The Warlord is a sword and sorcery character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Mike Grell, he debuted in 1st Issue Special #8 (November 1975). The titular character, Travis Morgan, obtains the name "Warlord" as he fights for the freedom of the people of Skartaris.
Development Grell described the Warlord's genesis "as a comic strip called Savage Empire... Savage Empire was born of my admiration for Hal Foster's Prince Valiant and Burne Hogarth'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 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... 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's 1864 classic Journey to the Center of the Earth, I [also] drew on...The Smoky God, The Hollow Earth, and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar series".
Publication history The character the Warlord debuted in 1st Issue Special #8 (cover-dated 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's OMAC series, by Jim Starlin, was featured as a backup for several issues (#37–39 and #42–47). Arak, Son of Thunder, created by Roy Thomas and Ernie Colón, first appeared in a special insert in The Warlord #48 (August 1981). Claw the Unconquered appeared in a two–part backup feature in issues #48–49 by Jack C. Harris and Thomas Yeates. Dragonsword was a backup feature by Paul Levitz and Yeates which appeared in #51–54 (November 1981–February 1982). Arion, a sword and sorcery title by writer Paul Kupperberg and artist Jan Duursema, began as a six–page backup feature in The Warlord #55 (March 1982). Another backup feature was The Barren Earth by writer Gary Cohn and artist Ron Randall, which was concluded in a four–issue limited series. A Bonus Book in issue #131 (September 1988) featured artist Rob Liefeld's first work for DC.
Volume 2 A six-issue miniseries ran cover-dated January to June 1992. It was written by Mike Grell and penciled by Dameon Willich, with inks by Rick Hoberg (#1-3) and Tim Burgard (#4-6).
Volume 3 DC attempted to update The Warlord in 2006 with Bruce Jones writing and Bart Sears 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 veteran SR-71 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 Skartaris. There, Travis, wielding his .44 AutoMag pistol and joined by Shamballah's Princess (later Queen) Tara, becomes the Warlord and battles villains such as the evil sorcerer Deimos as well as various kings. He gained various sidekicks such as Machiste, Shakira, Russian scientist Mariah Romanova, and his magic-wielding daughter Jennifer Morgan. In one story arc, Morgan even becomes the U.S. president in the far future. Although Warlord has a superficial resemblance to the DC character Oliver Queen, he is based more upon his creator Mike Grell, who was a former member of the Air Force. Grell is caricatured in Warlord's first appearance, 1st Issue Special #8, sporting The Warlord's signature shaggy goatee. Grell and editor Jack C. Harris made a metafictional appearance in the story "Gambit" in The Warlord #35 (July 1980). Volume 4 of the series begins with an explorer finding preserved dinosaur remains in the Himalayas. 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 Skartaris, where they encounter Travis Morgan. 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 Kiro, Machiste's homeland. One of the refugees is injured and carries a gunshot wound. Travis later battles his son Joshua, also known as Tinder, who kills him and assumes the Warlord title.
Other versions An alternate universe version of Warlord appears in Flashpoint. This version is a pirate captain.
In other media
Television The Warlord appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core", voiced by Paul Guilfoyle.
Film The Warlord appears in Justice League: Warworld, voiced by Teddy Sears.
Video games The Warlord appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
Merchandise In 1982, Warlord received a 5.5" action figure in the Remco line "Lost World of The Warlord". In 2007, Warlord received an action figure in Series 4 of DC Direct's "First Appearance" figures. In 2010, the Justice League Unlimited incarnation of Warlord received an action figure in the DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection.
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