Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #3 – Review

By: Arvid Nelson (writer), Carlos Rafael (artist), Carlos Lopez (colors), Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator)

The Story: The Colossus of Mars, Part 3: On the Barsoom of 500 years ago, the Tharks are hammering at the gates of Helium. The rulers of both Lesser and Greater Helium are either in chains or trying to escape. And the Jeddak of Yorn has brought to life the great Colossus of Mars.

What’s Good: Nelson has gotten us halfway through a five-issue arc. The high part of the second act is where Nelson successfully has the efforts of the heroes come apart in their hands, and where the danger to everyone gets a whole lot worse. This is pure Barsoomian adventure with reversals and unexpected turns, in the classic Burroughs style. Stories set on Barsoom are always *big*. Cities at war. Planets in peril. Invasions to be fought off. Yet the stories are also always *personal*. Characters we care about are about to get their tails handed to them. Nelson captures this perfectly, with the old-school heroics of the red Barsoomians, the absolute dastardliness of the villains, and the savage nobility even of the worst of the Tharks. And Rafael and Lopez deliver the great visuals this issue needs to power it through. I was spellbound by the Colossus of Mars. Organic? Metallic? Something else? I don’t know, but it was spooky and old-school pulpy and wickedly cool. I had the same reaction as most of Yorn’s troops. Wow. Same thing for the weapons, and the green men of Mars, with Rafael now becoming my favorite artist for all things Thark. And off course, the story’s lead, Dejah Thoris, remains, as Burroughs intended, incomparable.

Warlord of Mars Dejah Thoris #2 – Review

By: Arvid Nelson (writer), Carlos Rafael (artist), Carlos Lopez (colorist), Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator)

The Story: The Colossus of Mars, Chapter Two of Five: Dejah Thoris, Princess of Lesser Helium, along with her father and grandfather (the Jeddak of Lesser Helium) are in the clutches of the Jeddak of Yorn. Help comes from an unexpected quarter, while more dire danger comes from another.

The Review: I’m following both this series and Warlord of Mars. While WoM is a close adaptation of Burroughs’ original novel, Nelson in Dejah Thoris is able to strike in new and unexpected directions. I love the whole vassalage of Helium to Yorn, and the Colossus built by the long dead Barsoomian scientist. Tone-wise, it feels like Burroughs and fits the canon. Nelson has given us palace intrigue, a mysterious artifact, a colorful cast of characters in deep danger and a heroine we can root for.

Rafael and Lopez on art are a great combination. Their green Martians were menacing, their flying ships cool, and their action scenes dynamic. I continue to appreciate their excellent depictions of the Prince of Yorn and the Jeddak’s chief advisor. Their huffing, jiggling faces were both ironic comic relief and dashes of realistic characterization. The Colossus itself, with its rough finish and hollow eyes, was way cool. And of course, our heroine was her usual stunning self.

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #1 – Review

By: Arvid Nelson (writer), Carlos Rafael (illustrator), Carlos Lopez (colors), Marshall Dillow (letters), Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator)

The Story: Colossus of Mars, Part 1 of 5: Five hundred years before John Carter arrives on Mars, Helium is not the legendary twin cities, but two cities at war, the lesser of which is commanded by Dejah Thoris’ grandfather (only a Jed at this point). Dejah Thoris’ family is about to win when their liege lord tells the two cities to stop fighting, in part because he wants Dejah Thoris to marry his son. The other part of his reason is a lot more surprising.

What’s Good: Rafael and Lopez knocked the artwork out of the park. The first splash page was just beautiful with the rearing thoat foregrounded against weird aircraft firing on Greater Helium, while radium pistols and cannons wreak havoc where swords were too far from their enemies. Subsequent pages are filled with not only the pitched battle, but evocative, human faces. Mors Kajak especially is young and dynamic. The envoy from the Jeddak of Yorn and the son of the Jeddak were pricelessly done, with subtly applied ironic realism. And Dejah Thoris, of course, is beautiful. I don’t know how much Nelson is in cahoots with the two artists for Dynamite’s Mars books, but there are some beautiful Barsoomian touches that cross the two series. I’m just going to congratulate the whole creative team for the banners, flags, pikes, Barsoomesque helmets, and other cultural details. They were delightfully unexpected to a lifelong Barsoom fan like myself (I discovered Barsoom early through the novels and the Marvel comics). Lopez’ colors are also worth applause. He had a heavy task of finding the right tones to make sandy red Mars filled with red-skinned people come to life without appearing alien or gaudy. He used the perfect palette touches to make our Martian brothers and sisters come alive.