John Carter: Warlord of Mars #2 - A Review

John Carter is used to facing bad odds. Yet  the current state of affairs on Barsoom is bleak by even his standards. The city-state of Helium has been captured, his warrior-queen Dejah is in bondage and the enemy responsible is a treacherous soldier who has chased him all the way from Earth seeking revenge. Thankfully, John Carter is also used to finding allies in the most unexpected places and he will need the gift of diplomacy as much as his superhuman abilities and fighting skills to succeed.


Ron Marz's script captures the aesthetic of the old pulp adventures with style.  The story here is not a subtle one but it is not meant to be.  This tale is a melodrama where the heroes are heroic, the women as bold as they are beautiful and the villain is one step away from twirling his mustache as he kills a captive just to prove he is willing and capable of doing so.


The artwork matches the script in its epic scope.  Abhishek Malsuni perfectly portrays the awesome grandeur of Edgar Rice Burrough's world.  The inks by Zsolt H. Garisa enhance the artwork without obscuring the original pencils.  And the dry, dead world of Mars has never seemed quite so alive with color as under Nanjan Jamberi's palettes.