By: Arvid Nelson (writer), Lui Antonio (artist) Adriano Lucas (colors), Joseph Rybandt (editor), Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator)
The Story: Sola’s story and John Carter’s escape attempt from Thark with Dejah Thoris.
What’s Good: Well, all of it. Antonio and Lucas have slapped some beautiful artwork onto the page. Dejah Thoris is obviously the classic beauty that would launch a thousand ships of Helium in her honor. But more meaningfully, Carter is heroic, the Tharks (especially Sarkoja) are emotive and the settings alien and haunting (the dead cities of Mars, the thoats, the yellow-orange skies). I loved the Antonio’s dynamism as Carter launched into his trademark action and escape plans. I thought Tal Hajus was more grotesque and un-Thark-like than he needed to be (Jabba the Hutt meets an Umber Hulk), but the point of Hajus was always to be an anti-Tarkas, so where on that grotesque scale he fits opposite the noble Tarkas is really just a taste issue. But, the art certainly repelled me where it was supposed to… I do also have to bring a bit of attention to Lucas’ colors. Over the past five issues, I’ve really enjoyed the palettes he’s picked to make Mars work, but this issue, I felt he got to another level. The softness of his colors and the broad range of subtle tones in the Martian sands, the Martian skies and in the earth-toned cities of thousands of years ago really worked for me, to say nothing of his work on bringing the thoats to life.
Storywise, I think I was able to see more of where Nelson soared in this issue. Sola’s story, and the reason she tells it to Carter, is one of the character-defining moments for Sola, Tarkas and Carter in A Princess of Mars. Nelson found a way to keep its impact, but compress its completeness into only a couple of pages. At the same time, I was delighted to feel that I’d left Burroughs’ classic novel for a while near the end, where Nelson cut some pieces that I really didn’t miss.
What’s Not So Good: This issue ended way too early for me. A Princess of Mars is a stay-up-all-night page-turner and Dynamite’s adaptation has the same effect on me. Not enough pages per issue. Bring me #7 now!
Conclusion: Why the hell aren’t you reading Warlord of Mars? Pick it up now. This is classic sword and planet adventure, with really high-end production values.
Grade: A-
-DS Arsenault
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