The Warlord #7 (DC Comics, 1977)

After riding the subway back to the center of the Earth in The Warlord #6, Travis Morgan and the Russian professor, Mariah Romanova, find themself lost in Skartaris and wandering through a strange city called Kiro on their way to Shamballah. The two split up and explore on their own.

Mariah wanders down an alleyway and finds herself surrounded by brigands with ill intentions. Morgan quickly arrives on the scene, and they kill the would-be muggers and rapists. Morgan uses his sword, and Mariah shoots a man in the back who strongly resembles a certain Cimmerian barbarian.

After murdering an off-brand Conan imposter, Morgan finds a blacksmith friend and suggests that they melt her gun down and make swords out of it. Then they get new clothes for Mariah to make her look less conspicuous, and her new skimpy getup raises a few eyebrows and the pulses of young male readers in the late 1970s.

Mariah, now wearing next to nothing except face paint, a few scraps of cloth, and strings of animal teeth, admires her new sword forged by Dak Bel Shan. Morgan, who also has a new sword, tries to teach her how to fight, only to discover that in addition to being a professor, Mariah was also the Russian National Sabre champion for six years in a row. Doh!

Sadly, the new weapons do the pair any good after they are ambushed, knocked out, and locked in a prison cell by the local monarch, who turns out to be none other than Morgan's friend Machiste from The Warlord #2.

Machiste tells his story about escaping a band of marauders in the mountains and stumbling into a cave where he discovered a mysterious ax that gave him additional strength and bloodlust. Morgan notices that Machiste seems different when his old friend, looking quite crazed, refuses to part with his ax under any condition. Then, out of character, Machiste freaks out and attacks one of his female servants, drawing the ire of Morgan, who steps up to her defense.

When Morgan and Mariah try to leave, guards and Machiste attack them. The guards are easily killed, but Machiste proves a worthy opponent until he gets his ax stuck in the wall after nearly gutting Morgan. Machiste, unable to release the ax, is left vulnerable. Morgan chops his hand off, ridding him of the mind-altering ax. They cauterize the wound and save Machiste, who returns to normal.

He sends a trusted guard to throw the ax away into a volcano.... but is it?