Welcome to the first, Impromptu Unofficial Book Club: The Warlord where we will discuss DC 1st Issue Special: The Warlord in honor of our friend and compatriot @TravisMorgan. Named Warlord of the Year for 2016 and 2018 by Lords and Ladies of Warlord Magazine.
legal footnote
Totally made up, sorry but if there were such a magazine @TravisMorgan would win
The Warlord details the amazing turn of events that led U.S. Air Force hotshot pilot Travis Morgan to enter a hidden world at the center of the Earth. There he fights dinosaurs, befriends a beautiful savage woman from Skartaris, grows a beard, get really hip clothes and fights the evil forces of Shamballah.
Discussion questions:
What did you think of Travis Morgan and his almost instant understanding of how he got to the center of the Earth.
What about that beard?
What about his new clothes? Would you wear that outfit?
What was your favorite panel?
Most importantly, what does being a huge fan of the Warlord tell us about @TravisMorgan?
I believe @TravisMorgan grows his beard just like Travis Morgan, all in a single night, then uses a knife to shape it into a goatee (the site won’t let me give the beard its proper name)
Seriously was elated to see this in the new titles listing. Have read several issues of Warlord but not enough to get the story line down.
True point with Travis’s sudden understanding of the hollow earth…But to my much younger self the idea of gravity keeping the “sun” suspended seemed scientifically sound!
Seriously, I don’t know if he instantly understands how he got to the center of the earth. Travis is a Captain in the USAF and flying a spy plane (possibly for the CIA). This means he is highly intelligent (flying a near suborbital spaceplane at Mach 3, plotting his course, can speak Russian with no accent) and spent some amount of time learning to speak the language of Skartaris. Given his navigational training I assume he deduced how he came to the center of the earth.
What about that beard?
The beard is fantastic! I’m assuming it comes from Grell’s love of Robin Hood. As shown in the sketch below and the page from The Longbow Hunters.
What about his new clothes? Would you wear that outfit?
The new clothes are cool. I always imagined them being made of black leather to offer a bit of protection. Could have used some pants though. I would love to where his outfit, but I could never pull it off.
Most importantly, what does being a huge fan of the Warlord tell us about @TravisMorgan?
I tells you I have impeccable taste, appreciate great writing, and fantastic artwork. I was introduced to Mike Grell in Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes, but The Warlord introduced me to the concept of a true creator comic book. It also gave me a lifelong love of Mike Grell’s creations and a helluva lot of fine entertainment!
I gotta say, I did love this book. I too read a lot of Jules Verne, HG Wells, and of course ERB both as a kid and an adult so this was right up my alley. Those stories were still a big part of pop culture at the time, so I’m guessing most readers were quick to just accept the books setup and go with it.
@msgtv It also helps that Grell set it as a period piece of 1969. We hadn’t even landed on the moon and satellite tech was in its infancy which helps with the plausibility of two 1,400 mile on each end of the earth that have not been discovered.
Did you start with 1st Issue Special, or Warlord #1? And were you amazed when Warlord returned after a six month hiatus? WHEN DID YOU ENTER THE LOST WORLD OF… THE WARLORD?
Where did you buy your first issue of… THE WARLORD?
