Warlord of Mars Dejah Thoris #7
Written by Arvid Nelson
Art by Carlos Rafael
Colors by Carlos Lopez
Letters by Marshall Dillion
Covers by Joe Jusko, Ale Garza, Paul Renaud
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 5th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

This is why we’re all lucky that comics are still being published. This story would NOT work in film, television, books, or any other kind of medium. But, it totally works in comic book form.

Arvid Nelson knows how to write a fun, exciting, suspenseful story specifically for the comic book art form. It’s action from first page to last, always moving, and cliffhangers abound in this issue. Hey, what’s not to love about scantily clad woman bouncing (and I do mean bouncing) around fighting, in chains and causing all sorts of mayhem? This is a genuinely fun, well-crafted action story with a GREAT last page shocker.

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.

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #6
Based on the writings by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Written by Arvid Nelson
Art by Carlos Rafael
Colors by Carlos Lopez
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Covers by Joe Jusko, Paul Renaud, Alé Garza
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: September 8, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #6 is the beginning of a five-part arc called “Pirate Queen of Mars.” The start of the comic has Dejah Thoris walking through the streets of Greater Helium with Tardos Mors and his advisors surveying the damage done by the Colossus of Yorn. As the conversation turns to the water pumping stations and how the canals are drying up, they determine that immediate action is needed. Dejah Thoris volunteers to lead the expedition to the polar ice in the south to find out what is going on.