Sabre

by Don McGregor, Paul Gulacy

Sabre is a hero - the ultimate freedom fighter in a world gone mad. The country has been devastated by a nuclear holocaust and the ruling powers have all but gained control of the world. And yet, despite their prisons and concentration camps, a few intrepid souls have escaped their claws - and one of them even dares to fight back.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels

Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Donald Francis McGregor is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics, and the author of one of their first graphic novels.

Reviews

[David Palazzolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot to unpack with Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species, one of the earliest modern graphic novels. Densely written by Don McGregor and beautifully illustrated by Paul Gulacy it is an interesting read if a little uneven and slow moving in some places. McGregor crams a lot of pop psychology into the story in an attempt to offset the violent fantasy setting and to infuse the novel with an air of maturity not generally found in American comics published in the 1970's--in fact, Sabre seems self-consciously obsessed with declaring itself "Not For Children". To a degree it succeeds, but what stops the novel from gelling completely as a whole is its low page count, an unavoidable circumstance of the time it was produced. The low count made necessary the clunky exposition and tiny panels crowded with word balloons that prevent the story from developing at a natural pace.

Still, Sabre is an important read for those with an interest in comics history. First published in 1978 it is one of the earliest graphic novels sold in the developing comic book direct market, perhaps the first commercially successful one. It was part of the same burst of creativity that brought us other works such as Star*Reach, Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest, Heavy Metal magazine, Dave Sim's Cerebus and a little later Epic Illustrated magazine among others.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not perfect, but it’s god damn idealistic and rebellious so I still love it. Super interested in checking out not only the other Sabre comics but more McGregor in general.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eclipse is in many ways the quintessential 80s American independent publisher. And this book from 1978 was their very first.

This is considered one of the first original graphic novels and is written by the extremely literate Don McGregor (who'd go on to do Black Panther). This is a post-apocalyptic comic, kind of Shaft meets West World and Death Wish/Race.

It's a bit puerile for the "first graphic novel" emphasis on "graphic" and less on the "novel" by the often verbose McGregor. Paul Gualacy also shines here--who I've always had a respect for particularly his Slash Maraud book.

This isn't a perfect book, but it must have certainly made an impression with it's release. It's kind of proto-Heavy Metal.

This line had Don McGregor, Paul Gulacy, Don Hembeck, Steve Gerber, Jack Kirby, Steve Engleheart, Marhsall Rogers, Frank Miller, Max Allan Collins, Mike Grell, Will Eisner, Mark Evanier, Steve Ditko, Doeg Moench, Star*Reach Classics, Dave Sim, Chaykin, Starlin, Scott McCloud, Sergio Argones, Bruce Jones, Steve Moore, Steve Dillon, Dave Stevens, Siegel and Shuster, Roger McKenzie, Peter Milligan/Brett Ewins/Brendan McCarthy, Bernie Wrighston, Michael T. Gilbert. BC Boyle, Gene Coleman, Timothy Truman, John Bolton, Trina Robbins, Brian Bolland, Rick Geary, Steve Bisette, Frank Brunner, Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Ralph Reese, Don Chin, Chuck Dixon, Richard Corben, Alex Toth, Wally Wood, David Lloyd, Steve Parkhouse, Chris Ware, Joe Kubert, John K. Snyder III,

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have the first 6 issues.

The art in the first 2 issues are good. "Slow Fade of an Endangered Species" which is reprinted from 1978... not sure where first published. The art by Paul Gulacy is sublime, one of the best looking 4-color comics I've seen.

Don McGregor does his best to ruin every page with voluminous purple prose. It seems like he's trying to write the next War and Peace in a 40 page comic story. I got the feeling after the first page or two that I wasn't going to be able to continue reading. I basically just skimmed the text and focused on the artwork.

Plus there's a backup feature by Charles Vess, a fantasy romp through an enchanted forest IE what Vess does best. Pretty cool surprise!

The next 4 issues... the art isn't the best. I couldn't be bothered to read on after the first 2.

[Bob Fish]

Badass to say the least.

Proud of my collection :
https://youtu.be/SCr-HOBIK9A

[Michael Medlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cinematic- relishing in its allusions to Mad Max and The Man With No Name trilogy. Sergio Leone was probably the first to truly define.xontporary coma with us post-modern humorous style.

Stephen Long wrote the similar Gunslinger, bit I.woild prefer Sabre get made into a feature film, honestly....

[Luke Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why use two thousand words for a comic when you can use two BILLION ??????

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I guess this is what Jimmy Hendrix would have been had he been in a post apocaliptic graphic novel.
Set in the world of Tim Truman's Scout series, this graphic novel has its highs and downs. I, personnaly, wasn't all that crazy about the art, it seemed rushed.
Still, it does get high points for being "different" than most of what was on the shelves at the time.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite possibly the most 70s comic book of all time. It's very historically significant and Gulany's art is gorgeous but the story isn't that interesting, the obsession with "individuality" is tiresome and the sexual assault scene is handled poorly.

[Grahm Eberhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird, philosophical post-apocalyptic comic book! It's like a cross between Shaft and Death Race 2000 and an entry level college class on Ethics. Weird stuff.

[Reyel2107 · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great action movie on paper !!!!!