Claw the Unconquered
| Claw | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance |
Claw the Unconquered #1 (May–June 1975) |
| Created by |
David Michelinie (writer) Ernie Chan (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Valcan Scaramax |
| Place of origin | Pytharia |
| Abilities | Master swordsman, magical claw on right arm. |
Claw is a fictional character, a sword and sorcery hero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Claw the Unconquered #1 (June 1975), in which he was created by writer David Michelinie and designed by artist Ernie Chan.
Similar in many ways to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian (and, more particularly, Marvel Comics's depiction of him), Claw is a wanderer and a barbarian in an apparently prehistoric age who battles various wizards, thieves, monsters, and warriors who cross his path. Unlike Conan, however, Claw has a deformed, claw-like right hand, the result of a curse which has been placed on his family.
Claw the Unconquered #1 debuted in mid-1975, a period when DC Comics launched a record number of new titles on to the comic book market (16 new titles debuted in 1975 alone). Claw was one of several of these new series which were set in the "fantasy" or "sword and sorcery" genre. (Other such titles include Warlord, Stalker, Starfire, Nightmaster, Tor, and Beowulf, Dragon Slayer.) At the time, DC's main rival, Marvel Comics, had found success in the genre with its Conan the Barbarian comics, and of all of DC's new fantasy characters, Claw most closely resembles Conan in both his character and appearance, except for the fact that Claw has a deformed hand. Claw the Unconquered was published bimonthly up until #9 (October, 1976), restarting again at #10 (May 1978). The entire series was written by Michelinie (though the never properly published #14 was credited to Tom DeFalco) and Chan remained on the title up to #7, with Keith Giffen taking over pencilling duties with #8. With the addition of Giffen, the series began to incorporate some sci-fi elements, moving away from its pure sword and sorcery beginnings. The relaunch of the series lasted just three issues, as it was suddenly cancelled with #12 (September 1978) as part of the "DC Implosion" when DC's comics line was drastically cut. The cancellation was so sudden that two further issues of the series had been fully written and drawn. These stories were published in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1 in 1978. (However, only 35 copies of that comic were ever officially published.) The character was revived in 1981 for a two part back up feature in Warlord #48-49 (August–September 1981) written by Jack C. Harris with art from Tom Yeates. This series tried to wrap up the story of Claw.
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