Warlord #1
Warlord #1 (February 1976) launched DC Comics' most successful sword-and-sorcery ongoing series of the Bronze Age, giving Travis Morgan his own title after a well-received tryout in 1st Issue Special #8 three months earlier. The series arrived at a moment when DC needed an answer to Marvel's Conan franchise, and under Mike Grell's complete creative control it became one of DC's top-selling books of the late 1970s — a rare case of a single creator writing, penciling, and inking a flagship genre title for six consecutive years. By blending a Cold War military premise with a hollow-Earth pulp-adventure setting rooted in Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne, the book staked out storytelling territory that was genuinely new for DC and proved that readers would follow a non-powered, morally complex hero through an entirely self-contained fantasy world. The series' 133-issue run outlasted every other entry in DC's mid-1970s adventure line and served as an incubator for later DC fantasy properties, hosting backup debuts that included Arak, Son of Thunder and Arion, Lord of Atlantis.
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Mike Grell originally conceived the concept as a syndicated newspaper strip titled The Savage Empire — a project inspired by his admiration for Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, Burne Hogarth's Tarzan, and his own fascination with lost civilizations and hollow-Earth literature. After the strip failed to gain traction (and a brief flirtation with Atlas/Seaboard Comics), DC editor Joe Orlando suggested repurposing the idea as a one-shot for the anthology series 1st Issue Special; Grell overhauled the lead from an archaeologist entering Atlantis into a Vietnam-veteran Air Force pilot whose damaged SR-71 plunges through a polar opening into the prehistoric inner world of Skartaris. The debut in 1st Issue Special #8 (November 1975) proved popular enough that the decision to launch an ongoing title had already been made before that issue even shipped. Warlord #1 followed in February 1976, with Grell handling all writing and art duties; after issue #2 the series endured an eight-month scheduling hiatus before resuming with issue #3 in November 1976, after which it ran continuously and grew into one of the publisher's signature Bronze Age properties.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published February 1976 (on-sale October 16, 1975) by DC Comics; cover price 25 cents; 36 pages, full color.
- Written, penciled, and inked entirely by Mike Grell — his first solo ongoing series — continuing the story begun in 1st Issue Special #8 (November 1975), which served as the character's debut.
- The issue title is 'This Savage World'; it recaps Travis Morgan's origin (U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel whose SR-71 is shot down over Russia, plunges through a polar opening into the inner Earth) and re-introduces Skartaris, warrior woman Tara, and sorcerer Deimos.
- Travis Morgan earns the name 'Warlord' over the course of the series as he fights for the freedom of Skartaris's people; this issue establishes the hollow-Earth setting strongly influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs's Pellucidar and Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth.
- The ongoing series ran for 133 issues (February 1976 – Winter 1988), with six annuals; Grell wrote and drew the book for approximately six years, handing off pencil duties after issue #59 (July 1982).
- The series later served as a launchpad for other DC fantasy characters: Arak, Son of Thunder debuted as an insert in Warlord #48 (1981), and Arion, Lord of Atlantis began as a backup in Warlord #55 (1982).
- Travis Morgan and Skartaris were adapted for animation in the Justice League Unlimited episode 'Chaos at the Earth's Core' (September 24, 2005), with Morgan voiced by Paul Guilfoyle.
- Warlord #1 has been reprinted in multiple collections, including DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #10 (1981), Showcase Presents: The Warlord Vol. 1 (2009, collecting 1st Issue Special #8 and Warlord #1–28), and The Warlord by Mike Grell Omnibus Vol. 1 (December 2025, collecting 1st Issue Special #8 and Warlord #1–50).
Cast · 2 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Introduction of Travis Morgan into Skartaris is recapped. Tara, the first female lead, and Diemos are re-introduced.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).