Warlord Omnibus Vol. 1

by Mike Grell

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Fantasy, Adventure

736 pages, Hardcover

Published December 23, 2025

About the author

Mike Grell (born 1947) is a comic book writer and artist.

Grell studied at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, and took the Famous Artists School correspondence course in cartooning. His entry into the comics industry was in 1972, as an assistant to Dale Messick on the Brenda Starr comic strip.

In 1973 Grell moved to New York, and began his long relationship with DC Comics. His first assignment at DC was on Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, a high-profile assignment for an artist with no prior experience illustrating a monthly comic book. Grell says he got that job because he was walking in the editor's door to ask for work, literally, as the previous artist was walking out the door, having just quit. These stories were written by Cary Bates and Jim Shooter. The Bates/Grell/Shooter run on the title is very well-regarded today by Superboy/Legion fans, who consider it one of the high-water marks in the character/team's history. Grell's work on SATLOSH is widely thought to be some of the best beefcake/cheesecake ever committed to comic book pages, and is affectionately referred to as the 'disco Legion' in retrospect by fans of the title.

A writer as well as artist, Grell cemented his status as a fan-favorite with his best-known creation, The Warlord, one of the first sword and sorcery comics, and reportedly the best-selling title published by DC Comics in the late-1970s.

The character first appeared in 1st Issue Special #8 (Nov 1975) and was soon given his own ongoing title (The Warlord #1, Jan/Feb 1976). In this book, Air Force pilot Travis Morgan crash-lands in the prehistoric "hidden world" of Skartaris (a setting highly influenced by Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar). For years thereafter, Morgan engages in adventures dressed only in a winged helmet, wristbands, boots, and breechclout, and armed with a sword and (years before Dirty Harry handled one) a .44 Auto Mag.

At DC, Grell also worked on titles such as Aquaman, Batman, and the Phantom Stranger, and with writer Dennis O'Neil on the re-launch of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series in 1976.


[edit] Tarzan
Grell wrote and drew the Tarzan comic strip from July 19, 1981 to February 27, 1983 (except for one strip, February 13, 1983, by Thomas Yeates). These strips were rerun in newspapers in 2004 - 2005.


[edit] First Comics: Jon Sable Freelance and Starslayer

Cover to Jon Sable Freelance #7. Art by Mike Grell.Through the 1980s Grell developed creator-owned titles such Jon Sable Freelance and Starslayer. Jon Sable Freelance was published by the now-defunct First Comics. Starslayer, a space-born science fiction series, started at Pacific Comics, but shifted to First.

The titular character of Jon Sable Freelance was a former Olympic athlete, later a African big-game hunter, who became a mercenary. First appearing with a cover date of June 1983, Jon Sable Freelance was a successful non-super-hero comic book in an era when successful non-super-hero comic books were almost unheard of, and a graphically violent comic sold in mainstream comic book stores in an era when such was as rare. Jon Sable was a precursor to what would eventually be called, by some, "the Dark Age of Comics," when even long-established super-heroes would become increasingly grim and violent.

The character was heavily influenced by Ian Fleming's James Bond novels as well as drawing on pulp fiction crime stories. Also, many of the stories of Sable's hunting exploits in Africa were influenced by Peter Hathaway Capstick's novels. At a convention in the late 1980s, Grell stated that his idea for Sable was "something like a cross between James Bond and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer."

Sable was adapted into a short-lived television series and the character's origin tale, "A Storm Over Eden," from the comic book, was expanded and novelized by Grell under the title Sable, which was publ

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, this is THE lightest omnibus I have ever picked up. Before I opened the shrinkwrap, I had managed to convince myself that this would be one of those books you see in a spy movie, where all of the pages had been cut away in the middle, leaving a big open space in the book to store secrets in. Alas, not so...the book is just printed on an almost weightless newsprint-looking stock; NOT newsprint, but a thicker grade of paper that actually suits this pulpy 1970s series just fine.

The binding creates some serious gutter-loss on the double-page spreads that open every issue, but creator Mike Grell was forward-thinking/just lucky, and never put any text in a place where it would be affected. A lot of people seem very put out by this, but I subscribe to the "We're lucky to get this series collected in any form, so I can live with it" opinion.

The series itself is a wild melange of cold war thriller meets sword and sorcery meets hollow Earth meets sci-fi meets just about everything else you can imagine. Demons, sorcerers, slavers, dinosaurs, robots, Yeti, giant snakes, assassins, thieves...Travis Morgan encounters them all during his accidental journey to the savage land of Skartaris. If you don't like an issue, just wait, because the next one will bring a completely new premise and battle. This must have been great to read in monthly doses. Read in one big chunk, it feels a little samey-samey, but it was a comfortable formula that Grell excelled at and always kept entertaining.

Grell's art is spectacular, even with the dreaded Vince Colletta supplying inks. I had a good time reading this, and I'm hoping that DC sticks with it and collects the series as a whole.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Grell’s world of Skartaris took inspiration from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E Howard, and the radio programs of his youth and created a hollow world full of strange civilizations, vicious dinosaurs, futuristic technology from a lost civilization, and just enough loincloths and bikinis to keep it all rated PG. The stories and characters are mostly just fun adventures with glimpses of depth that might come to play in later issues, but this omnibus only covers the original Special and 36 issues of the title. The art is gorgeous and it is interesting to see the original pencils shown in the back compared to the color version. Also includes some write-ups by Grell and a poster made specially for this omnibus. Really hoping to see further omnibuses so I can find out what happens next.

[Sebastian Lauterbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a typical Sword & Sorcery Adventure, that was initially published in the mid 70s. I think you'd need nostalgia for this genre and period of comics, otherwise this won't work.

I really disliked everything Conan and Red Sonja I've read, but I loved Mike Grell's work on Green Arrow, so I was curious whether I would like Warlord. It's good for what it is, I suppose. Both the writing and the artwork are great, but the story and character tropes get old really fast.

The protagonist is in the US Military and gets trapped in the center of the earth, which houses this fantasy land. The comic actually tries to explain how the center of the earth could house it's own sun and have a plethora of peoples and civilisations hidden from the rest of the world. It doesn't make any sense to me and I think a standard 'Isekai' route would have been a better choice.

Early in the story, the protagonist manages to get back home, only to rush back into the fantasy action at the first chance he gets. He is voluntarily choosing to live there, enjoying the dangers and the lifestyle of a swashbuckler without responsibilities. The overarching story is basically this: He is goofing around in a fantasy land, enjoying to kill everyone and everything for the fun of it.

What is also problematic and typical for the period is the depiction of women. All of them are donning a bikini, their occupation is to be a damsel in distress and all are quickly falling in love with the protagonist. It's painfully obvious that this was made for teens growing up in the seventies.

Aside from these problems, there can be some fun in this book. The monsters are creative, some of the tales have a clear lesson and the rare sprinkles of sci-fi technology into the magical world are interesting.

The cast of supporing characters is severely lacking, for they have no interesting motivation, powers or objectives on their own. However, at the end of this volume, a female shapeshifter is introduced, who is much more intriguing.

I also want to touch on this Omnibus edition. It is the first of it's kind that has very thick pages, that feel like newspaper, yet the book is incredibly light. I did like the weight and feel of the volume, but I think it only works with older comics. For more modern artwork, I definitely prefer high quality glossy paper.

All in all, this is a recommendation for fans of the bronze age or Sword and Sorcery gerne. Personally, I'll pass on future volumes and rather go back to reread Green Arrow.

[Ángel Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Existe un reducido pero distinguido grupo de artistas que parece que dibujan bien, pero en realidad dibujan mal. Frank Miller es, tal vez, el más afamado de ellos (me refiero al Miller de Daredevil, 300 o Sin City, no a la pobre ruina actual, incapaz de trazar algo que se parezca remotamente a una figura sobre un papel), pero, si me dan a elegir de entre ellos, yo escogeré siempre a Mike Grell. Grell dibuja sorprendentemente mal, pero tiene una narrativa tan fantástica, una composición de página tan excelente, que engañaría al más pintado. Además, de vez en cuando logra clonar a Neal Adams con un mínimo de habilidad, y eso es un plus. De hecho, es como una mezcla especialmente poco dotada de Neal Adams y de Jim Starlin, con alguna insinuación de nuestro Esteban Maroto por aquí y por allí. Es horrible, pero parece fabuloso. Las dobles páginas con las que empieza cada historia de Warlord son magníficamente horribles. Y hay que tener un tipo de talento muy especial para lograr eso.

Y, de pronto, a Grell empieza a intentarlo el mítico, el inolvidable, el don de los cómics, el hombre que amamos odiar: el mismísimo Vinnie Colletta. Y entonces, el dibujo pasa de parecer bueno y no serlo a parecer malo y serlo. Sí señores, Colletta nos quita la venda de los ojos; deja desnudo al emperador; destruye la magia. Skartaris nunca pareció más fea que cuando Colletta la entintaba. Y, sin embargo...

Hay algo en estos cómics mal dibujados y entintados, maravillosamente narrados, de extraordinaria composición y guion ramplón repleto de lugares comunes, melodrama barato y agujeros argumentales monstruosos. Y ese algo consiste en que Grell se lo pasa pipa, y eso se nota en cada página. Este cómic es un trabajo de amor, una carta apasionada a todos esos mundos pulp de Burroughs, Verne y compañía que tanto flipaban a nuestro hombre, que tantas horas de diversión le proporcionaron. Warlord, como obra artística, es un fracaso estrepitoso, pero como sentido homenaje y puro divertimento, como locura fantacientíficia donde todo puede ocurrir (hasta que Travis Morgan se convierta en un personaje jugador en una partida de rol), como válvula de escape para pasar el rato y poner nuestro cerebro en piloto automático, funciona como una máquina bien engrasada. Y me parece perfecto, y aplaudo al señor Grell por lograr hacer su sueño realidad, y por entender a la perfección lo que es un cómic. No necesariamente un buen cómic, pero sí un cómic modélico. Por cierto, magnífica la decisión de DC de editar este ómnibus en papel poroso (algo mejor que el original, pero lo suficientemente cercano a este como para que la cuatricomía no chirríe), y no en el espantoso papel satinado que está arruinando tantos y tantos cómics clásicos.

Pero... ¡¿por qué Vince Colletta, dios mío?! ¿¿¿Por qué???

[Brian Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT! Need the next one now!