Talos of the Wilderness Sea #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of August, 1987.
Synopsis for "To the Wilderness Sea"
It is a post-nuclear holocaust America. Much of the land is toxic; the flora and fauna mutated in order to survive including a race of deformed, primitive humanoids called "Beastmen." Humans also have survived and a group, led by Jaggar, raids a beastmen village. They kill those that defy them and capture those that attempt to flee intending to use them as forced mining labor. Jaggar rides off alone in pursuit of Shan, a primitive man who rushes to his pregnant wife, Vereena, who is in labor. Their child is miraculously born human. Vereena considers it to be an abomination but Shan is protective. Jaggar arrives and takes the newborn by force, killing Shan in the process. He races the baby back to the kingdom for his master, Zar Totth, has just had his third child to die during birth. Each prior midwife was killed as punishment…and Jaggar's wife is the latest midwife. Jaggar sneaks into the palace and gives the newborn to his wife telling her to pretend it is the queen's biological son which she does. Zar, oblivious to the deception, names the child Carn Whitemain.
Carn grows to pre-adolescence taking well to the warrior life while his younger brother, Egon, followed a more pacific path. Carn has also befriended an enslaved beastman of similar age named Tobei. This friendship angers his father and Carn visits Tobei seldom and in secret. On one such visit they witness thirteen enslaved beastmen conducting a sacrifice to their god, Talos, which ends in their slaughter by Jaggar's forces. Tobei witnesses Carn's head, from cheeks to forehead, glowing red—something that occurs whenever Carn is angry.
A giant white cat, similar to the mythical steeds of the god Talos, begins appearing causing worry among many of the humans. Soldiers are sent to kill the cat, but the cat is able to defeat or chase them off. At this time Carn begins "the judgment of the gods," a rite of passage to manhood that involves surviving in the inhospitable wild for one month. After a few days, Carn encounters the giant cat and they savagely battle. The cat pins a wounded Carn on his back and the two snarl and lock eyes. Carn sees a fiery burst of light envelop them and the cat inexplicably leaves. Carn, woozy from his injuries and blood loss, believes the two's souls touched and found a connection but almost immediately begins to wonder if he imagined the event. Soon after a pack of wolves surround Carn and attack. Carn fights well but is rescued by the giant cat that kills/drives off the wolves. Again the cat leaves but spots Jaggar and his men approaching. Jaggar is there to kill the cat and the cat races to Carn and assumes a protective stance over him. But it is Carn who protects the cat ordering Jaggar to call off his men or fight Carn. Jaggar dismisses Carn's words as feverish but Carn mounts the cat and the two flee with Jaggar silently vowing to kill Carn.
Carn and the cat arrive in a beastmen village where Vereena recognizes Carn as her son. She nurses his wounds and tells him of his origins and his destiny to free the beastmen from slavery. A giant animal attacks the village but Carn and the cat, which Carn names "Star," counterattack and drive it off. Vereena seizes the moment to rally her people to her cause calling Carn the reincarnation of Talos there to lead them to freedom. Shortly thereafter Jaggar's men come to the tribal village to slaughter them presuming that they are sheltering Carn and Star. However, the villagers have set a trap killing Jaggar's men in an avalanche. Jaggar dies acknowledging his deception and the fulfillment of the prophecy and Carn prepares to fulfill the true "judgment of the gods": his destiny.
Appearing in "To the Wilderness Sea"
Featured Characters:
- Carn Whitemain a.k.a. Talos (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Vereena (Single appearance)
- Star (Single appearance)
- Tobei (Single appearance)
Villains:
- Jaggar (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Shan (Single appearance; dies)
- Zar Totth (Single appearance)
- Ingla (Single appearance)
- Egon (Single appearance)
- Erinna (Single appearance)
- Various unnamed Beastmen and Humans (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Cover art: logo by Klein.[1]
- Following the comic is a three-page segment entitled "With Talos Aforethought" in which Joey Cavalieri tells of Gil Kane's development of the story originally intended as a complete, 12-issue limited series a portion of which was reworked for this special. It includes three additional drawings of Talos (in various stages of his life) which were used as part of Gil Kane's pitch for the series.
Trivia
- According to the "With Talos Aforethought" segment, this story was "...structured after the Book of Exodus in the Bible, transposed to a future America after a nuclear holocaust."