At long last, the barely anticipated but much referenced (by me, anyway) final installment of



Sorry about taking so long between posts; one thing leads to another, and you know how it goes. Anyways, here's the first part, featuring issues 1 and 2, and the second, featuring issues 3 and 4.

I gotta tell you before we get started, that this fifth issue is one seriously loopy comic book, crammed full of all sorts of freewheeling nuttiness. The obvious inspiration for all this was Erich Von Daniken's hugely-popular-at-the-time Chariots of the Gods, which posited that we were descended from, or created by, extraterrestrial science...and it spawned several sequels and documentaries and so on, with many of these ideas becoming a staple of Science Fiction films, books and TV. Anyway, onward.

When last we left our hero, he and his companions had just engaged in mortal conflict with none other than Dracula himself, or Vlad Tepes the Impaler anyway. After Vladdy Daddy's hash got settled, BW continued on in his quest to find the magic Zumak fruit (in combination with the giant serpent's venom, which he drank in #3. Perhaps together they created the noxious substance known as Zima. But I digress.) that would give him enough strength to defeat Grendel and end the misery at Castle Hrothgar.

The story opens with the company trudging across the desert and coming upon some nicely intact standing stones, as in the ones at Stonehenge. BW even helpfully references this fact. As they speculate about the origins of the weird stones, they're suddenly surprised by the appearance of a sliver-garbed high priestess and her Druid henchmen! Typically, Wulfy attacks but is soon dismayed to find that they have sword-melting and force-beam wielding powers. Still, the band battles on as Unferth seeks a place to hide, but only succeeds in finding a huge spaceship ("...the Gods have descended to Earth!") and the presumed male companion to the Priestess. When he realizes that Beowulf is who they want, he quickly strikes a deal with the extraterrestrial, and sneaks up behind BW, who has managed to defeat one of the "Druids" by taking his sword (which was shown to be dissolved only a page or two earlier, oops) and jamming it between his arms, making a connection and causing his foe, who is now exposed as having some sort of wristband circuitry, to short-circuit. That darn Unferth cold-cocks BW from behind- and when he awakes, he and Nan-zee find themselves on the spaceship, unwilling guests of the spacemen.

The priestess gives the pair a tour of the ship, and provides some convenient exposition: She reveals that they were chosen to capture specimens of Earth's heroes for the scientists of their world, and were set up as gods to the Druids, who help them with their hero-gathering. They are shown the "Chamber of the Sleepers", where their subjects remain frozen for transport to another planet. The priestess also arranges for a little demonstration, as she blasts the area of the stones with a destructive beam, which apparently atomizes everyone- Druids (who have "served their purpose"), Wiglaf, Shaper, Sydriit and Unferth, too. But somehow, the Company has managed to escape unharmed. Unfortunately, before they can confront Unferth about what he did, they're set upon once more and overcome by a mysterious band of strangers. And that's all we will get from the Wulfy's posse this issue.

Back on the ship, the quite understandibly pissed off Beowulf tries to attack the Priestess, stating for the record that nothing will stop him in his quest to get the Zumak fruit- to which the evil spacelady replies that they have already harvested it all, and there is none left! This drives BW into a frenzy, and he breaks loose, kicking Druid ass (some apparently made it to the ship) and destroying large hunks of machinery...and waking the sleepers in the process. They quickly thaw as BW battles on, and he leads them to revolt against their extraterrestrial captors, and dispatching the Priestess as well. You know, killing her. After the dust has settled, one of the sleepers approaches BW and reveals himself to be none other than HERCULES! Herk thanks him for releasing them, then informs him that there is indeed some Zumak left, on the island of Crete. Then, they look through the viewscreen and see that they are flying over ATLANTIS! BW hatches a plan (and really, not much of a plan)- they will forcibly land the ship in the "advanced city" of Atlantis, and make their way from there. But, they are interrupted in their plotting by the "real" alien masters, named Ishtar and En-Lil, who don't appreciate BW mucking up their ship. Wulfy disarms one of them (almost literally- he bites his arm!), and fires upon the controls of the spaceship- and as the aliens strive to regain control, the captives leap out of the burning ship as it hurtles through the sky, over a smoldering volcano, and manage to land on the ground intact...just as Atlantis is racked with tremors and begins its legendary trip to the bottom of the ocean! BW, Nan-zee and Hercules manage to secure a raft and set sail just as the volcano erupts and Atlantis crumbles. They then drift for what we're told is several days, until they are interrupted by none other than the Goddess Athena, who whisks Hercules away to resume his destiny, and leaves BW and Nan in the lurch. Which is where this nutball issue ends. But things get even nuttier next issue!

For this, the final issue, artist Ricardo Villamonte was on hand for inks only as DC's all-purpose artist of the 70's, Ric Estrada, did the pencilling honors. Estrada on his own had a loose, cartoony style which on its own wouldn't have fit this book at all, especially given the fine job his predecessor did in the previous five issues...but fortunately, Villamonte was able to provide finishes and this story's art didn't suffer too much for it, except for the occasional flat pose or odd facial expression. Who can say if this would have just been a fill-in, or if Ricardo already knew the book was dead and was starting another project...we'll never know.

So, as #6 begins, BW and Nan are still adrift on the raft, approaching the island of Crete- but Satan sends a storm which destroys their vessel and almost drowns them in a whirlpool...but because of dumb luck, and the need to fill the next 16 or so pages, the couple survive and are carried ashore by the tide, unconscious. Next, we see what has happened to the rest of the company, who was set upon and captured by unnamed warriors of indistinct nationality. Turns out their captors are, as the helpful caption says, the "Yondo sect of the T'ang (settle down, Beavis) tribe in the land of Pikadon". Unfortunately, they are drawn to look exactly the same as the Hebrew Asher tribe, with flowing robes, turbans and pointy chin-whiskers, so I suppose there was a breakdown in communications there. Wiglaf cooks up a plan- he tells one of the Yondos that the Shaper will grant a request of magic for them if they let them go free. The warrior is agreeable, but the Shaper stubbornly refuses to use his abilities to amuse others. He changes his mind after a bit of friendly persuasion (in the form of armlocks and piling on) from the rest of the company, and stating "Ydnic d'nabob egairram yppah", he turns reality upside down inside the cave where they're standing, and with a command of "Kertrats noem rofmoor erehtsi!" turns it right side up again. This understandibly dismays and frightens the Yondos, who eagerly set Wiglaf, Sydriit, and Unferth free...but insist the Shaper stay with them. Reluctantly, they agree after Shapey reassures them that he will be all right, and "will be in Daneland before (them)", which he proves as he fades away as soon as the company is out of sight, much to the chagrin of the Yondos.
Back now to BW and Nan, as they come to on the beach of an unknown island, which is of course Crete. They realize that either his diety Wyrd or enemy Satan have caused this to happen, but they are determined to press on anyway. As they explore inland, they encounter a aged beggar who calls himself the "Peeper" who offers to lead them to the maze which has the Zumak fruit tree in its center.

Meanwhile, in Hell, Satan is hatching some evil schemes with his new right-hand-man, Dracula- whom you'll recall was taken away by the devil at the end of #4. Grendel's mom overhears their conversation, and runs back to her monstrous son, telling him that he must act quickly or he'll never get his rightful due as heir to Hell. Grendy rationalizes that Satan is afraid of him now, and he won't stand for it- he stalks off, snapping off a stalactite as he advances, just in time to hear Satan instructing Dracula to go to Castle Hrothgar in the form of a bat (one of his new powers) and indulge in a little good old-fashioned bloodletting. Grendel advances...and...

We go back to Beowulf and Nan-zee, as they arrive at the maze with the Peeper. Peeps opens a secret entrance in the wall, and as BW and Nan go inside, he slams it shut, locking them in the maze! It is then revealed that the Peeper is no old beggar at all, but is really the Slave Maid of Satan, who we met back in issue #2! They press on, and encounter the maze's sole occupant- the legendary Minotaur of Crete, who's guarding the Zumak tree and is not in a sociable mood. BW engages him in desperate combat, and barely holds his own, and things go from bad to worse as Satan takes a hand and boosts the Minotaur's strength to superhuman levels. Things are looking grim for BW, to the point where Satan sits on his throne and ponders whether to kill him at that moment or wait until he gets back to Daneland...when suddenly, Grendel strikes and effing stabs Satan with the stalactite, KILLING HIM! What the f-?! Anyway, Grendy proclaims himself the new King of the Underworld, and prepares for Dracula's return.

Meanwhile, robbed of Satan's energy boost, Beowulf rallies against his suddenly weakened and reeling foe and presses the attack until he vanquishes him. He is then free to eat the Zumak fruit, which instantly heals his wounds and boosts his strength to higher levels than ever before, which enables him to break down the maze wall and walk off into the sunset with Nan-Zee, swearing vengeance for his murdered comrade Hondscio and the others.

Which we never got to see, along with any of the other dangling plot threads, because this, friends, is where the saga of DC's version of Beowulf ended, with its abrupt cancellation. In the 30 plus years since the last issue was on the stands, it has remained mostly forgotten and overlooked, except for a small group of fans who read it and enjoyed it back in the day. This series wasn't perfect- sometimes the humor and action-adventure didn't mix as well as you'd like, and sometimes the internal logic of the story wasn't as tight as it could have been. But for my money, it hit a lot more than it missed and at its best was a downright enthralling mix of high spirits and high adventure, and I for one wish it could have had half as many issues as the vastly inferior and inexplicably more popular Warlord did.

Thanks for your patience as I finally batted this out, and by all means let me know what you think!

When last we left



...it was decided that he would embark on a quest to obtain the elements which will give him the mystic power that Satan had told him he needs to defeat Grendel, and end the woe that had befallen the residents of Castle Hrothgar. So they assembled a company to achieve this goal: Beowulf's usual posse of Nan-Zee, Wiglaf and Hondscio, along with the enigmatic Shaper and (this was Hrothgar's idea) the scheming Unferth and his creepy lackey "The Silent One". And that's where #3 begins.

On the ocean, as the company is attacked by a octopus-like monster. After a couple pages' worth of nautical bashing about and bon mot-slinging (BW: "Will-zon panicked like a new-born cub! Wiglaf-- you were to get me fourteen of the BEST warriors! How do you explain HIM? Wiggy: "Good help is hard to find these days, my prince!" Wiggy: NOTHING halts this choking monster! Of ALL the enemies from which to pick, YOU had to choose SATAN himself! BW: "My poor taste in enemies is surpassed only by my poor taste in COMRADES!"), they dispatch the sea monster via a Beowulf mace to the head. As they climb back on the ship, they notice that Unferth was once more absent during the struggle, and confront him. Pissed off and embarrassed, like most cowardly scoundrels are, he slinks off and plots to do BW harm. BW then turns to the Shaper, to ask him how to counter the devil (although why Satan is presumably sending monsters to hinder the company is beyond this reader), and his reply is to summon Wyrd, the God of Fate and BW's deity of choice- and ask him for advice. Wyrd appears as a skull-faced specter, and delivers a cryptic prophecy which amounts to "Don't worry- just keep on doing what you're doing!" Thanks, Wyrd.

They soon arrive at the island where the Black Viper dwells. It has a big skull-shaped mountain, just like another well-known island which we are all familiar with, I'm sure. They split up to get the lay of the land and meet later, but Unferth and his stooge hang back, intent on cooking up more trouble for our hero. What they do is summon a demon, who will "usher those fools into a world of madness and death!" And by casting a spell which says "This is dedicated to Winsor (sic) McCay" backwards, summons the sprite Little Omen (again, read it backwards) who casts BW and company into "Nightmareland", where they have a most terrifying experience, reliving their worst fears and dreams...until the Shaper decides he's had enough and casts a counter-spell which chases away Omen and leaves them where they started. Must have been all in their minds, they decide. Either way, they don't have long to ponder it because they're immediately set upon by hostile pygmy headhunters!

In an interlude, we go to Grendel, who's pissed off and killing the swamp men from #2, cursing at Satan and wanting Beowulf delivered to him. Satan appears, says "you better recognize", and promises that BW will be his on the next full moon. This seems to placate Grendel for now, but he's still surly.

Back to BW and company. As he walks up to one of the pygmy chiefs he says to Wiglaf and Nan-zee "This will be a good lesson for the two of you...in how much more can be accomplished by CHARM and DIPLOMACY rather than by SWORDS!" When he explains that he comes in peace and only wishes to slay the Black Viper and claim his venom, they get REAL mad and start throwing spears and shooting arrows! Nan-Zee: "What CHARM! What DIPLOMACY! What a WAY WITH WORDS!" to which Wulfy replies "Nan-zee, why don't you take your sword and...oh, forget it!" The rest of the company joins up with BW just in time to help out, encounter a large warrior, who towers above his brethren. As they battle, BW takes advantage of the closeness of the pygmy chief to bring an end to the struggle, as you can see at left. Of course, BW has no intention of killing the pygmy chief, and out of surprise and gratitude, he realizes that he's been wrong about the Viper and gives Beowulf permission to get the venom he seeks. The giant is introduced as Sydriit, and he'll join up with Wulfy's group later on.

Beowulf then goes off alone to get his prize, and we see the Black Viper in this fantastic page by Villamonte. After he dispatches the giant serpent, he drinks the venom but feels no stronger. He decides he probably won't until he finishes his quest, and this issue ends with him telling us that first the moon will soon be full (remember Satan's promise to Grendel?) and they will have by then crossed the desert in search of the Zumak fruit tree.


And the whole full moon thing is quite apropos, because in this issue, #4, Beowulf meets DRACULA! That's right, DRACULA! Not exactly the vampire count of yore (yet), but Vlad Tepes the Impaler, who is in conflict with the Ashers, the Lost Tribe of Israel, who hunt him for his atrocities. But I'm getting ahead of things here.

As Wulfy and company trek across the desert, they are attacked by the Ashers, who mistake them for Vlad and his men. Beowulf convinces them of the truth by virtue of a huge chain. Seeing the error of their ways, the Asher leader introduces himself as Bruzz-Solomon and his second-in-command as Yusashia Ben Simon, and explains how Vlad Tepes, the evil Wallachian, has invaded the desert from the north- not to conquer but to plunder, torture and kill. In a really nice montage, artist Villamonte depicts him and his men dealing death and Vlad in one scene refusing to drink wine, instead preferring a cup of blood. He says, that's right, "Fool- I never drink...wine!" Anyway, the Ashers apologize and Beowulf says "You may dress differently and believe in a different god, but we fight for the same cause. Beowulf stands WITH you against the madman Dracula!" They then retire to the campfire to plot strategy. But.

In the meantime, another interlude with Grendel as he once more confronts Satan, reminding him of his promise from last issue. Satan obliges, and magically transports Beowulf, Hondscio and Wiglaf back to Castle Hrothgar! BW realizes that this must be Satan's work and somehow intuits that he will face Grendel that night, and resolves to do so alone. Wiggy and Hondscio object, and after doing the rock-paper-scissors (I swear!) they determine that they will stand guard with their comrade. After a long, tense period of waiting...Grendel bursts in and attacks without warning, immediately grabs Hondscio, and eats him alive! This causes Beowulf to go berserk with rage and attack, and the battle is on, as you can see at left. Problem is, y'see, it doesn't go very well for BW since he doesn't have all his magical stuff yet, and Satan calls it off by transporting Wulfy and Wiglaf back to the desert, where they must break the sad news about their comrade to the rest of the company. Unfortunately, there's no time to mourn as they are suddenly set upon by the Wallachians, with Vlad Tepes at the head! The battle rages on, with one unfortunate casualty for the Ashers: Solomon, who gets a death scene which made me a huge fan of this series in just one page.

As a 15-year-old, when I was reading this for the first time, I had kinda been on the bubble about this comic so far. I liked the nonstop action and humor, and appreciated Ricardo Villamonte's art, but in the death scene of Bruzz-Solomon, I found drama and pathos, and a thrilling segue into the meat of this issue: the fight between Beowulf and Dracula. After this, I was drinking the Beowulf Kool-aid for the duration...and this small but perfectly-done scene is still one of the best I've read in comics. Sometimes that's all it takes, kids.

The fight scene's not bad, either, as the savage Tepes matches the brutish Beowulf blow for blow until Vlad actually unhorses BW...and is swooping in for the kill! But is suddenly stopped short by a sword into his own gut, courtesy of one of his own men, who was conveniently possessed by Satan. Seems that ol' Satan one, didn't want BW killed just yet, and two, was so impressed by Vladdy that he chooses him to be his heir, and makes him the "...first of the undead, the count of a race of human vampires that will walk the Earth for all eternity!" After they're gone, the two remaining warrior chiefs say their goodbyes, with Ben Simon leaving Beowulf with a Star of David for good luck.

Next up, in issues 5 and 6: UFO's! And a Minotaur!

Yep, it's BEOWULF. DRAGON SLAYER. A three part JBS exclusive series which will outline the short-lived but fondly remembered (by me anyway) DC series from their equally short-lived Sword 'n' Sorcery books, designed to ride the coattails of Marvel's popular Conan series, in 1975. It was based, of course, on the legendary poem (which I've never read), but it's more of a re-imagining than an adaptation. Future movie scriptwriter and producer Michael Uslan was the author, and hitherto unknown Peruvian artist Ricardo Villamonte, whose gritty and expressive style- evocative of Hal Foster- stood out, despite the cheap-ass paper it was printed upon. The editor was Dennis O'Neil, not long after his great writing on Batman, The Shadow, Sword of Sorcery, and Ironwolf- and honestly, sometimes Uslan's dialogue reads a LOT like O'Neil's from the period. BDS lasted 6 issues; more than brother titles Stalker and Justice, Inc. but less than Claw the Unconquered, Rima the Jungle Girl, and the all time champion Warlord. And now, the cast.


BEOWULF. The hero of the piece. Red hair, stylin' helmet. Made from the skull of a minotaur, no less.


GRENDEL. Repulsive dragon man-creature, full of piss and spite.


Hmm. I don't know. Could be...perhaps...SATAN. Yep, him. None other. Please allow me to introduce.


THE SHAPER. By far the strangest and most colorful character in the whole damn book, and that's saying something. Looks like a cross between Marvel's Diablo, the Joker, Merlin and Gandalf, makes predictions in rhyme, and when he casts spells they are oddball anachronistic phrases rendered backwards, such as "Siht potnanoc eestel!" ("Let's see Conan top this!")


NAN-ZEE: Former warrior princess, siren and slave of Satan, soon to be recruited to Beowulf's band. No idea if her previous lover was Slug-Go.


WIGLAF, HONDSCIO: Beowulf's comrades in arms, his Fandral and Hogun. The only ones, until Sydriit (who hasn't been introduced yet) that get any significant "screen time".


HROTHGAR: Elderly king who owns the castle in which the merrymaking ensues that angers Grendel so.


His Basil-Rathbone-in-Adventures of Robin Hood-like "Champion", UNFERTH, a scheming, sniveling, nogoodnik, also dwells here, along with Hrothgar's daughter, the princess WEALTHEOW. No, I don't know how to pronounce that, either. I think she will go on to exchange fashion tips with the Shaper.

OK. Now that the cast has been introduced, here's what happens in issue 1. With pictures!

In this first issue, basically, the stage is set and the players (well, most of them, anyway) are introduced. In a festering swamp, somewhere outside Castle Hrothgar in the dim and distant past, the horrible creature called Grendel wallows in the mire and is pissed beyond belief at the sounds of laughter and partying in the castle. There's an evil gleam in his eye as he swears to kill everyone in the castle "For Satan". Next, we head thousands of miles away as Beowulf and his men are in the middle of heated battle with the Franks, and we get to see right off the bat what kind of tone this adaptation will provide as Beowulf boasts as he strikes: "Fight back, you fools! Or do I hold you in such terror that you cannot strike..." Upon which, one of the Frankish soldiers hits him upside the head with a mace as Beowulf gets out a surprised "...Me?". Wiglaf then dispatches the mace-wielder, as Beowulf remonstrates him: "I fear you're too late to spare me one pounding headache, Wiglaf!", to which Wiggy replies "If my prince would learn to open his eyes as wide as his mouth in a battle..." To which Wulfy replies "Oh, shut up and fight!" ...and right there is where it got me- I could tell, even at 15, that this was something else, more along the lines of Lieber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories- playful and high-spirited rather than leaden and dull, like the Thomas/Buscema Conan comics that were so popular at the time (after Barry Windsor Smith stopped drawing Conan, I bailed anyway, for what it's worth).

As you can see in the page scan at right, after the battle (and isn't that a striking panel that Villamonte gives us of BW surveying the aftermath?), the strange being called the Shaper is brought to the victorious Beowulf. He gives the prince a cryptic message warning him about Hrothgar's troubles, and he sets sail post haste to help. When asked why, he replies "For "lof"..."Lof", or fame as some call it, is the most permanent of all things in an impermanent world. That fame will keep the "Spirit of Beowulf" alive centuries after I am dust!". Mighty philosophical for a barbarian warrior, huh!

We go back now to Castle Hrothgar, and we find the Shaper again, who has managed to arrive ahead of Wulfy and company. He delivers another puzzling prophecy in poem form, and as the principals (Unferth, Hrothgar), debate its meaning, suddenly Grendel breaks in the castle and attacks! No one can stop him, especially craven Unferth, and after killing several men, he lumbers back to the swamps- sated for now.



Beowulf and company are next seen sailing towards Daneland, and they encounter a siren, who casts a spell on all the men (except BW, of course, who manages to hold out 'cause he's cool like that)- leading them to steer their ship into the rocks! BW jumps off the ship and swims towards the woman, subdues her, and breaks the spell (by slugging her, of course- bear with me here). It is then revealed that she was a possessed slave of Satan, and she was protecting an entrance to the Underworld. BW is then attacked by demons who emerge from the portal, and gets the best of all but one, who attacks behind is back- but is saved by the siren, who is now clear-headed and herself again. When BW asks who she is, she replies that she is Nan-zee, a Scyfling warrior- at which BW erupts into sexist pig laughter and NZ knocks him into the mud at their feet with a haymaker. After this "meet-cute", NZ persuades BW to let her accompany him on the quest, because she has a score to settle with Satan.

When the group arrives at Hrothgar, Unferth realizes that his place in the castle, as the King's champion, is in jeopardy if BW makes him look like the weak coward he is, so he casts a misdirection spell designed to lead the party through a monster-infested swamp. And that's where #1 ends.

#2 picks up where #1 left off, as the company prepares to do battle with some loathsome swamp creatures, thanks to Unferth.

As they struggle with creatures and quicksand, Nan has a sudden conviction- they must stop fighting and let themselves be pulled under! A bit dubious, they comply and find themselves suddenly tumbling into Hell. Nan, former Slave-Maiden of Satan that she was, recognized the presence of a gateway in the swamp. As they seek an exit, they are set upon by a giant three-headed dog and the character on the cover, another Slave-Maid- this time a flaming giantess, who burns the men if they try to strike her, and melts their swords. This time, Nan-zee knows how to fight fire with fire (so to speak), and chops off part of her hair, weakening and pissing her off, and causes her to summon them (by using the curse, "Enoya! Sinnet!"- read it backwards) to a face-to-face with the Man himself, Satan. At this, pale little troll-demons appear in huge numbers, and push them all in a certain direction, until suddenly- a dragon pops out of a cave! In the page scan, notice the dragon's name, another of the numerous amusing puns throughout this series. After BW dispatches this "magic dragon", they finally meet His Infernal Nibs himself, the magenta-hued and reptilian Satan.

Satan proceeds to explain what's going on with Hrothgar and his people, and how he's playing games with all of them by getting Grendel all worked up to go and wreak carnage on they asses (He reveals "...I, er, knew his mother once!"), and goes on to say that once this all plays itself out to its conclusion, they ALL will die! Ever the diplomat, the enraged Beowulf leaps up and cuts Satan's ear off! Understandably pissed, Satan decides to bring the audience to an abrupt conclusion by telling BW how to defeat Grendel, to advance his Satanic plot and to get them the heck out before they cut anything else off. What he tells them is in the page scan at left.

As you can tell, where we were once in Homer's Odyssey territory, we are now in a 12 Labors of Hercules direction.

While BW and co. are occupied in the Pit, Grendel makes another bloody visit to Castle H, but is called off by Satan, who then delivers our heroes to the doorstep of the Castle. As they wade through the gore, they are spotted by the surviving Danes, who are overjoyed to have their potential deliverer finally among them, and despite the recent events decide to have a big celebration.

During the party, BW has a confrontation with Unferth, which doesn't end well for the latter. BW then goes on to tell Hrothgar what Satan told him, and inform him that he must go on a quest to get the necessary components to defeat Grendel once and for all. It is then decided that they will form a company, with the Shaper, Unferth (and his right-hand-man, the Silent One) and leave at sunrise. And that's where #2 ends.

Next up, sooner rather than later, hopefully, #'s 3 and 4.