Mike Grell discusses breaking into comics, origin of Warlord
AUSTIN, Texas — Former “Green Arrow” writer and “Legion of Super-Heroes” artist Mike Grell discussed how he broke into the comic-book industry more than 35 years ago at the recent Austin Comic-Con.
Grell also recounted the birth of his sword-and-sorcery title “Warlord,” which ran for 133 issues from 1975 to 1989. He returned for 16 issues of “Warlord” in 2009-2010.
“I was going to be the next Frank Lloyd Wright and would have been if it wasn’t for the math,” he said about his original career plans, speaking to fans at Comic-Con. After four years in the Air Force as an illustrator, Grell became an assistant to Dale Messick of “Brenda Starr.”
Grell attended the New York Comic-Con in 1973 with the intention of selling an adventure comic strip called “The Savage Empire.” But adventure strips were no longer selling. On the advice of some cartoonists attending the conference, he pitched his artwork to DC Comics. On the strength of his samples, he received an assignment, and after that he was recommended as the new artist of “Legion of Super-Heroes.”
Grell said he was blessed with good timing. “I was walking in the door at DC when (former ‘Legion’ artist) Dave Cockrum was walking out,” he said.
“Savage Empire” had another shot at life a couple of years later, when Grell pitched the idea to new publisher Atlas/Seaboard. But Julie Schwartz at DC Comics got wind of Grell’s pitch and asked Grell to pitch DC instead. Since DC at that time didn’t have creator ownership of concepts, Grell tweaked his “Savage Empire” idea so that he could keep the rights to the original.
Grell came up with “Warlord,” the story of Travis Morgan, a former Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran drawn into a fantastic world. Morgan falls through a hole in the Earth’s crust at the North Pole and finds himself in the underground world of Skartaris.
The first two years of “Warlord” stories are currently in print in DC Comics’ “Showcase Presents: Warlord” collection.
Grell also is known for his work on “Green Arrow,” “Jon Sable: Freelance” and “Starslayer.”
In the future, Grell plans more with his popular Jon Sable character and has hopes that “Starslayer” may make its way to the movies.
Grell is appearing this weekend at the Atlanta Comic-Con at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Kick-Ass 2 released; Iron Man 3 date set; Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero hits stands
Iron Man 3 gets release date
Stan Lee (AP)
According to Marvel.com, “Iron Man 3″ will release on May 3, 2013. This appearance will follow Iron Man’s appearance in “The Avengers,” which will release May 4, 2012.
Elect a Legion leader
Fans can vote for who they think should lead the Legion of Super-Heroes by placing a vote at LegionElection.com.
Matt and Kyle review Kick-Ass 2 #1, Hulk #26, Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero #1 and Supergirl #57.
Top 5 Mike Grell comic book runs
Happy birthday to Mike Grell, who turns 63 today. To celebrate, here are my top-5 favorite Mike Grell comic-book runs.
I’ve actually been on a Mike Grell kick lately; I had liked his “Green Arrow” a lot, and his “Legion of Super-Heroes,” but had never read his “Jon Sable, Freelance” until recently, when I read the entire run. So perhaps because it’s fresh in my mind, I’ll say:
Jon Sable Freelance
1. Jon Sable: Freelance #1-44
Sable mixes James Bond with Mike Hammer, according to Grell, and I’ll buy that description. Throw in some Olympic training and big-game hunting in Africa, and you have about the manliest comic this side of Tarzan. After losing his family, Sable becomes a bounty hunter and gun for hire. Some really action-packed stories throughout. Grell draws through issue #44; the series continued through 56. More recently, the Jon Sable stories “Blood Trail” and “Ashes of Eden,” available in trade paperback, have been written and drawn by Grell.
Green Arrow 1
2. Green Arrow Longbow Hunters 1-3; Green Arrow 1-80
Grell’s “Longbow Hunters” recast Green Arrow as a serious urban hunter; no longer did boxing glove arrows and silly villains appear in the series. Green Arrow was called “Oliver Queen” or similar throughout the series, making it feel more realistic than most superhero tales. Grell drew the “Longbow Hunters” as well as wrote the miniseries. He wrote all 80 issues of the mature-readers “Green Arrow” series, and drew some of the issues.
3. First Issue Special #8; Warlord 1-71
Warlord was Air Force pilot Travis Morgan, who fell through a hole in the earth, to a “hidden world” inside Earth called Skataris. There, he became a Warlord, fighting for the freedom of the people of the hidden world. Part Conan, part Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Warlord” may contain some fantasy cliches, but the exuberance in the expression of them makes the series worth getting your hands on.
Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes 221 (via Coverbrowser.com)
4. Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes 203-224, 235
Mike Grell’s Legion may today look like a very 1970s version of the future, but Grell drew some sexy Legionnaires for sure.
James Bond: Permission to Die
5. James Bond: Permission to Die
Grell followed up an adaptation of the 1989 “License to Kill” James Bond film with the original James Bond story “Permission to Die,” which he wrote and illustrated. The now hard-to-find “Permission to Die” is of the better adaptations of Bond in comics; it’d be nice to see Grell take on the 007 character again.
- Matt Price
From Jewel Box to Dream Girl: Oklahoma provided start for actress Tara Platt
Actress Tara Platt. (c)2008 John Phillips. Used with permission.
Oklahoma-raised Tara Platt has voiced superheroes, starred in movies and written a book.
Platt is maybe best known as the voice of Temari on the anime hit “Naruto,” but she has also portrayed superheroes Dream Girl (on “Legion of Superheroes”) and Wonder Woman (on the “DC vs. Mortal Kombat” game). She’s also appeared on “Charmed” and “Gilmore Girls.” But it all got started in Oklahoma, where Platt lived from age 7 to 11.
Dream Girl from Legion of Superheroes.
“I remember we went to see ‘Annie Get Your Gun,’ and there were a bunch of kids my age in the chorus,” Platt said. “They were dressed up in fun costumes and singing and seemed to be having a blast. After the show, I turned to my mom and said, ‘I wanna do that.’”
Platt’s mother told her that it takes lots of skill, time and energy to become an actress, but didn’t discourage her.
“She said that if I read the paper and came across an audition listing, that she would take me,” Platt said. “A few months later I saw an ad for the Jewel Box Theatre’s production of ‘Wait Until Dark’ with a role for a 9-year-old girl. I auditioned and got Gloria, and I haven’t looked back since!”
Wonder Woman from DC Vs. Mortal Kombat
Platt lived in Oklahoma while her father attended the University of Oklahoma’s medical school. She said her overall memories of the state are wonderful.
“I ended up going to elementary school there at Wiley Post Elementary,” Platt said. “We did the Sooners’ Run where we pretended we were pioneers and got to run across the school yard and stake out land with our red wagons and toy guns.”
That imagination is still in play today.
“A definite draw to (voice-over acting) is the ability to not be constrained by looks or age or gender,” Platt said. “Anywhere your imagination can take you, you have the possibility of working as a voice actor.”
Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal. Photo (c) Boris Kievsky, used with permission
In the English dub of Naruto, Platt voices Temari, the eldest of the Sand Siblings, who bears an iron fan. Naruto is a Japanese show based on the manga of the same name. The show, about a young ninja who seeks to become the greatest ninja of all, has a large fan base in Japan and the United States.
“There are such strong characters, and really so many that there is a character for everyone,” Platt said. “They deal with real issues; it isn’t just a ‘kids show.’ There are major conflicts that Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and the various other characters … are all dealing with that parallel many things we all must deal with: disappointment, rejection, family conflict, life and death, love, loss and many other important things. I think that is one of the reasons that Naruto is a fan favorite. That and the ninjas, of course!”
Platt’s sharing her knowledge of the voice-over world in an upcoming book. With husband Yuri Lowenthal, also a voice actor, Platt has written “Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It’s Like Behind the Mic,” which comes out this fall and is available to pre-order at BugBotPress.com.
Voice-Over Voice Actor, from Bug Bot Press
“There are tips, exercises and practice copy in addition to the nuts and bolts about the business,” Platt said.
In addition to frequent voice work, Platt takes on other roles in front of and behind the camera. Platt’s film production company with Lowenthal, Monkey Kingdom Productions, recently finished the psychological thriller “Tumbling After.” They’re also working on a documentary about the world of voice-over with director and documentarian Boris Kievsky.
Platt will be in front of the camera in some upcoming commercials and in a live-action sci-fi romantic comedy feature starting next month.
By Matthew Price
From Tuesday’s The Oklahoman
Yuri Lowenthal on Superman inspirations
Actor Yuri Lowenthal voiced the Man of Steel on the “Legion of Superheroes” animated series. He told The Oklahoman about his inspirations in a recent phone interview.
YURI LOWENTHAL: I couldn’t help but be inspired by all the people who had gone before me. I’m a geek that way. I know the Tim Daly Superman, I know the George Newbern Superman, I know pretty much all of the incarnations of Superman, whether they have been animated or otherwise, just because I watch that stuff. And so I’m sure that I must have been influenced by all those guys.
And yet, when you’re dealing with iconic characters like that, … you can’t get obsessed over, ‘Am I copying this guy too much, am I not enough like this guy?’ You kind of have to trust the director of the show and the producer of the show, in that they chose you for a specific reason that what you were doing to a certain degree was in the ballpark, or right, and if they didn’t like it they would correct it.
Johns talks “Legion of Three Worlds”
Pop over to Newsarama to see Vaneta Rogers’ interview with writer Geoff Johns about “Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.” Johns explains more about Superboy-Prime and the structure of the first issue:
Johns: People are fairly familiar with Prime by now, if they’ve been reading comics at all for the last few years, but even he’s addressed in this issue: Who he is and where he comes from. But the Legion is fairly new to a lot of readers. People haven’t read a lot of Legion in the last few years, and especially the original Legion. So the idea was just to make sure we had the basics at the beginning. For the scope of this, I’m very proud of what we were able to do.
I don’t think it’s any secret that I loved this issue; if you’re looking for epic superhero action, get to your store and pick up this comic book.
- Matt Price
“Legion of Super-Heroes” preview
Linked via the Comic Reel, Kids’ WB has posted a new “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” video, featuring the team taking on Imperiex.
- Matt Price
Not a dream, not a hoax, wait…maybe it is a dream.
It’s not like the two universes haven’t met before — hell, didn’t Superman and Mr. Majestic switch places for a couple months? — but the bleed will be breached again soon in the DC/Wildstorm crossover “Dreamwar.”
Keith Giffen is writing and promises readers a few things:
1. Even though it’s called “Dreamwar,” the characters won’t wake up at the end, “Dallas”-style, with Grifter in the shower. In other words, lasting consequences will be felt in the Wildstorm Universe, which is much less important than DC proper, apparently.
2. This isn’t a one- or two-character crossover — almost everybody from both universes will make an appearance. It will be similar to the “JLA/Avengers” mini-series done so well a few years ago.
3. The Legion of Super Heroes will show up, though it won’t be the version Giffen wrote. In fact, he’s not telling which Legion (classic, diet or New Legion) will appear.
Anybody interested in this? My devotion to the Wildstorm books has waned mightily in recent years. Though I’m enjoying the current Simone run on “Gen 13″ and loved the recently cancelled “StormWatch PHD,” the start-stop-start-stop on “WildCATS” and the general all-heroes-are-villains attitude in most of the books has turned me off.
What do you guys think?
– Greg Elwell
