Mike Grell has produced stand out work as both a writer and artist. Among the persistent themes in Grell’s stories are the connections of humans to nature, individualism versus collectivism and how people can maintain integrity in the ever changing, topsy-turvy, modern world.
Grell has been involved with comics since the early 1970s. While Grell’s name is most closely associated with DC comics, where he has worked on and produced many titles through the years, including: Weird War Tales, Tarzan, Warlord, Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Grell has also worked for Marvel, First and Image comics on such titles as: Jon Sable Freelance, Iron Man, the X-Men and Shaman’s Tear’s. If you’ve read comics produced from the late seventies until today, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with some of Grell’s work.
Grell was acknowledged for his many contributions to modern comics when he became a recipient of the Inkpot Award in 1982. Still going strong at the ripe young age of seventy, you’ll often find Grell showing up at Comic Conventions. If you see him, go over and say ‘hi’.
Here I want to take a look at Mike’s best work from the seventies to today, I will list the comics in order of least to most artistically successful.
Shaman’s Tears #1 [Image] (May 1993) – First Joshua Brand
We can start with this Image comic from the early 90s. Joshua Brand had a half-Sioux father and an Irish mother but was born in the lineage of a Shaman. As Shaman super-heroes go, Brand is certainly not the worst of the bunch. Inheriting the power to harvest the energies of the natural world from his father, Brand can manipulate animal and natural forces. This comic had an interesting sub-plot dealing with genetic engineering. Unfortunately it was cancelled prematurely after only twelve issues. In later issues, Jon Sable makes an appearance. While the comic is worth reading, it’s a dollar bin 90s comic. I can’t really see it becoming valuable unless a Josh Brand movie happens.
Jon Sable, Freelance #1 [First Comics] (June 1983) – First appearance of Jon Sable
Sable is a classic Grell hero. He gets by on his cunning, daring and wits. A bounty hunter and mercenary, Sable was a cross of James Bond and Doc Savage, the stories were gritty and riveting. There are 50 copies of the debut issue of Jon Sable recorded on the CGC census. The majority of sales have been on 9.8 graded copies with a current fair market value of $75.00 and returns over the last six years up + 103.2%.
1st Issue Special #8 (November 1975) – First Warlord
The Bronze Age saw a lot of sword and sorcery comics. This trend intensified after the Marvel adaptation of Conan the Barbarian became a certified hit in the early seventies. Unfortunately this led to a slew of Conan clones (from both Marvel and DC). So, to have a sword and sorcery comic stand out from the crowd, it had to be really good. Grell made his mark by producing just such a great sword and sorcery title with the Warlord comics.
Travis Morgan was a fighter pilot whose plane passed through a hole in the Earth’s crust to enter an underground hidden land. This was the land of Skartaris, and once Morgan arrived and learned that its people were at war, he began to fight for them against their enemies, such as the sorcerer Deimos. Wearing a winged helmet, carrying a sword and firearm Morgan earned the name: Warlord of Skartaris. The follow up comic to this premiere, Warlord #1 (February 1976) started a run that lasted for 133 issues before its cancellation in 1988. A second and third volume of Warlord were also produced, the first without and the second with Grell’s input, each was short-lived. 1st Issue Special #8 is Morgan’s first appearance and begins the legend. Best returns on this classic are on 8.5 grades (+122.5%) over the last three years. 9.8 graded copies have reached fair market value of over $500.00, but you can get a 9.6 for under $100.00.
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1 (August 1987) – Grell writes Green Arrow
This revamping of the Green Arrow character is, in my opinion, Grell’s best work. Taking DC’s favorite archer and giving him a new realistic story arc both completely changed the way the character could be viewed and improved his stories considerably. No more boxing glove and boomerang arrows, this was a realistic and gritty Green Arrow grounded in the hard life on the streets of modern Seattle. In fact, we probably wouldn’t have programs like ‘Arrow’ today if not for Grell’s run on Green Arrow. This classic is still quite affordable, with 9.8 graded copies selling for under a hundred dollars. Best returns have been on 9.4 grades (+21.7% over the last four years). If DC ever makes a Green Arrow movie, it’s a good bet they will draw material from this classic reboot.
