Y'know, I've bought a few of these Omnibus collections. Without getting up from my comfy chair, I can think of twelve, and my memory's not very good, so it could be a lot more than that. But I know exactly how many I've read: one. And since they go for close to $100 a pop, that's just a sad waste, isn't it? So when my copy of The Warlord Omnibus arrived a few days ago, I resolved that I would start reading it immediately and wouldn't stop until I'd reached the end. However, I kept being pulled away to read other things, and saw that I was not going to be finishing this up anytime soon...if ever.
So I asked myself, "Self, how can I actually get through an entire omnibus in a reasonably short period of time?" The answer was obvious.
Day 1 (DDRD 2,981) December 31, 2025
This 👶 is 735 pages long. I was going to figure out some equivalency thing, but you know what? Fuck that. 735 pages it is.
The quality of Grell's art varies wildly. There are panels that could stand next to Neal Adams (albeit a head shorter), but there are also panels that are just woefully out of proportion. Check out this shot, for instance:
The Warlord looks like a scrawny old man...and he has no butt at all.
And check out the follow-up panel, in which Warlord's head has swollen to enormous size:
The story? Well, it's comic booky as a hell, of course, but not without its charms. I hadn't read enough of the series previously to know that there was an Atlantis connection, or that there was higher technology involved beneath the surface (so to speak). I'm definitely interested enough to want to read more later today.
For now, though...read to page 123 (the First Issue Special and issues 1 through 5).
Day 2 (DDRD 2,982) January 1, 2026
Read to page 231. But I'll probably read more later.
I have to say I'm pretty impressed with how much progress I'm making through this massive tome. To be honest, it's not that good, but I am a pretty big Mike Grell fan, and my enthusiasm for him carries me through gaping plot holes and bad moments in art, which continue. There are frequently panels in which the character's legs are too short for the body, and the heads are often too large. When it comes to two page splash panels, however, the art is usually quite good. I suppose that's because Mister Grell took his time on those.
By the way, it is interesting to see that Grell featured a black character prominently from early on in the series. And even though the women are almost always depicted in clothing which leaves them looking more naked than if they were naked, they are not fainting victims. And to be fair, the men are pretty naked too.
Here's an interesting thing. At the end of Issue #10 there's a blurb which says DON'T DARE MISS WARLORD #12! At first I just assumed it was a stupid mistake. Then, I wondered if it was a mistake caused by the fact that the first issue of Warlord was actually First Issue Special #8, thus making the next issue the 12th issue. But after the first 2 pages of issue #11, Morgan begins to remember what led him into the underground world, and I thought the art looked awfully familiar. I went back and checked and sure enough, though the panels had been recolored in places, the rest of the issue, except for the final couple of panels, was taken from the First Issue Special. There was maybe 2 1/2 pages of new stuff in this issue. I guess deadline doom hit. (But I read those pages again, anyway, just to keep to the straight and narrow.)
Speaking of which...here's a pretty big fuck up. Before the flashback / First Issue Special reprint, Morgan was in a cave with Tara and Machiste, both of whom were asleep:
I think Mr. Grell and editor Larry Hama forgot to tell us something. I dug out my DC Showcase Presents The Warlord Volume 1 to see if that would shed any light on this, but it only had the cover of issue #11, skipping the contents entirely.
🤔
Day 3 (DDRD 2,983) January 2, 2026
Read to page 369.
There have been several times when Grell completely skips over big moments in this story. For instance, we're told that Travis and Tara were married in a one panel flashback. What's up with that? I guess Grell sees that as a "distraction" from the story, but to me it's a missed opportunity. I'd much rather have read a full issue of a marriage and buy out one of the dinosaur battles.
Day 4 (DDRD 2,984) January 3, 2026
Read to page 534.
Grell likes to do these "sideways" pictures. Unfortunately, it's harder to enjoy them when you're holding a book this size. When Dave Sim fif this in Cerebus*, he did the whole issue in this format. I think John Byrne did a sideways Fantastic Four at around the same time. It does have the advantage of doing a big picture without burying part of it in the gutter between pages (as in a two-page spread), but to me it's just kind of irritating.
* Still one of the greatest comic books of all time. Maybe I should DDR that some day. 6,000+ pages of story...that'd take a little while.
Day 5 (DDRD 2,985) January 4, 2026
Read to page 735, The End. And wouldja look at that. 5 days. And it was do easy. I never felt like I was pushing myself, never felt a strain. Never felt like stopping, either. The only other omnibus I bought and read was the first Milestone Compendium, and even though I liked those characters and enjoyed the stories, it took me months to finish it off. That's the difference between making something a side-read as opposed to a DDR. So of course now I'm thinking I should do another omnibus--not right away, but this is definitely the way to read a comic book collection of this size.
Hmm. Just did a quick scan of the upstairs omnibuses...knowing I missed some, and that there are more downstairs...and found
