Warlands

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[edit] Warlands

Warlands is an epic comic from the now-defunct production house, Dreamwave Productions, which was founded by Pat Lee and his brother Roger Lee in 1996. It consists of four main parts and several side stories. The series was deeply inspired by the high fantasy world of Record of Lodoss War, created by Ryo Mizuno. The art of Warlands bears a striking resemblance to the designs that Nobuteru Yūki created for the Lodoss series. Each part of Warlands is beautifully illustrated in the anime style and coloured using digital techniques. Later, some action figures were created based on the main Warlands characters.

[edit] Chronology

(Incomplete)

Warlands: Darklyte

• Publication Date: August 2001 (matt paperback)
• Publishers: Dreamwave Productions/Image Comics
• Creators: Pat Lee himself pencilled the comic and was also responsible for the plot and special effects. Pat Lee and Adrian Tsang inked the series and it was edited by Roger Lee. Adrian Tsang wrote the comic.
• Plot: The Vampire hordes of Datara, led by Lord Malagen, have defeated the dwarves, elves and humans living in the eastern part of Warlands and a party of heroes emerges to save the world. In order to do so they must find the ancient artefact, the mysterious Darklyte Armor. As the forces of light and darkness converge on the armor, who will win the day?

Good Characters

• ELESSA: A deposed elven princess from Adara, high city of the elves. She has short pink hair and is adept at using swords.
• JERELL: A blonde knight who was defeated at Shal Hazar Castle who travels with Elessa. He often wears a chainmail hood.
• DELEZAR: A rogue mage with blue hair who wears a green cloak and hood. He carries a rod which is shaped like Slaine's in Record of Lodoss War. He also resembles Slaine.
• ZEPH: Delezar's young assistant who always wears a mysterious blindfold.

Bad Characters

• MALAGEN: Evil vampire lord who always wears black armor. He has an evil scar across his face. His allies call him "The Kahn".
• VARDEMIS: Malagen's young son who has black hair.
• TESSAN: An attractive vampire lord under Malagen who has long red hair and red eyes. He always wears matching red clothes.

Features Pat Lee biography, 17-page cover gallery (from issues 1-6), limited-edition foil cover (first issue).

Warlands: Atrelegis

• Publication Date: May 2002 (glossy paperback)
• Publishers: Dreamwave Productions
• Creators: Pat Lee himself pencilled the comic and was also responsible for the plot and special effects. Pat Lee and Adrian Tsang inked the series and it was edited by Roger Lee. Adrian Tsang wrote the comic.
• Plot: The Vampire hordes of Datara, led by Lord Malagen, have defeated the dwarves, elves and humans living in the eastern part of Warlands and a party of heroes emerges to save the world. In order to do so they must find the ancient artefact, the mysterious Darklyte Armor. An epic battle ensues with the powers of good and evil on the field. Who will wear the Darklyte Armor?

Good Characters

• ELESSA: A deposed elven princess from Adara, high city of the elves. She has short pink hair and is adept at using swords.
• ATRELEGIS: A young vampire prince who resembles Parn from Record of Lodoss War. Believed dead for nearly 300 years, he makes his way back to reclaim the world of Warlands.
• ZEPH: Delezar's young assistant who always wears a mysterious blindfold.

Bad Characters

• MALAGEN: Evil vampire lord who always wears black armor. He has an evil scar across his face. His allies call him "The Kahn".
• VARDEMIS: Malagen's young son who has black hair.
• TESSAN: An attractive vampire lord under Malagen who has long red hair and red eyes. He always wears matching red clothes.

Features Pat Lee biography, 14-page cover gallery (from issues 7-12), limited-edition foil cover (first issue).

Warlands: The Age Of Ice

• Publication Date: May 2003 (matt paperback)
• Publishers: Dreamwave Productions
• Creators: Pat Lee himself pencilled the comic and was also responsible for the plot and special effects. Adrian Tsang and Pat Lee wrote the comic. The artwork was different for this volume because the artwork and inking was done by a different team.
• Plot: Atrelegis has defeated the Vampire hordes of Datara, led by Lord Malagen. A never-ending winter has enveloped Warlands and it is up to the archmage Zeph and a new team of heroes as they search for an end to the cold spell. This book also presents a previous incident through the eyes of Zeph.

Good Characters

• ELENE: A blonde elven archer who is looking for Zeph. She has a ponytail and seeks an end to the cold weather.
• ZEPH: Young assistant to Delezar, who was killed. He always wears a mysterious blindfold. He is now an archmage.
• JAHJARRA: A dark-haired female berserker who is friends with Elene.
• JAROS: A member of the Ryotian race, he is a strong man with white wings and bird feet.

Bad Characters

• AETEVA: Evil Ryotian queen who has grey wings and bird feet. She keeps numerous female, human slaves.
• ARAGON: A black-haired young man with a bandanna who has dark powers.
• ASTAROTH: A giant red-skinned demon who is summoned by Aragon to defeat Zeph. He goes on the rampage with hordes of evil creatures and threatens to destroy the outpost, causing all the characters in the story to unite.

Features Pat Lee biography, 16-page cover gallery (from issues 1-9), limited-edition foil cover (first issue).

• Fact: It was hoped that Satoshi Urushihara would create the initial cover for this series, but this did not happen.

Warlands: Dark Tide Rising

• Publication Date: First issue May 2002
• Publishers: Dreamwave Productions
• Creators: Written by Bryan Augustyn, pencilled by Matteo Guerrero. Edited by Rodger Lee.
• Plot: A gang of heroes arises once again to combat the troubled soul of Warlands, which has become unbalanced. Its dark soul threatens to wipe out all the light and peace in the world.

Good Characters

• LAINA: A blonde elven mage with a ruby in her headband.
• IONA: A human berserker girl with light purple hair. She wields a greatsword and comes from the snowy mountains.
• BAGGOT: The lovestruck Dwarven companion of Laina.
• ZADOK: A priest of the "Unknown Light" with a beard and long blonde hair. He has a pet wolf called Freya.
• PELONIS: A brash young man who seeks to be a holy warrior.
• SHAIZAN: The golden-hearted ruler of Xian Li city. He is able to turn into a red Oriental dragon.
• LUZIEN: A legendary character of infinite light and goodness similar to Jesus. His spirit inhabits Luzien's Ladder.

Bad Characters

• BALEN SARGOS: An ambitious warlord who seeks oppurtunity. He also wants to be good at the same time.
• KYRA: The dark-haired lady who drives Balen.
• SHADOW SOUL: The dark heart of Warlands.

Features Pull-out cover (first issue). There were different coloured versions of every issue.

Warlands: Banished Knights

• Publication Date: First issue December 2001
• Publishers: Image Comics
• Creators: Mateo Guerrero pencilled the comic and Adrian Tsang wrote the comic. It was edited by Rodger Lee.
• Plot: Tells the story of a group of heroes in Warlands when vampires from Malagen's regime find themselves being persecuted by the other races. It also reveals what happens to Tessan.

Good Characters

• GREYSON: A muscle-bound young vampire with blonde hair who was left over from the war. He wears a thick headband.
• ROSALA: A stunning young vampire woman with pale hair and skin who uses a scythe.
• RAITHE: A raven-haired oriental vampire who uses two swords. He has black armour and red eyes. He has a head for tactics, but is he trustworthy?

Bad Characters

• TESSAN: An attractive vampire lord under Malagen who has long red hair and red eyes. He always wears matching red clothes.
• BELMIRO: Rosala's friend. He is a green-haired vampire.