DC Special #12

In "Battle for the Dragon Ship!" from DC Special #12 (1971), a memoryless Viking named Jon—the Shining—rises from the sea, claimed by the village elder Gunnda as a long-lost prince. When a spy betrays him to the tyrannical Baron Thorvald, Jon must defend his new home with nothing but a net, a sword, and quick wits. As Thorvald arrives in a dragon ship, Jon takes flight from a catapult, aiming to bring down the enemy’s sails—and forge a new destiny, one battle at a time.

In "The Viking and the Mermaid!" from DC Special #12 (1971), amnesiac Jon sets out with a mute bard to reclaim his lost throne, facing the Twelve Tasks of Thor set by the villainous Torgunn the Claw. From battling a giant to braving the depths to free a captive woman believed to be a mermaid, each trial tests his courage and resolve—though the journey is far from over.

In "Duel in Forest Perilous!", young squire Brian, raised in shadow after his father’s dishonored death, stumbles into the haunted Forest Perilous while chasing the wild hawk Slasher. There, he discovers a suit of armor bearing a hawk emblem—just as he’s drawn into a clash with knights who’ve captured a girl. Donning the armor in silence, he defends her with Slasher’s fierce aid, vanishing afterward into legend as the mysterious Silent Knight.

In "The Thunder of the Chariots!" from DC Special #12 (1971), young shepherd Marcus is wrongfully condemned to a slave galley after being framed by the scheming soldier Cinna. Forced into brutal labor, he grows into a towering figure of strength, surviving a lion attack by hurling his chains, then enduring the arena’s trials—defeating rivals, riding a bull with sabotaged gear, and triumphing in a chariot race wielding only a shield. Now crowned the Golden Gladiator with helmet and breastplate, Marcus stands at the peak of glory, but Cinna’s vengeance looms ever closer.

In a quiet town, an elderly man auctions off three weathered arrows said to have been used by Robin Hood to defeat the Sheriff—only for Prince John to demand the tale, insisting the hero is dead. Flashbacks reveal the legendary deeds: a flood unleashed, a chimney sealed, a wild boar moat crossed—all by a man who may not be who he seems. When the elder vanishes into the trees, laughing, the truth of Robin’s return hangs in the air.