Red Sonja/Conan #1
Written by Victor Gischler
Art by Roberto Castro
Colors by Alex Guimaraes
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross, Ed Benes and Dinei Ribeiro, Roberto Castro and Dinei Ribeiro
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 5, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

I love all things Conan. This is an indisputable fact, my friends will testify to it. That is, until this particular comic was delivered to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the Dark Horse led Conan/Red Sonja miniseries that preceded this Dynamite attempt. But Red Sonja/Conan #1 seemed…unnatural, for lack of a better word. Or maybe I’m critiquing it overmuch.

Lord of the Jungle #3
Written by Arvid Nelson
Illustrated by Roberto Castro
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Colors by Alex Guimaraes
Covers by Paul Reaud, Lucio Parrillo, and Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 11, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

If you like the character of Tarzan, you’re going to love Lord of the Jungle #3. Simply put, it’s a fantastic Tarzan story. Dynamite Entertainment is really turning their books up a notch creatively. Line wide, they are dismissed by many as just a licensed comic publisher, but honestly, if you take the time to READ their books, you’re going to find that a big percentage of them are well thought out, well-crafted comics.

In this issue, writer Arvid Nelson continues telling a great story that he started two issues ago. Yes, it’s origin-like, but not completely an origin, if that makes any sense. It will when you read the book.

Lord of the Jungle #1
Written by Arvid Nelson
Illustrated by Roberto Castro
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Colored by Alex Guimaraes
Covers by Alex Ross, Ryan Sook, Paul Renaud, and Lucio Parrillo
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: January 18, 2012
Cover Price: $1.00

Just about everyone knows the basic premise behind the story of Tarzan. For some reason, that’s NOT the loincloth, he’s always been one of my favorite characters since I was a kid. That’s why, when I got the chance to review Lord of the Jungle #1, I jumped at it.

Writer Arvid Nelson had a pretty humongous task ahead of him. Since the 1940s pretty much any incarnation in any entertainment medium of the Tarzan character has been a bust. Thankfully, Nelson took what everyone knew about the character, chose the best parts, and wrote a comic.

Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom #3
Written by Robert Place Napton
Art by Roberto Castro
Colors by Alex Guimsaraes
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Joe Jusko, Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 12, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

I’m usually not a big fan of spin-off books, but I was pleasantly surprised by this comic. Set 100,000 years before John Carter arrives on Mars, Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom #3 is actually an interesting story about the history of the planet Mars and its inhabitants.

A lot of spin-off or tie-ins tell the stories set 1 day or 5 minutes before the beginning of the movie, or you’re stuck with between the scenes stuff, where you already know the outcome of the story and immediately think “Wait, why am I reading this again?” But writer Robert Place Napton does a nice job of telling a tale that is very independent from the story of John Carter that we’ve all read before. This is legitimately a fun, exciting story on its own, just set in the John Carter “universe.”

Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom #2
Written by Robert Place Napton
Illustrated by Roberto Castro
Colored by Alex Guimaraes
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Joe Jusko, Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 31, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

“100,000 years before John Carter first arrived on Mars…” I present to you Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom #2. The atmosphere is depleted and the only way for the races of Mars to survive is to artificially create a new one. Of course, it would be easier if they weren’t constantly trying to kill one another.

I have to say this has to be the most unfriendly read I have had in a long while. Between the lack of a lead-in and the overabundance of storylines, I was thrown into a mess of a comic. I quoted the entire printed premise at the beginning of this review, by the way. Given that I was very familiar with the the original books, I felt I would be able to catch up quickly and obtain some semblance of the plot. I was mistaken.