Smart Sword and Sorcerey
One of the great things about Bronze Age comics is their length. Modern comics, largely due to printing costs, cap their page count at far fewer pages, while Silver Age comics had a high page count, but split those pages over two, three or even four or more stories per issue. But during the Bronze Age, comics sprawled to lengths that rival even some so-called 'graphic novels' on shelves today.
Such is the case with this issue of Arak, which has time not only for Arak and friends to reach the Court of Carolus Magnus, be introduced to a dozen major players in the king's court, engage in a multi-page trial-by-combat with one knight, and finally, encounter the evil tree depicted on the cover.
Roy Thomas' attention to historical detail really makes the story believable, even if the clothes are a little bit comic-bookish for historical fiction.
But don't just believe me - check out the letters page where the very first letter is a rave review from one young fan named Todd McFarlane (really!) who wrote in praising the series for many of the qualities he would later become known for as an artist and writer years later.