Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!
Elric: The Balance Lost #1
Writer: Chris Roberson
Artist: Francesco Biagini
Boom! Studios
The legendary hero of the first multiverse is back! All worlds – rejoice!
Elric of Melnibone, the alabaster-skinned, sword-wielding ruler of a doomed kingdom, originally written in a series of fantasy stories in the 1960’s and 1970’s, is acclaimed author Michael Moorcock representation of the Eternal Warrior – a hero who battles the forces of Order and Chaos throughout various realities. For Moorcock, that meant reinventing Elric in the persona of Duke Dorian Hawkmoon in a series of novels set in a post-apocolyptic future where magic and science co-exist, as well as the character of Prince Corum Jhaelen Irsei, wherein the writer draws upon Celtic mythology in yet another series of books.
In fact, Moorcock’s Eternal Warrior has more versions in print than even I can count!
Elric, the most popular of these iterations, is, of course, no stranger to the universe that is comic books. He first appeared in issues of Conan the Barbarian in 1972 and never left the art form. Over the years, Elric has been written and illustrated by a number of comicdom’s most prestigious creators including Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor Smith, P. Craig Russell and Walter Simonson and has been published by both major and minor companies such as: Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics and (now defunct) Pacific Comics.
Now, Boom! Studios is taking a turn, launching Elric into a new millennium for readers both familiar with the albino Emperors’ reality spanning exploits and those just learning about one of the greatest fantasy characters ever conceived.
Make the run this Wednesday and pick up the first issue of Elric’s new ongoing, monthly saga. It’s sure to be high adventure in any universe!
