ISSUE THREE: MARAK THE MERCILESS

Edited, written and drawn by Jack Kirby; Inked and lettered by Mike Royer; Colored by G. Roussos; Consulting editor Archie Goodwin.

 

     Two hundred thousand years before the glory of Greece existed, the war-mongering Marak, along with his small group of warriors, pillaged farms and villages with their wood and stone weapons.  But old Egel has had council with the Stone That Talks and has discovered through it the powers of the forge to create weapons of bronze. 

     This is a secret Marak must have, but Egel says he must talk to the Spirit Stone and let it decide if the warrior is worthy.  Marak and his men follow Egel to the forest where the old man bows to the levitating monolith.  Marak approaches it and is “touched by it’; due to his military brilliance, Marak is judged a worthy soul by the Stone and is shown the lovely and powerful Jalessa, a warrior queen Marak is intent on having as his own.

     With the inspiration of the monolith in their minds, Marak and Egel work together to train horses, build swords, shields, food containers and, by pure accident, to invent the single most important tool known to mankind that will take Marak and his fighting forces wherever they would wish to go—the wheel.