Warlords

Warlords
by Steve Skeates (story) and David Wenzel (art)
DC Comics, Graphic Novel No. 2, 1983

Strange as it may seem, this DC Comics graphic novel was based on an eponymous 1980 Atari video game.

Trying to visualize an 8-bit video game for the purposes of a tie-in graphic novel called for quite a bit of imagination, but writer Steve Skeates was up to the task.

While Skeates's plot stays true to the game's theme of four warlords competing for control, he uses as a lead character a troll named Dwayne:

Dwayne is not your usual fantasy hero; he's more than a little shady and conniving. Skills which come in handy when trying to play each of the four Warlords off against each other.

I won't disclose much more about the plot, save to say that it relies as much on humor and satire as it does on sword and sorcery action. It's surprisingly readable for a 64-page graphic novel based on a video game.

'Warlords' benefits quite a bit from David Wenzel's great art. It's hand-painted, or course, and holds up very well when compared with the computer-generating coloring used in today's comics. Wenzel is particularly skilled in drawing facial expressions:

Summing up, 'Warlords' is one of the better entries in the graphic novel boom of the early 80s. With used copies in good condition available for under $10, it just might be worth searching out if you are a fan of the comics of that time period.