, because Power Girl's adventures in Skartaris ended rather abruptly and she was sent away, as was DeSaad (who was being made out to be a big baddie in the Warlord world), and the last year or so's worth of issues tried to bring the book back to its roots with sorcery and character quests.  Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.   Plus, the characters were no longer recognizable at this point - Machiste had become weak-willed; Mariah was no longer self-sufficient and seemed dependent on men; Shakira became a (for the lack of a better term) slut who was chasing after any man to satiate her sexual desire; Tara was barely seen; and Morgan, himself, seemed to meander with no direction or purpose.  Grell somehow breathed amazing life into Travis Morgan and the stories he told that could not be matched, and while Burkett and Fleisher did their best, there was a clearly distinct difference in the stories.

A number of artists worked on this title over the 13 years of its run.  Grell obviously set the standard high, with his beautifully rendered male and female forms and superb layouts (NOTE - every issue of Warlord, including the annuals, with the exception of one issue, had a two-page splash spread on pages 2 and 3 as a means of introducing the story for that issue - for me, this gave the opening of the stories a huge lead-in that made you feel like you were a part of Morgan's world.  Mark Texeria, Dan Jurgens, Rich Buckler, Ron Randall, Art Thibert, Pablos Marcos, and Jan Duursema (among others) provided the interior art once Grell took his leave, and while most of it was pretty good, I don't think any captured the strength and masculinity of Travis Morgan as Grell did.  Some artists added clothing to his ensemble, while others drew him overly-muscular.  But, again, none of it was truly bad or so horrific that it detracted from my reading enjoyment, so I simply write it off as different artist interpretations.  But let's face reality - no artist can draw a near-naked man like Mike Grell can!

As the series reached its end, I do want to give credit to Michael Fleisher for wrapping up the book with a nice, tight ending.  Storylines were resolved (except one, which I will get to in a moment), characters were reunited and somewhat returned to their original status, and Skartaris was in a place that the reader could believe was looking forward to a bright future.  The only story, though, that seemed to have been dropped to the wayside (and perhaps there were plans for it had the book continued) was the story of Tinder, who was actually Morgan and Tara's son, Joshua.  Early in the series, during Grell's work on the book, Morgan and Tara had a son; however, Deimos stole the boy, through sorcery and science made a duplicate of the boy, and tricked Morgan into fighting, and ultimately killing, what he believed to be his own son!  (Of course, readers knew the real Joshua had been stashed away and given to a poor family to raise.)   Warlord and Tara never knew their son survived, although Jennifer later learned that the thief known as Tinder was actually Joshua.  That subplot showed up time and again throughout the series, and there were moments were Morgan and Joshua came in contact with one another, but did not realize who the other was.  The last year or so featured no mention of Tinder/Joshua, and the book ended without Morgan ever finding his son.   (NOTE - after the cancellation of this series, Warlord did return for a 6-issue mini-series in 1992, following by a 10-issue series in 2006, and more recently, a 16-issue series in 2009 - so hopefully the story of Joshua gets resolved in one of those series...)

The one constant that remained throughout the entire series, regardless of writer or artist, was the fact that Skartaris was a world of many unexplored areas, and as such, the reader never knew what could happen next.  Grell created a blurb that appeared on that two-page spread of each issue next to the title logo which read:

In the savage world of Skartaris, life is a constant struggle for survival.  Here, beneath an unblinking orb of eternal sunlight, one simple law prevails: if you let your guard down for an instant you will soon be very dead.

No truer words were spoken, and I can say that the unexpected nature of the book, the stories, and the characters definitely made the book, overall, an enjoyable read from beginning to end.  Did some inconsistencies and contradictions arise along the way (i.e., the time variations, the location of Skartaris changing from inside the Earth to being in another dimension post-Crisis, etc.)?  Sure, but, hey! This is comics, after all, and they are meant to be an escape, a way to completely enjoy another world outside of our own.  It is fantasy, after all, not reality, so just enjoy the ride, I say!  And this one was most certainly well worth the read.

RATING:  8 .44 automag pistols out of 10 for making a sword and sorcery series interesting and enjoyable to a comic fan who has never liked such tales before!