The man who brought us the least-clad Legion of Super-Heroes is back, but surely, he couldn’t make the costumes smaller, right? Right? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of The Lost World of The Warlord #32 awaits!
THE LOST WORLD OF THE WARLORD #32
Writer: Mike Grell
Penciler: Mike Grell
Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Letterer: Ben Oda
Editor: Joe Orlando
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: 40 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $4.00
Release Date: January 22, 1980
Previously in The Lost World of the Warlord: Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran Travis Morgan was shot down near Russian airspace, crashing his plane near the North Pole, where he discovered a portal to a hidden world in the center of the Earth. Once in the hidden world of Skartaris, Travis began adventuring as a barbarian/superhero, walking the hidden world and having adventures with sword and pistol by his side. While searching for his lost love, the warrior princess Tara, The Warlord, was ambushed by mystical creatures and left on the shore of an unknown part of Skartaris, awakening to find himself in… A land of GIANTS!
Warlord manages to fell one of his would-be attackers but falls to the power of the second. When he awakens, he is accosted by the Titan’s Queen, Amaranth, who reveals the secret: There were only SIX living giants, and by killing one, The Warlord is now subject to the punishment of their realm. He attempts to escape, only to once again get clocked in the head and left unconscious. (Travis Morgan’s brain scan probably looks like a relief map of Kentucky sculpted out of Spaghetti-Os.) When he awakens, he meets a new friend, and the reason that we’re looking at today’s issue.
Meet Shakira!
Wearing an incredibly brief fur string bikini (which, yes, is indeed smaller than Grell’s uniform designs for Dawnstar, Night Girl, or Cosmic Boy), Shakira takes an immediate liking to the newcomer, at least in part because he’s not a giant. This is my favorite era of Grell, as his figure work is stronger and more proportional than his early ’70s work, but not as overworked as I find his Shaman’s Tears-era, but… the inks of Vince Colletta simply do NOT appeal to me. Given Vinnie’s reputation as the fastest inker in the biz, I wonder if he wasn’t on this assignment to compensate for the amount of detail that Grell likes to put in his work. Despite my complaints about the inking, this issue still looks quite good as Shakira’s attempts to assist Morgan wind up with the Queen excommunicating her from the court due to the death of two MORE of her nearly extinct people.
Once the favorite of Queen Amaranth, Shakira’s change of heart is complete, joining The Warlord in the gladiatorial arena where he has been sentenced to death by combat! She even maneuvers the creature meant to kill her into killing the Queen instead, followed by what The Warlord excels at: Swift and blinding violence!
The last of the giant tyrants fall, thanks to the alliance of nearly-nude adventurers, and The Warlord laments that the Titans, who could have made Skartaris a paradise, instead chose to try and become like unto gods. Of course, Shakira couldn’t care less… for an unexpected reason.
She’s a cat! Or, at least, a woman who turns into a cat. Or maybe a cat who turns into a woman? Regardless of the exact nomenclature, The Warlord has earned an aloof, antisocial, independent ally in his quest to find his wife and defeat the resurrected sorcerer Deimos. All in all, The Lost World of The Warlord #32 makes for an interesting chapter, adding complications and a new friend to the Warlord’s ongoing quest, while proving that smaller costumes than Saturn Girl’s pleather bikini do exist, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. If I was an estimating man, I’d wonder if the amount of fur in her tiny bikini is roughly analogous to the amount of fur she has in her housecat form.
Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.
THE LOST WORLD OF THE WARLORD #32
Though it's one strange respite in the search for Warlord's wife, it's a coherent chapter with interesting layouts and the introduction of an intriguing new character. (Just a shame about those inks, though.)
-
Writing6
-
Art7
-
Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.
1 Comment
I have these Warlords. I find that Vince Colletta actually did a better job of inking them than did Mike Grell. The scans that you have shown are of a poor quality but one can still see the detail that Colletta put into this story. To equate this art to his rep as the fastest inker in history is wrong. Some of his work was necessarily rushed but not the Kirby stuff, the Warlords, the Bob Brown Daredevils, etc.