The Warlord is a

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. Created by writer-artist

Mike Grell Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''. Early life Grell studied at the University of W ...

, he debuted in ''

1st Issue Special ''1st Issue Special'' was a comics anthology series from DC Comics, done in a similar style to their ''Showcase'' series. It was published from April 1975 to April 1976. The goal was to showcase a new possible first issue of an ongoing series eac ...

'' #8 (November 1975). The titular character, Travis Morgan, obtains the name "Warlord" as he fights for the freedom of the people of

Skartaris Skartaris is a fictional Hollow Earth fantasy setting created by Mike Grell for the sword and sorcery comic book '' The Warlord'', published by DC Comics. Skartaris debuted in '' 1st Issue Special'' #8 (November 1975), where the character Travis M ...

Development

Grell described the Warlord's genesis "as a comic strip called ''Savage Empire''... ''Savage Empire'' was born of my admiration for

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship a ...

's ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' and

Burne Hogarth Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artists. Early life ...

's ''Tarzan'', combined with my fascination with archaeology and lost civilizations." Grell described pitching his idea to DC Comics: "I completely revised the concept from ''Savage Empire'' into ''The Warlord''. The story of an archeologist who stumbles through a time portal and winds up in Atlantis became the story of US spy pilot whose

SR-71 The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a Range (aeronautics), long-range, high-altitude, Mach number, Mach 3+ military strategy, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporati ...

is damaged while on a mission over Russia and plunges through an opening at the North pole into the world at the center on the earth, where creatures of from mythology and Earth's ancient past co-exist amid fantastic cities and leftovers of the civilization of

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

... drawing on many sources, including my own US Air Force experiences to lend a note of authenticity to the characters background. Choosing the new setting was easy, as a kid one of my favorite books was

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's 1864 classic ''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

'', I lsodrew on...'' The Smoky God, The Hollow Earth'', and

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

' ''

Pellucidar Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar. The stories initially involv ...

'' series."

Publication history

The character the Warlord debuted in ''

'' #8 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d November 1975). The decision to give the Warlord his own series had already been made by the time his ''1st Issue Special'' debut went into production. He starred in ''The Warlord'' #1 (February 1976), followed by an eight-month hiatus after issue #2, picking up again with #3 (November 1976). The title lasted 133 issues until Winter 1988. Creator Mike Grell wrote and drew the comic for six years, handing over the art chores after issue #59 (July 1982). Issues #53 through #71 were ghost-written by Grell's then-wife Sharon Wright.

Backup features

A continuation of

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

's '' OMAC'' series, by

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and ...

, was featured as a backup for several issues (#37–39 and #42–47). ''

Arak, Son of Thunder Arak is a fictional comic book character and a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in a special insert in '' The Warlord'' #48 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas and Ernie Colón. Arak (Bright-Sky-After-Storm) is depict ...

'', created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and

Ernie Colón Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as mains ...

, first appeared in a special insert in ''The Warlord'' #48 (August 1981).

Claw the Unconquered Claw is a sword and sorcery superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Claw the Unconquered'' #1 (June 1975), in which he was created by writer David Michelinie and designed by artist Ernie Chan. Similar in many ways ...

appeared in a two–part backup feature in issues #48–49 by

Jack C. Harris Jack C. Harris (born August 30, 1947) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics. Biography Early life and career Jack C. Harris attended the Philadelphia College of Art and grad ...

and

Thomas Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips ''Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas Yea ...

. ''Dragonsword'' was a backup feature by

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

and Yeates which appeared in #51–54 (November 1981–February 1982). ''

Arion Arion (; grc-gre, Ἀρίων; fl. c. 700 BC) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant ...

'', a sword and sorcery title by writer

Paul Kupperberg Paul Kupperberg (born June 14, 1955) is an American writer and comics editor. He is currently a writer and executive editor at Charlton Neo Comics and Pix-C Webcomics, and a contributing author with Crazy 8 Press. Formerly, he was an editor for D ...

and artist

Jan Duursema Jan Duursema (born October 27, 1954) is an American comics artist known for her work on the ''Star Wars'' comics franchise. She is the creator of Denin and Vila from Naldar, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura and the Kiffar Jedi Quinlan Vos. Career ...

, began as a six–page backup feature in ''The Warlord'' #55 (March 1982). Another backup feature was ''The Barren Earth'' by writer

Gary Cohn Gary David Cohn (born August 27, 1960) is an American business leader who served as the 11th Director of the National Economic Council and chief economic advisor to President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2018. He managed the administration's econo ...

and artist

Ron Randall Ron Randall (born November 22, 1956) is an Americans, American comic book creator, comic book artist best known as the creator of the character Trekker (comics), Trekker. Career A graduate of The Kubert School, Ron Randall's first published com ...

, which was concluded in a four–issue limited series. A Bonus Book in issue #131 (September 1988) featured artist

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

's first work for DC.

Volume 2

A six-issue miniseries ran cover-dated January to June 1992. It was written by

and penciled by Dameon Willich, with inks by

Rick Hoberg Richard Renick Hoberg (; born June 7, 1952) is an American comics artist and animator. Newspaper strips Hoberg began his career in comic books in the mid-1970s, working for Russ Manning on ''Tarzan'' comic books for overseas distribution (1975� ...

(#1-3) and Tim Burgard (#4-6).

Volume 3

DC attempted to update ''The Warlord'' in 2006 with Bruce Jones writing and

Bart Sears Bart Whitman Sears (born 1963) is an American comics artist, toy and packaging designer and author, known for his work on such books as ''Justice League Europe'', '' Legends of the Dark Knight'', ''X-O Manowar'', ''Turok'', '' Violator'', ''The He ...

providing the art. This series restarted the concept, beginning with Travis Morgan arriving in Skartaris. The series left a number of story points unanswered as issue #9 finished on a cliffhanger, while the tenth and final issue had a standalone story set sometime in the future.

Volume 4

''The Warlord'' returned in an ongoing series written by Mike Grell in time for the original series' 35th anniversary. The series started in April 2009, featuring art by Joe Prado and Chad Hardin. It ran for 16 issues.

Fictional character biography

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran

pilot Travis Morgan passed through a hole in the Earth's crust while flying over the north pole in 1969 and landed in the underground world of

, a place strongly reminiscent of

. There Travis, wielding his .44 AutoMag pistol and joined by Shamballah's Princess (later Queen) Tara, a scantily dressed savage, became The Warlord and fought villains such as the evil sorcerer Deimos as well as various kings. He gained various sidekicks such as

Machiste Machiste is a supporting character in the Warlord a sword and sorcery comic book published by DC Comics. Machiste debuts in ''Warlord'' #2 (March 1976), and was created by Mike Grell. Fictional character biography Machiste is the wandering King ...

, Shakira, a Russian scientist named Mariah and his magic-wielding daughter Jennifer Morgan. In one story arc, Morgan even becomes the U.S. President in the far future. Although The Warlord has a superficial resemblance to the DC character

Oliver Queen Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

, he is in reality based more upon his creator Mike Grell who was a former member of the Air Force. Grell is caricatured in The Warlord's first appearance, ''

'' #8 and is clearly sporting The Warlord's signature shaggy goatee. Grell and editor

made a

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

appearance Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

in the story "Gambit" in ''The Warlord'' #35 (July 1980). Volume 4 of the series begins with an explorer finding perfectly preserved

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

remains in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. She takes the head of one to a doctor and an expedition is set up to retrieve more samples. The team is spotted by the Chinese government and flee into the caves after losing several members. They discover a portal and after walking through find themselves in

where they encounter Travis Morgan. Travis Morgan is attacked by a giant bird and kills it with the help of Shakira. Refugees enter Shamballah and Morgan discovers that a new god has taken over the Shadow Kingdom and has overrun the Kingdom of Kiro,

's homeland. One of the refugees is injured and he surprisingly carries a gunshot wound. The machinations of Deimos' return pit Travis Morgan against Tinder. Just as Morgan realizes that Tinder is in fact his son Joshua, he becomes distracted and Tinder mortally wounds him. Travis Morgan's final words were "I thought I'd have more time". Morgan is cremated and Tinder becomes the new Warlord. Joshua Morgan becomes the new Warlord. His costume is reminiscent of Travis Morgan's black outfit when he first arrived in Skartaris. Instead of carrying a sword and a gun as Travis did, Tinder carries a sword, a dagger, a quiver of arrows and a bow.

Other versions

In the alternate timeline of the '' Flashpoint'' storyline, The Warlord is the pirate of a fleet when he was attacked by pirate Deathstroke in battle stealing their loot. During the battle, The Warlord's crew was killed while he escaped using the hovercraft. Later, The Warlord plans to attack Deathstroke and retrieve Jenny Blitz who has been in stasis since she was stolen from him. The Warlord ambushed Deathstroke and his fleet and demanded that they surrender. In answer Deathstroke shot The Warlord's right eye using a scoped sniper rifle. He had been aiming for his mouth. Deathstroke fired at The Warlord's ship again, and it unexpectedly blew up. Each ship in Warlord's fleet subsequently exploded. The ships were destroyed by Jenny Blitz, now released from her stasis tube due to an earlier skirmish between Ocean Master and Icicle, one of Deathstroke's crewmen. Jenny appears to be able to project explosive force from her hands.

In other media

Television

The Warlord appeared in the ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...

'' episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core", voiced by

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

, Stargirl, and S.T.R.I.P.E. stumbled onto Skartaris and teamed up with him to stop Deimos and his unlikely allies

Metallo Metallo () is a name used by multiple supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of Superman. Metallo is usually depicted as a cyborg with a kryptonite power source in his heart, which he ...

and

Silver Banshee Silver Banshee is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as an opponent of Superman. In television, she has been portrayed by Odessa Rae in ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville'' and Italia Ricci in the Arrowvers ...

of the

Secret Society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

from stealing a huge piece of

kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...

rock. The Warlord dueled with Deimos, ending with Deimos plummeting down a ledge. Tara, Machiste, Mariah, Shakira, and Jennifer Morgan also appeared in this episode.

Toys

* In 1982, several of the characters from ''The Warlord'' became action figures in a line called "Lost World of The Warlord" from

Remco Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company in the United States founded in the 1940s. It was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the 'Johnny Reb Cannon', 'Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier', 'Remco Voi ...

. Travis Morgan was one of the figures along with Deimos, Machiste, Mikola Rostov, Arak, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. * In April 2007, The Warlord became an action figure (based on the modern update) in Series 4 of DC Direct's "First Appearance" figures. * In 2010, The Warlord became an action figure based on the animated version in the Justice League Unlimited toyline.

Popular culture

''The Warlord'' issue #89 (Jan. 1985) appears on a magazine rack in a convenience store in a deleted scene from ''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astori ...

'' DVD.

Collected editions

* DC Comics reprinted several early stories from ''The Warlord'' in ''DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest'' #10 (June 1981). This

digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately , but can also be and , similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes have evolved from the printin ...

collection included a new wraparound painted cover by Mike Grell and an introduction. * ''DC’s First Issue Specials'' collects ''1st Issue Special'' #8, 272 pages, March 2020, * ''The Warlord: The Savage Empire'' (1991) - collects ''1st Issue Special'' #8 and ''The Warlord'' #1–10 and 12, November 1991, 240 pages, * ''

Showcase Presents ''Showcase Presents'' was a line of black-and-white paperback books published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' '' Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually included over 500 pages of ...

: The Warlord'' (2009) - collects ''1st Issue Special'' #8 and ''The Warlord'' #1–28, September 2009, 528 pages, * ''DC Through the 80s: The End of Eras'' collects ''The Warlord'' #42, 520 pages, December 2020, * ''DC Through the 80s: The Experiments'' collects ''The Warlord'' #48 and 55, 504 pages, May 2021, * ''Warlord: The Saga'' - collects ''The Warlord'' vol. 4 #1–6, March 2010, 144 pages, * ''Countdown Special: OMAC'' #1 (2008) - collects OMAC backup stories from ''The Warlord'' #37–39 as well as ''OMAC'' #1 and ''DC Comics Presents'' #61.

References

External links

*
The Warlord
at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe {{DEFAULTSORT:Warlord (Comics) 1976 comics debuts 1988 comics endings 1992 comics endings 2007 comics endings 2010 comics endings Characters created by Mike Grell Comics by Dan Jurgens Comics by Michael Fleisher Comics characters introduced in 1975 DC Comics fantasy characters DC Comics military personnel DC Comics superheroes DC Comics titles Defunct American comics Fantasy comics Fictional aviators Fictional swordfighters in comics Fictional United States Air Force personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans Fictional warlords Hollow Earth in fiction Lost world comics