There have been many mysteries in comics. What is Wolverine’s real name? Is Spider-Man or the Scarlet Spider the clone? Who is Donna Troy … this time? But to me the biggest mystery of all is why a straight, Midwestern artist is most responsible for promoting male sexuality in mainstream comics. According to Wikipedia, Mike Grell is a married, straight guy who went to college in Wisconsin and Illinois. But Grell’s willingness to recognize sexuality in the male form in a medium inundated with images of female sexuality is something that makes him stand out among comic artists. Hell, for creating the ever so sexy Cosmic Boy bodice outfit alone, he should be in the pantheon of great comic artists.

But today we are looking at possibly an even sexier outfit Grell created, the second Warlord costume. Warlord’s original outfit was pretty sexy. V cut down the navel, sleeveless, pantless, jeweled wrist cuffs, and medallion around his neck that swings almost as much as he does. It’s what Robin would have worn if he did a Cosmo photo shoot in the ‘70s. But that much sexy was not enough for Grell. Eight issues after Warlord’s introduction, Grell stripped down the character’s outfit to the point that he looked less like he was wearing an outfit more like he grew out his pubic hair.

The story of how Warlord, a.k.a. Travis Morgan, got into this outfit and out of his old one is rife with homoerotic, bear imagery. The story begins the Warlord trudging through a blizzard with his half naked girl friend, Mariah, who wears more eye shadow than fabric, and his three quarters naked boy friend, Machiete, who doesn’t have a right hand but does have a tiara that doubles as an afro protector.

A quick aside on Machiete: Machiete lost his right hand when Warlord chopped it off to save Machiete from being possessed by a demonic axe he held. Despite the fact that Machiete’s name is so close to “machete” that Google tries to correct the spelling (really!), when Machiete replaces his missing hand, he replaces it with a mace, not a machete. This is unheard of in comics where every name that can reflect a character’s personality or powers does reflect a character’s personality or powers. If you name is Doom, you bring doom. If your name is Johnny Blaze, by god, you are going to get fire related powers … or toilet related powers. You lucked out on that one Johnny.

Anyway, they’re in the snow and attacked by a giant, prehistoric wolverine that tears Warlord’s singlet off. Apparently, Grell misunderstood my letter where I wrote I’d love to see Wolverine tear Warlord’s clothes off. Warlord is seriously hurt by the creature. A clan of warriors show up, kidnaps Mariah and Machiete, and leaves Warlord for dead.

Warlord dreams of being carried away by a beautiful, butterfly-winged woman and awakes naked in a cave, completely healed. There are several titillating panels of Warlord with his crotch is hidden behind his leg. I really got to hate Warlord’s leg and wished that there had been an issue where he’d been possessed by a demonic boot.

After several pictures with glimpses of Warlord’s ass, a giant hairy man enters the Warlord’s cave. Then I pondered that symbolism and checked to see that I didn’t accidentally pick up a copy of Bear Magazine while Warlord attacks the apish fellow. Soon he realizes that the brutish mute is the one who saved him, so Warlord apologizes for judging the guy on his appearance. You know, if more After School Specials featured muscular, hair guys wrestling, I might have taken that message to heart years ago.

Realizing that he has to go back out into the snow, Warlord “dresses” in the things he finds around the hairy guy’s cave. I put “dress” in quotation marks because he’s really just accessorizing. He puts on a variant of a Sam Browne belt, which is one of those belts with the shoulder strap that the Nazis and leather man contestants are so fond of. This leather man fantasy wear wasn’t gay enough for Grell, so the belt and strap are bejeweled and made of chain. To butch it up, there’s a … umm … I guess a metal vampire skull shoulder pad. It doesn’t cover much, but nothing keeps you warm in the snow like wearing conductive metal next to your skin. He tucks a triangular swatch of fur into the front and back of the belt to cover his naughty bits, which they would totally do unless he walked, jumped, or moved in any way actually. Warlord also found some boots with giant jewels on them that matched his giant bejeweled bracelets. It’s amazing what you can find around a cave if you are a thoughtful shopper. He finished his look with a cape. The whole thing reminded me of Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s caped outfit when he was introduced in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, except a little more gay and way more naked.

Warlord finds and fights the tribe that has taken his friends with mixed results. He starts out strong, freeing his friends and killing many of the tribe, but soon the tribe overwhelms him with numbers. Suddenly, Warlord’s hairy friend, who the tribe calls the Snowdemon, leaps from tree and rescues Warlord from the tribe by dragging him away from them. Because After School Specials were in short supply in Skartaris, Mariah and Machiete also mistakenly believe the Snowdemon is attacking Warlord, so Machiete throws a spear into the Snowdemon’s back, killing him.

Surprise, as the Snowbeast dies, the butterfly-wing woman, who Warlord dreamed of, rises from the hairy body and explains that she’d been turned into the Snowdemon for using black arts to stop a plague. She’d been cursed to remain a shaggy, male beast until someone recognized the beast’s inner female beauty. She ardently French kisses Warlord and professes her love for him but flies off for some unexplained reason, never to be seen again. Maybe it’s just me, but a story about a couple of naked guys, where one is really fem beneath his butch exterior, having a moment of passion then one leaves never to be seen again? Doesn’t that sound a lot like a gay pick up story? And why was this very homoerotic story written by a straight guy? It’s a mystery!

OK, there may be bigger mysteries in comics. I may never understand why people are still reading the X-Men or why John Romita Jr. considered a top comic artist when his art look like it was drawn with a comb. But would love to ask Mike Grell what was with the male sexuality and thank him for it.

Scott Anderson settled in Pittsburgh, PA, after living in various locales across America. Although Scott currently works as a legal assistant, his past jobs have included freelance editing for several science fiction/fantasy authors and assembling sparkly fairy wands.

Article copyright Scott Anderson. Images and characters copyright DC Comics.

Prism Comics promotes the works of the LGBT community in comics. It does not implicitly endorse any other material or products associated with those works. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s).