Wulf The Barbarian: The Beast Of Famine

Here's the second, and last great, issue of Wulf The Barbarian, before it all went belly up for Wulf in general and Atlas Comics in particular. It's a rollicking good Arabian Nights style adventure wherein the blond battler gets himself some new pals, including Grey Mouser like thief / sidekick Rymnstrdle.
As you can see from the hacked together cover, this is one of those Diverse Hands / Crusty Bunkers pieces where everybody and his uncle helped out to meet a deadline. As well as creator Larry Hama, and regular inker Klaus Janson, you also get Neal Adams, Ralph Reese, Bob McCleod, Pat Broderick, Vincente Alcazar, Paul Kirshner & Jack Abel all pitching in. Larry credits Wally Wood too, but I don't spot him in there, so maybe this issue was done in his studio?
Anyway, this is a great fun romp of a comic, with Wulf slightly deviating away from his mission of revenge, which was already getting old halfway through issue #1.
On the basis of The Beast Of Famine, I'll say it again. Wulf The Barbarian could've gone places.
After all, his world was bigger than mortal comprehension, so there were plenty of places for him to go to.

Wulf The Barbarian

Now, see, I liked Wulf The Barbarian, and don't feel it's fair to lump him in with his labelmate, the dreadful Ironjaw.
Unlike ol' Metal Mouth, but like The Destructor and The Grim Ghost, I always thought that Atlas' other barbarian hero could've been a contender. He's not a complete Conan rip-off, like DC's Claw The Unconquered, and there were glimmers of originality here, considering this is a Sword & Sorcery title we're talking about.
I liked the fact that it took place on ' A planet the size of which is beyond mortal comprehension ', I like the brief looks at the rest of the world Wulf travels through, I like his mentor Stavro Dar Kovin and the fact that Wulf spends his origin issue as a street pauper, and I love Larry Hama and Klaus Janson's artwork.
Again, unlike Claw, Hama doesn't just look to Robert E. Howard for inspiration, but there's elements of Tolkein and, in the second issue, even Fritz Leiber if you squint.
Maybe I protest too much, but I genuinely think this guy had a chance. Mind you, it is slightly ludicrous that when he finally puts on the outfit he wears on the cover, he instantly develops Conan-esque muscles he hasn't had throughout the rest of the story...