Review
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
Penciler: Grell
Inker: Grell
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.
Cool factor: One of the better first issues of DC’s Bronze Age.
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).
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?!)
WARLORD #1
Published and © by DC, January-February 1976
Cover by Mike Grell
Your Take
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Collected Editions
Warlord #1 is reprinted in:Editor’s note: This review first appeared on Comics Bronze Age, Feb. 9, 2010.
Comments
Warlord issues 1 to 28, along with his first appearance in First Issue Special, are reprinted in black and white in the ‘DC Showcase Presents Warlord Vol 1’
ISBN 1-4012-2473-3
There’s a link to that volume in the “Collected Editions” section above. It’s a fun read and I enjoyed seeing Grell’s art in B&W. It’s disappointing we are unlikely to see a second volume as DC seems to have shelved the Showcase Presents line. Holding out hope for a Grell Warlord omnibus someday! – TAW