Warlord #6

Apr 1977 · DC · 0.30 USD

📊 ~14,785 copies sold its debut month

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“Home Is a Four-Letter Word!”

★ 1st appearance — Mariah Romanova

About this Issue

Warlord #6 is the first appearance of Professor Mariah Romanova, a Russian archaeologist-turned-swordswoman who would evolve into one of the series' most enduring supporting characters, appearing in dozens of subsequent issues and carrying over into multiple revivals. Her introduction also marks the first time the strip's central tension — Travis Morgan's inability to ever truly "come home" to the surface world — is dramatized structurally: Morgan emerges from Skartaris only to find himself a fugitive, making the return underground not just a desire but a necessity. The issue broadens the cast beyond pure sword-and-sorcery archetypes by adding a Cold War dimension through the introduction of CIA operative Stryker and a Soviet scientist protagonist, grounding the pulp fantasy in contemporary geopolitical texture. Coming just six issues into what would become a 133-issue run and DC's best-selling title of the late 1970s, the issue marks the point at which Grell began constructing the durable ensemble that would define the series for years.

writer, artist, inker Mike Grell · colorist Liz Berube · cover Mike Grell

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $4

CGC 9.8 · 10 in census $166*

CGC 9.6 · 6 in census $49

CGC 9.4 · 1 in census $28*

CGC 9.2 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

FN $7.5 VERY FINE $7.99 VF · Newsstand $14.25 The Warlord #6 DC Comics 1977 Comic Book Home is Four-Letter Word. We Combine. $4.44 The Warlord #6 DC Comics 1977 Comic Book Home is Four-Letter Word $8

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History

Writer-artist Mike Grell produced the entire 17-page story solo — plotting, scripting, penciling, and inking — with coloring by Liz Berube and editing by Jack C. Harris, the creative configuration that characterized the book's acclaimed early run. Grell was simultaneously penciling Green Lantern and Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes for DC during this period, making his complete solo authorship of Warlord a notable feat of productivity. The issue also contains a one-page editorial by then-new DC publisher Jenette Kahn addressing comic-book pricing pressures and promoting DC's forthcoming Dollar Comics format — a reminder of the turbulent industry economics surrounding even this fan-favorite Bronze Age title.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Professor Mariah Romanova — Russian national saber champion and Moscow University archaeologist — who became one of the series' most prominent long-running supporting characters.
First appearance of CIA Agent Stryker, though he is unnamed in this issue; his name is not revealed until Warlord #13.
First appearances of supporting characters Professor George Lakely, Professor Richard Belding, and Professor Tor Olafson, the archaeological team Morgan encounters at Machu Picchu.
Story title: 'Home Is a Four-Letter Word!' — 17 pages, written, penciled, and inked entirely by Mike Grell; colored by Liz Berube; edited by Jack C. Harris.
The issue is set partly on the surface world at Machu Picchu, Peru — a rare departure from Skartaris that forces Morgan to reckon with his estrangement from modern society and the U.S. military.
Contains a one-page editorial by DC publisher Jenette Kahn discussing the economics of comics production and pitching the new DC Dollar Comics initiative.
The story was reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #10 (June 1981), in the trade paperback Warlord: The Savage Empire (DC, 1992), and in Showcase Presents: Warlord Vol. 1 (DC, 2009).
Mariah Romanova went on to appear in at least 65 published stories, and her likeness appeared (unnamed on-screen) in the Justice League Unlimited animated episode set in Skartaris.