Arion

Created by Ron Embleton, Arion appeared in Wrath of the Gods, a Greek epic fantasy adventure that appeared in Boys’ World from that title’s first issue, occupying the prized centre spread section until Bret Million: The Angry Planet‘s debut in volume 1, issue 24 displaced Wrath to the back cover. John M. Burns took over the art later in the series. Michael Moorcock is frequently credited as having created and written the series, but though he provided articles published in Boys’ World, Moorcock insists Wrath of the Gods was not one of his contributions.

Origin

Arion lived on the Greek island Delos until his family and best friend were killed. Arion successfully appealed to Zeus for their resurrection, and was charged in return with retrieving the lost weapons of Zeus’ grandson, the hero Ajax. During the hunt for the first item, the Bow of Delos, Arion befriended Pollodor, who joined the quest, which took them to the realm of the dead, Hades, where they had to evade Cerberus to escape, and to battle the Gorgon Medusa, who possessed the bow and turned Pollodor to stone. Arion’s ongoing search for the weapons saw him encounter many other mythological beings, including Atlas, the Minotaur, Pegasus and Proteus.