Friday, November 7, 2008

Famous First Fridays: Mike Grell's Warlord

Y'know, I got to thinkin'--I've done three posts that pretty much cover the whole story-behind-the-story of Mike Grell's epic sci-fantasy character the Warlord--but I haven't posted that fateful first story yet! Well, never let it be said that Ol' Groove doesn't try to make things right--especially when it involves a sword-wielding, pistol-packin' warrior like Travis Morgan! So, here ya go, Groove-ophiles! From the fabled eighth issue of First Issue Special (August, 1975), here is the very first Warlord story, "Land of Fear!" by Iron Mike Grell!

(Oh, and to show who loves ya, baby, I've included the "Story Behind the Story" text page containing a brief Grell bio and an even more brief version of how Warlord came to be!)




Remember to check out Mighty Mike's site to keep up with all the info on the upcoming new Warlord series (due out in early 2009). And hey, DC--how 'bout a Showcase series reprinting these masterpieces?

6 comments:

  1. I would also like to see a Warlord Showcase and thanks for sharing this issue.

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  2. A Warlord SHOWCASE wouldn't cut it for me. It needs to be a full color WARLORD hardcover omnibus. Hopefully that's not asking too much.

    Despite Grell's great runs on STARSLAYER, JON SABLE, GREEN ARROW, JAMES BOND and other work, Grell's WARLORD run will always for me be his greatest work. And infinitely worthy of a collected edition.

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    Replies
    1. I wish DC would do a color Warlord collection, too. The Showcase one is ex-pen-sive right now!

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  3. I bought the 1991 collected trade WARLORD: THE SAVAGE EMPIRE, that's in full color, collecting FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL 8, WARLORD 1-10, and 12 (issue 11 is an edited reprint of FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL 8). But that edition is likewise pricey and not overly easy to find at this point. A new collection is overdue.

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  4. I was just back this way reading again, and thought I'd offer a link to the next part here by Grell, in WARLORD 1:
    https://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2009/04/famous-first-fridays-mike-grells.html

    Awhile back I made an effort to link them all for an easy continuous read of Grell's WARLORD issues, and I apparently neglected to link this first one when I linked all the others. Hope this helps others to enjoy them.

    --Dave Ryan

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.


All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.

As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!