#Arak Son of Thunder
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Ernie Colon and Dick Giordano - Arak, Son of Thunder #4 Unused Cover Original Art (DC, 1981) Source
Cover that was used, also by Ernie Colon and Dick Giordano
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No, it's not a cheap Masters of the Universe knock-off ! It's the very first action figure of The Warlord from 1982 by Remco!
Actually, the body is a knock-off of the MOTU molds. Remco was known for its...imitation, shall we say. They knew what was selling and they imitated the crap out of it. Their Sgt . Rock figures (also based on a DC Comics property) were darn near exact duplicates of the 3 3/4-inch G.I. Joe figures that were minting money for Hasbro.
The Warlord had six figures in his line: himself, his buddies Mikola Rostov and Machiste, bad guy Deimos, and then Hercules and Arak, who weren't even in his book.
"Who dem?" you ask.
The Arak figure was based on the Arak, Son of Thunder comic series coming out of DC at the time. For those who don't know the series, an oversimplified explanation would be "Conan the Barbarian as a Native American in Dark Ages Europe."
It isn't as bad as that sounds, and was a pretty decent book that ran just over four years.
Hercules, on the other hand, was not that successful. He had been the star of the book Hercules Unbound that only lasted 12 issues before being cancelled in 1976. While not horrible, Herc's story lacked from any real direction at first, other than "let's throw a Greek demigod into Kamandi's great disaster and see what happens." It did have some fantastic art, though, from Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Wally Wood, and Walt Simonson. In fact, Simonson created an outstanding armor suit for Herc that would've made this figure stand out, but Remco was too cheap for that.
Remco was nothing if not cheap. Why else would you make a figure of a character whose book had been cancelled six years earlier, and whom kids would know nothing about? Because the licensing fees would be next to nothing, that's why.
Being cheap also explains why about the only place you could find ads for this line was in DC comic books.
Anyhoo, as much of a DC fan as I am, and I did collect all three series, I gave these figures a pass the one and only time I saw them on a toy store shelf. The lack of articulation, and the silly half-squat sculpt that makes them look like they need to poop, did nothing to excite me. Pretty much the same reason I never collected MOTU.
I guess the original G.I. Joe from Hasbro and World's Greatest Super-Heroes from Mego spoiled me. I wanted (and still want) articulation and (reasonably) realistic proportions for my action figures.
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Valda in Arak, Son of Thunder #12 by Ernie Colon
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Arak/ Son of Thunder
#37 September 1984 cover by Ernie Colan
#38 November 1984 cover by Tony DeZuniga
#39 December 1984 cover by Tony DeZuniga
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Who's Who In The DC Universe #1: Arak, Arcane, Arion
Arak, Son of Thunder by Ernie Colon
Arak Red-Hand (Bright-Sky-Alter-Storm) was a shaman of the Quontauka tribe.
He was taken by the Vikings to medieval Europe (8th Century) where he journeyed with his captors until settling out on his own
Arak battled in the defense of the court of Carolus Magnus (aka Charlemagne) in central Europe
He was slain in battle and his spirit rose to meet He-No, the Quontauka’s God of Thunder, a spirit-being who is also his father
Resurrected on earth, Arak is now a “mystical shaman surviving in a world only beginning to understand science.
I have not read any appearances of Arak. A quick google search indicates the Quontauka tribe is a creation of DC Comics. Hé-no is a thunder spirit of the Iroquois and Seneca people. The Iroquois and Seneca tribes were in New York and Pennsylvania so it would make sense for the fictional Quontauka to be in the same area.
Arak is an example of the differences between pre-Crisis DC and Marvel. Marvel remained firmly in the “superhero/villain” lanes with a small subset of horror and comics. DC went all over the place with their creations and concepts. Marvel sold more but DC was the true “House of Ideas”.
Arcane by Steve Bissette & John Tottleben
Scientist/Alchemist Anton Arcane discovered the secret of immortality.
His body had grown too old to take advantage of immortality so he sought to create an artificial body to house his spirit.
The Un-Men were the result of these experiments, “misshapen but incredibly loyal creatures, who would assist their master in his quest for an alternate body.
The quest resulted in a confrontation with Swamp Thing that ended with Arcane falling to his death.
The Un-Men “repaired” Arcane’s broken body, transforming him into a hulking monstrosity.
Arcane went Round 2 with Swamp Thing and was left a disassembled corpse, buried in the Louisiana Bayou
The Un-Men resurrected Arcane as a half-human/half-insect cyborg.
Round 3 with Swamp Thing ended with Arcane’s physical form destroyed.
Arcane is now a disembodied spirit, imprisoned in the darkest reaches of Hell.
Anton Arcane is the uncle of Abigail Arcane, the love interest of Swamp Thing.
Arcane is a prime example of why you shouldn’t search for immortality. He’s one of the creepiest characters in the DC Universe. Body horror for everyone! Alan Moore began his run on Swamp Thing in 1983 (if you haven’t read Moore’s run, you should, it’s fantastic). Arcane makes his return in Moore’s run. I’m not sure if his return has happened before or after Who’s Who #1 was published. If it was before, DC could have omitted the details as Arcane’s return storyline was rather horrific for an all-ages publication. Poor, poor Abby.
I’m not sure if Arcane has made any non-Swamp Thing appearances but he’s guaranteed to play a role in the various Swamp Thing series and adaptations.
Arion, Lord of Atlantis by Jan Duursema
Arion’s base of operations is noted as “Civilization of Atlantis – 45,000 years ago
100,000 years “before the story of Arion began”, Calculha and Majistra had two children: Ari’ahn and Garn
Calculha followed the Light (magic) and raised Ari’ahn
Majistra, mistress of the Dark (magic), raised Garn
The brothers became mortal enemies
Majistra obtained the Twelve Crystals of the Zodiac
Majistra attempted to kill Calculha but Ari’ahn sacrificed himself to prevent his father’s death
Ari’ahn was turned into pure energy, becoming one with the crystals
Calculha sent what remained of his son to the stars
Garn was stripped of all color and learned to hate with all his soul (I’m guessing this a reference to magical abilities but it’s possible Garn became an albino in this confrontation)
Garn studied sorcery and became a master of it over the centuries (are the Light/Dark abilities different from magic?)
Garn threatened Atlantis as the great Ice Age began.
Calculha, from his self-imposed exile in the Darkworld dimension, brought his son, now called Arion, back from the heavens
Arion became the protector of Atlantis and battled his brother many times
When Frostfire, the Ice Queen, was held the captive of the Light, Arion sacrificed most of his magic to save her
He is now a mortal man with limited magical abilities
The only Arion appearances I’ve read were during the post-Crisis era when DC tried to connect Power Girl to Atlantis. DC wanted Superman to be the sole remaining Kryptonian in the aftermath of the Crisis of Infinite Earths. Supergirl was killed during the Crisis while Earth-2 Superman, Earth-2 Superman was exiled to a hidden dimension, etc. Both were erased from continuity and forgotten by the residents of the DC Universe. Power Girl remained in the continuity but needed a new origin. Instead of the obvious solution of making Power Girl a Daxamite, DC attached Karen to Atlantis, descended from Arion. I don’t remember the explanation for how Karen, now descended from a magical Atlantean bloodline, still had the Kryptonian power set. If I remember correctly, Arion reappeared when Kara mysteriously became pregnant by an unknown baby daddy. I don’t remember the details for that either. I do know there was fan speculation the father would be Hal Jordan and that would have been much more enjoyable than the garbage that was dished out. The early to mid 90’s were a tough time for Power Girl.
#dc comics#dcu#arak#son of thunder#arcane#anton arcane#un-men#arion#atlantis#power girl#who's who in the dc universe#swamp thing
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Conan (a barbarian) and Arak (Son of Thunder)
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DC Native/Indigenous Heroes
1. Ya’Wara - biracial; Indigenous Brazilian Tapirape
2. Keli Quintela aka Teen Lantern - biracial; Afro-Indigenous Bolivian born
3. Koryak, son of Aquaman - last name unknown; half Inuit and half white; given Aquaman’s racebend in the DCEU as Native Hawaiian like his actor, then Koryak would also be half Polynesian
4. Yara Flor aka Wonder Woman - biracial; Afro-Indigenous Brazilian
5. Dawnstar - Puebloan
6. Arak - Quontauka Native
7. Tye Longshadow - Apace; I highly suggest following his incarnation from the animated Young Justice series. He originally appeared in the old DC cartoon series, Superfriends
8. Wenonah Littlebird aka Owlwoman - Kiowa
9. Sarah Rainmaker - Apache
10. Sky Alchesay - unknown Native American tribe
11. John Trujillo aka Black Condor - Navajo
12. Ohiyesa Smith aka Pow Wow Smith - Sioux; change name to be more culturally sensitive
13. Manitou Dawn - Apache; change name to be more culturally sensitive
14. Manitou Raven - Apache - change name to be more culturally sensitive
15. Raven from “Teen Titans: Earth One” - Navajo
16. Tom Kalmaku - Inuit
17. Napi from the DCEU - real name unknown; from the 2017 Wonder Woman movie - Blackfoot
18. Uno/Dr. Curtis “Curt” Falconer aka Aztek I - biracial; Indigenous (Nahua) Mexican
19. Nayeli Constant aka Aztek II - like predecessor; biracial; Indigenous (Nahua) Mexican
20. Keshena Carpentier aka Timber biracial; half Menominee and other racial unknown
21. Bill Great Eagle aka Man of Bats - Sioux
22. Dakota Jamison - Navajo
23. Miiyahbin Marten aka Equinox - Cree
24. Charles Great Eagle aka Raven Red - Sioux
25. Miriam Delgado aka Mirage - Indigenous, unknown Tribe; from the Teen Titans
26. Wildstar - Puebloan; Dawnstar’s ancestor
27. Green Arrow of Earth D - unknown Native American tribe
28. Hawk, son of Tomahawk - biracial; half Apache and half white; given the racist undertones, I would make some changes, possibly changing names and making both father and son Apache
29. Thunderer - real name unknown; Aboriginal Australian; tribe unknown
30. Johnny Riley aka Dark Ranger - Aboriginal American
Please list any more if you don’t see any on the list. Be respectful with the comments.
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youtube
WORLD PREMIER: LES GHOULS - locked away in the vault of Roy Thomas, released for the first time in 65 years for your viewing pleasure!
Les Ghouls is a 12½-minute, mostly black-&-white film made circa 1958 by a group of six teenagers in Jackson, Missouri, including Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, who went on in the 1960s to become writers and editors at Marvel Comics. It was intended as an homage to/ripoff of the 1948 movie classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, just filmed for a lark. It was filmed largely in black-&-white despite the relative difficulty of obtaining that kind of film even then. John Short, who owned the (new) movie camera, served as primary director; Roy Thomas scripted the movie (in synopsis form) and supplied all art and lettering appearing in the film. There were vague plans to eventually either record a soundtrack or to at least have the cast members accompany showings by narration and dialogue, but those plans never materialized.
CAST:
Slim--------------------------------------------------- Gary Friedrich
Slat ---------------------------------------------------- Ron Lowes
Dr. Sturdley ------------------------------------------ Andy Leonard
Melvin ------------------------------------------------ Lyle Hutteger
The Monster ------------------------------------------ John Short
Werewolf ---------------------------------------------- Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich went on to become major writers in the comicbook industry.
Roy Thomas was an editor of Marvel from 1965-80, and editor-in-chief from 1972-74. He also scripted runs on such series as X-Men, Avengers, Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, Star Wars, Red Sonja, Kull the Conqueror, Daredevil, Captain Marvel, The Invaders, Incredible Hulk, Sub-Mariner, etc. He also co-created the likes of Wolverine, Carol Danvers (future Captain Marvel), The Vision, Ultron, The Squadron Supreme, The Invaders, Union Jack, Spitfire, Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Morbius the Living Vampire, Sunfire, Banshee, Valkyrie, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Doc Samson, Brother Voodoo, Warlock, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, Thundra, Captain 3D, What If, Not Brand Echh, and others. In the ’80s he defected to DC Comics, where he co-created, wrote, and often edited All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc., Arak – Son of Thunder, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!, Young All-Stars, and Jonni Thunder a.k.a. Thunderbolt, as well as writing the likes of Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, and Justice League of America. He has also written comics for Topps, Heroic, etc. He co-created both a super-hero comic and a comics-history magazine which were titled Alter Ego. His and wife Dann’s independent series Captain Thunder and Blue Bolt was optioned for a film in the ’90s. He has also written for films, TV animation, and live-action TV.
Gary Friedrich wrote several series runs for Marvel, including Sgt. Fury, Captain America, Nick Fury – Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Frankenstein, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, Daredevil, [the Western] Ghost Rider, Combat Kelly, Captain Savage, and Captain Marvel—and was the major creator of [the motorcycle-riding, supernatural] Ghost Rider and the co-creator and first writer of Son of Satan. He served as assistant editor at Marvel from late 1966 to 1968. He and Roy Thomas co-created the concept for the Marvel comicbook Not Brand Echh. Gary also wrote for Skywald, Topps, and other comics companies. He passed away in August 2018.
(via Bleeding Cool)
#Comics#Movies#Horror#Roy Thomas#Gary Friedrich#Werewolf#Frankenstein#Frankenstein's Monster#Youtube
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I'm thinking of getting some of my comics that never got hardcovers custom bound. Make a like Team Titans Omnibus? Design a dust jacket? Get some original art commissioned off Twitter to use on the front and back? Maybe do some for Scooby Apocalypse and Shogun Warriors as well? Arak Son of Thunder? I could have such a unique collection. Though I know purist would throw a fit saying I'm damaging books. But I'm a reader, not a grader.
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Original Art - Arak, Son Of Thunder #039 Cover (1984) by Tony DeZuniga
#Vintage#Art#Illustration#Design#Comics#DC#DC Comics#Arak Son Of Thunder#Arak#Valda#Fantasy#Fantasy Comics#Swords And Sorcery#Swords And Sorcery Comics#Tony DeZuniga#1984#1980s#80s
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Ernie Colon, Arak Son of Thunder 31, bonus pinup.
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Arak, Son Of Thunder #3, November 1981, Pencils/Inks: Ernie Colón, Colors: Tatjana Wood
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Arak/ Son of Thunder #46 July 1985 cover by Tony DeZuniga
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50 More Days of Comics! 24/50: Arak: Son of Thunder Annual #1 (1984)
“ARAK: IN THE LAIR OF THE SERPENT LORD”
Pretty great title.
I am pretty sure I had never heard of this character until I saw this cover! Probably! He might have been in one of the weirder Justice League Unlimited issues. I think in JLU it turns out that the world is hollow and that there’s a fantasy world inside it for some reason? Or maybe that was an episode of Superman?
Anyway, Arak (Son of Thunder) is an interesting sort.
He was a relatively respectful Native American character for his time which meant that he did not have broken speech or stereotypical powers like super-tracking (looking at you nearly every X-Men Native American character).
And he has a pretty bonkers backstory for a guy that was initially a Conan the Barbarian ripoff.
(Roy Thomas explicitly says in the letters column in the back of this issue that he came up with Arak because Conan Properties wouldn’t let him write a Conan novel. So. Y’know. Make of that what it is.)
See, Star-of-Dawn of the Quontauka Native tribe was fleeing from an amorous evil serpent god and was rescued by the thunder god He-No. She married He-No out of gratitude for saving her from an evil horny snake god but wasn’t really in love with him and missed her people so he returned her home.
And then she gave birth to a demigod, Bright-Sky-After-Storm.
Later, in a one-two punch the serpent god attached He-No while a tribe that worshipped evil snakes attacked the Quontauka. While thunder has a type advantage against snakes, He-No sacrificed himself to save his son and send him floating out into the sea where he was out of reach.
Where he was found by Vikings, as ya do.
One of the Vikings raised him and named him Eric, which became Arak due to the young boy’s mispronunciation.
He joins their raids until a sorceress sends a sea serpent after the Vikings. The serpent kills all but Arak who throws a cross like a Castlevania and impales the serpent through the brain.
A nearby monk says that god has delivered them which makes Arak wonder if it was the monk’s god or his own god. And so he sets off to have adventures and becomes a good friend of Charlemagne and gets romantically involved with a paladin called Valda the Iron Maiden.
So basically Arak has an awesome life, give or take being serially orphaned.
Aside from being set in a real historical period, Arak tends to interact with real mythological nonsense rather than Conan’s sword and sorcery type deal.
And that’s the need to know for this annual. Oh, that and he at some point found the flaming sword of Gabriel, which drove the first humans out of Eden and which can command Christian, Jew, and Muslim. That is a thing that exists and that Arak has and that the bad guy wants.
And as this annual starts, Arak and his good pal Satyricus (…… a satyr, obviously) are on their way to the titular lair of the serpent lord to exchange the Sword of Gabriel for boy-prince Alsind and his cousin Sharizad, friends of Arak’s that the Serpent Lord took hostage.
They are briefly waylaid by desert bandits who get the best of Arak by taking Satyricus the Satyr hostage but the Sword of Gabriel is the real sword of evil’s bane and when the bandit leader unveils it, it burns out his eyes.
Between this and Indiana Jones, god stuff is just really user unfriendly, isn’t it?
The bandits flee in terror of the eye melting sword and Arak has to reswaddle the thing.
No easy task as it wants to rocket to heaven and also its on fire.
Through some weird ritual that Arak himself doesn’t quite understand, he… iunno, wipes the fire into the hilt? so he can rewrap the blade.
Satyricus has some misgivings about turning over the Sword of Gabriel to the Serpent Lord who either works for or is the same snake god that tried to boink Arak’s mom and wiped out his tribe. But Arak gotta do what Arak gotta do.
Then a giant, unnatural cyclone comes at them. Satyricus promises to stick to Arak like his shadow but he’s just so small. He gets blown away by the winds. And as the cyclone blasts Arak with sand he swears he’ll find his friend.
But for some reason, being buffeted by winds makes Arak start contemplating his life backwards, thinking of Valda, the paladin. Thinking of the sea serpent who killed the Vikings who adopted him. Thinking of the good times he had raiding and pillaging with them.
And when the winds subside he finds himself in a familiar forest, the very forest of his long lost birthplace!
Tornados are surprisingly good transportation in fiction.
Satyricus finds himself in quite a different locale though. The tornado somehow blew him into a cave. A cave with a Cerberus in it. Aw hell, he’s in Hades!
The dogs don’t bork which means he’s dead and belongs so he passes by them and meets the ferryman Charon who offers Satyricus a ride across the river Styx.
Satryicus has no coin and also doesn’t want to be dead yet. He has so much to live for. “For love, Charon! Love of green fields, sunshine, sweet fruits, and tender women. Aye, and for love of a friend – one I’ve sworn to protect as he searches the world for his homeland!”
And then a dead friend of Satyricus’ pops up and sasses him.
Khiron: “Just like you, Satyricus, to die without a Grecian obol to your name!”
And then he tells Satyricus to just wade across the river. Pssh what? Its going to kill the dead? Yeah right! What even is the point of Charon here? For ghosts afraid to get their feet wet?
Because he does it! Satyricus just wades across. And he’s short!
Satyricus and Khiron catch up before Satyricus decides actually fuck being dead and decides to spring Khiron. The centaur protests he’s too weak to jail break out of Hades and Charon is like come on dude I’mma have to scythe you if you try to leave.
But Satyricus kicks a hole in Charon’s boat, which tips the skeleton into the drink when it capsizes. The satyr steals Charon’s scythe and thus the scyther becomes the one who is scythed.
He stabs Charon.
Actually pretty crafty, Satyricus. Granted, you look sinister af due to cultural biases against short hairy men with goat legs, goatees, and horns but well played.
He also stabs Cerberus. And I understand that it had to be done to escape but it still fills me with sadness. That poor doggo.
Satyricus and Khiron find themselves emerging into the green glades of ancient Greece. And together they vow that the last centaur and the last satyr will drive the barbarians out of the land and restore its glory. I’m not up on my relative time periods so I’m not sure which barbarians were occupying Greece during the time of Charlemagne but its probably a good thing for a satyr and centaur to start a populous movement.
Elsewhere in America perhaps, Arak ponders his situation. The witch-queen Angelica once used magic to show him that some Quontauka were still alive and offered to transport him to them. But since she was quite evil, he didn’t agree. But maybe a similar magic was in that ol’ tornado.
He doesn’t have much time to ponder because the snake tribe is attacking the Quontauka again! He rushes in and starts cutting and scalding people.
He sees a snake tribesman about to split open an old woman’s skull as his mother’s was years ago but this time he has a sword that is on fire! And he throws it at the dude and burns him. The burned guy flees.
To his surprise, Arak discovers that not only is this situation reminiscent to what happened to his mother its actually his actual supposedly dead mother that he saved!
Arak’s grandfather White-Snow Owl arrives and asks him to take up the fire sword as the Quontauka’s warchief and put the fear in all other tribes.
Arak protests that he did not return to lead them against tribes that have no quarrel with them. Besides, his journey isn’t done. The hostages of the serpent lord will die unless he exchanges the sword for them.
Arak: “One of those I must save is but a child – another a young woman!”
White-Snow Owl: “I do not care.”
And then White-Snow Owl demands that Arak give him the sword. Ahh but see. Arak is the name the Vikings gave him. His tribesmen have been calling him their name for him, Bright-Sky-After-Storm. Why would White-Snow Owl know his Viking name?
So Arak stabs his grandfather.
A lot of stabbing in this sword and sorcery.
And it turns out that his grandfather was a snake and also not his grandfather.
It turns out everyone was snakes. So Arak burns it all down.
And finds himself in a Grecian glade where Satyrnicus and Khiron are hanging out.
Satyrnicus is thrilled to see him and wants to tell him how his once-meek goat-legged friend broke out of Hades but Arak has figured out the score.
This is all illusion. A very convincing illusion. One that knows your memories and knows what you want to see. But Arak won’t be fooled.
He stabs Khiron with the sword of Gabriel which apparently only destroys the wicked and false and reveals that the centaur was actually a man-snake and is now also dead. From the stabs.
Satyrnicus is aghast that he beat Hades all by himself only to lead a monster to his nice home.
No, no. You didn’t get a cool victory or get to go home to a nice green glade. You’re still in the sandy wasteland, Arak says.
Poor Satyrnicus doesn’t get to have anything nice like overthrowing Hades. Oh boo.
Arak waves the sword around until the illusion gives up. That’s probably how dispelling illusions works.
And then the titular Lair of the Serpent Lord finally shows its snake head themed entrance, emerging from under the sand only 32 pages into this 40 page story.
The Serpent Lord almost pulls off the aesthetic. He’s green and scaly and has snake men minions and a snake draped around his hands like a boa but he has horns and I’ve never seen a snake with horns.
Anyway, the Serpent Lord cheekily laments that Arak didn’t fall for the temptations of the whirlwind. Then he would have had the hostages and the sword.
Alsind and Sharizad beg Arak not to give the sword of Gabriel to the Serpent Lord but he ignores their pleas and swears on He-No’s name that after the two hostages are released, he’ll throw the sword to the steps of Serpent Lord’s throne.
Since Arak is an honorable sort where his words are his bond and especially vows on his father and all, Serpent Lord agrees.
He releases the hostages and Arak throws the sword.
Satyrnicus suggests that they amscray but Arak says not yet but for his group to cover their eyes.
Arak: “Guard your eyes, and pray to all your several gods – for I suspect a weapon forged in Heaven will not abide for long a demon’s hand.”
And when one of Serpent Lord’s snake dudes goes to bring it to him the sword angrily flares, incinerating all the snake dudes to ash and bone on the spot.
Arak, Satyrnicus, Alsind and Sharizad are protected by Arak’s shaman aura. And the Serpent Lord by his own sorcery. And then the flare dims, that wily ol’ Serpent Lord is running to grab the sword.
So Arak runs and they both grab it at the same time. And wrassle over it .
The Serpent Lord questions Arak’s oath to turn the sword over but Arak points out that he only swore to deliver it to the Serpent Lord’s throne and did not say what he would do after that.
I always sort of wonder what the point of having such a sense of honor that you must abide by your word, even if it was under duress, when you are also willing to wriggle out through dumb baby word games?
I mean, yes, good thinking on Arak’s part to phrase it in an exploitable way but if you’re doing that are you actually an honorable person?
You’ll build a loophole into a promise but god help you if you lie?
Honor is weird.
The Serpent Lord is actually Arak’s match in muscle so they go all over the place tugging the sword until Arak has an idea.
He beseeches the fire spirits which rest within the sword to flee evil’s grasp by abandoning their metal home. And then he just kind of… pulls away with a sword-shaped fire in his hands.
Serpent Lord decides that he can still use the metal of the blade to kill Arak and you’d think that a metal blade would go right through a fire. But guess what. This is angelic fire or something.
Serpent Lord swings his metal sword and it strikes the fire sword and the metal sword melts all over Serpent Lord’s hands.
Which has to be somewhere up there in terms of things that hurt a whole hell of a lot.
And then Arak stabs him.
There’s a lot of stabbing etc etc.
And then Arak tells the sword it can go home and releases it and the fire flies into the sky, going home.
Arak: “So go you forth, mighty sword! Fly upward to the abode of angels – nevermore to be raised anew against the works of man unless a god decrees!”
You’re a cool guy, Arak.
Now, nearly exhausted Arak still has to run because the Serpent Lord was one of those load bearing bosses and his snakehead lair is collapsing.
And he notices tracks of blood leading out into the desert. The Serpent Lord isn’t dead.
Arak decides not to chase after him. As wounded as he is it will be a long time before he can menace other men. And whatever else, he has been forever denied the Sword of Gabriel because it flew home.
And the Serpent Lord’s anger at being thwarted is a problem for another day.
I actually quite enjoyed this.
As mentioned, Arak is a pretty cool dude. With cool friends (although I kept wanting to call Satyrnicus Phil because it’d be easier to type). And this was a pretty cool adventure.
Arak: Son of Thunder apparently only got 50 issues and this annual and a scant few other appearances. And then recentlyish reappared having been mind controlled into being Braniac’s minion in Convergence. Which… is a choice.
But this issue was good.
Tangentially, it very much felt like you could get a dnd module out of this.
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