Wait, they turned him into Telos? (Sighs, shakes head.) Oh, DC.

I thought I had read most of Convergence, DC's crossover event punt to cover the schedule while they moved from NY to California. Apparently I missed the one where they revealed today's character was Telos...for, reasons, presumably. Putting that aside, we've got from 1984, Arak Annual #1, "In the Lair of the Serpent Lord" Going off of the GCD's credits: written by Roy Thomas (story); Dann Thomas (story); Jean-Marc Lofficier [as R. J. M. Lofficier] (script, uncredited); Randy Lofficier [as R. J. M. Lofficier] (script, uncredited), pencils by Adrian Gonzales (pages 1-10, 14); Ernie Colón (pages 11-13); Alfredo Alcala (pages 15-21, 29-31); Gerald Forton (pages 22-28); Ron Randall (pages 32-40), inks by Rodin Rodriguez (pages 1-10, 14); Tony DeZuñiga (pages 11-13); Alfredo Alcala (pages 15-21, 29-31); Gerald Forton (pages 22-28); Rick Magyar (pages 32-40) Ordinarily, this kind of listing would reek of deadline crunch; but this is more like a jam issue with all of the book's regular artists.

Arak, Son of Thunder had a 50 issue run in the 80's, but wasn't a title I read; although I did see his preview in Warlord #48. Created by Roy Thomas, it may have started as very Conan-influenced, before giving the lead a bit more characterization and opening up the pseudo-historical angle. (It predates both, but it's in the vein of TV's Hercules or Xena. Possibly slightly more historically accurate, maybe.) The book was set during the time of Charlemagne, maybe around the year 800 or so, but Arak covered a lot of ground, from pre-Columbus America to the land of the Vikings to the remnants of Olympus. He had a satyr sidekick, Satyricus...man, that's not a great name; Arak also had a Red Sonja-style female warrior in Valka, the Iron Maiden: she doesn't appear this time (except in a brief flashback) but in a Middle Eastern desert Arak and Satyricus try to rescue two friends from the Serpent Lord, who wants the sword Arak has from the archangel Gabriel! See, feels like a lot had been going on prior to this one!

I hadn't seen this issue before, but bought it on the strength of Ron Randall's art; and it's perfectly fun sword-and-sorcery stuff. Less fun is that in researching this, I found out Arak was turned into Telos in Convergence. I'm at a loss as to why, though. Marvel is currently having success with Conan again; if comics were still cheap it would doubtless be a perfect time to bring him back. On the letters page for this one, no letters, but a map and some history from Roy Thomas: Arak had been repurposed from a proposal for a Conan prose novel, and he expresses an interest in an Arak novel if the comic ended. Which it would in about a year; but I wonder if Thomas had the rights to continue it?