In issue #3, Gerry Conway takes over for Stan Lee and the great Barry Smith (still not Windsor-Smith) assumes the art chores. This story marks the beginning of the “Savage Land Universe,” with a long origin story of Petrified Man, whole tribes of people at war…It’s really not my cup of tea, but it is perfectly suited for future the future renowned illustrator of Conan the Barbarian.
Zaladane, Queen-Priestess of “Garokk the Sun God,” is taking over neighboring lands. Garokk, it turns out, became an immortal “petrified” man when he drank a magical potion that made him look exactly like the Sun God worshipped by Zaladane. So, effectively, he is the walking personification of that image–but he does not seem to have sun powers or anything.
He wants to stop the war that Zaladane is waging in his name. Look how cute Zabu is, trying to reach the pterodactyls flying overhead.
By the end, we see Garokk does in fact have super-powers, and both he and Zaladane seem to die in the final conflict.
Garokk, at the hands of Ka-Zar.
Issue #3 has a letter from future creator of Batman’s “Outsiders” team, Mike Barr!
