Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Warlord Wednesday: 100!

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Skartaris Unchained"
Warlord #100 (December 1985)
Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Adam Kubert.

Synopsis: Following the information they acquired from Norrad’s scrolls last issue, Morgan and Krystovar are canoeing down a river in a canyon toward a back entrance to New Atlantis. The way isn’t complete smooth. They’ve just discovered the handholds in the rock face that provide a way to climb to the entrance when a giant crab attacks them. Morgan manages to stab then thing in the and kill it, but it’s death-throes send him flying toward the cliff face. Incredibly, Morgan manages to grab the handholds and even reach down to give Krystovar a hand up out of the river.

Morgan and Krystovar scale the cliff face, only to find their way in blocked by metal bars!

In the camps, Machiste and Mariah prepare to ride out on their mission. They will raise a banner to signal Tara and the Shamballan army when they’ve completed it. They’re banking on Sabertooth not expecting a second assault on occupied Shamballah after their recent defeat there. Mariah wonders if Tara is really going to be able to lead the army to victory without Morgan. Machiste replies that Tara is not only a queen, but the second most fearless warrior in Skartaris—after her husband, the Warlord.

With some work, Morgan manages to pry one of the bars loose. He and Krystovar squeeze into the small passage. They find it opens into:


There are guards patrolling the area, but our heroes keep to the shadows and put them down quickly before they can raise an alarm.

In Shamballah, a veiled woman leads a donkey pulling a cart into the market. She passes the guards without arousing suspicious—or maybe not:


Still, Machiste and Shakira get the drop on him.

Elsewhere, Graemore, looking to prove himself, arrives at the secret entrance to New Atlantis. He follows the path taken by Morgan and Krystovar. The minstrel isn’t as stealthy, though, and winds up getting captured. The guards raise and alarm, and Morgan and Krystovar will soon be discovered!

The Shamballan crew goes about their mission. Shakira sneaks into the armory and gets control of an energy cannon, allowing them to take the whole place. Machiste uses a rope and a grappling hook to scale the palace walls and take out the guardsmen there.

Krystovar are swarmed by guards at an entrance to the throne room flanked by two centaur statues. There’s no way both of them will make it. Krystovar urges Morgan to go on and get Cykroth while he holds this chokepoint. Morgan is reluctant to go, by Kystovar convinces him it must be done for the good of Skartaris.

Elsewhere, Jennifer Morgan sense her father’s battle with Cykroth the Wizard-King is about to begin:


In his sanctum, Cykroth hears the tumult. He calls for his guards, but someone else answers him:


And the battle is joined!

To Be Contined

Things to Notice:   
  • Mike Grell returns to the series he created with a great cover.
  • After so long laying the foundation, the end of Burkett's New Atlantis saga is penned by Michael Fleisher.
Notes:
While it's uncertain, last issue seems to have been written to set up a quick solution to the whole New Atlantean saga.  There are events to come suggesting dropped storylines, as we'll soon see.

The statues in the "temple of human sacrifice" seem lazily (and perhaps offensively) close to statutes of real world Hindu deities.

2 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

So this is 100 Warlord posts? Nicely done as usual Trey!

Trey said...

I don't know what post number this is, but it's the 100th issue of Warlord.