5 Quick Questions with Mike Grell

In 1973 Mike Grell moved to New York, and began his long relationship with DC Comics. His first assignment at DC was on Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes (SATLOSH), a high-profile assignment for an artist with no prior experience illustrating a monthly comic book. Grell says he got that job because he was walking in the editor's door to ask for work, literally, as the previous artist was walking out the door, having just quit. These stories were written by Cary Bates and Jim Shooter. The Bates/Grell/Shooter run on the title is very well-regarded today by Superboy/Legion fans, who consider it one of the high-water marks in the character/team's history. Grell's work on SATLOSH is widely thought to be some of the best beefcake/cheesecake ever committed to comic book pages, and is affectionately referred to as the 'disco Legion' in retrospect by fans of the title.

A writer as well as artist, Grell cemented his status as a fan-favorite with his best-known creation, The Warlord. The character first appeared in 1st Issue Special #8 (Nov 1975) and was soon given his own ongoing title (The Warlord #1, Jan/Feb 1976). In this book, Air Force pilot Travis Morgan crash-lands in the prehistoric "hidden world" of Skartaris (a setting highly influenced by Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar).

At DC, Grell also worked on titles such as Aquaman, Batman, and the Phantom Stranger, and with writer Dennis O'Neil on the re-launch of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series in 1976.

Through the 1980s Grell developed creator-owned titles such Jon Sable Freelance and Starslayer. Jon Sable Freelance was published by the now-defunct First Comics. Starslayer, a space-born science fiction series, started at Pacific Comics, but shifted to First.

First appearing with a cover date of June 1983, Jon Sable Freelance was a successful non-super-hero comic book in an era when successful non-super-hero comic books were almost unheard of, and a graphically violent comic sold in mainstream comic book stores in an era when such was as rare. Jon Sable was a precursor to what would eventually be called, by some, "the Dark Age of Comics," when even long-established super-heroes would become increasingly grim and violent.

In 1987, Mike Grell wrote and drew the 3-issue prestige format limited series Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. He redesigned the character's costume, away from the costume Neal Adams had designed in 1969, and recast Green Arrow as an "urban hunter" going up against non-super-powered, real world villains such as serial killers, terrorists, street gangs, American mobsters and Japanese Yakuza. He did away with Green Arrow's arsenal of "trick arrows" and instead rearmed him with penetrating broadheads with which he actually killed his opponents. Longbow Hunters showed the first instance in which Green Arrow ever deliberately killed someone; in the follow-on series this occurred frequently.

Recent or upcoming work includes a new ongoing series of Warlord launched to coincide with the 35th anniversary. He is also re-writing the Jon Sable screenplay, working on an adaptation of Shaman's Tears as well as writing two stories for ComicMix.com, a new Jon Sable story and The Pilgrim with Mark Ryan.



He agreed to answer 5 Quick Questions

1) What would you say is your greatest achievement in comics?

Helping to establish indepdent publish, which gave creators ownership of their properties. I was the first guy to sign on with Pacific Comics (Jack Kirby was second, but his book came out before mine. Hey, he didn't get to be King for nothing.) And the second to sign with First Comics.

2) Who was your favorite writer or artist that you worked with & why?

Favorite Writer: Denny O'Neil. He taught me more about good storytelling than anyone else.

Favotire Artist: Dick Giordano. The best inker in the business. Having him ink my work was a thrill.

3) What character you have never worked .., would you like to do & why?

Captain America. I've loved the characters since I was a kid reading my dad's Golden Age comics.

4) Who are your influences?

The Obivous: Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.

The Not-So- Obvious: Hal Foster, Burne Hogarth, Milton Caniff, Alex Raymond, Al Williamson, Russ Manning, Doug Wildey.

The Obsure (At least to most comic readers): Paul Calle, Joseph Clement, Bob Peak. Look 'em up.

5) What hero or villain would you like to change if you could and why?

We're back to Captain America again. I think a guy who was frozen right after WWII would have some interesting and viable observations on the world today from the view point of the greatest generation.

Check out Mike's own website at: http://www.mikegrell.com/mikegrell/