MARVEL's Forgotten MASTERPIECE

[@mrmicro22]

Scratch a booktuber, find a comic book guy. It was such an obvious path to a love of reading for so many of us.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I love those old classic comics!

[@PeculiarNotions]

I hadn't even heard of Warriors of the Shadow Realm. Thanks for showing off this one.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Great art and a decent story Seth. Easy to find too.

[@vincentimbesi3947]

Marvel released a softcover collection of the whole series back 2015. It’s still in print and can be found for a good price.

[@PeculiarNotions]

@@vincentimbesi3947 Thanks. I'll have to look into that.

[@kdj3000]

This is really gorgeous! I can't believe I have missed this one. The colors are amazing, and I had never seen Buscema use this style before. I'll be looking these up! Thanks for this spotlight.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Thanks KDJ, and it's a new genre for Big John's pencils. But I love his take on it!

[@Dems-fk8sh]

Hello Grammaticus! Based upon your overview, I've just ordered that book. Hopefully, I'll be as much delighted as you seem to be. Tolkien meets Buscema is a winner, I suppose. Also, the colors look amazing - let alone the splash pages, even doubled! Thanks for this great video and recommandation. I love your hidden gems section. Cheers, David.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I hope you enjoy it Dems! Hopefully it didn't cost too much either!

[@OmnivorousReader]

Excellent video! Some of those old comics are, like you say, just one hundred percent worth it for the artwork alone. I recently came across an old copy of Epic Illustrated that has been in storage tubs for years. It has some spectacular art; Rick Veitch, Barry Winsor-Smith, Dave Sim, Trina Robbins and so many more.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Love that old school comic art Omnivorous! I'm biased but the computer assisted graphics on todays' comics just don't do it for me.

[@OmnivorousReader]

@@GrammaticusBooks Some of them are ok. Especially when the computer graphics were a new thing, I think people took more care but the art is definitely draining out of them. SO sad...

[@occultdetective]

I own those 3 Marvel Super Specials, picked them up as a kid at the Marsh grocery store. I was always looking for something to scratch the itch that Lord of the Rings initiated, and these fit the bill nicely. Thanks for the video. I'll be digging these out this week to give them a reread.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

It would scratch that itch! The first book is pretty much just straight up Fellowship of the Ring. But the next two take on a personality of their own. I'd love to hear what you think of them Bob...maybe an Occult Detective video on it???

[@jimwojton7369]

A nice, dreamy quality to that art. Top notch!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

That's the perfect description Jim!

[@MysteryandMayhem-gr7nn]

I'm lucky enough to have these issues in my collection. Beautiful artwork by Buscema. He seemed inspired when he worked on this. They all did such a great job.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Agreed Jim. And the story is decent although a bit derivative!

[@MysteryandMayhem-gr7nn]

Yeah, that was Moench cashing in on the Tolkien craze of the time. Luckily for us, the whole package was amazing!

[@chuckmarmo6244]

I loved these books when they first came out! They dropped right when I was introduced to The Hobbit and LOTR so, while derivative in hindsight, they vividly resonated with my 14-year old brain and sensibilities. And yeah - the colors were like nothing ever seen previously in comics. Moench, Buscema, Nebres, and Costanza were all longtime Marvel craftsmen but it was the new technology to be able to more faithfully reproduce Ledger’s vivid color paintings that pushed the project to the next level. Looking back on it now I think the paintings are a bit garish but who can blame the team at that time from “turning all the knobs to 11” when presented with the opportunity to play with a new high-tech toy.

[@MysteryandMayhem-gr7nn]

There's an article in one of the magazines that explains the whole coloring process. Kind of fascinating! It's so much easier now with drawing software. 😆

[@srpyle]

Awesome! I love Rudy's inks on JB's pencils!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

The art is amazing. And they all signed each splash page. You can tell they were proud of the work that went into this comic!

[@srpyle]

@@GrammaticusBooks I just grabbed all three issues from eBay. Thanks!

[@NawtyPotato]

Loving these videos for underrated/forgotten comics! Thanks!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Thank you for checking them out NP!

[@ElBorak2]

Keep making good videos. I appreciate them!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Thanks for checking it out El Borak!

[@jack_yo]

I picked up the Complete WeirdWorld collection from Marvel, maybe a decade ago. It includes this Buscema story. I would like to get those oversized issues. Thanks for the review. 👍

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Thanks and they should be fairly easy to find Jayc.

[@MicahHarris-k9m]

Was so excited about this when it came out. It was indeed a big deal back in the late '70s but has all but vanished from fan consciousness. Marvel, I believe, has used the Weird World name since, but I don't know how much the new material relates to the old, if at all. By the way, there was a portfolio put out by another company of art pages without the text suitable for framing. Worth looking up!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I don't doubt someone put out a portfolio, the art in these books is stunning! And you can tell they were proud of their work. All three (Buscema, Ledger, and Nedres) signed every splash page.

[@MicahHarris-k9m]

I was blown away by it as a teen. The most fantastic use of airbrush outside of Richard Corben I've seen. Just recently learned that, sadly, the colorist Peter Ledger died early...I think in a car crash....years ago now. I recall he was Austrailian.

[@epiphoney]

I think I remember reading that. Do you have the color version of Akira that Marvel did? I've always wanted to see that.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Unfortunately I do not have the color Akira version. That would be a tough act to follow!

[@jhutsebaut]

I LOVE the titles on your bookshelves!!! 🤩

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Thank you Jhutsebaut!

[@johnwalsh4857]

yep I first saw this one as a serial in Epic Magazine in the early 80s. Dragon master of Klarn with art byi the great Mike Ploog, who also did the character and set designs for the excellent Bakshi movie Wizards 1977, yep the art really reminded me of Wizards. Also have the topps trading cards art by Mike Ploog.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I didn’t know apologies worked on Wizards. Good info John!

[@DavidKetchin]

The concept got revisited during and after secret wars - with a couple of short runs in 2015/6

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I saw that when I Googled Warriors that a 2015 hit kept popping up! Now I have to track it down!

[@secretfirebooks7894]

I'm gonna have to track these down at some point. That Buscema art is insane.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Buscemas pencils and Ledgers airbrushing are fantastic!

[@jerryfiore5818]

There's a WeirdWorld TPB available.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I thought I was the only person who remembered this comic!

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I am not surprised you have a copy! I think you have every comic ever made!

[@meesalikeu]

i’ve never seen anything like that from marvel or buscema. usually he was workmanlike like for conan. wow. thx 🎉

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Great artwork Mees...the story....well let's just say it's a bit reminiscent of JRR.

[@redwawst3258]

Very nicely done comic!😎

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Beautiful art Red...but the story...weellll..

[@redwawst3258]

@@GrammaticusBooks 🤷🏻‍♂️can’t have everything. 😊

[@fortcastellan1730]

Doug Moench and John Buscema? And Rudy Nebres finishing the art? That's a veritable murderer's row of talent! Ironically the colorist is the only part of the team I've never heard of... The weird-faced elves and cartoony-dwarf don't do anything for me, but I am a sucker for fantasy comics. This is certainly something else for me to keep an eye out for.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I've found them common in old comic shops and pretty cheap to buy!

[@bfitzger2]

I remember buying this when it came out, and I was blown away. I don't know that it was an underground classic when it came out, though. It just didn't turn into a big thing, another one of the many one-offs that creators made that didn't grow into something big. Bad luck? Or maybe the fantasy market was already saturated?

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I think it was too derivative of JRR Tolkien. At least the first issue. And it's sales and popularity never took off. You could always find these in the used comic boxes at the comic shops for a song. In fact you still can...which is why I call it an "underground classic". I actually stumbled across these same issues a week ago at a comic shop. Which is what jogged my memory.

[@rexharrison6827]

I remember flicking through that comic when it first appeared. I was way past the pixies and elves nonsense by that stage and the faux-Tolkien stuff just left me cold. Nor was I ever a fan of the Elfquest stuff, for much the same reasons. So, this went straight back on the shelf! 😆 What is interesting about it, though, is that it represents something of a departure for John Buscema, an illustrator I had admired since first seeing his work on the Avengers years earlier. I have read how Buscema had become depressed over his comics work, finding little satisfaction in it in later years, despite (or maybe because of) his incredibly prolific output, so I did wonder if this comic represented, perhaps, a chance for him to do something outside of the cookie-cutter superhero mold.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Your initial reaction was a pretty common one Rex. Which is probably why this is still easy to find. And I did like Buscema's take on the Fantasy world. Quite different for him.

[@Bargle5]

The coloring really does stand out.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

The colors are beautiful you just don’t see that anymore.

[@DDB168]

That artwork is amazing. Could be the best you've presented.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Fantastic pencils and color work!

[@book-ramble]

Wow... great font for the front title.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Great everything in this graphic novel! Story is a bit derivative but the art...dang! Every aspect of the artwork you can tell they poured their hearts and souls into it. Thanks for checking it out Book Ramble!

[@ThorneIdentity]

yep.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Yup!

[@Dumballa]

I really liked this one. 😊

[@GrammaticusBooks]

The art is to die for even if the story is a bit derivative.

[@Dumballa]

@@GrammaticusBooks This art will never get old. 😁

[@nunyabizness6595]

Worlds Finest Teamup with MKV on Wednesdays and Sunday Funnies on Sundays. Nice!❤❤❤

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Thanks Nunya!

[@Dems-fk8sh]

By the way, looking at the beauty of this book, have you ever seen "The Horned God" from the Slaine serie? It's sword and sorcery like Conan, but it is all painted by Simon Bisley. THIS IS A VISUAL MASTERPIECE that needs to be viewed at least once. Cheers !

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I will try and track it down Dems!

[@Crazecollector]

Is the story any good ?

[@GrammaticusBooks]

The story is decent but it's very derivative of the Fellowship of the Ring. The next two issues it does find its own voice though.

[@Jimvanhise]

Actually this was roundly criticized when it was published, including by Wendy Pini as being all flash but no content. Imitation Tolkien by people who didn't understand Tolkien. It was nothing like the Mike Ploog Weirdworld it was a sequel to. That's why it has been forgotten otherwise Marvel would have reprinted it ten times by now.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

The first issue is very derivative but the follow on issues were decent and fairly original.

[@UnwashedPearl]

Looks kinda like a Wendy Pini knockoff, no?

[@jemhoare2105]

That was my first reaction as well.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

With a LoTR's plot! Now I have to go back and see what came first, Weirdworld or Elf Quest!

[@jemhoare2105]

Interesting that Marvel turned the Pinis' Elf Quest down, and that this was published a year after EQ debuted. By interesting I mean shady AF.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Hah! Yeah, and this didn't go that well for them sales wise.

[@SkylerinAmarillo]

Not “Toll Kine.” It’s pronounced “Toll-keen.”

[@nstents7781]

And the "ll" in Amarillo is pronounced as a y.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

I knew someone was going correct me.

[@nstents7781]

@@GrammaticusBooks "to" as in going "to" correct me. Heh.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

@@nstents7781 Ugh.....