John Carter: The Gods of Mars #5 – Review

By: Sam Humphries (story), Ramón Pérez (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: Poor John Carter just can’t manage to keep his wife for long, can he?

The Review: You know one thing the old-timey storytellers knew how to do really well that modern ones either avoid or screw up?  They knew how to bring their heroes to the brink of a happy ending, then wrench it away in the most heartrending way possible.  It’s a very melodramatic fictional tactic, one that can easily go too far awry, but done right, it packs an emotional wallop.  Don’t tell me you saw the ending of Casino Royale without feeling for Bond.

Considering the corny—but tasteful—quality of this mini, you would’ve thought an ending where Carter and Dejah reunite and Issus goes down for good, leaving Barsoom in the light of a new era of pace, was inevitable.  But when—spoiler alert—the issue ends and none of those things happen, it leaves you in disbelief and sympathy for our hero.  This series has been calling out your inner child and it’s with a child’s disappointment that you go through the conclusion.  It’s as if you’re re-experiencing a bittersweet ending for the first time.

John Carter: The Gods of Mars #4 – Review

By: Sam Humphries (story), Ramón Pérez (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: This–is–Barsooooom!

The Review: As I explained to Jim in the comments to my review of The Avengers, I like to review and grade everything on this site according to what legal minds call a “partially individualized” test.  It means while I do make a big effort to be as objective as possible, I also give some weight to what the creators’ intent.  It doesn’t really make sense to evaluate, for example, a cartoon on Nickelodian in the same way I do for a literary masterwork.

So when it comes to a pulpy piece of sci-fi, I definitely offer a lot more leeway for cliché and silliness than I would with almost every other genre.  Obviously, the intention with these things isn’t to create some radical new form of storytelling; all these stories really want to do is provide an entertaining diversion that’s almost comforting in the way it relies on classical conventions.

John Carter: The Gods of Mars #2 – Review

By: Sam Humphries (story), Ramón Pérez (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: Whoever wrote the gospels on Barsoom clearly didn’t do his research.

The Review: Among the many plot elements John Carter sort of threw out there, yet never felt the need to elaborate upon, was the exposure of the Therns as false gods.  So much of Barsoom’s culture revolves around these mysterious figures that such a revelation should have made much more of an impact, but it came off as little more than a vaguely interesting plot twist.  If the producers expected a couple sequels to develop the storyline, they may be very disappointed.

So it’s left to this miniseries to reveal how Barsoom will deal with their whole spiritual dogma getting turned on its head and inside-out.  And by “Barsoom” I mean the planet as a whole, since this issue reveals that pretty much every single race has the wool pulled over their eyes.  Just as the Therns hold themselves out as “a holy race” and prey upon the common Martians and Tharks, the Black Pirates of Omean consider themselves “the first born” and prey on the Therns in the name of Issus—who just so happens to be the same divinity the Therns claim to act for.

Warlord of Mars #14 – Review

By: Arvid Nelson (writer), Edgar Salazar (artist), Marcelo Pinto (colorist), Joseph Rybandt (editor), Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator)

The Story: The Gods of Mars Part Two: The Black Pirates: John Carter and Tars Tarkas meet Thuvia, formerly a prisoner of the predatory Therns. They use her special talent to try to break out of the valley of death, and no sooner make a good run for it, than run into the people who prey on the Therns, the Black Pirates of Mars.

The Review: Wow! Salazar’s artwork was astonishingly fresh and vital. Just the composition of the splash page alone, complemented by fine detail, and beautiful colors, totally blew me away. Check out the way Tars tarkas is standing. This is the most realistic balancing I have seen for a Thark outside of a Michael Whelan cover. And the fine lines and detailed draftsmanship were just beautiful to pause over, throughout the book. The detail in the accoutrements of the characters were awesome, like the leather strapping of Tarkas’ wrists, the clothing and jewelry on the princess of the Therns, the expressions throughout, but especially on the Dator Xodar’s face near the end. I can and should go on about Salazar’s art, especially the banths, the Thern architecture and the external sets. The action sequences were dynamic and clear and Tars Tarkas, winded after holding off the banths was worth a thousand words. And this is all said without even mentioning the excellent color work of Marcelo Pinto, who made the red Martians closer to what I’d always pictured and who brought the banths and the Valley Dor to life, while bringing a lurid, bloody tinge to the Barsoomian twilight.

Warlord of Mars #13 – Review

By: Arvid Nelson (writer), Edgar Salazar (artist), Maxflan Araujo (colorist), Joseph Rybandt (editor), Edgar Rice Burroughs (creator)

The Story: The Gods of Mars, Part 1: John Carter has been gone from Mars for 10 years. When he is finally able to return, he is in a lush, jungle environment, unlike the deserts he knew. And finds strange plant creatures attacking friends he once knew.

The Review: Right off, the visuals were awesome. This is Edgar Salazar’s first turn on Dynamite’s Barsoom, and he is very well assisted by Maxflan Araujo on colors. Salazar’s world is beautifully detailed. The opening page and following double splash page are arresting. The combination of distant mountain top forts, wide lawns edged by blue trees and an ocean make a scene that is strangely haunting. The skill of the colorist really makes itself obvious on the double splash where he has constructed a play of primary colors that fit beautifully together and draw the eye to the blues, which are the strangest to us, and point to Carter’s danger. Carter and Tars Tarkas are heroically drawn and I love Salazar’s pencil-gray shading instead of the usual black. It’s a bit of seeing the puppet strings, and the construction of the art, which layers in more texture.

Storywise, Nelson is working with a hit with Burroughs’ second Barsoom novel “The Gods of Mars”. Burroughs never wasted any time in throwing his heroes into the fire and Nelson doesn’t either. Readers unfamiliar with the Barsoom canon will have to hang on, but this is a good roller coaster to get aboard. The action, danger, spills and mysteries will keep any adventure reader satisfied.

Conclusion: OK. So, no secret. I love this series and I loved this issue. The visuals are beautiful. The adventure is breakneck. Pick it up.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault