Enter the Lost World of the Warlord — Mike Grell Returns with New Tales from Skartaris

For many comic book fanatics it was Stan Lee or Jack Kirby who stole their hearts and made them life-long fans. For artists, the likes of Georgia O’Keeffe or Salvidor Dali influenced their love of art. For me, my comic book and artistic muse was one and the same: Mike Grell.

Like any other kid, I read any comic I could get my hands on but my favorites were always the high fantasy stories like Turok, Son of Stone and Conan the Barbarian. When Mike Grell introduced The Warlord, it brought about a resurgence of fantasy when the rest of the comic world was being over-run by mutants. Arion, Lord of Atlantis, Arak, Son of Thunder and other fantasy titles became mainstream finally, rather than relegated to independent publishers like Richard and Wendy Pini’s ElfQuest.

Mike wasn’t just drawing loincloth clad men wielding swords though. He was drawing incredibly detailed human figures at a time when other characters were becoming more loosely drawn. When other comics began relying on flashy ink, his comics would still look great in black and white. He wasn’t just drawing comics, he was creating art. As well as being a wonderful artist, Mike Grell was a great storyteller. The Warlord didn’t rely on just his fantastic art but compelling stories set in an Edgar Rice Burroughs or H. Rider Haggard-like other world. A blend of classic science fiction and fantasy, The Warlord followed the adventures of Lt. Col. Travis Morgan, an Air Force pilot shot down while on recon over icebound Russia. As he brings down his aircraft, he crashes in a land of eternal sunlight where magic and monsters still exist.

Based on the Hollow Earth theory (and Grell did his homework on it), Skartaris exists at the center of the Earth. The theory is that most planets are actually donut shaped with holes at the poles and a molten sun-like core at the center. The opening at the poles is gradual, spanning some 500 miles and thus is undetectable as one enters the center of the earth. This theory explains freshwater flows that should have been salty and grassy plains that should have been icebound that were found by Admiral Bird on one of his journeys to the poles. It also explains the phenomenon of Water Sky where the sky at the poles seems to mirror the surface of water and broken ice. It also explains why so many planets that are devoid of water appear to have polar ice caps: It’s the glow of the inner sun showing through the polar openings. Whether you think the theory is hogwash or potentially true, when you enter the lost world of Skartaris, it is a fact that Morgan deals with every day.

Introduced in a D.C.’s 1st Issue Special #8 in 1975, The Warlord premiered in its own series by DC Comics in 1976 and ran through 1989 with 133 issues. Grell prolifically worked on other titles such as Green Arrow: Longbow Hunters, Aquaman and his original series Shaman’s Tears and Jon Sable (which was published as a novel, was a short lived TV series and is still in development for a film adaptation). 1992 saw the brief return of The Warlord in a 6 issue mini-series. Continuing to be popular, a new series began in 2006 sans Grell. This new story was “reinvisioned” and upon opening the first issue, I literally cried, I was so horrified. Everything I loved about Grell’s Warlord was sorely absent. I guess I’m not the only one who felt that way as the new series was short-lived. It ended after only 10 issues and is largely regarded by fans as a bad dream that never really happened.

At 2008’s San Diego Comic-Con, while talking to Glenn Hauman over at the ComicMix booth (whose SABLE poster caught my eye), I was informed that Grell was coming back to the series as writer and cover artist. I was so thrilled, I ended up talking about how Grell had influenced my drawing style growing up, that his artwork inspired me and taught me how to draw, etc. For as long as I can remember, Mike Grell has been influencing me artistically, especially when trying to learn to draw again after a car accident robbed me of the ability. After hearing my story, Grell’s assistant (who had been sitting at the table listening to the discussion) sent me straight over to meet Mike, whom I had been unable to see all week due to other obligations. I had my first truly fan-girl moments as I stood teary-eyed and silent, looking through his portfolio (original hand-drawn art!) while listening to him tell the story of how The Warlord came to be published. After meeting him and his wife (and getting my First Issue Special #8 signed), I think my head was spinning. It was the perfect ending to my Comic-Con experience. Not only had I gotten to meet my hero, but I had learned that The Warlord was coming back.

Finally, it’s here. Issue #1 of the new The Warlord premiered in April with Mike Grell writing and doing the covers. Artists Joe Prado, Walden Wong, Chad Hardin and Wayne Faucher did a fine job with the artwork in issues 1 through 6. While not as beautiful as the work done by Grell himself, it did a much better job of capturing the essence of his work than previous artists did with the original series after Grell’s departure or in the 10-issue nightmare from 2006. With Issue #7, which is currently at your local newsstand or comic book shop, Grell returns as writer and illustrator. You can see some fabulous samples of his un-inked pages at his website to get a taste of what I mean about how amazing his art looks in black and white.

Unlike the 2006 relaunch of the series, this story doesn’t try to reinvent the character but rather picks up today and revisits the world we left behind in 1992. While some long-time fans will still have questions lingering about secrets and events from the past, new readers will not feel like they are on the outside looking in. The story picks up from the point of view of Alysha, a paleontologist who discovers a frozen dinosaur in a cave at The Roof of the World in Tibet. After bringing a special team in to secretly study the specimen, they discover something else in the cave: a portal to the lost world of Skartaris. Through the events that unfold after this discovery, Alysha gets a brief recap of the original storyline and Grell very craftily eases the reader into the history and events that shaped the success of the original run of the series.

The introductory storyline wraps up neatly at the end of the first 6 issues and a new storyline begins in issue 7 with Grell completely at the helm. The storyline is, as always, well told and intriguing. Grell has a knack for exploring moral ambiguities and flaws in his creations and his characters are not the polished and perfect heroes you see in many other publications. As a result, his stories are more interesting, his characters more compelling and real. While the wonderful storytelling makes me read through the story quickly to devour every moment, the artwork and layout gives me pause and sends me back through the issue to study each panel for details and imagery that tell the story even more completely.

I’m absolutely thrilled by the new The Warlord and hope this new series has the longevity of the original run. You don’t have to have read the original series to be able to get into this, but for those of you who missed The Warlord first time around, you can check out Showcase Presents: Warlord Vol. 1. This new, quality paperback includes reprints of the 1st Issue Special #8 and issues 1-28 of the original series.